Water Resistance : 5ATM

First Impression

We were not disappointed for sure. The watch jumps straight at you. However first we have to talk about the packaging. It is beautifully packaged with AVI-8’s branding. It is like unwrapping a luxurious watch. The watch and its other accessories, a limited edition silver plate, a Velcro-release cuff-like strap and a spring bar tool. There are lot of features going on with the dial and this watch stands out for sure. It is bold and beautiful.

Case

The case is definitely new to AVI-8. The crown is protected is a protector. It is very similar to Panerai Luminor’s. The protector has taken its design from the engine exhaust of P-51 Mustang. It is very interesting and definitely add to the aesthetic of the watch. However in terms of practicality, it is not the best. It is a bit hard to pull the crown out and to rotate it.

The casing 43mm in diameter and 13mm in width. The size of the casing is large and does take a lot of space on your wrist. However with the design and features of the dial, you’d want a large casing. The width is also quite big. It does not stick out too much and does sit well on the wrist. The curvature of the lug also helps the case to sit well.

The lens is made from sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. The reflection is at its minimal but there are still some reflection. Due to the grey colour of the dial, the reflection does make it a little hard to read the time.

There is an exhibition back casing. The rotor is custom made with AVI-8’s logo and also the personalised logo of the P-51 Mustang.

Dial

The dial in a way has been split into four sectors. The first sector from the 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock has a tag attached. It is of a darker grey colour with the name ‘VPH 21600’. This is referring to the speed of the movement is measured by the number of oscillations the balance wheel makes. The larger the number the more accurate the timing however a large number does affect the durability of the watch. The lowest VPH is 18000 while the highest is 36000. The blue writing and the dark tag does go well together and make makes the writing stand out.

The second quarter has the date window. It is of an unusual position. The window is near the 4 o’clock position. The background of the date window is blue and the date is black. It is very odd and also a bit hard to read the date. In terms of attraction, the blue colour does add more character to the watch.

The third quarter has a grey plate which separate this quarter from the rest. The plate is of a very light grey and is noticeable from the rest of the dial. Again, this adds more to the aesthetic and character of the watch. Every quarter looks different and unique.

The final quarter does not have anything interesting. It is simple and without any outstanding feature.

The index are slim rectangular bars. They are black and stands out very much against the grey background. There are also four large numerals, 0, 03, 06 and 09. We have never came across a dial where the number starts with zero, but they do help to fill the space in the dial. The numerals are very large and legible. There is also some numerals to represent the minutes from the 5 o’clock position till 11 o’clock.

The larger numerals and also the rectangular bars have Swiss luminous. They are very bright and work well at night.

The design used for the hands is sharp and also quite large. However, we do not agree with the colour used for the hands. It is a little hard to reach the time as the hands and the dial colour are quite similar. If the hands were black, this would have made reading the hands much better. The hour and minute hands also have been given Swiss luminous. The second hand however is completely different to the rest of the watch. It is of a blue colour to match the slight blue colour accent from the date and tag.

Strap

The strap width is 22mm and it suits size of the dial. The strap is made from genuine leather and does not need breaking into at all. It is really soft and supply. The strap wraps well around the wrist and is very comfortable. There are some design and feature of the P-51 Mustang aircraft reflected on the strap. There are a couple of bumps and it is a nice feature.

AVI-8 also provided a nylon and canvas Velcro-release cuff-like strap. They also provided the spring bar tool to help change the strap. We however like the classic leather strap as it fits well around the wrist. The velcro-release strap is good but it take more space of the wrist.

Overall, great straps.

Movement

The movement inside is a Japanese Seiko NH35- TMI. We have seen this movement is many of AVI-8’s watches. It is a reliable movement and time accuracy is -20/+40 seconds per day.

We are assuming that the power reserve is 42 hours given the type of movement.

Buy, Shortlist or Avoid?

As always we like to mention the price before deciding this. The RRP of the watch is : £305/ €345/ $388. However if you sign up early, you will get a discount. Do visit the link to register your interest.

So what do we think? It a must buy watch. The features and design of this watch is outstanding the and price is also affordable. It is a large watch and every aspect of this watch does resonate the P-51 Mustang aircraft. Also do remember this watch is only limited to 1490 pieces. Buying this watch means you owning a unique piece of history.

If you have missed the early sign up, do use our code, NEWLABELS20 for 20% off.