Pilot replica watches hold a place in the holy quartet of tool replica watches (along with dive, field, and chronographs). Not all pilot replica watches are the same though. Some are sized for the normal-wristed, while others are built for Bruce Banner ?when he's angry. What's great about a tool fake watch is that you find them at just about every price point. Today, we are looking at two replica Rolex Pearlmaster conservatively sized, heritage-rich, cockpit-ready timepieces that sit on opposing ends of the pricing spectrum ?though neither will break the bank. Let's give them a look.
StealThe Watch: The Hamilton Pilot Pioneer Mechanical ($845 on grey NATO, and $895 on leather)
Why It's Cool
I mean, just look at it. Hamilton has operated in the mechanical, hand-wound fake watch space for a long time, but it really hit its stride with the Khaki Field Mechanical, bringing obvious historical cues and aged lume into the overall design scheme. That fake watch had a very warm presence which, when paired with a sand-blasted steel case and matte dial, just felt right. But that was a field watch.
Soon after, Hamilton released this piece, which paid direct homage to a fake watch from its vault, all the way down to the small 33mm by 36mm tonneau case. Standout style features are the retro numerals, including the flat four, the railroad minute track, and the throwback Hamilton wordmark. But it's the movement we can't forget ?the H-50 movement that the brand also uses in the Khaki Field Mechanical. It's a hand-wound movement, of course, but it offers an astounding 80 hours of power reserve.
Why It's Affordable
I'm still wondering, to be honest. We're looking here at a long-standing brand pulling a killer military design out of its back catalogue, with great case finishing, an almost 1:1 reproduced dial, and a hand-wound movement under $1,000? Preposterous - but just like the Khaki Field, Hamilton manages to make it happen. You could certainly point to mineral crystal as one area that keeps the price down. This is the kind of affordable fake watch you'll want to show off, and that will get you respect from collectors, large or small.
SplurgeThe Watch: The IWC Pilot's fake watch Automatic Spitfire ($4,650)
Why It's Cool
When you think IWC, you might have the Big Pilot at the top of mind. But that's, as the name suggests, a BIG watch. In modern times, IWC's Mark series has been the place to find more appropriately sized replica watches for those of us who are not NFL linemen (though even those ballooned to 41mm at one point, before coming back down to 40mm). The Automatic Spitfire, released in 2019, does us one better with a 39mm case diameter. This fake watch brings all the vintage flavor many of us crave into a very modern and capable design. The numerals on the dial are decidedly different from those found on the Mark XVIII, with (like the Hamilton) a flat four. The lume is faux-aged on the hands, 12, three, six, and nine, but in a very purposeful way. Those are the only surfaces on the fake watch covered in luminous material. The pop of red for the word Spitfire, paired with the ?to take a page out of John Mayer's book ?flight jacket vibe, makes this one of the best tool replica watches (pilot or otherwise) on the market today.
Why It's Expensive
ADVERTISEMENTI could have very well put everything I am about to type here into the cool category, which is what makes this such a great timepiece. Unlike its very similar brethren in the Mark series, this Spitfire features an in-house automatic movement. That would be the cal. 32110, which features a power reserve of 72 hours (great, though less than the Hamilton) and a silicon escape wheel and lever. An in-house movement is always going to come with a premium, and IWC's build quality adds to the price. So does the soft iron inner cage (to protect against magnetic fields) housed behind the closed caseback featuring an engraving of a literal Spitfire airplane. Yet, at $5,000 it's still less than some competitors ?and as Jon Bues once said, you could make the argument that the Automatic Spitfire is a value for the money. I'll make the argument: It is.
How To DecideSome of it depends on how big you are, or how comfortable you are with a bigger watch. If a 39mm case diameter scares you and you prefer something smaller, but don't want to sacrifice value or heritage, then it's an easy choice to go with the Hamilton Pilot Pioneer. This is a fake watch with an identity all its own. You won't find that tonneau case style in too many places outside of brands like CWC. The fake watch punches high above its weight class in every single regard, so you can enjoy it for its aesthetic prowess or mechanical bona fides.
If you can handle the size, it's hard to beat the IWC Automatic Spitfire. The watch's sub-$5,000 price point means it's relatively attainable if you can be patient saving your dough. It's a fake watch made with real integrity, and one that will impress just about anybody, whether they're luxury snobs or salt-of-the-earth. Outside of Tudor and Omega, you won't find many in-house tool replica watches that bring this much value and quality to the table.
The SpecsSteal:
Brand: HamiltonModel: Pilot Pioneer MechanicalDiameter: 33mm x 36mm Thickness: 9.95mmCase Material: Stainless SteelCrystal: MineralMovement: Caliber H-50, hand-wound with 80 hour power reserveLume: YesWater Resistance: 100mStrap/Bracelet: Fabric or leather NATO style straps
Splurge:
Brand: IWCModel: Pilot's fake watch Automatic Spitfire.Diameter: 39mm Thickness: 10.8mmCase Material: Stainless SteelCrystal: SapphireMovement: In-house IWC cal. 32110 with 72 hours power reserveLume: YesWater Resistance: 60mStrap/Bracelet: Textile strap
Shop this storyHODINKEE is an authorized retailer for Hamilton. To see our full collection, click here. For information about IWC, go to iwc.com.
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Iwc Hamilton Steal-vs-splurge Heritage Pilots replica watches from Hamilton and IWC 7698