New York - Pilot watches aren't always dull black-and-white affairs. The Glycine Airman SST was made for US Air Force pilots (as well as civilian customers) during the 1960s and ’70s. Unlike this Smiths W10, this Airman SST doesn't have military engraving on the back, though it does bear the jet after which it's named. Yeah, SST is short for Supersonic Transport. How cool is that?
Just looking at the dial, you might be a little overwhelmed at first. There are two rings of numbers, both going from one to 24. The Airman SST is both a 24-hour watch and a GMT watch. The first means that it tells time on a 24-hour scale, not a 12-hour scale. The hour hand goes around the two-tone, black-and-grey dial only once per day, and it takes some getting used to (noon looks like 6 o'clock, for example). But once you're oriented, it's easy to read.
The darker half is for the nighttime hours, the light half for when the sun is up. Outside the main dial is a second ring, which can be rotated to track a second time zone, also on a 24-hour scale.
The orange color scheme is bright and eye-catching, but it isn't just for decoration. The Airman SST needs to be easy to read in dark cockpits, and orange is one of the easiest colors for the human eye to pick out in poor lighting conditions.
A lot of dive watch brands of the era - most famously Doxa, a favorite of Jacques Cousteau - also used orange on the dials for reading precisely at depth. You probably won't need the extra functionality, but it looks pretty cool, nonetheless.
Glycine is still making watches today, although the collection is a mix of pieces inspired by these vintage models and gaudier, more over-the-top modern watches.
Back in the ’60s and ’70s, though, it was these 24-hour watches that Glycine was best known for. Some were colorful like this; others were a little more rugged, with metal 24-hour bezels, similar to what you'd find on a Rolex Explorer II. The brand made dress watches and simpler, military-style field watches, too, though they're less collectable today.
Watches like this are a great way to collect something less common than the usual vintage Rolex and complicated Patek Philippe watches that get talked about so much.
Those are great, don't get me wrong, but they're not everything. Looking to brands that aren't household names and seeking out unusual complications can result in finding watches that teach you a little about the history of watchmaking while also giving you arm candy you'll enjoy wearing.
This Glycene Airman is available from Crown & Caliber and is priced at $2 350.
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