It’s easy to know what you’ve been thinking about lately since we have these thoughts in common: yeah yeah, there are many microbrands on the market already, so why do we need yet another one? Well, we don’t. But what we do need is a good story to keep us moving forward because if we look back at the past or down at the present, we might go mental and lose faith in humanity because today is pretty gloomy. And storytelling is what watches do best: to tell stories about mankind and all of its accomplishments past and future, sometimes its flaws of course, but mostly what it does best—to surpass itself to reach new summits, fly to new heights, explore another little corner of the globe nobody knew about. Watches are also endowed with the power to inspire the wearer to act differently (generally better,) and to share his or her story with other like-minded folks through a good tale. Which is why microbrands exist and will continue to pop on a regular basis: the good ones do have a very good story to tell. 

Hence the massive interest given to the latest micro houses of horology on Mainspring since each and every one of those we cover has something interesting and inspiring to share with you, enthusiasts, nerds, and collectors. Without straying even for a millisecond from what fuels the magazine, today we’re going to dissect the debut collection from a brand new brand called the 1903 Watch Co. out of Texas, U.S. And 1903 enters the watch world with a great watch, an equally good story, and an excellent value-proposition for your astute consideration. At the stick of 1903 is Pete Savva, a pilot turned airline instructor who developed a serious interest for horology 20 moons ago when he got himself a Breitling Navitimer—a bit of a stereotypical pilot’s watch however a very important one that left a long-lasting impression on the protagonist of our story. This watch, and Pete’s professional background, made for the perfect storm to create a brand and first collection I’d urge you to study in great depth. 

Specifications 

The story of the 1903 Watch Co. First Flight is multiprung: on the one hand, it is connected to Pete's first passion and career, that of a pilot and instructor, a field I always thought was reserved for the most temerarious of people since one grave mistake can cost the lives of not only the person flying the damn plane but of potentially many passengers. So deciding to embark on a career that comes with so much responsibility is a little nuts to be frank with you which is why too few people take that professional path. The First Flight is also connected to the Wright Brothers who achieved, on December 17, 1903, the first controlled, sustained, and powered heavier-than-air flight with the 1903 Wright Flier (the name of their flying machine) near Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. They took to the air three times that day, the first flight lasting “just” 12 seconds and covering a distance of 120 feet. And this model is further connected to horology: some of the first tool watches were made for the first debonair aviators. 

Indeed, the genesis of the 1903 Watch Co. and the First Flight stems from the perfect storm: a pilot’s watch designed by a pilot honoring the first pilots. Two passions reunited into one object, that of flying and horology morphing together into a type of horology you must know I have a greatest passion for: legible tool watches. Of course, the First Flight is built in 2026 with modern horological tech, however, visually it is endowed with a particular charm we will riff on later on in this review. And even though it didn’t happen for obvious reasons, I bet that the Wright Brothers would have been keen to sport the First Flight underneath their suit jacket to embark on the most ambitious of adventures of their era for it is legible—as any proper tool watch should be—but also well-built and generously spec’ed out—again, as any proper tool watch should be. And here at Mainspring we have a profound passion for this genre of timekeeping devices which is why we are now going to dissect the 1903 Watch Co. First Flight. 

As our tradition goes, we are going to begin at the start of things for most timepieces, the case. Pete designed the First Flight so that it would fit a great variety of wrists, command a certain physical presence on them, and leave plenty of room for the dial to breath and all of its design elements to achieve their mission (of clearly telling the time.) The First Flight is equipped with a stainless steel case 40mm in diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug, 10.6mm thick, and comes with a universal 20mm lug width, thus it spreads wide on the wrist but retains a flat profile, which generates a pleasing wearing experience. Inside the case beats the ultra popular and reliable Miyota 9039 caliber (4Hz/42 hours of power reserve,) which is known to be slim and indeed reliable as they tend to tick accurately fresh-out-of-the-box and unregulated—though1903 went a step further by regulating the 9039 to run at ± 10 seconds per day. The latter is hard to ignore in today’s micro horology world and is a nice caliber to start a brand with. 

And there are certain connections we instantly make in our enthusiasts’ mind whenever we know the watch presented to us is of the utilitarian nature. For example, it has to have good lume, good water resistance, and a crystal impervious to scratches. Even though we pretty much expect all of the above in any genre of timekeeping devices nowadays it is nice to get them in a tool watch and at a certain price point: thus the 1903 Watch Co. First Flight is graced with more-than-generous applications of green-glowing lume on the hour/minute hands and most printed elements on the dial: the hour markers and their accompanying rectangles as well as the brand’s logo above the pinion and model name below it. The water-resistance is 100 meters and comes by way of a 5.4mm screw-down crown and decorated case-back*, a crown indeed on the smaller side but easy to operate thanks to the presence of effective knurling. And lastly, the crystal is a piece of slightly domed sapphire equipped with dual-sided clear anti-reflective coating. 

*The case-back photographed here is not the final one. 

Design 

And why not speak about the price now? While its full retail will be $799 USD, during the pre-ordering period (more on that in the conclusion) the price will be discounted in tiers starting with a 30% discount, or about $559 USD. Whether you’re looking at the full or discounted prices, you go get a lot of good value for your money with the 1903 Watch Co.’s very first release. Objectively speaking, the First Flight is adequately spec’ed out to handle itself in many daily and non-daily situations, and indeed would fit right inside a cockpit strapped to a pilot’s wrist by way of the brown leather strap it will ship on. Ah, the latter serves as the perfect segue to switch gears and talk about design! If you ever had too much time on your hands and looked at the photos contained within these reviews and on the Mainspring’s Instagram page, you will notice that watches are generally paired with a bracelet, nylon or FKM rubber straps. That is because my love for tool watches generally calls for these types of fastening systems. 

In other words, I don’t care for leather straps but there is something about this one that tells a bit of the story about this first collection: by its looks it comes across as vintage and makes me think of leather-made accessories people used on a daily basis at the beginning of the 20th century. Thus, the strap sets the stage for what’s to come with the case, and more importantly, the dial: the juxtaposition of the syringe-style hands, of all printed elements in a soft fauxtina color, and of the typeface used for the hour markers’ numerals and brand’s logo and model name. I am no typeface expert but this one appears bespoke and certainly has an old-school aspect on account of the weight of the numerals and letters and for they appear to have been stenciled onto the dial. Don’t get me wrong, all elements are crisply printed but do have this je-ne-sais-quoi of having been applied or drawn by hand which powerfully endows the dial with a yesteryear aesthetic. And the same goes for the Navy Blue dial and fauxtina accents. 

And whenever we see a nice set of syringe hands, despite the fact that these ones have been finely polished (as the seconds hand has too,) they do add a dash of vintage something to any dial. And syringe handsets are typically found on tool watches which is why they naturally belong here alongside a full set of Arabic numerals for the hours, a clean minute track where the five-minute increments are emphasized with rectangles of two sizes, and separated from a discreet 24-hour military scale by a thin circle. Everything about the dial screams purposefulness and perfectly suits a vintage-inspired pilot’s watch. And the same can be said of the case and explains why it works for well: it is fully brushed, equipped with medium-length lugs that arch down towards the wrist, slab-sided flanks, a small crown which contributes also to the old-school appearance of this model, and a short fixed bezel slightly sur-elevated from the mid-case. The latter is therefore simple in appearance however perfectly executed and works oh so well. 

The Heart of the Matter

If you have ever designed a watch before and/or had the balls to launch a microbrand in an oversaturated market—because yes, it is so—then you have no idea of what it takes to embark on such an enterprise and what it means to the person running this difficult enterprise. Understand this: Pete didn’t need to create the 1903 Watch Co. since he already has a job. Neither was he commissioned by a Government to design a new pilot’s watch. Nor was he (I assume) intent on striking it rich by launching the First Flight. No, nope, not at all. What drove him to do all of this was the desire to not only fuse two of his dearest passions—flying and horology—but also to tell the fascinating story of two self-built and self-taught American brothers who created the first powered flying machine after years of working on printing presses, bicycles, and motors. They had a strike of genius and created something that deeply changed humanity. In other words, the First Flight is many things: a good pilot’s watch, a watch created by a talented and ambitious person, and a watch that reminds all of us of a turning point in mankind’s ingenuity and boldness. Indeed, the 1903 Watch Co. First Flight is a powerful storyteller. 

Conclusion 

Perhaps you didn’t come here for the rhetoric, the story telling, or a history lesson. Perhaps you spent about 8 minutes with us today to learn about the latest and coolest microbrand pilot’s watch to hit the market. And I hope you found what you were looking for because the 1903 Watch Co.’ First Flight is just that: it’s legible, clean, vintagy, endowed with great specifications for a modern tool watch and sold at a reasonable price with all things dutyfully considered: $799 USD full-retail but first going through a tiered pre-ordering pricing starting with a 30% discount then 15%. And it’s launching on pre-order directly through the brand’s website around mid-December with an estimated shipping for the middle of Q1 in 2027. If you are interested in this model now, you can indicate your interest by contacting the brand directly. And keep an eye on its Instagram page as well for updates on the launch. 

Thanks for reading.