fortis watches

[crispian22]

hi,has anyone else on here own any fortis watch's?
had a couple for 2 year's now and personally do rate them rather highly,i know they can be hard to get hold of in this country but wondered how you guy's rated them?
white faced auto flieger.
black faced auto flieger chronometer.

[andy tims]

I have this one & I love it.

[crispian22]

andy tims said:

I have this one & I love it.

that be the white 1 i've got then!,only with the silver strap.
good choice sir!

[Spice_Weasel]

I have the B42 Flieger Chronograph. 42mm in brushed steel with black dial. I love it. Would post a pic but don't have one here at work. It is shown on the pic on this thread though: http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[BRGS]

Yes i have the Automatic d/d with black face. I wear it more than any other, it's a great simple design, big face and keeps time perfectly. Also you hardly ever see any about. Much better than Stowa/Sinn often raved about (IMO). If i could get my camera to take such a good pic i would.

[omohat]

andy tims said:

I have this one & I love it.

Great looking watch. Could I ask what the model number is (Fleiger 595.10.42L by any chance)?

Also where do you guys buy them in the UK? Is there a dealer in london where I can try them before buying or is an internet purchase my only option?

[Rgee]

Austin Kaye in the Strand.

[crispian22]

brought my flieger chronograph from D.C Leake in nuneaton(authorised agent)
got the second white faced flieger from a agent in rhode's(greece),warranty is worldwide though.

[andy tims]

omohat said:

Great looking watch. Could I ask what the model number is (Fleiger 595.10.42L by any chance)?

Thanks

Close - the model nr. is 595.10.46

omohat said:

Also where do you guys buy them in the UK? Is there a dealer in london where I can try them before buying or is an internet purchase my only option?

I got mine off the net, but as said above Austin Kaye are among the best known stockists.

[omohat]

Thanks for the info guys. My birthday is coming up at the end of the month and I'm torn between asking for a Fortis Flieger or Oris BC3. I suspect the wife will balk at a £500ish watch so I'm also quite tempted by a Chistopher Ward Aviator as my backup choice.

[SlowRider]

I love my Fortis. Not sure why they don't have a better name. Lovely simple design and seem as well made as any of my other watches. Also I like the antireflective coating on the face - gives a really clear view of the face.

[crispian22]

as i understand it,omega where contracted by the U.S government to supply time pieces for the N.A.S.A missions,hence speedmaster professionals,but the U.S.S.R had fortis commission watch's for there cosmonaughts.

[speedtwelve]

crispian22 said:

as i understand it,omega where contracted by the U.S government to supply time pieces for the N.A.S.A missions,hence speedmaster professionals,but the U.S.S.R had fortis commission watch's for there cosmonaughts.

A few Fortis watches have been flight-qualified for ISS & Soyuz missions. This is my Cosmonaut day/date. It's built like Darth Vader's khazi, anti-reflective coating on both sides of the sapphire, although mine isn't too accurate. I've had it a couple of years and it has settled down to around +8 secs/day.

IIRC the actual watches used on the space missions were the chrono version of my watch and (I think) a chrono B42 version.

I was thinking along the lines of a Speedmaster, or a Glycine or Sinn pilot watch when I went for the Fortis. Bought it from a dealer in Salisbury when they were clearing out their stock after Fortis lost their UK distributor. It's well-made, you'll be lucky to find someone else wearing one, and has a little 'space history' provenance, although obviously not to the extent of the Speedmaster.