Wristwatch Review: AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Chronograph Watch

Examining a Chronograph Watch Inspired by a Famed World War II Fighter Plane 

This watch review takes a closer look at a unique watch that commemorates its famed namesake aircraft through a variety of design features.

The AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Chronograph Watch

Every watch has a purpose. Some watches simply tell time. Some watches stand up to the rigors of diving. Other watches make bold fashion statements. A rarefied few watches communicate high social status. But, the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane watch is a little different. 

Inspired by one of the most significant fighter planes of World War II, the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane evokes the image of a famed propeller-driven fighter sitting on a dew covered grass airfield in the English countryside 

AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane watch foreground.  OV-1 Mohawk Background

Watch Design

It must have been quite a challenge for AVI-8 designers to evoke an airplane that first flew in 1935. They had to conjure up the feeling of bygone era using modern materials and meet an attainable price point. I think they succeeded with the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane watch. They gave this watch a classic case in black with traditional looking pusher buttons for the chronograph features. The watch also has a soft supple brown leather strap with white stitching that looks like something from the 1940s. I think the colors and case design of this watch successfully evoke a vintage feel. 

The next challenge for designers was to summon the spirit of a specific plane: the Hawker Hurricane. They did this via insignia, lettering, and art. When you look at the watch dial, your attention is immediately drawn to an RAF roundel insignia just inboard of the nine o'clock position. The disc is actually the chronograph sub-dial for tracking elapsed minutes. The red dot forms the base of that sub-dials minute hand. It is surrounded by a white circle inside a blue circle inside a yellow circle. Two more sub-dials one at twelve o'clock and the other at six o'clock cover elapsed time in 1/10 of a second and one second intervals respectively. The three o'clock position is occupied by the AVI-8 logo and date window. Just above that is a front silhouette of a Hawker Hurricane. Below the logo and date, the name of the watch is spelled out: Hawker Hurricane. The dial is ringed by a tachymeter scale. The back of the case is shiny stainless steel and features a line drawing of the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane from a top down perspective.

Watch Dimensions

The dial is sensibly sized at 42 millimeters by 49 millimeters in diameter and 10 millimeters thick. The Hurricane is not a bulky watch by any means.

At 10mm thick, the case of the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane is sensibly sized

Watch Construction 

The case is constructed of all stainless steel and the strap is genuine leather. The case and buckle are ion plated (IP) for a deep black color. The Hawker Hurricane is water resistant to 50 meters. Like any good Hurricane pilot, you'll prefer to stay above the English Channel rather than below. While the original Hawker Hurricane was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, this watch is powered by a reliable Japanese quartz movement.

The AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane prior to surgery to get a new watch strap

[As of 2024, I've owned this watch for just over a decade.  It still looks great. I did end up replacing the watch strap with a Ritche Leather Strap since I broke a loop on the original strap.]

Price 

I was initially somewhat concerned about the price of this watch. The AVI-8 website lists the Hawker Hurricane for $470.

However, the entire AVI-8 collection is now available on sale at Amazon.com and price points are in a much more attainable. This puts all the unique goodness of the Hurricane watch into the same price category as most Fossil watches. 

Overall

Since I grew up reading all about the Battle of Britain, I really like having a watch that commemorates the Hawker Hurricane. The Hawker Hurricane was the backbone of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during that pivotal time in history. Now the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane watch is one of the mainstays of my collection. The black, brown, and green colors of this watch blend well into a business casual wardrobe. You can easily sit in a cube or a conference room with this watch. But, once you strap on the Hurricane, you immediately want escape your cube, find a leather jacket, tie on a silk scarf, and take to the skies in defense of democracy, western civilization, and the King.  Overall, this is a very cool watch.

[I originally published this article in the 2012 timeframe on Associated Content which evolved into Yahoo Voices. The watch was provided by AVI-8. The watch is still available here on Amazon.]

TGIF: Death of An SKMEI Military-Style Watch

TGIF.  It's been a long week.  This week, I had to declare one of my watches dead. It died on the table. Once upon a time, it was one of my favorite cheap watches.  It was my OlaOficina SKMEI Military-Style watch.  

The SKMEI Military-Style Watch

Why God? Why? I had to declare this watch dead because I cannot get the watch back off to replace the battery.  I have tried and tried.  For two weeks, I have tried.  Unfortunately, the case back removal tools that I have cannot get the purchase needed to remove this caseback.  I think the case indents are just a little shallow for the tool's teeth to get a good grip.

The hard to remove caseback of my SKMEI watch

Fortunately, this watch was very inexpensive.  Amazingly, back in 2017, it cost less than $10.  Unfortunately, I can't find the same watch on Amazon now.  However, I'd try SKMEI watches again, they have lots of interesting watches available at the SKMEI Amazon store. In the meantime, I'll re-use the strap on another suitable watch.  It's the circle of life or time or something.

My departed OlaOficina SKMEI watch

Watch Deal Alert: Bulova Marine Star 98B203 On Sale 43-Percent Off

 If you are looking for a great watch deal, you might check out the Bulova Marine Star (Model 98B203) that's heavily discounted right now on Amazon.  It's 43% off the regular price for a high quality quartz watch from this premium brand.

Bulova Marine Star (98B203) as shown on Amazon

Inspired by the sea, this elegant quartz watch has a 4.6 star rating on Amazon and offers a stainless steel case and band, a rotating bezel, a black dial, a mineral crystal, and 100-meters of water resistance.  If you'd like to get this watch, you can find it here on Amazon.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Men's Seiko 5 Automatic Watch

Today's watch wearing Wednesday shot is of my Men's Seiko 5 Automatic 5 Sports Watch.  It has a great looking dial, a crown that's jauntily canted to the 4 o'clock position to minimize interference with the wrist, and a unidirectional rotating bezel that has the first 20 minutes denoted in bright red (Pepsi Dial style).

Seiko 5 Sports Automatic Watch with Pepsi-style Dial

The watch is rated for 100 meters of water resistance which makes it a bit more affordable and still capable of being worn while swimming, showering, and washing dishes. If you'd like to pick one up for yourself, you can find it here  on Amazon: Men's Seiko 5 Automatic Watch 5 Sports and Seiko Watch SRPD53K1 Man Steel Automatic.

The Seiko 5 Sports Automatic at rest

This watch is an interesting choice.  I find that the watch stands a little tall at 12mm and the dial isn't huge at 40mm, but it is practical and it looks like a more serious dive watch. 

Watch Strap Review: Ritche Quick Release Leather Watch Bands - Top Grain Leather Watch Strap

Over time and with regular use, watch straps deteriorate and eventually need replacing. In the case of my AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane watch, one of the loops for retaining the tail end of the watch strap simply broke. I set the watch aside for a good long time. I shouldn't have. It turns out that lots of suitable replacement watch straps are available on Amazon.

My AVI-8 Hurricane with the old watch strap

I selected a top grain leather watch strap from Ritche on Amazon and it arrived at my home very quickly.  The new strap had a slightly weathered look that is an excellent complement to a watch that evokes a famous series of World War 2 aircraft.

A Ritche Quick Release Top Grain Leather Watch Strap

The Ritche replacement strap is offered in many finishes and tones, but the one I chose comes in a rich "Espresso Brown" and has a black buckle. Where the original strap had white stitching that looked new even after years, the new strap has more subdued stitching in brown that helps the watch look like it's been on a few missions.

The Ritche Leather Watch Strap with Buckle Shown

Installing my replacement watch strap was a breeze because I had a suitable watch repair kit that included a Spring Bar Tool.  It made it easy to compress the spring bar and remove the old watch strap.  Installing the new watch strap was even easier.  It came with a sliding "button" (shown below) that makes installation and removal very easy without the need for tools.

The quick release slide on a Ritche Watch Strap

With great quality, great looks, and a great price, it's not surprising that this Ritche Leather Watch strap is the number 1 best seller in its category on Amazon.  It was definitely one of the best purchases I've made on Amazon in a long time. Refreshed with a new watch strap and a new watch battery, I'm really glad my AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane watch can take flight again. I look forward to years of a continued wear.

TGIF: Are store-brand and designer-brand watches the same?

Sometimes while messing with watches and changing batteries, you start to notice something.  For example, the movements of these two quartz watches are very similar in size, shape, and form.  One of the watches is from an exclusive designer brand from Watch Gang and the other watch is a generic quartz watch from Target or Walmart.  The designer watch retails for around $200 and the big box watch retailed for $20.  The designer watch did come with a much cooler stainless steel case and an internal bezel that rotates.  It's an interesting watch.  The big box watch case in a much more generic base metal case.  But, still, the similarity bugs me.

Beneath the case, are these the same watch?

A generic quartz watch from a big box store & a designer watch

On one hand, the similarity in movements presents an opportunity.  I messed up the movement of the designer watch when a battery change went awry.  So, maybe I could swap the movement of one watch into the other.  On the other hand, are designer watches and store brand watches almost exactly the same when you pull the caseback off?

Maybe it's a good thing that many watch movements can be found in similar shapes and sizes? It might make repairs and replacements easier.  Speaking of replacement watch movements, did you know that there are many watch movements sold on Amazon? Click on the link to have your mind blown!  I might try to build my own watch or, at least, repair some of my broken watches.

Watch Wearing Wednesday - Armitron Stainless Steel Watch

When it comes to watches, I do like the shine of a watch with silver tones.  Even as the sun sets, this watch from Armitron catches the last light of the evening and makes the most of it.

Armitron Stainless Steel Quartz Watch

This watch has been in my collection for over a decade.  If you'd like to see my review, check it out on this blog here. With a new battery, it's keeping time accurately without missing a beat.  Since this watch is almost vintage now, that makes this blog almost vintage, and that makes me almost vintage, too.

Armitron Stainless Steel Quartz Watch

[While I can't find this Armitron for sale in 2024, there are lots of reasonably priced Armitron watches available on Amazon.]