Or, well, at least it can pretend it can, being as they’re pilot-derived watches. Tutima is certainly no stranger to the world of pilot watches, and I’ll say theirs can buck the extreme austerity trend that many German brands can tend to follow. For the new Tutima Grand Flieger Airport models, we’ve got some heavy doses of color, and even some new ceramic bezels in the mix.
Rather than introducing a whole wide variety of color, the Tutima Grand Flieger Airport keeps it simple – do you want green, or do you want blue? Then again, if you’re producing color-matched ceramic bezels, that has to help simplify things. Past that, your only other choices are if you want a three-hander or a chronograph, and if you want it on a bracelet or a strap. My recommendation is to always go for the bracelet, as you can easily find aftermarket straps down the line. A bracelet that fits like OE, though? Not so much.
Interestingly enough, while I’m still not a fan of chronographs (for something I’d buy and use regularly) I do rather like how they’ve done the subdial on their chronographs. Sometimes they can blend in, but here, Tutima decided to make it bright and bold with a red outline, that also picks up the red of the center seconds.
Then again, for my money, the Tutima Grand Flieger Airport that I would go for is the simpler three-hander. You’ve still got the bright and colorful look (including the ceramic bezel), as well as the day-date display. You’re just not dealing with all the extra subdials and pushers that a chronograph brings to the table. Which, if you like, that’s cool that it’s your thing, and if I you pick one up, I’ll gladly talk with you about it over a coffee or beer. Just for me, I like the simpler approach in a watch. The indices on the three hander look a touch longer as well, which just has a little more visual punch. Then again, in a 43mm case, you shouldn’t have problems reading either.
For the new Tutima Grand Flieger Airport watches, with the ceramic bezel, you’ve got a range of prices involved. The chronograph will run you $3,900 on the strap and $4,300 on the bracelet, while the three-hander goes for $2,500 on the stap and $2,900 on the bracelet. For me, I think it’s a solid design win mixing some good pops of color in along with the German sensibility that we so often see in watch designs. Here, it makes for a very clean and visually appealing look. tutima.com
Tech Specs from Tutima
Airport Automatic
| Movement | Cal. Tutima 330 |
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Dial | Classic Blue |
| Band | Cordura? strap with folding clasp |
| Diameter | 43 mm |
Movement Details: Automatic movement. Rotor antique grey with gold seal. 25 jewels. Polished screws. Power reserve when fully wound 38 hours.
Functions: Date display. Hour, minute, sweep second, day of week.
Case Details:?Water-resistant 20 atm. Bidirectionally rotating, fluted bezel with luminous marking. Domed sapphire crystal anti-reflective. Screw-in crown. See-through back with sapphire crystal.
Airport Chronograph
| Movement | Cal. Tutima 310 |
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Dial | Green |
| Band | Textile strap with folding clasp |
| Diameter | 43 mm |
Movement details: Automatic movement chronograph. Rotor antique grey with gold seal. 25 jewels. Polished screws. Power reserve when fully wound 44 hours.
Functions: Date display. Hour, minute, small second, Chronograph 60-second counter, 30-minute counter and 12-hour counter. Sweep second counter. Day of week.
Case details: Water-resistant 20 atm. Bidirectionally rotating bezel with luminous marking. Domed sapphire crystal anti-reflective. Screw-in crown. See-through back with sapphire crystal.
