Let us come together to face the truth: Switzerland doesn’t have much to go on when we watch enthusiasts, chroniclers, and professionals peer outside the country’s borders to see what’s going on in France, England, and most importantly, Germany. And we shall immediately go through a hot take: Circula makes some of the best god damn tool watches out there, regardless of country, price, and whatever other criteria you would dare dangle in front of me right now. Because as much as the words “Swiss Made” sell here and there, by experience it’s easy to find better made watches in Germany when comparing apples to apples in terms of price. While Circula doesn’t create proprietary technology, it makes up for it by self-imposing the highest criteria of manufacturing and finishing. Add to that original designs and you have a perfect and complete package. I love me a Circula. 

So today we’re going to take a look at my newest favorite model from the German brand: the ProFlight Anthracite. A de facto pilot watch with an aggressive and confident look, svelte proportions for an over-built tool watch, and a relatively reasonable price tag of $1,199 USD on a bracelet. Yes, you will see and agree that $1,199 USD is fair for what you get in terms of specifications and design. If I’m correct with my own recollection of all watches I’ve reviewed thus far on Mainspring, the ProFlight most likely is the best-built and finished tool watch at this price point. It actually confidently surpasses most brands I’ve taken a look at which makes me question why something of lesser quality should be traded for a greater number of dollar bills? Where the brand is headquartered maybe? Hubris? Who knows. 

Specifications

We’ve got a lot of terrain to cover in that department so let’s get started. The subtitle to this review reads “Step Aside Switzerland” because for $1,199 USD (I hope you’re not getting bored of hearing the price already) you get the cake, the icing, the dish in which you baked the cake plus the birthday candles. The first spec which I want to highlight here and which justifies the choice for this audacious subtitle is the soft-iron cage surrounding the movement. You see, for a watch to be officially rated to have anti-magnetic properties, the movement must be protected against magnetic fields up to 4,800 A/m (ISO 764.) The IWC Ingenieur, the reference in terms of professional-grade antimagnetism, is rated at 80,000 A/m or 1,000 Gauss. (Same as the latest iteration of the Rolex Milgauss.) The Circula ProFlight is endowed with the same anti-magnetic properties as the IWC while costing 10 times less. 

To further put this in perspective, most tool watches which are marketed as being anti-magnetic (such thing does not really exist by the way) generally are protected against magnetic fields up to 20,000 or 30,000 A/m. Which is good and sufficient for most mortals who spend too many hours nearby magnetic-field emitting machines such as computers, TVs, and phones. In other words, the Circula ProFlight has more anti-magnetic protection than we need but I find this pretty awesome as it shows, contrary to what most watch enthusiasts might believe, that Switzerland doesn’t have the monopoly for the best horological technology. And although we should stay away from easy clichés, Germans do know how to build solid stuff. (I’m sorry Corrnelius, I really am.) Again, no proprietary tech here but a know-how and ultra pragmatic approach to make things reliable and durable. 

But the Circula ProFlight is much more than its superb anti-magnetic properties. The movement, for example, which is so protected, is a Sellita SW200-1 Élaboré caliber (4Hz/41 hours of power reserve,) a robust and reliable movement which is known to be easily serviceable by any decent watchmaker. (So dictates the horological wisdom.) Moreover, the case is made of stainless steel and treated through Kolsterizing (a non-coating, low-temperature surface carbon diffusion treatment which renders the base material harder, more protected against corrosion, wear and tear) to have a scratch resistance of 1,300 Hv on Vicker’s hardening scale, or eight times that of naked steel. To equal this latest superb tidbit of specs, the hands and hour markers are endowed with impressive—no, insane—applications of SuperLuminova C3 X1 which charge almost instantly and last for a very long time. 

Oh, and the crystal is made of sapphire with anti-reflective coating and the case measures 40mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, 13.4mm thick (including the crystal) and has a 20mm lug width. 

Design

What’s amazing about the Circula ProFlight is the fact that its expansive list of outstanding specs is matched by an equally expansive list of unique design attributes. The first key element of which being the bespoke typeface of the Arabic numerals for the hour markers. Yes, Circula hired a designer to come up with a typeface so that the markers are extremely legible, even in their dimensions, and unique to the brand. They are characterized for having rounded and curved lines, angular tails, making them easy to read and attention-grabbing. So much so that I regularly find myself looking at the dial just to admire its visual features. Another outstanding one for me being the massive sword-style hour and minute hands, which I would best describe as looking "decisive" for being so dimensionally imposing. These hands and hour markers make for the perfect and most legible of combos. Let’s not forget, after all, that the ProFlight is a tool watch. 

The dial treatment is also worth highlighting and contributes to making the ProFlight very legible. You see, the large hands (which have a matte finish) are easy to see because they hover above a matte textured dial. The latter comes with two types of finishes (or treatments and even decor,) a very fine radial one in the center (designed this way in imitation of a plane’s propellers spinning at maximum velocity) and a densely textured one (which looks like melted plastic) at its periphery to make the hour markers pop. The markers are applied and complemented by black surrounds which further aid in making them stand out from the dial. Circula also put a simple minute track on a recessed portion of the dial to create additional contrast and visual balance given the intensity of the center areas of the dial—making all elements of it equally legible. The design here is quite genius. 

In my small experience of the brand, Circula is also very good at designing cases. Sharp angles, wide chamfers, and unusual lines are characteristics which can typically be found on all its collections. (Especially the latest Facet.) The case of the ProFlight is interesting (to me) in four aspects, one of which might come across as being subtle. First, the melted-plastic like texture found on the case sides which sits within a recessed portion of it; second the faceted lugs and upper sections of the mid-case which create a perfect continuity all around it; third the mirror-like polishing of the fixed bezel which creates a stark contrast with the rest of the case; fourth the fact that the domed case-back lodges itself perfectly between the radius and ulna bones of my forearm (yeh, biology!) thanks to the curvature of the case and the fact that the edges of the case-back slope delicately towards the lower edge of it. 

Phew. 

The Heart of the Matter

There are two hearts of the matter here and if this isn’t your first time on Mainspring I know you know what I’m about to say. Indeed, we cannot put a price tag on design as we cannot say “50% of originality equals a 20% mark up in price” or  “a 100% original design justifies a 75% mark up in price.” We cannot make either statement but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be conscious of how much more work goes into designing something different. As we saw, the Circula ProFlight is genuinely a new design. Although it borrows from the philosophy of the brand itself, everything from the bespoke Arabic numerals for the hour markers and the contrasting textures of the dial, to the angular case profile and the design of the not aforementioned bracelet which comes with custom-made end-links and which design matches that of the case and dial. The Circula ProFlight is, therefore, visually a complete package. 

Moreover, this model is built like a tank and each aspect of its engineering has been overdone and surpasses most of what we see coming from independent brands, whether they are headquartered in France, England, Switzerland, the United States, Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and of course, Germany. And again the asking price of $1,199 USD is really good for what you get here and I’m sorry (or not) if I sound so far-fetched, but I’m at a loss of words here trying to convey how good and how relevant this watch is. As we saw, it has the same anti-magnetic properties as the IWC Ingenieur which is a luxury Swiss made watch. It glows in the dark like a motherfucker and its case is as scratch-resistant as any. Actually, as scratch-resistant as most robust GADA’s which cost more than this one. Again, $1,199 USD is not a lot of money to ask here. 

Conclusion 

With this review of the ProFlight, I have now reviewed five models from Circula. This fact means I love the brand. I do because it makes good watches which look singular and which are always superbly made, robust, and at the same time bizarrely elegant for being ultra capable tool watches. I do find that the matte finish of the Kolsterized case does not naturally land itself for a romantic night out or a Golden Globe ceremony, but it works for me maybe because of that one polished accent we see on the bezel. And the ProFlight is legible, both during the day and at night, and it is accurate whether you’re gardening or jet-setting around the world. In other words, the Circula ProFlight is as versatile as they come. Period. 

And thanks for reading.