As if Graham’s Chronofighter didn’t stand out enough as it was, the eclectic watch brand have taken their aviation inspired icon to another level, in paying tribute to the WWII era US Air Force and the hand painted ‘pin-up’ ladies which often adorned the forward fuselages of their bomber aircraft.

Of course the most outstanding feature of the Chronofighter series is its pronounced articulated trigger and the piston reset pusher, which are located on the left of the case, making their use sure and quick using the thumb and forefinger. It’s a feature which not only looks great, but is also particularly relevant to the Chronofighter Vintage Nose Art collection too, as its design was directly inspired by the thumb operated joystick firing button which unleashed the grim payload.

The Chronofighter Vintage Nose Art collection is a series of four very limited edition models, each one featuring a glamorous painted belle on its dial. With her name italicised in powder yellow against the shimmering ‘sunbrushed’ dark blue dial, above the day and date windows at the 9, where the edition number is also displayed, a smiling Nina in her yellow cheerleader style outfit ticks off a wink and a salute, and the artwork uses the subdials as windows. 

Beneath the sapphire crystal, the large numerals and indices are painted with Supoer LumiNova, which is also generously applied to fill the hands to ensure that, novelty values aside, the watch is still a fully practical timepiece with excellent legibility, and its functionality is not impaired by the watch’s playful character. The day and date discs are black with white characters, which blend in perfectly, and do not interfere with the dial’s aesthetics.

Inside beats the G1747 automatic self winding movement, which can be appreciated through the sapphire exhibition caseback. Fully wound the movement will run for 48 hours, although of course, any movement on the wrist keeps the power reserve topped up.

The deep blue, hand sewn calfskin leather strap with pin buckle is soft, and ensures a luxuriously comfortable wear on the wrist.