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Fortis Spaceleader Volkswagen Design White Watch

Last year my favorite new Fortis watch was the Spaceleader. The futuristic chronograph watch was designed by the Volkswagen Design team and offered as a special limited edition of 2,012 pieces. I first wrote about the Fortis Spaceleader watch here. For 2011 Fortis is offering two additional limited edition versions of the Spaceleader Chronograph. Each have white dials and are great looking in a sort of "Omega Speedmaster evolved" sense. One model has a white rubber strap and the other models has a black rubber strap. The case is in polished steel and is "wrapped" by the strap structure. Fortis and Volkswagen really hit on a good design and I think these new color variations will be just as popular as the original Spaceleader watch. Inside the watches are Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic movements. Look for these timepieces soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Fortis Spaceleader Volkswagen Design White Watch

Tags: chronograph, fortis, limited edition, spaceleader, watch, white

Fortis B-47 Big Black Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Fortis sometime ago realized that black"stealth" watches make no sense if they aren't fun, and aren't legible. For that reason Fortis is commonly known to have all black watches with white hands. This new B-47 Big Black model uses that concept for a new bold looking limited edition timepiece.

Tags: b-47, big black, Fortis, limited edition, watch, watches

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Fortis B-42 Flieger Black Cockpit GMT Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Night and day! No really, the black and white on this watch dial are meant to evoke just that - night and day. Does it do it with year round precision? No, but the idea is that when the hour hand is in the above section it might be night-hours, and vice-versa. None of that make a lot of sense unless this is a GMT watch - but it is. Rather than use a GMT hand, it uses a disc that peeks out of a window at about 9 o'clock. Does this GMT indicator style go with just such a black/white dial? No, but let's leave that alone for the sake of thematic style.

This is Fortis' new B-42 Flieger Black Cockfit GMT watch - and from a visually perspective it is certainly eye catching. The case is 42mm wide in PVD black steel with a super high-contrast black and white dial with a serious aviator spirit. I think it lacks a bit of the legibility found in other Fortis watches for it to be taken as seriously by die-hard aviator professionals, but it will certainly garners its share of attention. The case is water resistant to 200 meters and has an AR coated sapphire crystal.

Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA 2893 automatic GMT movement, and the simple watch case comes matched to a simple rubber or leather strap. Not a spectacular watch, but decent nonetheless. Fortis is making it as a limited edition of just 2,012 pieces. Look for it soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 672.18.11, b-42, black, flieger, fortis, gmt, watch

Fortis Art Edition Mattern Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

For a while Fortis watches have come in special "art edition" forms. These highly artistic renditions of the popular dive, pilot, and overall high intensity activity watches provides an interesting departure from staunch utility. This is the Fortis Art Edition Mattern watch that looks a lot like something from the 1980s. With a look that mixes pop art and bauhaus, the timepiece is part of a collaboration with artist Michael Mattern - whose work is known to use a variety of colorful geometric shapes, and mechanical style imagery.

He designed the dial (and perhaps case) of the watch. To me it feels like a combo of Swatch and Max Bill. The case is 40mm wide in satin finished steel with a fascinating dial in white, black, yellow, and blue - that is partially skeletonized. While artistic, the dial is still easy to read. In addition to the metal bracelet, the watch is available with a black, yellow, or blue rubber strap. The movement is likely a Swiss ETA 2824 automatic, and the case is water resistant to 200 meters and has a sapphire crystal. Overall a very cool design and great project between Michael Mattern and Fortis. The watch is limited to 2012 pieces, and is priced at about $2,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: art, Fortis, limited edition, Michael Mattern, watch

Fortis Spaceleader Chronograph by Volkswagen Design

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos

There's no shortage of automotive-themed wristwatches on the market. In some cases, the automaker for whom the watch is made has even had a hand in its design. Like the Porsche Design timepieces made by Eterna. Now Porsche's sister/parent company Volkswagen has entered the fold with Fortis.

The Fortis Spaceleader Chronograph by Volkswagen Design is a limited edition of just 2,012 examples, wrapped in chrome and rubber with all the usual suspects: push-button chronograph operation, butterfly clasp, anti-reflective crystal and more. It's already been winning all the major prizes, including the Red Dot design award, the iF design award, and the Good Design award. Nice work if you can get it.

Tags: automotive timepiece, automotive wristwatch, fortis, Fortis Spaceleader, Fortis Spaceleader Chronograph, Fortis Spaceleader Chronograph by Volkswagen Design, timepiece, volkswagen, volkswagen design, watch, wristwatch