Airman 42 "Double Twelve" Black Ref. GL0063

A refreshing alternative from the Glycine’s Airmans with 24-hour bezels and 24-hour dials, the Airman 42 “Double Twelve” Black Ref. GL0063 features a conventional 12-hour time layout for those who are not accustomed to reading 24 hour dials. Packing in an incredibly versatile black dial, a second 12-hour steel bezel and a matching black leather strap to complete the look, this is a modern offering from Glycine that perfectly blends a contemporary style with a charming heritage design. 



Glycine Airman 42 "Double Twelve" Black Ref. GL0063

Since its founding by Eugène Meylan in 1914, Glycine has been producing watches at its factory in Bienne, Switzerland. Meylan was an uncompromising watch engineer who strove for perfection and nothing less. He had a profound understanding of both the market demands and the possibilities offered by the technological advances of the time. Today, offering excellent value at reasonable prices is an essential part of Glycine's philosophy. The company's strong foundation, coupled with its emphasis on rugged and reliable products, make Glycine a respected name in Swiss watchmaking today.

Since the early 60s, Glycine has served the market with this line of sturdy and captivating watches, made for severe conditions of wear and use. The precise automatic and chronograph movements are housed in a high-grade steel case of rugged construction, offering excellent value for money.

Based on the original 1953 Airman

Whenever the subject of aviation comes up, the name of Glycine is mentioned as one of the pioneers of watchmaking for pilots and frequent travelers. Beginning in 1953, Glycine started production of the Airman, a watch that became legendary for introducing multiple time-zone watches to the market. Since then, Glycine has developed an unbroken chain of aviation watches, ranging from successively more complex world timers to unique collector's items. Examples in their archive are like during the Gemini 5 and Apollo 12 flights in 1965 and 1969. Both these missions, astronaut Charles “Pete” Conrad wears a Glycine Airman on his wrist throughout.


Made from 316L stainless steel, The Airman 42 “Double Twelve” Black Ref. GL0063 bears nostalgia yet with a distinctive vintage aesthetic. It’s classic aviator case style measures at 42mm and 12mm thin for unsurpassed comfort on all wrist sizes. The slender lugs with lugs to lugs length of 49mm, help the watch to wrap around the wrist like a pair of gloves while glamouring one's wrist.


Unique black dial

Glycine’s Airman collection is based historically from their 1950s tool watches; this particular model is traditionally styled to the Airman No. 1 watch (even it’s reference name), the very first edition of the 1950s. It is a faithful reproduction alright. Entirely hand finished and Made in Switzerland, the watch is satin brushed on the top, and highly polished on the sides to a very high standard, again synonymous with Glycine. The transitions between the brushed and polished parts are very well defined.



The most significant change for the Airman 42 “Double Twelve” Black Ref. GL0063 is perhaps the 12-hour scale on the bezel and the dial, in contrast to the many other Airman models retaining a traditional 24-hour ‘purist’ layout which features an hour hand that only sweeps the dial once per day. Besides the screw down crown at the 3 o’clock position that sets the time and date, the ingenious thumbscrew crown at the 4 o’clock position locks the steel unidirectional rotating bezel in place to prevent accidental bezel movement causing an inaccurate reading of a second time zone, a simple but effective piece of technology from the ‘50s. 
 


Bezel locking system done by the crown at 4

This time, the Airman presents a dial that features a matte black dial, exhibiting a clean and immaculate appeal to the classic look of the Airman. Being an incredibly versatile dial color, the GL0063 effortlessly matches a whole range of different strap options. Nonetheless, the supplied 22mm black leather strap certainly brings a simple yet utilitarian character with its contrasting white stitchings.


Distinctively different from the traditional Airman, the catchy name “Double Twelve” is derived from the 12 o’clock hour index on the dial that aligns directly under the 12 o’clock marker on the bezel. This allows the dial to be read the conventional way with the hour hand sweeping the dial twice per day, accommodating for those who are not habituated to reading a pure 24-hour watch. On the rich black dial of the Airman 42 “Double Twelve” Black Ref. GL0063, the broad syringe-style handset and round hour indexes are treated with Swiss C1 Super-LumiNova for excellent night-time visibility. The dial is protected with a double domed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with 3 layers of anti-reflective treatment on the underside for extra clarity. 


C1 SuperLuminova

Under the hood, the Airman 42 “Double Twelve” Black Ref. GL0063 runs on Glycine’s Cal. GL224 Swiss automatic movement. Based on the ETA 2824-2/SW200-1, this 25/26 jewel movement is renowned for its reliability as a ‘workhorse’ movement with a 4Hz beat rate of 28,800 BPH and a power reserve of 38 hours. The movement with Glycine’s custom decorated rotor is visible at the back of the watch through its screw-down mineral crystal display case back which provides protection against accidental water splashes with 100m (330 ft) of water resistance. 



The Airman 42 “Double Twelve” Black Ref. GL0063 embodies the fundamental attributes of the original Airman while remodelled into a fetching design packing incredible performance and value. Coming from a brand with such strong heritage, this is definitely an appealing model that has become a true icon.