Bangalore Watch Company’s MACH 1 Silk Scarf honours women in aviation

Bangalore Watch Company’s MACH 1 collection includes timepieces that tell stories inspired by the Indian Air Force. A few months ago, the brand had introduced MACH 1 Admiral, whose dial was made from the metal recovered from the INS Vikrant R11, the Indian Navy’s first aircraft carrier. There has also been the MACH 1X, whose dial was recovered from a decommissioned Indian Air Force MiG 21 fighter plane; Civilian, which carried the Indian Air Force fin-flash at the 9 o clock; and Officer’s Blue, designed after IAF Officer's Blue No. 6 uniform, amongst others. Now, the latest in this line is the MACH 1 Silk Scarf, which honours the women in Indian aviation.

The watch’s story begins with 21-year-old Sarla Thukral, who in 1936 became the first Indian woman to acquire a commercial pilot’s licence. And after the country’s economic liberalisation in the 1980s, women came forward in large numbers to make a career in aviation that expanded beyond piloting to include ground-crew and air-traffic roles. “Women in aviation don’t just keep our skies safe, but they also carry with them the dreams of millions of young girls that look up and aspire,” says Mercy Amalraj, co-founder and Head of Ownership Experience. “15% of all commercial pilots in India are women. This number is surprisingly three times higher than the global average. This storyline formed our inspiration to create the Silk Scarf to celebrate women in aviation.”

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With this in mind, Bangalore Watch Company crafted its MACH 1 Silk Scarf, a 40mm timepiece with a 316L surgical grade stainless-steel case that’s topped with flat sapphire crystal with two layers of anti-reflective coating. The watch’s name takes after the fact that early aviators would usually wear a silk scarf, an accessory that is today worn by flight crews and represents the freedom to fly.

For this watch, the brand has introduced a new dial colour, a light-pink shade called Aerobloom, which was developed specially for this watch. Further, the dial has a motif de grain texture and features matte black hands and Arabic hour markers with C3 Grade-A Super-Luminova® and a date window positioned at 6 o’clock. On the closed caseback there is an engraved Aviator’s Scarf. Powering the watch is a Swiss Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. A high-quality oil-pulled leather strap, with a 316L steel tang buckle with BWC signed logo completes the watch. The timepiece is water resistant up to 100 metres.

Images courtesy: Bangalore Watch Company

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