If you ever ask me which cartoon or comic book characters have close ties to horology, it should not come as a surprise that my first answer would be Snoopy. His many alter egos have endeared him to many since the 1950s. From being a masked avenger, an author, a lawyer, a college student and even an astronaut. You got to agree that the dog has range! The Silver Snoopy Award, which is NASA’s highest honour dedicated to flight safety and mission success, firmly bonds the beloved Beagle to aerospace.
But one persona predates his dreams of being the first Beagle on the moon, the Flying Ace. Powered by his great imagination, his battles with the Red Baron aboard his fantastical WW1-era Sopwith Camel bi-plane, (conceived from his red doghouse), is a regular feature in the comic strip since the 1960s. It is this playful imagination that inspired the AVI-8 Spitfire Peanuts Snoopy Flying Ace 24-Hour Automatic.
Coming in 3 variants – Charcoal Grey, Burnt Orange and Azure Blue, it is powered by an automatic NH34 GMT movement, with a quickset hour hand in tune with the aviation theme. The open case back features a Snoopy rotor motif and the crown has a paw-print for a signature.
It features Snoopy as the Flying Ace in the middle of the dial, a relief-like beagle giving it a 3D-look. To complement this, 11 of the 24-hour markers are raised, with a comic-like typeface and assorted sizes. Surrounded by a steep chapter ring with minute markers, it gives you a sense of depth, looking in. This design choice may have rendered the watch thicker for some, coupled with a 42mm case. However, aren’t pilot watches (largely) meant to be big & legible? I spent some time with the Azure Blue variant, which is my pick of the bunch. The colour of the hour and seconds hands are uniform between variants in keeping with AVI-8’s Spitfire line. However, I do like that this one has an orange seconds hand, whilst the other two both had blue. It just works nicely visually against the graduated blue dial for me.
The light blue leather strap, with a fun Peanuts character print on the underside completes the look. Despite its size and heft, the lug profile helped it rest nicely on my wrist. The leather strap is nice and supple and provides a comfortable fit. Where the design comes together is when you put the watch under UV light. It comes with a UV torch tucked quite nicely underneath the roof of the rather novel doghouse packaging. Charge it up then direct it to the dial and not only will you charge the lumed elements, but you will be also treated with fun comic panels in UV ink.
I have always been intrigued by the idea of a 24-hour dial watch, and this was a great way to see if I can live with having one. Yes, it did need a bit of getting used to as you really have to read the time. I must confess it took me a few goes to set the time due to muscle memory and (maybe) me not paying attention on how I ought to be setting it. Once the time was set though, the idea behind it just clicked. I see it like how Charlie Brown interacts with Snoopy, and in a way, how he is understanding of his idiosyncrasies. Just like Snoopy is not your typical Beagle, this is not your typical watch. And that is what makes it cool
The AVI-8 Spitfire Peanuts Snoopy Flying Ace 24-Hour Automatic is priced at $425 and will be available as a limited edition of 400 pieces per variant. Go to avi-8.com for timezone specific release details this February.
Specifications
- Case Diameter: 42mm
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Caliber: Seiko NH34 GMT Automatic
- Crystal: Anti-Reflection Coated Sapphire Lens
- Functions: 24-Hour Automatic & Date
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Thickness: 16mm
- Lug to Lug: 48mm
This post is a sponsored collaboration with AVI-8 Timepieces.
The Timepiecer 
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