About Us
THE PHOENIX EAGLE STORY
Everything started with a casual conversation between a few folks that had similar interests, but differing backgrounds. Put collectors/enthusiasts (Michelle & David) together with a long-time watch industry veteran (Gary), add one of the few Certified Master Watchmakers in the USA (MJ) and you can come up with some great design ideas as well as superior engineering to make the best finished watch we could. Pretty is one thing, but the way a watch is designed, engineered, and built are critical. Trust us, the devil IS in the details when building a watch to the best industry standards.
For our first timepieces we explored thousands of designs from a long list of both American and European classic pilot watches. Once we agreed on a short list of design cues to incorporate into our watches, we then had to determine which engine to put inside our fuselage. Our Chief Technical Officer and Master Watchmaker "MJ" dissected samples from several companies including Concepto, Selitta, Soprod, and La Joux Perret. For this retro-pilot layout he landed on one of the finest chronograph movements available: La Joux Perret's LJP L112. Additionally MJ would go on to inspect each element and component under a microscope and pre-production samples were improved until we had a full kit of components that passed the MJ battery of tests.
We are confident that you are receiving a world class product at an extremely competitive price. We spent the time and energy painstakingly sourcing the best available components to ensure years of happy ownership.
Resto-mod.
A resto-mod is a classic design reborn with modern components and technology.
Visually, the Phoenix designs are inspired by watches built when the function of a wristwatch determined the form. The large, luminous numerals, visible center seconds hands, and uni-directional bezels that are de rigueur for modern dive watches became a necessity in an era without dive computers. Pilot's watches incorporate various telemeters, tachymeters, turn radius indicators and even circular slide rules - not because they look interesting on the dial, but because they were needed as either primary or backup sources for critical calculations. Today these various scales are rarely used for their ostensible purpose, yet they continue on as inspired designs recalling a more analog age.
While the visible cues evoke archetypes from the past, the components and mechanical engines under the dial benefit from decades of refinements and developments. Our modern mechanical movements are chronometer accurate, shock resistant, anti-magnetic and long-lived. For our Phoenix Eagle series, our Master Watchmaker chose a Swiss Chronograph/Chronometer from La Joux Perret. These have been individually vetted and inspected and will offer an almost unlimited service life with proper care.
Our case, crown and chronograph buttons are 316L steel, while we chose to use an original style acrylic crystal on top for its exceptional optical qualities as well as its shatterproof nature. On the reverse we updated the steel snap on back typical to watches of this era with a threaded back, in this case enhanced with a flat sapphire window to show off the superb engine within.