New 100 year anv. Catalogue.

[Fortis4me]

FORTIS Catalogue 2012Here we go Fortis fans a nice spruced up catalogue for 2012 ....enjoy..................just seen the new GMT first page!!! well they have'nt kept it clean and clutter free, what a disapiontment

Michael

[MarkB]

Great new models. A few of them are really new and original.
Good news.

[MHe225]

Great new models. A few of them are really new and original.
Good news.

+1 There are a few models that I can see in my collection - too bad the catalog didn't come with a price-list.

RonB

[joseff]

I really like the chrono alarm GMT... is that a new model?
Also it's rather odd that they feature a full page photo of the 5100 Cosmonaut while that model hasn't been available for quite a while.

[HappyJack]

Nothing there for me

[cuckoo4watches]

Nothing there for me

+ 1

Fortis needs more BIG watches in the collection and ones that are 'wearable' not models that
are cluttered up or congested to the point that they are illegible.
It totally goes away from the ideals of the brand and their Pilot/Cosmonaut heritage.

I'd take a B-47 with a simplistic dial like the 42s have.

I have owned every model of the B-42 lineup at some point in time (except the alarm) and loved them all.
Unfortunately, I just can't wear those smaller diameter cases any longer as I am used to 46-48mm cases now.

Personally, I can't stand that new sunflower bezel; while it might be easy to grip, its awful in my opinion
and makes it look like a fashion watch of some sort... perhaps a Hippie design?

[abrizz]

Well even if it is nice to see some new models I have to say that most of them are a big disappointment. I really don't see the reasoning behind many of the decisions they have made. A 43mm case? Why make a case that is so close to the B-42? Seems a waste. And the new flieger hands are not looking very good to me. I like the B-42 flieger hands much better.

The mysterious planets looks pretty cool but I think the affect will ware off pretty quickly. Will have to see it IRL.

The new White with black subdials B-42 Flieger is a nice mirror from the Black with white subdials but nothing very exciting.

Fun to see the Chrono-Alarm-GMT. But once again I don't really like the hands. The black dialed one looks fine but the "silver" one looks more yellow and very cluttered. Would really like to see how thick it is too. Fortis have always had a problem with the thickness of their chronos in my opinion. 0

I wish they would make a NON-chrono Alarm-24h Watch based on the Fortis B-42 GMT. Thin and with 12h on the top. With and without a bezel. In Black/White and White/Blue like the Fortis B-42 GMT is today.

[prajna]

Got to second some of the things abrizz said. I don't understand the 43mm size either. Why not just bump it to 44mm which is at least common.

The F-43 Flieger GMT Alarm is pretty cool though, but I'm not sure about that high polish. All of them being limited editions, it seems they're taking away the opal dial and blued hands/numerals away from the B-42 Flieger lineup. Hmm.

What appeals to me most about Fortis is the tool watch quality but with class. Love the Cosmonaut & B-42 black, heck even the new Marinemaster. The B-42 Flieger line shouldn't have been messed with in my opinion, but at least its still there, unlike the Pilot Pro which seems to have been cut all the way down to one Alarm version, when it should have been just eliminated all together in this case, and let Flieger keep the alarm.

And this is why I don't understand the Spaceleader, as well as the Stratoliner (I guess it's a mainstream Cosmonaut).

I hope Fortis doesn't steer too deeply into the mainstream which is oversaturated with copycat designs, and same old monotonous dials.

They seemed to have made a considerable investment in the B-43 limited editions, particularly the GMT Alarm, so its understandable why it required its own lineup, and maybe all is not lost. I personally would like to see some of that trickle down into the B-42 Flieger line eventually and strengthen it, and would like nothing more than to see Fortis stay true to what they do best, and not change designs too often unless its an improvement.

I've nothing against experimentation, but do the B-47 Monster Extreme really make sense next to the Cosmonaut classic? One would look even stranger next to the elegant F-43 lineup.

Anyway, bottom line is, while some of the spirit is still there in the Fortis lineup, there's something tugging at it from the opposite approach to purposeful design. I'm happy with Fortis as a small company. I think strengthening your brand comes from great customer support after the purchase, as well as consistency in the lineup and prices that reflect value as used to be the case in the past.

Most of all, I'm pissed off that my Flieger Alarm is no longer top of the line! LOL That GMT Alarm, has to be what, at least $20k?

[Ti22]

The Spacematic GMT is conspicuously absent - only the Day Date is shown.

My next Fortis will probably be a Marinemaster with the chainsaw style bezel. If only they made that in titanium with the matching bracelet...