I've always wondered this even prior to getting into the brand. I pulled something interesting I read online, and the speedmaster seems to match all of the requirements...

1) large. Examples can range from about 38mm to 55mm...the largest ones were intended to strap over a flyer's jacket.

2) Have a very visible, high-contrast dial and hands. Generally they will be white-on-black, or black-on-white. Numbers will be large and Arabic. Blued sword-type hands are a traditional feature.

3) the movements will be simple and ultra-reliable, with no extraneous complications. This normally means a large-format handwound movement, with no subdials, dates or other windows. Some will even forego a central second hand. Of course, you'll find quite a few autowinders in the crowd.

4) the dial will be as uncomplicated and readable as possible...markings are minimal or even non-existent, as in the so-called 'sterile' dial.

5) The typical flier's watch may have a 12 o'clock marker consisting of a triangle supporting two dots, although not in every case...the reason for this particular feature is obscure [I believe it was featured only on German or Swiss watches].

 

Well, originally the Speedmaster was actually designed to be worn by auto racing drivers, as it was released right in the middle of the 1950s sports-car racing boom. It was adopted by pilots because of its large size and excellent legibility, since driving at speed and flying require similar visibility from a watch.

 

Of course it is. MadDog's got one. I've seen the photos of him wearing it in the cockpit.

 

It was not mwant to be, not in the same sense as Cartier and IWC making watches for pilots. But it is and outstanding watch for pilots.

 

Many watches out there that are NOT marketed as Pilot watches could be used by pilots...

I'm sure one could use even something like this as a pilot's watch.. if you're crazy enough!

 

I think the only issue would be the stationary bezel. If the Moonwatch had a rotating bezel option it would have been very similar to the Type XX aviation watches of the late 1950's.

 

The IWC Big Pilot does not have a bezel.

 

Paging @JFingers ....

 

By the 70's people were thinking of these as pilot watches..

 

Chronographs are NOT highly legible. The dials are cluttered. Pilot's watches are supposed to be large and simple with great visibilty, even at night.

 

So no Pilot's Watches are chronographs?

 

They shouldn't be no matter how they're marketed. Look at the A-11 watches worn by pilots in WWII - basic with lume.

 

Not all are or have to be. Neither do they have to be GMT watches or rotating bezel watches.

A pilot watch originally was a highly legible watch with good anti-magnetic and shock properties that could be strapped to the wrist or leg (as opposed to kept on a pocket. It is an instrument. That's it.

As many instruments as a plane has there is always need for redundancy, and there are many planes that are not heavy on instrumentation like non commercial private ultra light planes etc. When my brother was starting as a pilot he would travel through spain with a compass, a map and a good watch...slowly it got more complicated.

Even then on his competition planes the instruments where very basic and when the team flew from one to another competition within europe they often went on formation either following a lead instrumental plane or the most experienced traveler.

This said a chrono function can be useful, but when I saw them using chronos they where often XXLL size and strapped to their leg or arm.

GMT function is NOT a pilot function...it's more of a commercial pilot function and not for flying but rather to keep track of time as you go port to port and jump time zones or as you coordinate your schedule through more than one time zone. Something that is done easily now but needed a little bit more attention in the 60's when flight schedules where always on UTZ

 

Or the exact opposite... Umm navitimer...

 

The navitimer is a perfect example of a chronograph that is widely accepted as THE definition of a pilot's watch. Therefore, my original question stands -- is the Omega Speedmaster considered to be a pilot's watch?

 

I always thought the gmt function was so pilots could keep an eye on gmt time as all flights were coordinated on gmt timezone, or Zulu time.

 

This is what I think of when I think 'pilots watch'...

 

6) Soft iron shield to protect from the magnetic fields of radial engines?

 

No, and it never was. For all the years I've been a member of various watch forums I can't remember anyone calling the speedmaster a pilot's watch.
Considering that the speedmaster might just scrape in to qualify for one of the five criteria in your original post defining the attributes/requirements of a pilot's watch, I think the answer to your question is no.

 

Actually, based on that list of requirements for. "Pilot watch" the Speedmaster violates 2) (indices, not Arabic numbers), 3) (movement is far from simple with the chronograph function and last time I counted, there are 3 subdials), 4) (dial is quite busy, with those subdials again).

So if you want to ignore 3 of the 5 "requirements", sure it's a pilot watch. Traditionally, a pilot watch is a large watch, manual wind, 2-3 hands, with Arabic numbers. They basically resemble the old clocks in the cockpit. IMO, a Speedmaster is not a "Pilot Watch" -- but lots of pilots will wear it anyway.