Stowa Flieger Vintage 36 / 40 / 40 Baumuster B / Sport / Sport Baumuster B

Quick specs Stowa Flieger Vintage 36 / 40 / 40 Baumuster B / Sport / Sport Baumuster B
Price:
Starting at approx. $ 1,350 | € 1.250 | approx. £ 1,050 | approx. CHF 1’200 (Flieger Vintage)
Starting at approx. $ 1,600 | € 1.450 | approx. £ 1,200 | approx. CHF 1’350 (Flieger Vintage Sport)
Size: 36 or 40 or 43 mm
Reference: not provided

The Stowa Flieger Vintage series is a wave of new models. To find out which one is which is a serious puzzle, so we chop all the different models into two parts. The ones with a Sellita SW200-series inside, automatic (SW200), or hand-wound (SW210). And the ones with a Unitas caliber 6498-1 inside, which is called the Stowa Flieger Vintage 6498.

In this article, we will show you the new Sellita-based models. Which are the following models and sizes:

• Flieger Vintage 36 (36 mm)
• Flieger Vintage 40 (40 mm)
• Flieger Vintage 40 Baumuster B (40 mm)
• Flieger Vintage Sport (43 mm)
• Flieger Vintage Sport Baumuster B (43 mm)

Difference between Baumuster A and Baumuster B design

Let’s start with the dial, as there are two types of dial. The standard dial, which is a Baumuster A design, and a dial with Baumuster B design. It’s World War II terminology for the design of the dial that was specially made for military pilot watches; “Baumuster” means “Model”. It started in 1940 with Baumuster A, with large Arabic numerals from 1 to 11 and a triangle with two dots at noon. The outer ring of this dial has a minutes/seconds scale.

The Baumuster B design dates from 1942 and is more complex. This pilot dial has a flange with a large 5-minute scale, making it easier to read precisely. The hours from 1 to 12 have moved to a smaller ring in the middle, with an hour hand that points exactly to the hours. It also has a triangle with two dots at noon to help pilots quickly identify the 12 o’clock position in low-light conditions. Both dials often came and come in contrasting colors, mostly black and white, and all with much lume.

So, the Flieger Vintage 36, 40, and Sport come with a Baumuster A dial. The Flieger Vintage 40 and Flieger Vintage Sport are also available with Baumuster B dial. Our article about the Stowa Flieger Verus 40 Baumuster B offers more background information about the Baumuster designs.

More options for the dial: date and logo

The original Baumuster A and Baumuster B had no date and no logo. As this would all be distracting from the dial’s core function. However, nowadays, a date can be a handy extra, and a logo just to show where your watch comes from is nice too. Purists do not want those options for sure, however, Stowa offers you these options for a couple of models.

This means you can have all Baumuster A models with or without a date and/or with or without a logo. Four options, thus. The Baumuster B models only have the option to go for a date or no-date version. None of the B’s has a logo, as there is no space for it.

The Stowa Flieger Vintage series has a power reserve of 41 hours for the automatics and 42 for the hand-wound models

Inside the Stowa Flieger Vintage series is a Sellita SW200-series, as mentioned before. You can choose from the automatic Sellita caliber SW200-1 a or SW200-1 b, date or no date, and both top grades only. So, with the best finish. If you want a hand-winder you can choose from the Sellita caliber SW210-1 a or SW210-1 b, date or no date, and also both top grades only. If you go for the manual wound, it adds just about 20 to the price.

The case of all these classic pilot watches is from brushed stainless steel, the case back is sapphire and all have a black dial. The markers and hands are old radium colored, a sort of matt orange-like beige. The super-luminova on the hands and markers is also old radium colored and light up in the dark in a yellow-green tone.

And because you haven’t had enough options, you can also have a night of sleep over the strap you want. As you can choose from a black or brown leather aviator strap or Milanese bracelet. So once you have figured out whether you want the Stowa Flieger Vintage 36, 40, 40 Baumuster B, Sport, or Sport Baumuster B, start thinking again. About a logo or not, a date or not, and an automatic or hand-winder. Then you will find out they are very friendly priced between 1 and 1.5k.