Archimede Pilot XL Automatic

If you have a body (or at least wrists) of heroic proportions and are not willing to pay thousands of dollars for timepieces like, say, IWC Doppelchronograph Top Gun, than you may want to check out the new Archimede Pilot XL Automatic watch, which is both stylish and affordable.

Coming at a price of €395 (plus €40 for a leather strap with a deployant clasp,) the watch is available in a brushed stainless steel case 45 mm in diameter.

Being only 10 mm thick, the watch leaves impression of a sleek timepiece, especially, if worn on a rather large wrist.

Despite a new leather strap with white contrast stitching and two steel rivets on each side, the watch looks almost the same as the previous models in the Archimede Pilot family.

It sports the same layout of its high-contrast black dial with a signature luminous triangle accompanied with a pair of dots at 12 o’clock and a set of blued diamonds-shaped hour and minute hands also covered with luminous substance.

Well, to be frank, all these models are inspired by WWII-era pilot’s watches that were worn by the Nazi Luftwaffe pilots, so the reason for similarity is obvious.

As you can see, its luminescent hour markers go along with bold Arabic numerals that make the watch even more legible.

At this time, the watch is available only with a standard ETA 2824-2 Swiss movement, however, the company also announced plans to also offer a version powered by a hand-wound ETA/Unitas 6498 pocket watch movement. I guess this was the real reason behind the decision to start making such a huge timepiece.

Regrettably, the movements come without any noticeable decoration, so there was really no need for a display case back: it only made the new Archimede Pilot XL a little more expensive.

You can order the watch right now from Archimede’s official Web-site.

Photos: Archimede

Archimede Pilot XL Automatic watch specification:

Price range: €395
Movement: ETA 2824-2, automatic, or a Unitas 6498, hand-wound, 16.5 lines
Complications: N/A
Power reserve: 42 hours
Case material: Stainless steel, brushed, transparent case back with mineral glass
Case size: 45 mm
Case height: 10 mm
Dial: Black
Water resistance: 50 m
Strap: Brown or black leather
Crystal: Sapphire, anti-reflective on both sides