AVI-8 P-51 Mustang, Bottisham Limited Edition
Replacement 'Pilot' style strap by Geckota
I have to say that I’m not usually a fan of AVI-8 watches, finding them too fussy and they mostly seem to do quartz movements and if I’m having a Quartz watch, then I want something along the lines of a Citizen Eco-drive. However, as soon as the P-51 Mustang reviews started to hit the internet I really did want to see one of these in the flesh so to speak. Yes, it did have a bit of a fussy dial, but to be honest it looked quite restrained compared to some other AVI-8’s. Yes it did have a date complication (something I try and avoid if possible) it also had a crown guard that many reviewers didn’t really like, but I thought it looked great, so anyway I put my name down to be notified when released and get the obligatory 20% discount and duly ordered the Black version.
The packaging was for me way over the top, a large case, holding the watch a metal (credit card size) card giving some details of the P-51, a second strap with extra spring bars and a spring bar tool – one of those very cheap ones you often get with cheap watch straps. This box takes up over twice the space of the normal cube(ish) watch box, but I suppose it will be a selling feature for some!
The watch itself is very nice, though does wear big on the wrist, probably due to the large dial face and minimal bezel. The bezel has a brushed bevelled finish to the top and a polished outer edge where it meets the watch case. The tops of the lugs are finely brushed with a nice transition to the polished case sides which have a rounded profile with the bezel protruding out from the upper edge – though this is minimal and a well-conceived design element which is visually very nice. It does have an exhibition case back, but in this instance it shows a custom rotor and the American Airforce star at its centre. The dial I really do like, though I feel it would look far better without the date window which is actually quite difficult to read with the white figures on the red background, the handset is big bold and very easy to see at a glance. I would have perhaps like a more P-51 relevant text on the red ‘plaque’ at the top right of the dial rather than the beat rate of the Seiko NH35 fitted, but it does add an interesting element to the watch face as does the sandwich dial and raised section in the lower left hand quadrant. Now to that crown guard – I really like it and have absolutely no issues whatsoever using the crown as reported in many of the reviews. It is a doddle to wind the watch (it doesn’t have a screw down crown) just using a finger underneath it pulls out with no problem and you can precisely feel both the first and second positions. I don’t know if this was something that was addressed after the review samples were sent out, but it didn’t put off many buyers as two of the three variants have sold out, leaving only the green dialled option still available, which the more I see of it the more I like it and think it will look great on the wrist. I certainly enjoy wearing mine, though once again I don’t have it on the supplied strap. The leather strap it came with was superb and very comfortable, however I didn’t like the fact that it was brown with black keepers, so once again source a nice pilots style strap from, yes, WatchGecko/Geckota in black leather with red stitching which looks great and wears really well. As to the other supplied strap, well I tried it briefly but certainly won’t bother ever using it again, it’s awful; a pain to fit, uncomfortable and looks just plain odd.
Anyway, if you fancy one of the remaining green dial version of this watch have a look at it on the AVI-8 website, also check out some of the online reviews to see if any of the discount codes are still valid – or sign up to the AVI-8 newsletter, they’ll probably send you a money off coupon.
For more picture of my AVI-8 P-51 Mustang have a look in my Watch Gallery page.
The packaging was for me way over the top, a large case, holding the watch a metal (credit card size) card giving some details of the P-51, a second strap with extra spring bars and a spring bar tool – one of those very cheap ones you often get with cheap watch straps. This box takes up over twice the space of the normal cube(ish) watch box, but I suppose it will be a selling feature for some!
The watch itself is very nice, though does wear big on the wrist, probably due to the large dial face and minimal bezel. The bezel has a brushed bevelled finish to the top and a polished outer edge where it meets the watch case. The tops of the lugs are finely brushed with a nice transition to the polished case sides which have a rounded profile with the bezel protruding out from the upper edge – though this is minimal and a well-conceived design element which is visually very nice. It does have an exhibition case back, but in this instance it shows a custom rotor and the American Airforce star at its centre. The dial I really do like, though I feel it would look far better without the date window which is actually quite difficult to read with the white figures on the red background, the handset is big bold and very easy to see at a glance. I would have perhaps like a more P-51 relevant text on the red ‘plaque’ at the top right of the dial rather than the beat rate of the Seiko NH35 fitted, but it does add an interesting element to the watch face as does the sandwich dial and raised section in the lower left hand quadrant. Now to that crown guard – I really like it and have absolutely no issues whatsoever using the crown as reported in many of the reviews. It is a doddle to wind the watch (it doesn’t have a screw down crown) just using a finger underneath it pulls out with no problem and you can precisely feel both the first and second positions. I don’t know if this was something that was addressed after the review samples were sent out, but it didn’t put off many buyers as two of the three variants have sold out, leaving only the green dialled option still available, which the more I see of it the more I like it and think it will look great on the wrist. I certainly enjoy wearing mine, though once again I don’t have it on the supplied strap. The leather strap it came with was superb and very comfortable, however I didn’t like the fact that it was brown with black keepers, so once again source a nice pilots style strap from, yes, WatchGecko/Geckota in black leather with red stitching which looks great and wears really well. As to the other supplied strap, well I tried it briefly but certainly won’t bother ever using it again, it’s awful; a pain to fit, uncomfortable and looks just plain odd.
Anyway, if you fancy one of the remaining green dial version of this watch have a look at it on the AVI-8 website, also check out some of the online reviews to see if any of the discount codes are still valid – or sign up to the AVI-8 newsletter, they’ll probably send you a money off coupon.
For more picture of my AVI-8 P-51 Mustang have a look in my Watch Gallery page.
