Davosa has some really nice, well-made watches. I have had a chance to review several of them, and have been really impressed so far. Normally I am more into divers but one of their models caught my attention. While checking out their list of models I came across the Neoteric Pilot 42mm. Davosa was able to send one out to review.
The dial on the Davosa Neoteric Pilot is what really caught my eye. For being a simple three-hander, this watch is far from boring. Along with the large numbered hour makers, there is also a smaller circle with minute markers. Both of the hour and minute hands are partially skeletonized (in opposing ways) and its easy to differentiate the two. Check out how the minute hand is half-painted in the color of the inner circle. What’s really cool is that the skeletonized portion of the minute hand enables you to see the minutes through the hand. That’s really neat. The sunburst blue face of the dial also looks fantastic. The hands are mounted to the Swiss-made Davosa DAV3021 movement, which is basically an ETA 2824-2. You can’t go wrong with that movement. All of this is protected by an AR-coated sapphire crystal.
The Case
The case on the Davosa Neoteric Pilot is made from stainless steel and done with a mix of a brushed and polished finishes. While most of the case is done in a brushed finish, the very edge of the bezel and the crown are polished elements. The exhibition case back is brushed stainless steel with sapphire crystal. Since this is a pilot watch it does have the fluted crown (though not in the traditional shape), which is supposed to make it easier to operate with gloves on. This case is 42mm in diameter which to me is the perfect size. Water resistance is 5atm or around 150ft. Wouldn’t go beyond swimming with this one but, that’s ok, this watch is meant to fly, not dive
The strap on the Davosa is very soft and comfortable. It does wear a bit looser than you might expect, particularly if you have a smaller wrist like mine. I would like to see this strap with a couple more adjustments for smaller wrists. Aside from that its very nice and even has accent stitching to match the watch dial. The clasp is a simple pin and buckle with the Davosa logo.
So, the strap was a mixed bag, but I am totally loving the lume on the Neoteric Pilot. This reminds me of the old wind up night stand clocks. All the hour number are perfectly painted and the hands really have a nice glow. Night visibility is no issue at all with this watch
As I mentioned in the beginning, I am normally not a fan of pilot watches, but I have to say that I really do like this one. The size is right, and the dial is cool to look at. This Davosa Neoteric Pilot is preiced at $749. That’s not bad for a Swiss made watch of this quality. If you like what you see, go check them out at davosa-usa.com.
REVIEW SUMMARY
- Brand and model: Davosa Neoteric Pilot
- Price: $749
- Who’s it for: Aviation watch folks.
- Would I wear it: Absolutely
- What I’d change: Good the way it is.
- The best thing about it: Make the strap for smaller wrists.
Tech Specs from Davosa
- Reference: 161.565.46
- Worlds: Pilot
- Case: all stainless steel
- Movement: automatic, DAV3021
- Crystal: sapphire
- Water resistance: 5 ATM
- Dial: blue, yellow
- Numerals: arabic, indices
- Luminosity: SuperLumiNova
- Case back: screw-in, transparent
- Strap/bracelet: leather
- Gender: men
- Thickness: 11.5 mm
- Width: 42 mm
