"Fortis" watches

[jlake]

Are these swiss watches reputable??? Some of their watches look great but never heard of the brand.

[CoopJr]

I had one once...nice watch but the leather band fell apart. I think the Soviet Cosmonauts use (or used) them.

[Dr.B]

????
But I like the B-42 STRATOLINER.

[MitchSteel]

I've had 3(fliger, fliger gmt,fliger chrono) and currently have B-42 GMT.Fantastic watches, quality cases and bracelets, ETA movements.A very good bang for your buck.

[bayerische]

Sovjet cosmonauts don't exist nor does "Sovjet" anymore. :)
Russian cosmonauts started to use Fortis watches.
I have had two, and they are pretty good value and affordable used. But a fortis chrono at 2000 euro new? A no brainer if you ask me. Then better to chip in a little more and get a "real" space watch the Omega Speedmaster Professional.

[Psmith]

I have a soft spot for Fortis, having had a few of 'em...

Rugged, good looking tool watches with great dial clarity (well the non-chronos anyway). ETA innards, although some of the chronos use Valjoux. Nice metal bracelets; many owners ditch the standard leather straps for a nice Toshi. Good value for money, esp as you can get an easy 20-25% discount (at least in Aus). The military & cosmonaut link adds a little history/crediblity. Along with the fact that they were the first serial manufacturers of automatic watches (using Harwood's design).

B-42s are the ones to go for


Cheers

[lifting]

I have a Marinemaster and they are great value for money. Really well built and solid watches. They are indeed used by Russian cosmonauts, and have a really good line-up in the current range. They are one of the older Swiss brands, and do not go in for huge advertising campaigns, or very widespread dealership, which keeps prices down. They are let down a bit by their straps, but they are very easily replaced. Their bracelets however are supposed to be excellent. I thoroughly recommend them. Here is mine.

[esm]

great shots of a great looking watch lifting. I was seriously looking at that exact one on strap. Just love that baby blue second hand.

It seems like a very well built watch. Wouldnt mind adding this to my colection in the near future.

[WatchTimes]

Which model has the whole face that glows?

How exactly does that lume work, does it last the entire night?

Is it quartz and operated off the battery and a button???

From the pics I have seen it seems to be the best lume out there........

I am intrigued!

[lifting]

It is the same model I have posted that has the whole face lume - the Marinemaster. The face is painted with lume, leaving the hands dark, and it works very well. Of course it isn't going to be full brightness after 12 hours of darkness, but it is still readable throughout the night, as long as it has seen a bit of light during the day. Usually I just lay it under the light for a few minutes before I go to bed!
Definitely NO quartz in here. It is an 25 jewel ETA 2836-2 movement, and sports a double AR coating, making it exceptionally clear to read.

[WatchTimes]

Very cool.
I may have to pick one up to play with.
Time to start searching the used market :)

Thanks for the info.

[esm]

this is pretty cool imo

[lifting]

They certainly are nice watches, and can be found very cheaply used. Do a search over on watchuseek.com and you will find plenty. Of course it goes without saying, that you need to do your research a little and make sure you are buying off a good seller, but this is easy to do, and reputable sellers are easily checked. I now have mine on a thick Toshi strap and it suits it perfectly. I am pretty sure I will buy another one at some point. Probably a flieger or flieger chrono.
Here is a good link with some info on their long history, all the way back to 1912.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortis_Uhren_AG