Formex AirField Puts Pilot-Watch Character Into a Hardened Titanium Field Case

Formex has taken one of its most approachable tool watches and given it a more aeronautical brief.

The AirField keeps the 40mm hardened titanium case architecture of the brand’s Field line, but changes the mood with a cockpit-style dial, broader hands and a solid caseback engraved with an aero-engine motif.

It’s still compact, light and practical, but it now speaks more directly to the long overlap between field-watch clarity and pilot-watch legibility.

At a glance

A cockpit dial in a Field case

The biggest shift is on the dial, where Formex moves away from the current Field’s layered sunburst layout and returns to a flatter, finely grained stamped surface.

That matte texture suits the AirField’s brief, giving the watch a more instrument-like character without leaning into vintage pastiche.

Broad sword-shaped hands replace the slimmer hands used on the Field, while the 12 o’clock position is marked by the familiar aviation triangle with twin dots.

A sloped chapter ring rises toward the sapphire crystal, adding visual depth while keeping the case thickness under control.

The seconds hand carries a small aircraft-shaped counterweight, a playful detail that gives the watch its own signature.

It won’t be for everyone, especially if your taste in tool watches runs very restrained, but it does help separate the AirField from the model it shares so much with.

Formex is offering four dial colours named Desert Sand, Horizon Blue, Jet Black and Tarmac Grey.

The recessed numerals are filled by hand with Super-LumiNova, with BGW9 used on Horizon Blue, Jet Black and Tarmac Grey, while Desert Sand receives a blacked-out treatment.

Tarmac Grey and Desert Sand also get a red-tipped seconds hand, and each colourway is matched with a colour-coordinated date wheel at six o’clock.

Titanium, straps and wrist presence

The AirField uses a 40mm Grade 2 titanium case that has been hard-coated to around 900 Vickers.

That keeps the watch light at 54 grams, while improving scratch resistance compared with untreated titanium.

Water resistance remains 150 metres, and the watch uses a screw-down crown and anti-reflective sapphire crystal.

At 10.5mm thick, it’s marginally slimmer than the standard Field, though the more meaningful number is the 48mm lug-to-lug measurement.

That is longer than the Field’s 46.6mm span, so smaller wrists may notice the difference even though the case diameter is unchanged.

The solid titanium caseback is engraved with a radial aero engine and propeller, neatly reinforcing the aviation direction without putting the movement on display.

Two strap choices are offered.

Buyers can choose a washable nylon Velcro strap or a Bolgheri leather strap fitted to Formex’s carbon-fibre deployant clasp with 7mm of micro-adjustment.

Both are quick-release, so swapping them doesn’t require tools.

The 65-hour Sellita upgrade

Inside the AirField is the Sellita SW200-2 Power+, an automatic movement running at 4Hz with 26 jewels.

Its key improvement is the 65-hour power reserve, a useful lift over the 41-hour reserve associated with the earlier SW200 generation.

In daily terms, that means the watch can come off on Friday evening and still be running on Monday morning.

Formex has also been bringing the same movement into the current Field, so the AirField’s mechanical upgrade is not exclusive to this version.

Instead, the distinction is mainly visual and tactile, with the aviation dial, sword hands and engraved caseback doing the heavy lifting.

Details & Specifications

The standard Formex Field remains in the collection, priced lower at £780 on nylon and £890 on leather in the UK.

For the additional £80, the AirField brings a complete change in personality rather than a small colour update, and that makes it the more characterful choice for anyone who wants the Field’s lightweight titanium practicality with a clear aviation accent.