Revue Thommen Airspeed Instrument RT1920

The Swiss watch manufacturer has just presented a new member of its controversial Bell&Ross-styled Airspeed Instrument line of aviator watches.

Called Revue Thommen Airspeed Instrument RT1920, the model differs from the rest of the pack with its black PVD-coated case and more upscale-looking hour indices and hands made of some sort of yellow metal (can it be gold or something?)

Just like its source of inspiration (I assume, it was the BR01 model), the RT1920 sports the same square case with four screws at each angle and a round bezel with a sapphire glass covering a set of hour, minute and second hands reminding us of aviation instruments.

While the claim to the company’s aviation legacy is quite legitimate (long time ago Revue Thommen indeed used to make money producing cockpit instruments and gauges for the aviation,) the result is quite disappointing. Trying to differentiate their product from the original series by Bell&Ross, Revue Thommen’s designers somehow lost the original point of the watch.

Its main problem is that, with new styling of the dial layout, the watch doesn’t look very much like an instrument gauge. Rather, it feels just like another rip-off of the popular model by B&R available at about half the price of the original.

What is your opinion, anyway?

Revue Thommen Airspeed Instrument RT1920 watch’s specification:

Price range: $1320
Movement: Swiss ETA caliber 2824-2, automatic, 28,800 vph, 25 jewels
Complications: Date
Power reserve: 42 hours
Case material: Stainless steel in PVD
Case size: 44 mm
Case height: N/A
Dial: Navy blue
Water resistance: 50m
Strap: Leather with contrast stitching
Crystal: Sapphire