Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. A Trilogy of Olympic Medal-Inspired Stowa Flieger Watches
Stowa flies the colours of the Olympic medals with its trilogy of Flieger Olympus pilot watches in bronze, silver and gold.
German brand Stowa was founded in 1927 and became one of the five official suppliers of B-Uhren to the German Luftwaffe. Capitalising on the brand’s rich aviation history, Stowa, now in the hands of Tempus Arte Group, released its first batch of contemporary pilot’s watches in 1997. While the reissues capture the classic looks of their airborne ancestors, the specifications are in line with modern standards. Matched with accessible prices, models like the Flieger Verus and Flieger Verus 40 Baumuster B have proved highly popular. The three latest pilot’s watches, the Stowa Flieger Olympus unveiled just ahead of the Summer Olympics emulate the material of the three Olympic medals and come in bronze, silver and gold cases, powered by a modified Unitas 6498 manual-winding movement with central seconds.
The Flieger Olympus models are based on the original Stowa Flieger watch of 1940. Sharing specifications with the contemporary Flieger Verus 42, the Flieger Olympus varies slightly in diameter depending on the material. The 925 silver case is the largest, with a 42mm diameter and thickness of 13.5mm, while the bronze and gold have 41mm diameters and a thickness of 12.8mm. The finishings also vary from case to case. The bead-blasted bronze and silver cases are matte, while the rose gold is polished.
Something you wouldn’t have found on an original Flieger is that all the cases have flat sapphire crystal casebacks to view the movement and are water-resistant to 50 metres. The fluted onion crown is a throwback to yesteryear models.
The minimalist matte black dial, the large Arabic numerals, the triangle with two dots at noon and the blued steel hands are iconic features of vintage pilot’s watches. Like their precursors, which demanded perfect legibility in the worst possible conditions, the Old Radium luminous coating extends from the numerals to the hands and to the thicker 5-minute markings on the minutes track. The absence of a logo and date window reinforces the dial’s instrument spirit.
Like the original Unitas movements powering the early pilot’s watches, the Flieger Olympus is fitted with a manual-winding Unitas 6498 manufacture calibre with a swan neck regulator. The base ETA Unitas 6498 movement has been modified to incorporate a central seconds hand explaining the additional wheels and newly designed bridges visible on the caseback that allow the relocation of the small seconds at 6 o’clock to the centre. The finishings are more elaborate, with sunray stripes emanating from the balance wheel, blued screws and golden engravings.
Vintage cowhide leather straps in brown, black and grey are available with buckles to match the case material. The gold Stowa Flieger Olympus is limited to three pieces worldwide and retails for EUR 9,490. The solid silver pilot’s watch is limited to nine pieces and retails for EUR 4,990; the bronze Stowa Flieger Olympus is limited to 18 pieces and retails for EUR 3,990.
For more information, please consult stowa.de.
6 responses
Nobody in their right mind is going to pay 4 to 10 thousand for a Stowa.
Nitpick…Stowa calls them Olymp, not Olympus. That avoids any issue with using a known location, and clearly of avoiding “Olympic”…which is likely a protected term.
Beyond that…I agree the prices are…optimistic. The Flieger 6498 in steel…same case size…is 1500. Bronze case only adds about 150-200 euros…compare the Flieger 40 in steel to the flieger bronze vintage 40. So…a 2000 euro surcharge for the fact that they reworked the movement?
“German brand Stowa was founded in 1927 and became one of the five official suppliers of B-Uhren to the German Luftwaffe. Capitalising on the brand’s rich aviation history, Stowa…”
You do know what the Luftwaffe did first in Spain and then WW2. Does, Guernica, Rotterdam, Belgrade, Coventry, Warsaw, Leningrad, Stalingrad? Does terror bombing, ring a bell?
And before someone bleats about the RAF, and USAAF, I will remind everyone it was the Germans who invaded Poland to start the war and deserved everything they received from the allies.
Whats next? Writing about the glorious Ulysses Nardin worn by Putin’s missile service personnel?
Oh yeah, another point. If there’s a watch style that says “tool watch” more than the basic flieger style, I don’t offhand know what it is…and certainly, IMO, the flieger stands near the top.
So doing one in bronze? OK, cool. Silver? Ehhh…well, it’s matte, and could be mistaken for steel or titanium in a pinch…well, maybe. But gold? And polished? This is a match that’s about as appropriate as a shell cordovan strap on a Swatch.
@craig lewis.
C.mon, a gold Stowa is probably what Hermann Goering would have given to his aces who thankfully for the history of humankind were defeated by the subjects of this quote by Churchill: “never in the field of human conflict was so much been owed by so many to so few.”
I don’t know about you but I don’t like to wear the watches of losers.
Thank you, Rebecca, for the article and the excellent photographs. I’m not surprised that Tempus Arte Group may be expanding Stowa in a different direction market-wise as many other companies have done over the years. Please keep the reviews coming !