The return of the Flieger

[Pascal S]

When I like something, I seemingly can't let go.

Just over 15 years ago, I bought myself a rare Tutima Flieger F3 chronograph, powered by a Lemania 5100 movement, that really impressed me. I already owned a Tutima Military Chronograph that I loved to bits, but the F3 was unlike any other of my calibre 5100 chronos. With its traditional Flieger chronograph look, it oozed German no-nonsense quality, and its presence on the wrist was spectacular despite its relatively measured size (38.5 mm). Here is a picture of this watch mounted on a strap:


A couple of years later, facing mounting financial pressure, I had to start selling my large Lemania 5100 collection, still hoping to keep my best pieces. Sadly, even those eventually had to go, and the F3 did not survive the cull. And being a rare model, it was not a given that I'd be offered the opportunity to find another one, at least not one that good.

I actually was offered to buy back my example a few years ago, but didn't have the funds at the time, so it ended up sold to some Asian collector. I have had a few missed opportunities since, but I reason that they simply were not meant to be.

Then about a month ago, and in quick succession, 3 of these watches popped up on Chrono24. One was an unworn NOS example, and it quickly got sold. Another one lacked the stunning original bracelet and came with an inflated asking price. The final one was described as "gently worn" and looked quite good on the seller's pictures. And when I inquired what the cost of shipping it insured from Sweden to France was, the seller was quick to offer that service for free.

So, what do you guys think I did?

Let's just say that I got a package in the mail yesterday. And upon opening it, I was immediately reminded why I had missed this watch. It just looks great!



It's so nice to welcome an old friend.

Edited: Apr 27, 2024

 

[Pascal S]

Not the best picture, but I'm just enjoying this second honeymoon with this watch...

 

[Pascal S]

I had really missed that dark chocolate dial. From a casual glance it often looks black, but it reveals its true color upon closer inspection.

 

[Pascal S]

With the rising temperature, it's time to wear it on its gorgeous original bracelet.

 

[TorontoTim]

I recently became the owner of an F3 myself. Is there a good source of background info on the model?

I haven't found much specific to the F3 to be honest and before I start wearing it while working on a motorcycle engine, I figured I should find out more about it. Mine looks for all the world like it hasn't been worn much. I see no signs of wear.

 

[Pascal S]

First of all, congrats on this acquisition.

As you probably found out by yourself, the F3 is a pretty rare watch. It traces its roots to the original WW2 era Flieger Chronograph produced by the brand in its Glashütte factory, becoming the first German brand to supply a wrist-chronograph for the Luftwaffe. This watch was powered by the legendary UROFA 59 movement. As the Soviets took over Saxony at the end the war, they actually kept making this movement for their own cloned military chronographs, having moved the tooling from Tutima to their 1MChZ (First Moscow Watch Factory) production site.

The Tutima brand managed to survive this, as some of their key personnel had managed to escape to Western Germany, and a new production facility was established in Ganderkesee, close to Bremen. It's there that, under the leadership of its original founder Ernst Kunst at first and Dieter Delecate from the 1960s onward, that the name managed to remain on the map. In 1985, Tutima achieved great success with a large supply contract for chronographs with the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr. Renewing the tradition of military chronographs for the brand, this Military model was this time powered by a Swiss-made Lemania 5100 automatic movement, a workhorse known its unmatched legibility thanks to its central chrono minute hand and for its extreme dependability under duress.

With this contract in the bag, Tutima decided to revisit its past, and in addition to a manual wind two register model that looked very much like the original, they produced two modern interpretations of their original Flieger Chronograph, both with an automatic movement: the Valjoux 7750-powered model F2, and the rarer Lemania 5100-powered model F3.

In my opinion, the F3 is the most interesting of the two. It keeps the general look of the WW2 Flieger Chronograph, while being powered by the same movement that is found in its modern counterpart. It therefore can be seen as a bridge between two successful eras for the brand, sort of keeping the best bits of both. Of all the Lemania 5100 watches circumstances forced me to sell a decade ago, the F3 was one of the few that had left a lasting mark with me. So when the opportunity arose to get another one, I didn't have to think for too long...

 

[sweets]

Well done Pascal (long time no see, as it were, I am not often here).
Love the F3, but I had the F2 for a while too, and I think it was great.
Having removed the rotor to keep it thin, and using the uni-compax layout for the dial, I found it a much more "true-to-the-original" re-issue, which I liked.
I have to say I think the beads of rice bracelet (which both share) was absolutely lovely.

 

[Pascal S]

Hi Dave. You are probably talking about the "Fliegerchronograph 1941" model (ref. 783-01 on a strap, and 783-02 on bracelet), which was Tutima's modern re-edition of their iconic WW2 chrono made for the Luftwaffe. It was unofficially Tutima's "F1" in their range, as the F2 was powered by an automatic Valjoux 7750 movement and therefore looked quite similar to the F3, both in dial disposition and case thickness.

As I already said, both the F2 and the F3 were not replicas but instead modern reinterpretations of an older watch, keeping most of its design cues but with modern movements offering more features (automatic wind, day and date, decent water resistance, etc...). Unsurprisingly, I find the more uncommon F3 way more interesting than its F2 sibling.