Is The IWC Spitfire The BEST Field Watch?!

[@Celebmacil]

IWC watches are lovely and well made, but I'd have a hard time justifying the price increase for the Spitfire Automatic 39mm over my circa 2000 vintage 38mm Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic H70415133. They're both super close in appearance, especially after I put a strap just like the one you have on your Spitfire on my Hamilton.

[@deeznuts7061]

Thanks for this alternative option because I wasn't about to drop a few grands on a guy I dated for less than a year. I might consider Hamilton in a couple years 😅

[@jimmason8502]

@@deeznuts7061 Hamilton will be around $500 and the IWC Spitfire is like $5000. I mean no way the IWC is worth the price, as nice as they are. It's a $2500 watch at best. I think it competes well alongside Longines and they cost half what an IWC costs.

[@pvasa20]

just bought it. Immpeccable finish and really clean lines. Very visible and wearable. Way better than others, but a bit pricey. I don't mind.

[@Cota0514]

Great review and points on the field watch discussion. I bought the SS- admittedly an impulse purchase. Do not regret whatsoever. The leather is the perfect length for a sub-7” wrist. Also no ridiculous rubber inner or anything. 100% leather.

[@Johnny641]

I have the SS version currently on a grey NATO, really nice watch and super comfy. They now come with the calibre 32111 with 120hr power reserve, this was a recent change by IWC.

[@GU5S]

There's a lot to love about this watch. It was on my radar and I held one in hand last year. I love the case and the colours, the overall aesthetic is very me. Unfortunately i just found it underwhelming for the price, dial felt too flat and not really "premium" for a watch costing multiple thousands. Applied indices and number could really help it out, but without the dial just seems utterly flat and uninspiring despite loving the colour.

[@seanzealony9499]

Omega Railmaster is up there for a field watch. Love this style of Spitfire with bronze & brown leather strap. Class piece of a kit 👍🏻

[@jimmason8502]

Seiko Alpinists for under $1000 please, all day long.

[@ernestkrajnc6412]

So difference between pilot and field watch is a size of the crown?? I don't get it why every watch must be "boxed" in one of 5 or 6 basic in advance determined categories...

[@Swayndo]

When I got mine I asked if this was pilot's field watch or a soldier's pilot watch. Glad I'm the only one thinking along these lines.

[@kingadjust6201]

IWC makes Beautiful watches at insane prices

[@ChisholmHunterOfficial]

Agree!!

[@kingadjust6201]

@@ChisholmHunterOfficial you know I meant insane prices as in high prices right? 😉

[@clintmiller1]

I went through a Spitfire love affair last summer. But ultimately it passed and I went with the entry-level hand-wound Hamilton. Outside of it being 1/10th the price, there were other things I liked better about the Hamilton. The sandblasted dull steel case fits much better with the idea of being a field watch than the bright shiny steel case on the IWC. I like that the Hamilton has both 12-hour markers and 24-hour markers. (As a computer programmer who does a lot of time and date arithmetic, seeing the 24-hour time is useful to me.) I love that the Hamilton is hand-wound. It's hard to understand what the IWC has that justifies it being 10x the price outside of an in-house movement that isn't even on display. I love my Hamilton. I've bought an absurd number of cheap nato straps for it. (The black dial goes with just about any nato strap you can find.) And the nato straps are so quick to change that I literally rotate through a different strap every time I wear the watch. I even have nato straps to match the colors of my favorite sports teams (black/green for Austin FC, black/red for San Antonio FC, and blue/orange for the Astros). Anyway, the Hamilton is probably my most fun watch! The Spitfire is a nice watch. If it were $1500, maybe even $2000, I'd be intrigued. But I think I'll stick quite happily with the Hamilton.

[@renegade037]

@clintmiller1 Which Hamilton did you pick up? Main difference in price would be the movement - accuracy, frequency and power reserve -> Spitfire now with 120hr power reserve kinda dominates this category. Ofc I would wish that it costs ~3.000$, cause Longines Spirit is around the same price point and watch style.

[@jimmason8502]

@@renegade037 I mean if accuracy is really the issue then get a quartz movement or a digital watch. I mean five grand for the Spitfire is double what it's really worth, maybe that's why you rarely see on on a wrist.

[@Dr.Sheffield]

It’s beautiful watch wear it in good health ✌️

[@grahamtaaffe4261]

I've got this watch and just put a NATO on it as per your suggestion...it's completely transformed the watch into something more funky...rather than a bit old manny!😂 sometimes the obvious needs pointing out...thank you..!!

[@JimLecinski]

My vote in this category is the SUF 180.

[@giorgosvasillios9394]

Looks nice until you see the price

[@Dr.Sheffield]

You can by bronze butterfly buckle from iwc which I think make the wearability much better

[@gsrossco]

Going by your definition I'd say a Garmin Fenix is better suited to the rigors of field use than a IWC, but I know we are talking about men's jewelry, and therefore it's certainly a nice-looking watch.

[@RedwoodAggie]

I think this watch definitely fits more into the field watch category than the pilot's watch category. One thing that would make these that much better is if all the markers were lumed, but the cardinal markers were a slightly different color when charged up. That way it would make for easier and more accurate reading in the dark. IWC does this on several of their watches, including the Mark XX. I don't understand why they skip out on lume around the dial. If somebody knows of the reason, feel free to reply.

[@Johnny641]

On the Spitfire it is a nod to the Mark 11, they only had lume on the cardinals.

[@malcpilling7935]

Own the Spitfire 39mm in steel . Amazing quality and at £500 less than the Mark xx with the now updated 32111 120 hr PR a no brainier IMHO … wear in the next of health 🇬🇧💥👌

[@youssefalkhabaz9728]

Btw the 120 hr pr is an error in the website. I have the same watch and would be shocked when I visited the bouquet in dubai and they informed me that it was an error. I have already raised a complaint, so just letting you know

[@stevehenrytagami4709]

Looks like a thousand dollar watch by Laco. A pilot is a pilot, whether type 1 or two. They look the sane. What do Iwc offer for the 4k extra? 😊

[@MeestroDavid]

I really love these-tried them on many times and agree the bronze is especially interesting-but I can't understand what makes this a $5500 watch. The case and dial finishing, movement quality, accuracy, WR, etc, are bested by any number of field watches costing thousands less. More broadly, "field watches" seem like they're almost the literal definition of "a beater" - a watch you can actually take on a hike, climb, etc., and not worry about knocking around, scratching, or breaking, which, the IWC ain't. It just seems like you're paying a LOT more for a bit less.

[@jimmason8502]

They're the Leica of watches: well built and look great but they do nothing except tell the time, and it'll cost you a mint to check your wrist. Lots of other options out there for an everyday beater aka field watch at 1/5th the price..

[@KnifeWatch]

Highly recommend the Mark XX as your everyday watch. It's the upgrade to this piece with more versatility and could pass for dressy on the bracelet.

[@ChisholmHunterOfficial]

It's really nice!

[@Johnny641]

The Spitfire now has the same movt as the Mark XX (32111), so it really comes down to which you prefer the look of.

[@kevinhan721]

Yes

[@BAF605]

Patina is a slick bit of marketing to sell bronze watches. The same oxidation on a steel watch would be called rust. 😂😂

[@Sumerdini]

Maybe after "Longines Spirit Titanium 40mm" 👍 Longines is much much better...

[@ahha6304]

True, this thing is half-flieger half-field, but yes, it looks cool and I almost angry since I need to wait a minute to hear "as always"

[@ChisholmHunterOfficial]

Hahaha I’ll say it sooner next time!

[@rajmehta6210]

Any views on the panerai 42m carbotech sub Harrison?

[@rafalwasilewski2235]

I really like this watch but I’m not too sure about the date window.

[@jimmason8502]

The white date window looks cheap.

[@dhueshs4]

$5k for a watch with no chronometer movement? Insane

[@erpa6668]

try a christopher ward bronze sandhurst

[@ChisholmHunterOfficial]

How mach do they come in that?

[@geopapak2632]

For me yes!!! 👍💪👏

[@jasonbarnwell4680]

If only it didn’t have a date :(

[@bigbird7133]

How about Traska

[@johnhebert3855]

No, it's not. The Hamilton Khaki handwound is.

[@steveo6023]

IWC is nice, their prices are not.

[@JamesAlexander14]

A Pilot watch shouldn’t be any heavier than a field watch. Remember, to a pilot weight is everything, even on the wrist and if it is based on a military pilot watch, would normally be produced down to a price. I wouldn’t buy this as a field watch, because it isn’t one! It is a Pilot/navigator’s watch.

[@cos-9113]

Pilot watch is really jut a field watch, issued to pilots. Not even the best field watch from IWC-Mark XX is a better field watch. But the Spitfire is a nice watch.

[@itachiuchiha-bl5wv]

Best field watch is G shock!! Garmin and apple watch are best fitness watches...All the others are luxury watches!!!

[@NormanF62]

IWC missed on the mark on this one by not going for full Arabic numbers and eliminating the useless date complication. A field watch should be stripped down to the essential of just displaying the time: hour, minute and second. That’s it! The style should be casual and rugged. You’re not going to need anything else out in the field.

[@redcoat192]

Field watches arent bronze!

[@amcluesent]

Overpriced.

[@727coolstuff]

It’s a pilot watch son! It has a plane on the back it sys spitfire on the dial? Are you smoking something wee man?

[@TimG--]

Children’s watch. No thx

[@ChisholmHunterOfficial]

Totally disagree

[@kingadjust6201]

The moonswatch, or a Richard Mille is a children's watch not this 🙄