[ti]Review[/ti]Review - The New Hemel Air League Chronograph
Dec 2, 2020 21:06:10 GMT
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Post by johnsny on Dec 2, 2020 21:06:10 GMT
I am a sucker for vintage pilot watches especially the Type 20/21 and Bundeswehr style watches. These watches have been hard to find and generally expensive. I was very happy when Hemel produced the HFT20 which is inspired by military flight chronographs from the 1950s and 1960s. Hemel has done that again producing a new line of chronograph watches that takes their cues from other mid century classic flight watches. The first in the new series is the Hemel “Air League” which was produced for members of the League of Microbrand Watches Facebook Group. I received mine, and this is my brief review:
Dial & Choice of Three Movements:
There are two dials and three movement choices. (Maybe that should be six dial choices, but I will get to that later). The movement choices are the Sea-Gull ST19, the Swiss Sellita SW510 and a Chinese manufactured 7753 clone.
The ST19 made by Sea-Gull is a modern evolution of the Venus 175 that originally powered the mid-century flight watches that inspire the Air League. The ST19 has a sapphire exhibition case back so you can see the ST19 with its column wheel and swan neck regulator. The ST19 movement is gorgeous to look at, especially when engaging the chronograph. The other two movements come with a metal caseback. All are nicely engraved.
The handwinding ST19 and the automatic Swiss SW510 movements come with a two register dial. The left dial is the running seconds hand and the right dial is a 30 minute totalizer for the chronograph. In the space on the dial above the six is written “Chronograph” in a small script font. It fills the space without distracting from the dial. The automatic 7753 clone movement has three registers. Just like the ST19 and SW510, there is a left side running seconds hand and a right side 30 minute totalizer. But added to this is a third register above the six position that has a 12 hour chronograph totalizer.
All three dials are black with classic style numerals in vintage style C3 lume and a Hemel logo. The 30 minute totalizer has extended the hash marks at the 3, 6 and 9 minutes intervals. I have read that these marks assisted navigators and they were also used to time telephone “toll call” or payphone charges. All the dials have a tachymetric scale that runs along the outer edge.
The Misprinted vs. Regular Dial:
The first batch of watches had a misprinted dial. Specifically, the printing was a bit too large so the tachymetric scale is pushed too far to the outside edge of the dial. It’s still viewable, but you have to look for the scale by looking at the dial at an angle. So the owner, Marvin, gave the members the option to wait for his factory to reprint the dials or take delivery of the dial “as is.” I chose to take the “misprint” because with my eyes, I can’t see the tachymetric scale anyway, and I prefer the slightly larger print on the dial.
Case & Lugs:
This watch uses a new original case designed by Hemel. It looks a lot like the vintage pieces, but the lugs have a modern deep curve.The case is 42mm wide and 49 mm lug-to-lug. This is similar in size to other pilot watches like many Laco Fliegers. It’s a bit larger than some of the vintage Type 20/21 watches upon which it was inspired, but it still has a classic look and feel of a vintage military piece. The case has good presence, and still fits my slim wrist.
Just like the previous Hemel flight watches, the case and lugs were custom designed with a deep downward curve that drops the lug tips down to the watch back. This allows the watch and strap to sit very well following the natural curve of one’s wrist. A NATO style strap will pass neatly over the spring bar and under the case back. The new Air League (like all previous Hemel watches) does not want to move or “flop around” like so many other watches with straighter lugs.
The crystal is a flat sapphire with a slightly curved edge. The thin coin edge crown is nicely engraved with the Hemel logo “H.” The crown is in the vintage style which is thin, so I tend to grip it with my fingers and wind the watch by turning my wrists in the opposite direction rather than rolling the crown between my fingers. The chronograph starts, stops and resets in the usual way.
Black Ceramic Bezel:
This bezel is fully indexed every five minutes and fully lumed including the triangle marker at the 0/60 position. There is a beveled coin edge to the bezel. The black ceramic insert is highly polished and almost mirror like. The bezel is unidirectional with 120 clicks around the dial.
Strap:
The 22mm strap is tan with off white stitching to match the lume. The strap tapers to a 20mm buckle that is engraved with the Hemel logo. I have a very thin wrist so I switched to a shorter length strap on mine.
Swag:
The watch came with a surprise. If you bought it through the Facebook group you get a dog tag with your name showing that you are a member of the group along with a membership card and a nice cleaning cloth.
Overall Impression:
Overall, I am thrilled with this watch. My ST19 is very well regulated running at about +3 seconds per day. It wears very well and feels very solid. If you didn’t get one of the Air League watches, all hope is not lost, Hemel will be producing similar watches for the general public under the “Airfoil” name in the future. I hope someday that Hemel house will be a valuable and well respected watch company, and I will be the proud owner of a very rare “misprinted” Air League Chronograph.
Dial & Choice of Three Movements:
There are two dials and three movement choices. (Maybe that should be six dial choices, but I will get to that later). The movement choices are the Sea-Gull ST19, the Swiss Sellita SW510 and a Chinese manufactured 7753 clone.
The ST19 made by Sea-Gull is a modern evolution of the Venus 175 that originally powered the mid-century flight watches that inspire the Air League. The ST19 has a sapphire exhibition case back so you can see the ST19 with its column wheel and swan neck regulator. The ST19 movement is gorgeous to look at, especially when engaging the chronograph. The other two movements come with a metal caseback. All are nicely engraved.
The handwinding ST19 and the automatic Swiss SW510 movements come with a two register dial. The left dial is the running seconds hand and the right dial is a 30 minute totalizer for the chronograph. In the space on the dial above the six is written “Chronograph” in a small script font. It fills the space without distracting from the dial. The automatic 7753 clone movement has three registers. Just like the ST19 and SW510, there is a left side running seconds hand and a right side 30 minute totalizer. But added to this is a third register above the six position that has a 12 hour chronograph totalizer.
All three dials are black with classic style numerals in vintage style C3 lume and a Hemel logo. The 30 minute totalizer has extended the hash marks at the 3, 6 and 9 minutes intervals. I have read that these marks assisted navigators and they were also used to time telephone “toll call” or payphone charges. All the dials have a tachymetric scale that runs along the outer edge.
The Misprinted vs. Regular Dial:
The first batch of watches had a misprinted dial. Specifically, the printing was a bit too large so the tachymetric scale is pushed too far to the outside edge of the dial. It’s still viewable, but you have to look for the scale by looking at the dial at an angle. So the owner, Marvin, gave the members the option to wait for his factory to reprint the dials or take delivery of the dial “as is.” I chose to take the “misprint” because with my eyes, I can’t see the tachymetric scale anyway, and I prefer the slightly larger print on the dial.
Case & Lugs:
This watch uses a new original case designed by Hemel. It looks a lot like the vintage pieces, but the lugs have a modern deep curve.The case is 42mm wide and 49 mm lug-to-lug. This is similar in size to other pilot watches like many Laco Fliegers. It’s a bit larger than some of the vintage Type 20/21 watches upon which it was inspired, but it still has a classic look and feel of a vintage military piece. The case has good presence, and still fits my slim wrist.
Just like the previous Hemel flight watches, the case and lugs were custom designed with a deep downward curve that drops the lug tips down to the watch back. This allows the watch and strap to sit very well following the natural curve of one’s wrist. A NATO style strap will pass neatly over the spring bar and under the case back. The new Air League (like all previous Hemel watches) does not want to move or “flop around” like so many other watches with straighter lugs.
The crystal is a flat sapphire with a slightly curved edge. The thin coin edge crown is nicely engraved with the Hemel logo “H.” The crown is in the vintage style which is thin, so I tend to grip it with my fingers and wind the watch by turning my wrists in the opposite direction rather than rolling the crown between my fingers. The chronograph starts, stops and resets in the usual way.
Black Ceramic Bezel:
This bezel is fully indexed every five minutes and fully lumed including the triangle marker at the 0/60 position. There is a beveled coin edge to the bezel. The black ceramic insert is highly polished and almost mirror like. The bezel is unidirectional with 120 clicks around the dial.
Strap:
The 22mm strap is tan with off white stitching to match the lume. The strap tapers to a 20mm buckle that is engraved with the Hemel logo. I have a very thin wrist so I switched to a shorter length strap on mine.
Swag:
The watch came with a surprise. If you bought it through the Facebook group you get a dog tag with your name showing that you are a member of the group along with a membership card and a nice cleaning cloth.
Overall Impression:
Overall, I am thrilled with this watch. My ST19 is very well regulated running at about +3 seconds per day. It wears very well and feels very solid. If you didn’t get one of the Air League watches, all hope is not lost, Hemel will be producing similar watches for the general public under the “Airfoil” name in the future. I hope someday that Hemel house will be a valuable and well respected watch company, and I will be the proud owner of a very rare “misprinted” Air League Chronograph.
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