Traditional Swiss watch brand GLYCINE pays tribute to the legendary DC-4 aircraft by unveiling the AIRMAN “DC-4” wristwatch.

Built by Douglas Aircraft Company, the legendary DC-4 is an American commercial aircraft with four piston engines which began its career as a military transport plane and was later used in civil air transport all over the world after the Second World War. It was also the DC-4 which, in 1953, led Glycine to conceive the legendary AIRMAN, the first pilot’s watch with double 24-hour display function.

As chance would have it, Glycine Sales Director and aircraft enthusiast Sam Glur was on a flight from Bangkok to Calcutta when he met airline pilot and watch enthusiast Captain Chat Brown who invited him into the cockpit of his DC-4. Captain (Chat) Brown evidently made the most of the time he had with watch expert Sam Glur to explain exactly what was required in a genuine pilot’s watch. Sam Glur reported back to headquarters on the very same day, sending a detailed account of the conversation and the specification. According to the brief, what pilots really wanted was an automatic watch with 24-hour display enhanced by the addition of a second 24-hour time zone. And there was no such watch on the market at that time.

The inspiration for the legendary AIRMAN therefore came on the fly, so to say. The market launch of the first AIRMAN took place before the year was out. This pioneering Swiss pilot’s watch was the genuine article and was extremely popular with the American pilots. The unique AIRMAN DNA has spawned a further 29 generations based on the original.

The pilot’s watch is controlled by an automatic rhodanised GL 293 movement (ETA specification). Following in the purist footsteps of the original AIRMAN, it has an exclusive market position as a 24-hour watch with two time zones. If preferred, however, it can also be used as a normal 12-hour watch with the additional feature of a 24-hour GMT display. The beautiful and timeless classic comes, as it did 60 years ago, in a wooden case true to the original with vintage-style warranty certificate. A book about the Airman is also included which tells its story in clear factual detail.

Technical details
Model: AIRMAN DC-4, Ref. 3904.XXX, Cal No. GL 293
3 hands, 2 additional time zones or double 24-hour display (purist)
Decorative movement
Water-resistant to 20 ATM
Stainless steel casing, 42mm diameter, locking bezel crown at 4H position
Anti-reflective sapphire glass with date magnifier
Screw-fitted back with sapphire glass
Worldwide 2-year warranty

Biel-based watchmaker Glycine enhances its legendary AIRMAN range of pilot’s watches with the refined “DOUBLE TWELVE” , an entry-level model which boasts typical AIRMAN features. The result is a pilot’s watch made of stainless steel with excellent clarity of display, a rotating bezel with a second time zone and the hallmark Glycine locking bezel crown at the 4 o’clock setting.

But take a closer look and the revolutionary features of the new “DOUBLE TWELVE” will also become apparent to those really acquainted with the Airman. Like every one of its predecessors, the youngest Airman is a pilot’s watch with multiple time zones. It is, however, the first Airman to use the 12-hour display (only) since the launch of the legendary Airman line in 1953.

Producing the watch with a pure 12-hour display for both time zones has allowed Glycine to use the proven and high-precision GL 224 automatic calibre (ETA specification) which is a little less complex and pleasantly reduces the retail price, bringing the watch within the price range of Airman enthusiasts on a slightly lower budget.

The “Double Twelve” Airman comes in stainless steel with carefully crafted dials in blue, black and red. A book about the Airman is also included as a gift with each purchase, fondly and coherently recounting the full Airman story.

Technical details
Model: AIRMAN “DOUBLE TWELVE”,  Ref. 3938.XXX, Cal No. GL 224
3 hands, rotating bezel with additional 12-hour display
Decorative movement
Water-resistant to 20 ATM
Stainless steel casing, 40 mm diameter
Screw-lock crown for 3 o’clock setting
Locking bezel crown for 4 o’clock setting
Anti-reflective sapphire glass with date
Screw-fitted back with sapphire glass
Worldwide 2-year warranty

Traditional Swiss watch maker GLYCINE unveils its latest timepiece AIRMAN SEVEN, an exceptional automatic wristwatch designed for frequent travellers. This new model has its origins back in the early 1990s when the traditional Biel-based establishment brought out its then revolutionary Airman 7 with three dials displaying the time simultaneously and made a big entrance on the wristwatch market.

In introducing the impressive timepiece, boasting no less than three automatic movements, GLYCINE had not only redesigned the arrangement of several time zones but had confidently ushered in the age of large watches worn on the wrist.

The Glycine watchmakers have now succeeded in building a watch for pilots and frequent travellers which again has a simultaneous display of three time zones. No longer is the Glycine creation based on three separate automatic movements, however, but for the first time on just one single movement which controls the three time zones simultaneously by means of an ingenious complication.

The advantage over conventional GMT watches is obvious: the face is divided into one main dial with the main time zone (12-hour clock) and two smaller integrated dials with a 24-hour time zone each. The human eye can take in the three time zones at one glance and the display is much easier for pilots and frequent travellers to read. The beautifully crafted dial with its quality finish is inspired by the sleek structure of the turbojet engine and comes in dark blue and anthracite.

Attention has also been paid to practicality and Glycine has come up with a really user-friendly feature by having two 24-hour time zones which can be operated directly can be operated directly by simply pressing the main crown at 02h00. (1st GMT zone) or the button at 04h00. (2nd GMT zone).

The AIRMAN SEVEN comes in an elegant, polished stainless steel case with an ample diameter of  46 mm, combining innovation and elegance in their most beautiful form.

Technical details
Model: AIRMAN SEVEN, Ref. 3919, Cal No. GL230
3 central hands, 2 additional time zones
Large date display
Oscillating weight on ball bearing
Waterproof to 20 atm
Stainless steel, 46 mm, 1 crown pusher, 1 pusher
Sapphire crystal doubles antireflective
Screwed-down case back with sapphire crystal
2-year worldwide warranty

The 100-year-old traditional company Glycine Watch SA is a renowned specialist in mechanical aviators’ and diving watches. To mark its 60th birthday one year ago, Glycine relaunched its legendary pilot watch AIRMAN – the first 24-hour watch in the world with a second time zone – in a unique trilogy of yellow, red and white gold with the original “Felsa 692” movement.

The market response was extremely positive, which encouraged Glycine to reintroduce the AIRMAN No.1 in its original dimensions as a 36-mm steel version and to permanently include it in the collection as a genuine vintage watch.

The flying legend was born back in 1953. Sam Glur, then the enthusiastic Sales Director of Glycine SA, was sitting in the cockpit during a flight from Bangkok to Calcutta listening to the pilots explaining the ideal requirements of a pilot watch. The results of this stimulating discussion were then sent in a neatly handwritten letter to the Glycine factory. As they were always crossing several time zones, the pilots wanted a watch with a 24-hour display but not just an ordinary 24-hour watch, they wanted one with a second time zone so that they could see the time at the arrival airport as well as the time at the departure airport. The Airman concept was born a few months later: a compact automatic watch with rotating bezel, double 24-hour display and date. The watch became an instant hit in the market and gained cult status among US Air Force pilots in particular.

With loving care, watchmaking expertise and great attention to detail, the “AIRMAN No.1” is now being manufactured for the second time on the basis of the original plans and is presented in the legendary Airman wooden case, just as it was in 1953.

Following in the footsteps of the Felsa 692 (1953-1960) and various movements by A. Schild (1960-1978), the “AIRMAN No. 1” is now powered by a GL 293 calibre which ideally meets contemporary requirements. The legendary pilot watch is available in the original version as a double 24-hour watch and as a 12-hour watch with two 24-hour GMT displays.

The traditional Swiss watch maker GLYCINE is extending its F104 line. With the F104, Glycine pays tribute to the legendary Lockheed F104 aircraft, the leading fighter plane of the 1950s and 1960s.The unmistakable F104 can be identified at first glance thanks to its harmonious yet ergonomic shape and perfectly-balanced dial.

Glycine has recognised the possibilities offered by this timelessly beautiful, unique shape and expanded the F104 family (diameter 48 mm) with the particularly successful smaller version bearing a diameter of 40 mm.

The Glycine F 104 has a flat sapphire crystal as well as a special leather strap in a “pilot look” with two rivets on either side. The glass back, fixed by six screws, allows you to view the fascinating Swiss automatic movement. The polished stainless steel case, which has a rounded shape, looks good on any wrist thanks to the movable lugs. The elegant conical crown – carried over from the original model – adds a touch of nostalgia to this watch, which is waterproof to 3 atm.

With this watch, Glycine will not only make fans of smaller watches happy, but also re-establish itself on the ladies’ watch market in an impressive manner, a mere 100 years after it was first founded. The new F104 (40 mm) will be available in the classic steel version with a black, sand-brown or silver white dial or blue and black mother-of-pearl dial with diamonds. And for those who would like something a little more sumptuous, Glycine has a particularly classy piece of jewellery for you with its diamond-studded black case with mother-of-pearl diamonds.

Features
Glycine F104, References 3932 (48 mm) and 3933 (40 mm)
GL 224, automatic movement, power reserve 38 hours
48 mm or 40 mm steel case, black IP with diamonds
Water resistance: 3 atm
Sapphire crystal, anti-reflective on both sides
Various alternatives with black, sand-brown and silver white dial
MOP dials with diamonds blue or black