We have always adored AVI-8 watches at New Labels Only. We first introduced AVI-8 watches back in July 2017 with the Lafayette Flyboy and then did another post when we brought you the Hurricane Hawker AV 4011-0G, which is still one of the best watch under £200. But this time we are going to bring you something exclusive and really exciting for any watch fan, the AV-4058-01, AVI-8 Centenary Flyboy 1920s watch.

AVI-8 Centenary Watches

It is 100 years exactly since when the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom was founded. The RAF is first independent air force by any country and has seen men, women and machine involved in seminal chapters of military and aviation history.

To commemorate this historical event, AVI-8 has developed a unique collection of timepieces that incorporate design aesthetics and references that pay tribute to different eras of the RAF. The collection of the watches spans from the early bravura of young “Flyboys” who took to the sky in the first iterations of military aircraft through to the immense engineering developments that have characterized more modern generations of the RAF’s arsenal of aircraft.

There are 4 different timepieces in the AVI-8 Centenary collection, the 1920s, 1940s, 1960s and 1980s. Each collection will be launched, in chronological orders throughout 2018 with early bird interest available for a lucky few who sign up for the launch and will also receive an additional discount on the Pre Order Price which will be less than Full Retail Price.

These are the limited editions that will never be replenished!

Features of the AVI-8 1920s Centenary Watch

The first launch in the AVI-8 Centenary collection will be the 1920s edition and you can sign up for their launch now. So what can you expect with the 1920s edition.

Movement

Inside you will have an automatic movement, 21 jewels, powered by the reliable Japanese Miyota 8218. The movement has been uniquely customized by the AVI-8’s own watchmakers with a signature Centenary edition rotor and a subdial seconds display at the 5 o’clock position, with date display at the 3 o’clock position.

Casing

The casing size is 42mm in diameter, 12mm in width and made from 316L Stainless steel case. The hands are LumiNova Luminous hands, with coloured patterned dial and a deep embossed index with LumiNova Luminou for enhanced low light visibility. The font is Neo-gothic and has a Railroad minute markings frame.

The glass is affixed with a scratch resistant slightly domed sapphire lens and a see through exhibition caseback.

A vintage inspired slightly oversized pumpkin crown is used, to resemble those found on early pocket watch to wrist watch conversions in the early 1900s. The crown also has a jagged edge design with the blue and round circles of the Royal Air Force roundel applied.

The watch is 5ATM water-resistant and weight approximately 80g.

Strap

The strap is 22mm in width and made from supple hand stitched buffalo hide leather, that is comfortable yet long-lasting. To finish off, we have a tangle buckle.

Unboxing of the AV-4058-01

Review of the AVI-8 Centenary 1920s Edition

So let’s find out if the AVI-8 Centenary AV 4058-01 is worth it?

Firstly, the packaging of the watch is your typical outstanding AVI-8 box and you can find out more about the packing in our unboxing video above.

Our first reaction of the watch was OK but don’t get us wrong, we are definitely not saying that the watch is bad-looking. The AV 4058-01 is not going to jump at your straight away compared to the other AVI-8 we have reviewed in the past. The clean look of the dial and design of the watch gives out a calm look with its white deep embossed index. The tan strap and the white stitching goes really well together and is a really nice looking watch.

The dial is very legible to read and the large Neo-gothic font is no exception. One feature we definitely like about the font is the varying sizes. The even numbers including the 0 has a bigger font while rest has a smaller font.

The Cathedral inspired hands are quite large in width and you will definitely not miss them. The Railroad minute marking is quite subtle but noticeable.

So on the wrist the watch sat pretty well. This has to be one of the larger width cases we have worn but it did not cause any trouble in terms of sticking out. The strap is a bit hard but comfortable to wear throughout the day and within a month or so, the strap should be perfect.

The Miyota 8218 movement was flawless during the day and there was not lag. With just a couple of spins at the beginning of the day, the movement will work perfectly throughout the day.

The weight of the watch was not an issue. Even weighing at 80g, the weight was fine and did not cause any pain or burden to wear.

Overall the watch is great and is definitely another outstanding watch from the AVI-8 watch-making team, however we do have a couple of little issue. The crown is beautiful but is just a little too big. It did sometime get in the way and if it were a tad smaller would be perfect, but if you have a bigger wrist, then this should not be a problem. Finally,we believe that if the sub dial was closer to 6 O’clock that would have been ideal. This is because the date window is in a way overwhelmed with the presence of the subdial and a little to the left would have been great. But these are just little issues and we have to say this is a great watch.

So it the AVI-8 Centenary AV 4058-01 worth it? Yes! It is a gorgeous watch with a subtle look and a quality automatic movement. We do encourage to sign up for the launch as you will definitely be saving a huge amount. The RRP of the watch is £249 / $340 / €275 after the early bird launch. Do register your interest at https://avi-8.co.uk/pages/centenary-20s-40s-signup

We do hope you have enjoyed our review of the AVI-8 Centenary AV 4058-01 and we would love to know what you think about the watch. Do let us know in the comment below!

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