A Closer Look At The TITONI Airmaster Glacier Turquoise Watch
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Founded in 1919 by Fritz Schluep, TITONI is an independent watch company headquartered in Grenchen, Switzerland. Privately owned and operated, TITONI is now run by the fourth generation of the original founding family, and the brand continues to produce finely crafted traditional timepieces that uphold its rich history and heritage. While TITONI’s catalog now contains a wide variety of different models, one of the brand’s most popular collections is the Airmaster, which offers a refined yet highly versatile design and can trace its roots all the way back to the 1960s and the pioneering spirit that defined the decade.
Long before watches were being built specifically for various different tasks and activities, the concept of a wristwatch was essentially just a timepiece that a person could wear every single day of their life, regardless of whether they were going on a hike, lounging on a boat, or attending an elevated evening event. Most people don’t actually need hundreds of meters of water resistance or additional counters and scales dedicated to specific sporting activities. Instead, the vast majority of people really just need a good-looking and versatile watch that is refined enough to be worn with a suit, yet durable enough to stand up to the rigors of everyday wear and use. While the 1960s marked the introduction of numerous different purpose-built tool watches, the TITONI Airmaster isn’t a model that is specifically designed for just one type of person or environment, but rather a reliable and ultra-versatile everyday timekeeping companion.
Defined by its classical lines and elegant shape, the case of the TITONI Airmaster is more intricate and sporty than what you will find on a traditional dress watch, yet it remains incredibly refined and can effortlessly exist within more formal settings. Just like the original pioneering model from 1969, the case of the modern TITONI Airmaster ref. 83908 is crafted entirely from stainless steel, and it features thick sculpted lugs with a twisted profile that is further accentuated by alternating brushed and satin-finished surfaces. While the majority of the case is high-polished, the bushed sections on the top of the lugs provide the Airmaster with a slightly more relaxed aesthetic, while simultaneously highlighting the intricate shape of its case.
Featuring a three-part construction and crafted from durable stainless steel, the case of the TITONI Airmaster ref. 83908 measures 40mm in diameter by just 9.7mm-thick, with an overall lug-to-lug distance of just under 48mm. At the 3 o’clock location sits a grooved, conical winding crown that is signed with TITONI’s “meihua” (plum blossom) flower logo, while the top of the case is completed by a flat sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating surrounded by a thin fixed bezel with a double-faceted profile and a glossy high-polish finish. Protecting the reverse side of the watch and providing it with 50 meters of water resistance is a solid screw-down stainless steel caseback, which is stamped with a sailing boat emblem as a subtle reference to the power of air and the model’s historic “Airmaster” name.
TITONI offers the Airmaster ref. 83908 with a variety of different dial styles in both stainless steel and two-tone configurations, but the reference 83908 S-691 is the entirely stainless steel model that is fitted with a striking Glacier Turquoise dial. This particular shade is often referred to as “Tiffany blue” among collectors, and it has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its ability to offer a dash of vibrant color without being too bright and unconventional to the point that it struggles to fit into everyday life. A colorful dial has the ability to make an otherwise relatively dressy watch appear slightly more casual, yet the right dial color can also be a tasteful addition to more formal attire, provided that the overall design of the watch itself is refined enough for the task. In the case of the TITONI Airmaster, the Glacier Turquoise dial offers a noticeably more relaxed appearance compared to many of the more traditional dial colors available, yet the classic lines and elegant shape of the model mean that the watch retains all of the same aesthetic versatility that has defined the Airmaster collection since the 1960s.
The Glacier Turquoise dial of the TITONI Airmaster ref. 83908 S-691 features a flat profile with a date window at the 3 o’clock location and a very slight metallic surface finish that only reveals itself in bright and direct sunlight. Applied Roman numerals sit at the quarter hour points on the dial, while the rest of the hour markers are represented by diamond-cut indexes that have an elongated pyramid-shaped profile. The time itself is indicated by a trio of centrally mounted hands that have all been given a mirror-polish finish to match the hour markers, and the minute hand extends all the way to reach each of the printed markings that make up the minute track. Both the hour and minute hands appear as gently tapered batons with luminescent centers, while the seconds hand offers a comparatively wide profile with a flattened tip for added visibility. Although the dial printing is done in black to offer a strong contrast against the Glacier Turquoise surface, TITONI’s “meihua” logo appears as a diamond-cut applied element that is placed directly above the “TITONI” name at the 12 o’clock location.
Powering the TITONI Airmaster Glacier Turquoise ref. 83908 S-691 is the Swiss-made Sellita Caliber SW200-1 automatic movement. A proven design that is used throughout the Swiss luxury watch industry, the Sellita SW200-1 runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) and offers users a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. Known for its reliability and ease of service, the self-winding Sellita SW200-1 offers the additional conveniences of both hacking and manual winding, plus quickset adjustability for the automatically changing date display at 3 o’clock. Made in Switzerland and trusted by many of the industry’s most famous luxury watch brands, the Sellita SW200-1 has a longstanding track record for delivering accurate and reliable performance, and it can easily be maintained and serviced by virtually any qualified watchmaker in the entire world.
Just like the original 1969 Airmaster model, the TITONI Airmaster Glacier Turquoise is fitted with an elegant five-link stainless steel bracelet that perfectly complements its refined yet versatile design. Featuring completely solid links with a machined push-button folding clasp, the Airmaster’s bracelet pairs to its case with solid end-links that perfectly match with the fluid contours of its case, and since the end-links themselves hinge at the springbar, the bracelet elegantly drapes down directly at the tips of the lugs, rather than sticking out and extending the perceived lug-to-lug profile of the watch. The top surfaces of the outer two links and the thin center section of the bracelet’s five-link design receive a satin brushed finish, while the two large center links separating them receive a contrasting high-polish finish that adds to the watch’s refined appearance. The clasp is engraved with the TITONI logo, and while its design only offers two positions of micro-adjustment in order to maintain a compact overall profile, the bracelet itself comes with two additional half-links, which enable wearers to easily achieve a perfect fit.
Since the 1960s, the TITONI Airmaster has always been a watch designed to be an everyday timekeeping companion and built for all of life’s events and adventures. Neither a dress watch nor a sports watch, the TITONI Airmaster is emblematic of a time when most people only owned a single timepiece, and they would wear that same watch every single day, regardless of whether they were attending a dinner party or pulling weeds in the garden. With an official retail price of $1,125 USD, the TITONI Airmaster Glacier Turquoise offers all the levels of fine craftsmanship and finishing that people desire from a high-quality Swiss timepiece, yet it still remains attainable and can be worn without the mental baggage that often accompanies watches that costs as much as luxury automobiles. While there are now timepieces purpose-built for every type of activity and environment imaginable, the TITONI Airmaster Glacier Turquoise is very much the modern version of the classic everyday wristwatch that combines a contemporary colorway with a timeless and highly versatile design that has been an industry staple for more than half a century. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
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