About time: The jet set

If you ever find yourself with an unhealthy amount of free time, take a look at the Wikipedia entry for Howard Hughes. Be warned; you'll be clicking and clicking and will, I guarantee, find yourself in Wikipedia hell after a few hours. Anyway, back to Mr Hughes, who has been the subject of films, television shows, documentaries and a brilliant Simpsons parody over the years - but I won't spoil your afternoon of doing nothing. The point is Hughes was a noted aviator and his story got me thinking about the latest pilot's watches on the market.

Real flyboys like real flyboy watches and the Zenith Pilot Type 20 GMT is a genuine contender, and not just because it has "pilot" in its name and a fancy cockpit-ready strap. Zenith is one of the few mechanical watchmakers with a credible tradition of making pilot's watches and the Pilot Type 20 GMT is appropriately sized at 48mm with a dial designed to be immediately legible with large Superluminova-coated numerals, if you ever find yourself flying in the dark. Like you do.

There are a lot of striking things about the Pilot Type 20 GMT, such as the onion crown, which lends the watch more than a bit of character as well as tactile practicality. This being a GMT watch, there is a handy second time zone indication, with a small seconds hand.

Inside is an in-house Elite 693 movement with a power reserve of 50 hours and finished with Côtes de Geneve patterns. Two further details ram home the aviation chops of this watch - an engraving of aviation instruments on the case back and the choice of either a leather strap or the pilot's strap (top right). Prices for the Zenith Pilot Type 20 GMT are available upon request.

Next is a pilot's watch from another brand with real heritage, the IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph "The Last Flight". The story behind this watch is a bit dark, inspired as it is by the literal last flight of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French fighter pilot and author of the children's book The Little Prince. Saint-Exupery's last flight 70 years ago is a weird thing to pay tribute to, and it might be too much for superstitious folk but the watch itself is a pretty exception.

Regular readers will know I have a weakness for watches with chocolate brown dials, but this watch goes the extra yard with a chocolate brown ceramic case and dark brown leather strap. Heaven. The case is sized at 46mm and inside is a IWC-manufactured 89361 movement with a impressive 68 hours of power reserve. Features include a flyback chronograph and a date window as well as a stopwatch function. There are three references available, the difference being the crown and case back material, which comes in platinum (top left; 17 pieces priced at HK$250,000 each), red gold (170 pieces priced at HK$190,000) and titanium (1,700 pieces priced at HK$115,000).