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Which is why I had to make an exception to this Seiko Flightmaster SNA411 – it’s so darn cheap and have all the bells and whistles in an aviation watch.
While the dial arrangement is very similar to different Navitimer models, the fonts used are different and this model comes in some alternative colourways that set it apart from some of the ‘clones’ featured in this article. The watch is very well made, I’d expect nothing less from Seiko to be honest. It features a highly accurate Japanese chronograph quartz movement, typical of Seiko. The hands on the dial are quite prominent along with a good use of high quality lume to make the watch easier to read at night. This movement also has a rather useful alarm and stop watch function.
What is an aviation watch without a chronograph? An incomplete aviation watch. This Seiko FlightMaster watch has a chronograph to complement its duty as a fully functional tool and utility watch for a pilot. Beyond being relegated to “math time”, this watch has, in fact, become my shadow-side GADA. I wear it often, as much as I wear my typical GADA. I find that I do use the alarm, I use the chronograph (curse those screw-down pushers), and I unabashedly use the main indicator on the bezel in dive-bezel fashion. This watch has duly earned its few scratches, and I intend to wear it to smithereens. Since the dial goes out to the very edge of the watch, it’s perceived to be bigger than it is, and some even feel that it wears like a 40mm. Outside of the size increase, it certainly looks like a Navitimer, with a coin-edge bezel and similar overall shape. Most variants from this brand tend to harbour more gold accents, seemingly in an attempt to look more expensive or flashy. Nicely, the date window does integrate very well with the dark dial; something that cannot be said for the original Breitling.
The hour, minute, and chronograph hand is applied with Lumibrite to make them visible in the dark (as pilots would have to fly during the night). This also goes for the round markers. It is powered by the caliber 7T62 which is a quartz and battery-powered movement. With all of these functions, a quartz movement was a clever move from Seiko. Now, there will naturally be people who would prefer a mechanical movement, but for this exact watch, we are unsure if it would have been a better move. If the movement would have been mechanical, it would have been less accurate, more expensive, and more complicated to maintain. The Seiko Flightmaster SNA411 has impressive accuracy, as you would expect.Most Sinn models come fitted with an ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movement, which is considered one of the very best movements available, or alternatively the highly regarded Sellita SW500; which is essentially a clone of the former (Sellita used to make movements under contract for ETA). To achieve this, Seiko uses screw down on the watch’s crown and pushers. It does not really make any sense to give an aviation watch a 200 m water resistance rating but who cares right? The top subdial is for minute counter of the chronograph while the left subdial is for showing the running seconds hand. It has a chronograph that is a functional tool and is useful for engineers and pilots. To use the feature, you need to operate the two pushers found on the right side of the watch. The one at the top right is used to start and to pause the chronograph while the one at the bottom right is used to reset the chronograph. It also has a split time function, which is useful for sporting events. You can record time of events. Rotary slide rule
The markers are very small – just some small dots on the dial which are also applied with lume. Unless you are new to analog watch, this will not be a problem. This ‘Chronospeed’ features another useful feature in the form of a screw-down crown. As such, the water seal should be better than other options on this list and give you some peace of mind if you plan on submerging this watch.The bezel takes up a lot of room on the watch. In fact, the dial is only 32mm, whereas the bezel takes up most of the rest of the space. and not just a pissing contest of which watch flew further, the Flightmaster is the more capable watch. This Stuhrling features a primarily polished finish, reminiscent of the original Navitimer, along with a near-identical set of sub-dials and indices. You also get a grippy crown and arrangement that appear to be screw-down; though the limited 5ATM of water resistance suggests otherwise. The main second hand (with the popping yellow color which is something that I really like) is only moving when using the chronograph.
Moving on to the bezel of this watch, it is bold, big, and of course practical. The bezel is not just there for aesthetics but it also serves a purpose. It’s definitely worth having in mind the next time you’re going shopping for watches. This would make a great, affordable addition to any collection.The top pusher will be used to start the time. Then at the moment when you want to record the time, push the bottom pusher.
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