The Bulova A-15 Pilot Watch

The original A-15 is one of the watches that could have been a horological hero. All the ingredients were there: a robust hacking movement, luminous markers, and an avant-garde system of two internal bezels that measured elapsed time, solving a very important problem for pilots at the time. The original watch was meant to make dead reckoning, an early form of navigation, easier. Measuring elapsed time in a more user-friendly fashion meant that pilots and navigators – and radio operators, even – could concentrate on other important tasks, like making sure ordnance is delivered where it needs to be or rescuing downed pilots. It also helped streamline the visual sweep of the flight instruments, ensuring pilots didn't have to mark down time... More here.

It is not often that Bulova makes a watch that looks subtle, classy and authentic, but it has here.