[Benjamin NV]

I'll just come out with it and say that although I have certainly admired, especially some vintage chronographs over the years, chronographs generally just don't appeal to me. Fair enough, as I expect applies for many, I would be highly unlikely to (frequently) use any of the specific functionality, so the new Fortis Stratoliner moves even further away from my requirements. They're pitching this as a space travellers watch, and I'll let any WUS into this sort of thing explain to me why exactly that is. Certainly it seems to me this will rather limit the market, if not already limited by its rather stratospheric (pun intended) price tag. For me it is just more functionality that I don't need. But oddly, from the first pictures on Instagram, I just immediately loved the aesthetic of this Stratoliner. I'm posting below the grey version with great tonality in the black subdials. The texture is begging to be touched and looks deep. The pale blue accents work well, and the subsecond outer chapter ring provides good contrast that makes the dial look smaller. Basically the design made me overlook the omission of hour markers. The like elements on the right hand half of the dial are to do with space functionality and when lit actually look a bit odd to me. So, here I am liking a watch I don't understand and didn't bother to read anything about in a genre that does not generally appeal to me, purely for aesthetic reasons. I'd love to hear the community's take on it.

 

[Sonar]

Mmh, I really get what you are saying. I like it as well.. quite a lot actually.. if this is 40mm, under 12mm and, most importantly under 2k I could see myself going down the rabbithole a bit

Sort of the space explorer chrono

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

 

[Time Exposure]

Agreed that the price matches it’s testing environment. The markings for boost, zero gravity, etc. will very likely never have any meaning to me during my remaining lifetime. The lugs look awkward and thin, and the straight end bracelet emphasizes the odd shape. I haven’t found the “asphalt” dial texture attractive since the first time I saw it, although I really like my Baltic Bicompax Manuel chronographs and their dials.
I have stared at watch dials for many decades, so telling time using the angle of the hands without hour markers is intuitive for me. Still, this dial looks like it’s missing hour indices. I mean, it IS missing hour markers but it would look better to me with them.
I respect Fortis, and I love the 7750 movement. I even appreciate that the design differs from so many other chronographs on the market. It’s just not for me, and I’m a self-diagnosed chronographanatic.

 

[Time Exposure]

… under 12mm

I would LOVE to see a short list of 7750-powered chronographs under 12mm height!

 

[ChronoB]

I think it's cool. I like what they did with the new movement, sending it up to the edge of space to test it (which is where the space angle comes into it). It's an attractive watch, and it manages to differentiate itself from other chronographs without doing anything crazy. That said, I wouldn't buy it because I don't like the lack of well-defined minute markers or hour markers.

 

[Nokie]

Different and unique. I like it.

No reasoning behind it, but it does appeal to me.

 

[Camguy]

Fortis seems to have move away from its tool watch origins into the trendy side of the market. The various highlighted timing intervals are almost too gimmicky to take, unless you're given one gratis with your Spaceship III ticket.

The WERK 17 is a nice enough movement, but nothing groundbreaking (but they can say...and charge "in-house!"), and the "stratosphere" test is ridiculous. It went up in a balloon, not exactly rocket flight, microgravity, and reentry. That's something their OG Cosmonauts Chronograph has been doing for many years, launches and orbits. With hour markers. For $2K less.

It looks like a lot of hype for a lot less watch, if you ask me.

 

[robbery]

The hour markers fell off during the trip to the edge of space.

I think mayyyyybe I could tolerate a watch that had no hour markers, but not when the design is themed around something like aerospace, which suggests that legibility would be important.

 

[veracruz]

I think it's an absolutely beautiful design, I love everything about the dial, the hands and the case. Yeah it's a bit of a form-over-function design, especially in the way they're pitching the watch and its supposed use, but I'm way too smitten to care.

 

[MeisterEder]

I like what Fortis are doing in terms of design and marketing. A piece of art, really. I think I could even live with the missing hour markers. Alas, it's not quite in range for me, price-wise.

 

[Orsoni]

They’re pitching this as a space travellers watch, and I'll let any WUS into this sort of thing explain to me why exactly that is.

My take on this is that, at the height of the Apollo program there were visions of a space station serviced by Pan American Airways with traveler amenities such as a Sheraton hotel as featured in 2001 a Space Oddity…Pan Am even tried to play off it by selling future tickets to the envisioned space station.

It’s certainly appealing to me. I’m really digging that retro 60s vibe

 

[rnosky]

Really like what Fortis is doing right now. A brand on the rise.

 

[midshipman01]

Really into the white dust colorway. The price isn't even THAAAAT crazy, I mean it's high, but if you think the movement balloon and concept are cool then it's not super out of the range for a nice entry level lux chrono. I certainly won't buy one, but if 5 grand were my play money level then it would make my short list.

 

[arcadelt]

Still, this dial looks like it’s missing hour indices. I mean, it IS missing hour markers but it would look better to me with them.

It's not entirely devoid of markers, as those in the minute track can be used to orient the wearer. I think the lack of them is a throwback to the original Stratoliner, where the hour markers were particularly minimal, and personally I like that it is missing them.

Image credit: Watch Old Times

 

[spoolmakdays]

I like it, but I feel it's badly in need of hour markers. Also, I don't really care for the Virgin Galactic timing elements.

 

[heb]

Pretty ugly. Fortis was/is better than this.

 

[dfx1]

You will be in a small elite group if you own that watch.

 

[Benjamin NV]

It's not entirely devoid of markers, as those in the minute track can be used to orient the wearer. I think the lack of them is a throwback to the original Stratoliner, where the hour markers were particularly minimal, and personally I like that it is missing them.

Image credit: Watch Old Times

I wonder if the current design wouldn't just be a little more wearable in the sense of usable with some minimal hour marker solution. I must say I was so wowed by the design I didn't even realise. While I would be able to make out times with reasonable certainty just from the position o f the hands, I'd like it to be s little easier and it would of course be entirely possible to include some form of indices without needing to put full size separate markers. I wonder if they tried and then just went with aesthetic purity...

 

[Benjamin NV]

I think it's an absolutely beautiful design, I love everything about the dial, the hands and the case. Yeah it's a bit of a form-over-function design, especially in the way they're pitching the watch and its supposed use, but I'm way too smitten to care.

That's how I felt! Until I realised the price. I don't know anything about the tech specs, but it's just not near my league currently, and at such price some other earlier discards from the wishlist may also start reappearing.

 

[Benjamin NV]

Fortis seems to have move away from its tool watch origins into the trendy side of the market. The various highlighted timing intervals are almost too gimmicky to take, unless you're given one gratis with your Spaceship III ticket.

The WERK 17 is a nice enough movement, but nothing groundbreaking (but they can say...and charge "in-house!"), and the "stratosphere" test is ridiculous. It went up in a balloon, not exactly rocket flight, microgravity, and reentry. That's something their OG Cosmonauts Chronograph has been doing for many years, launches and orbits. With hour markers. For $2K less.

It looks like a lot of hype for a lot less watch, if you ask me.

View attachment 16745759

But it just looks so damn good...