Farer's Type B Flieger reinterpretation is the rare modern pilot watch that earns its 40mm case. The Barnwell Pilot Series II is what happens when British design discipline meets a competent Swiss white-label builder and nobody flinches at adding colour.
The Verdict
At $1,525, this is the best non-IWC Flieger you can buy under two grand, and the brown PVD titanium version is the one to get. It looks like nothing else on the wrist without looking costume.
The Make
Grade 2 titanium, 40mm across, 43mm lug-to-lug, 10.9mm thick. The case is bead-blasted with a brushed coin-edge bezel, then finished in burnished brown PVD that reads closer to gunmetal-bronze than the usual flat brown you see on cheaper coatings. The crown is oversized and conical, capped in bronze with the Farer 'A' embossed. It's the kind of detail that either delights you or doesn't; there's no middle ground.
Inside is a Sellita SW300-1 in Elaboré grade, adjusted in four positions, 56-hour reserve, 4Hz. Not in-house, but Elaboré spec is a meaningful step up from standard Sellita and you can feel it in the winding action. The soft-iron Faraday cage gets it to 500 Gauss anti-magnetic, which is genuine Flieger heritage rather than marketing. Domed sapphire with five internal AR layers means almost no glare in daylight. Built in Bienne by Roventa-Henex. 100m water resistance.
The dial is where Farer earns the price. Bronze-toned face, sky-blue minute track, orange lozenge hands, Grade X2 Super-LumiNova. It's a Type B layout treated by someone who understands colour theory, which is rarer in watch design than it should be.
The Fit
40mm wears true to size on a 6.5 to 7.5 inch wrist. Titanium drops the perceived weight by roughly a third compared to a steel equivalent, so it sits without announcing itself. The 43mm lug-to-lug is short enough for smaller wrists, and the 10.9mm thickness slips under a shirt cuff cleanly. Ships on leather or suede with a PVD-coated titanium buckle; the suede is the better pairing with the brown case.
The Context
The obvious comparison is the IWC Mark XX at roughly three times the price, and the Farer holds up on everything except brand cachet and the in-house movement. Against Laco or Stowa at $800 to $1,200, the Farer's finishing and dial work are a clear step up. Against Bremont at $4,000-plus, it's not even a fair fight on value. This is the slot Farer has carved out: Swiss build, British design, priced where a serious enthusiast can actually pull the trigger.
The Personal Note
Pilot watches usually bore me. They're either reverent reproductions or they've been "modernised" into something that looks like a Hublot collaboration. The Barnwell is neither. The bronze cap on the crown is the kind of thing I'd normally call a gimmick, but on the wrist it works, and that's the only test that matters.
