TITONI Debuts The Airmaster 83906 Watches
Although TITONI produces a fairly diverse assortment of different watches that spans everything from purpose-built divers to elegant dress watches, it is the Airmaster that is arguably the brand’s single most famous collection of timepieces. First introduced in 1969, the original TITONI Airmaster was intended to be a rugged yet refined everyday timepiece that was durable enough to stand up to active use, yet also elegant enough to effortlessly exist in more formal settings. To this day, the Airmaster collection remains one of the cornerstone offerings within TITONI’s modern lineup, although many of the contemporary models have taken on a slightly more refined appearance, despite still being more than capable of standing up to the wear and tear that comes with regular use. However, as its first new release of 2023, TITONI has unveiled the Airmaster 83906 series, which brings a slightly more utilitarian aesthetic to the brand’s fan-favorite collection to create a highly versatile timepiece that is perfectly suited for everyday wear and use.
The case of the new TITONI Airmaster 83906 watches offers the same core profile that has defined the collection since it was first launched in 1969, and it sits somewhere in the middle between dressy and sporty, featuring a round shape with prominent twisted lugs. On the new Airmaster 83906 series, the stainless steel case measures 40.5mm in diameter with contrasting brushed and polished surfaces, and the top of it gets fitted with a simple fixed bezel that has a radially brushed upper section with a polished rim along its side. Inside the bezel sits a flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment, while at the 3 o’clock location is a grooved conic winding crown that is signed with TITONI’s “meihua” (plum blossom) flower logo. Completing the external case is a stainless steel screw-down caseback that has a sapphire display window that offers a view of the internal movement that powers the watch.
Compared to the existing full-size models from TITONI’s current Airmaster collection, the new Airmaster 83906 watches measure half a millimeter larger in diameter, yet their lugs are a bit thinner and more tapered in their overall shape, which gives the new models a slightly more contemporary overall appearance. Additionally, the conic shape of the updated crown with its wide end positioned adjacent to the case gives the new TITONI Airmaster 83906 watches somewhat of a more utilitarian overall appearance, despite the fact that they offer the same 50 meters of water resistance as the other models from the collection. While the Airmaster’s core design DNA is very much still present, it’s undeniable that the cases of these new watches offer a bit of a more contemporary aesthetic.
At the time of launch, the TITONI Airmaster 83906 series is available with the option of four different dials. The first two are offered with matte surfaces in either black (ref. 83906 S-699) or white (ref ref. 83906 S-698), while the other two have metallic sunburst finishes in either blue (ref. ref. 83906 S-671) or green (ref. ref. ref. 83906 S-670). Despite their color differences, all four of the different dials offer the same core design with large painted Arabic numeral hour markers in a traditional pilot or field watch layout, along with a rectangular date window at the 3 o’clock location. At the center of the dial are a trio of hands, and to match the slightly more utilitarian appearance of the dial, both the hour hand and minute hand are larger and wider, ultimately offering what could best be described as an alpha-shaped profile. Additionally, while most other models from the collection only feature luminous hands, the dials fitted to the new Airmaster 83906 watches also have luminous markings for the five minute lines within the minute track for added legibility in the dark.
Powering the lineup of new TITONI Airmaster 83906 models is the Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, which runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz)with a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. Since it follows the same core design as the ubiquitous ETA 2824, the Sellita SW200-1 offers proven performance and easy serviceability. In addition to offering the basic conveniences of hacking, hand-winding, and quickset functionality for the automatically changing date display at 3 o’clock, the Sellita SW200-1 movement fitted to the Airmaster 83906 series also features a gold-finished oscillating weight that can be viewed through the sapphire display caseback on the watches.
Regardless of their different dial colors, all four of the new TITONI Airmaster 83906 watches come fitted with five-link stainless steel bracelets that are completed by butterfly-style folding clasps. While the core design of the bracelets is very similar to what can be found on the existing full-size models from the Airmaster series, the updated bracelets fitted to the new Airmaster 83906 watches have wider brushed links on the sides and thinner polished center links, which ultimately gives them a slightly more modern overall appearance that better suits the revised aesthetic of the watches themselves.
When it comes to pricing, the new TITONI Airmaster 83906 is right in line with its siblings from the Airmaster lineup, and they are accompanied by an official retail price of $1,200 USD. While this is slightly more expensive than the existing full-size Airmaster models (a total difference of $75), that extra premium does get you a sapphire display caseback, along with luminous markings on the dial and an updated case and bracelet design. These days, it is possible to make an extremely elegant watch robust enough to stand up to the rigors of daily wear. However, I personally like seeing the Airmaster lean into its active lifestyle roots a bit more, as the collection itself had started to feel a bit dressy. That said, these new Airmaster 83906 models offer what is easily the most utilitarian design currently available in the lineup, and they are essentially TITONI’s version of a traditional go-anywhere field watch. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
