Dear readers, at long last I am back in the watch scene! I know, it has just been so long since I've posted a watch review, but it has been a hectic time for me since going out to the working world after university. It was a big period of transition and sadly I lost my passion for quite a few pursuits since entering the workforce. Also, my mental health hasn't been in the best shape so things like buying watches and writing reviews really took the backseat for the past one year. Yup, I really miss school life. But through it all, here we are again, back with a new watch review, so I'm glad to say that this little horological passion of mine has withstood the test of time. This is all rather exciting news, which is befitting for the situation given the watch we're reviewing today; the STOWA Flieger Classic - No Logo.
A brief history lesson is necessary to provide an appreciation for the piece of history you hold in your hands when you own a STOWA watch. STOWA is a company steeped in tradition, and have done much since they established in 1927. I find one of the most interesting things to be the fact that they were one of the five original manufacturers (the other four being A. Lange & Söhne, Wempe, Laco and IWC) for the B-Uhren, the watch upon which all Flieger watches are based upon, including the STOWA Flieger Classic.
Now let's move onto the the watch itself. Measuring in at 40mm in diameter, the Flieger Classic might be considered somewhat small by contemporary standards. I've always been a fan of the 42mm club myself, but found that the Flieger Classic is sized just right at 40mm since it wears big. The case itself has a brushed finishing, with the crown being bead blasted. I
actually much appreciate the onion crown over the diamond crown as it's
more aesthetically pleasing to me, although this is largely a 'different
strokes for different folks' matter. The crown is covered in grooves
faithful to the pattern found on the B-Uhren and they are very
functional as well in keeping the crown easy to handle. It is not a screw-down crown, as should be expected since this isn't a dive watch. Crown action has been similar to my other watches with the 2824-2 movement, producing a somewhat grainy feel when handwinding. On a side note, you probably do not want to bring this watch into contact with water whatsoever besides perhaps washing your hands as it is rated merely 5ATM and STOWA recommends never completely submerging this watch in water.
Overall, the quality of the case is on point, I think the case is machined and finished to a high standard. However I think beyond a certain point the improvements in case quality and finishing is indiscernible by the human eye and touch. As such if I were to judge the STOWA purely based on case quality as a metric then there are certainly brands which are cheaper than STOWA.
Depending on whether you opted for it, the left side of the watch may be adorned with the letters 'FI23883', which are the exact same characters that appear on the B-Uhren back in 1935. This engraving will set you back 79 EUR, a little bit on the steep side for me but it is a nice touch if you want your Flieger to be more faithful to the original.
When it comes to the dial, there are quite a few options you can go with. Basically it boils down to whether you want the STOWA logo as well as having a date function on your Flieger or not. Oddly, the no logo variant is more expensive than the with logo variant, even though it probably takes more effort to make a dial with the logo. I guess the no logo variant is probably the most popular version and this is reflected in the price. The available options for the dial configurations are as follow:
With logo with date
With logo no date
No logo with date
No logo no date
They offer the Flieger with the Baumuster B dial as well but you can only go with no logo and no date for the Baumuster B variant.
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| Radioactive |
Lume on this watch is a particular point of interest to me, since it features Super-LumiNova C3. As you may or may not know, Super-LumiNova themselves came up with this chart that claims C3 is their brightest lume. The STOWA Flieger Classic truly doesn't disappoint, with dive watch level lume. It's been awhile since I've been able to observe lume glowing in the daytime under certain situations such as when entering indoor areas. The last watch that had this 'daytime lume' effect was the Seiko SKX007.
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| Dat Hands Tho |
STOWA is quite famous for using heat-treated hands in their watches. These hands have a extraordinary love affair with light, ranging from nearly black when viewed head-on to a shade of intense, sapphire blue when viewed from an angle. They provide the Flieger Classic with a lot of character and I think this is one of the biggest highlights of the watch.
The Flieger Classic features an ever so slightly domed sapphire crystal with underside AR coating. No complaints here, the sapphire does it's job of keeping itself free from scratches well.
Going over to the back, we can see the display back and all the components in its full glory. There's a lot to cover here. Firstly, the crystal on the display back is sapphire with inside AR coating as well, which is a very nice touch by STOWA. There's always a solid caseback if you're not a fan of display backs. The display back is secured by six screws and there are various engravings along the perimeter which indicate some of the technical specifications.
Next up is the movement. This is a very pretty movement, to say the least. The rotor is custom made by STOWA and has several laser engravings that indicate the brand, serial number, movement, make and Jorg Schauer's name. There are several choices of movement grades you can choose in your Flieger, mine was the TOP grade which will set you back a rather hefty 80 EUR. This is mostly an aesthetic decision; if you are constantly admiring the movement through the caseback you might like to invest in the TOP grade movement as it comes finished with perlage. For another 50 EUR you can get blued screws too. Personally, I have to say that is a hefty price tag for a couple of special screws.
Accuracy is guaranteed by STOWA themselves to be plus-minus ten seconds a day and my own Flieger Classic has been somewhere around faster by five seconds a day so I think STOWA has done a very good job in regulating their movements.
The strap that comes with the Flieger Classic is the signature double-riveted strap, reminiscent of the one on the B-Uhren. It's a fairly nice strap, which comes with one floating keeper, one fixed keeper and one metal keeper. I personally didn't like how the sides of the strap was finished though, they were coated in some rubbery material which reminded me of the leather straps that come with Parnis watches. That's a shame because the leather seems to be of quite a good quality. I'd prefer to see raw or burnished edges on the straps.
The buckle is laser engraved with the STOWA characters and logo and it's a nice stainless steel thumbnail buckle.
In ending, STOWA has really hit a home run with the Flieger Classic. It's everything good about the B-Uhren with a contemporary touch. STOWA took no compromises on the construction of their Fliegers, with a high quality case, dial and hands, movement and a beautiful strap to wrap up the package. Undoubtedly, we've left the realm of what I consider affordable, with the base model starting at 781 EUR, and the way I've configured it will actually set you back 940 EUR in regions without VAT. However, considering the heritage behind this brand and also the fact that you are getting a product with top notch components in nearly every aspect, I'd say the pricing is fair. If you are in the market for a Flieger-styled watch, you would be hard-pressed to find something better than what STOWA has to offer. The next step up (IWC and A. Lange & Söhne) might just cost you your whole house.
