What a well written and thorough article on this new watch. Eddie Platts seems to be a very nice person. When he alerted me to the watch on his site with the caveat that it might not be visible I looked it up and confirmed that it was indeed invisible. I was hoping it would materialize from the ether later this week, but you already have one and posted a review. Amazing. I must contact him immediately. But now I am wondering what serial number to select. That is perhaps the most difficult decision since you already have the most famous of the manly man numbers.

I agree about not wearing those old military watches. I have IWC MkX and MkXI watches in excellent condition (amazing what a credit card and deft fingers on the keyboard can achieve--not as though I deserve any credit for prescience or special care or even good taste), but have not considered wearing them. They are standard size for old watches so they seem more like toys than timepieces (especially because they are of shiny metal). My MkXII is a dull finish and new enough that it works for everyday (once I get that matte blue animal band--I was dissuaded from contacting NATO for one of theirs because of the weight of the watch).

Lucky you for having experienced those really great aeroplanes. As a child I flew on DC-3, TWA Constellation, and the double decker Pan Am Clipper--over the Pacific and we even had sleepers (I remember changing into pajamas and running down the aisle). Howard Marx who is sending me the blue animal band is also keen on the golden age of civil aviation. Makes me wonder when was the golden age of wristwatches.

Thanks for this excellent article and reminding me to contact Eddie.

Robin