When it comes to tool watches, the Frankfurt-based SINN Spezialuhren is among the brands that is known to have found the right balance between quality and price. Helmut Sinn, the founder, a WWII pilot and flight instructor, built up his brand’s reputation by offering good looking flieger and diver watches, designed to respond to the most demanding professional standards. It was at the request of SINN, that the German Institute for Standardisation has developed the first standard for pilot watches, the TESTAF.

Let’s take a quick look at their 2016 collection:

6200 Meisterbund I

To celebrate the 55th anniversary of the company, the masters of Sinn have unveiled the 6200 Meisterbund I, created in collaboration with the masters of Uhren-Werke-Dresden (UWD) and the masters of Sächsische Uhrentechnologie GmbH Glashütte (SUG). Limited to only 55 pieces, the 18k rose gold watch is powered by the newly designed hand-wound calibre UWD 33.1.

The 40 mm x 9.3 mm polished and satinized case is the creation of SUG, while the elegant guilloche dial was made by Sinn. The nickel silver movement carries the signature of UWD and it features a spring barrel supported on one side, also referred as flying spring barrel, with a power reserve of 55-hours.

There was a lot of effort put into making the Meisterbund I and its UWD 33.1 calibre truly exceptional. Visible through the sapphire case back, the UWD 33.1 is quite an eye-candy, thanks to the combination of matte and polished surfaces.

The Meisterbund I is a German watchmaking masterpiece, and the name betrays the intention of these masters to make the Meisterbund a collection with new models coming in the future.

Watchbuys sells it for $13,740 US.

556 Anniversary

The 556 Anniversary is another special edition watch commemorating the 55th anniversary of Sinn. The anthracite sunburst decorated dial features a direct reference to the anniversary with the 1961 – 2016 inscription. Limited to 1000 pieces, the unique number of the watch is engraved on the rotor of the ETA 2824-2 movement, visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. The 38.5 mm x 11 mm satinized stainless steel case is pressure resistant to 20 bars.

The 556 Anniversary starts at $1,160 US on leather strap, or $1,390 US with a bracelet.

556 I M

This is the non-limited version of the 556 Anniversary. It has pretty much the same specs, except that on the 556 I M, the sunburst dial is Mocca-brown and it doesn’t have the anniversary inscription.

Price: $1,140 US

556 I Mother-of-pearl W

The 556 family needs a ladies pieces too and with the 556 I Mother-of-pearl W, Sinn delivers just that. It has the same size and specs as the previous two versions, what sets it apart is the mother-of-pearl dial. Ladies who always wished to have a sporty, aviation-inspired timepiece with a feminine touch, will find the Sinn 556 I Mother-of-pearl W an interesting choice.

Approximate price: $1,000 US.

856 B-Uhr deck/observer watch

Observation watches, also known as deck watches, have their origins in the 18th century. They were used as navigation instruments on the high seas, until late in the 20th century. Deck watches were used as a secondary timepiece to be wound and synchronized daily with the chronometer. Unlike the chronometer that would be kept in the instrument room, deck watches, as pocket watches were portable, helping out in calculating the correct course of the ship, even under the most difficult conditions. Later they were adopted by pilots, who also needed precise watches to fly their airplanes.

B-Uhr (Beobachtung-Uhr) is actually German for observation watch and the Sinn 856 B-Uhr respects the historic look of B-Uhr pieces. The hour hand has been reduced and it points to an inner hour circle while the longer minute hand is pointing to the outer minute circle. This way of laying out the dial is peculiar to B-Uhr watches, during missions, minutes where the most important unit of time, reading them quickly was essential.

The 40 mm x 11 mm bead-blasted stainless-steel case is treated with TEGIMENT coating, a special surface hardening technology developed by Sinn to protect the watch case from scratches. It is also equipped with Ar-Dehumidifying, another Sinn invention that solves two problems caused by humidity: it prevents the crystal from fogging up, even when faced with sudden temperature changes and it protects the oils from premature aging caused by moisture.

Inside the 856 B-Uhr, we’ll find the SW300-1 automatic movement protected from magnetic fields up to 80,000 A/m or 100 mT, thanks to the special design of the case.

It is a limited edition model, there are only 856 pieces made and they start at $1780 US.

910 Anniversary

It’s in the name, the 910 Anniversary is also part of the 55th “birthday party” of Sinn, and as the other anniversary watches it brings a special feature. In this case, it is the Valjoux 7750 automatic movement with split-seconds function for recording intermediate times. The split-seconds hand moves in sync with the second stopwatch hand until the push-piece is pressed at 8 o’clock. The split-seconds hand then remains in the ‘off’ position to allow you to read the intermediate time. On pressing the push-piece again, the split-seconds hand catches up with the second stopwatch hand and continues to move in sync with it.

The 41,5 mm x 22 mm stainless steel case is completed nicely with a bi-compax vintage-inspired dial.

The price of the 910 Anniversary is $5,940 US and it is delivered with a brown shell cordovan Sinn strap as well as a Sinn fine-link stainless steel bracelet. The presentation box also includes a strap replacement tool, extra spring bars, a watchmaker’s loupe and a cleaning cloth.

U1 Camouflage diver made from German Submarine Steel

The U1 Camouflage is made from high-strength, seawater-resistant German Submarine Steel that was further hardened with TEGIMENT coating. This is a pro diving piece, tested by DNV GL, an international certification body that recognized the U1 Camouflage pressure resistance to a diving depth of 1,000 meters (= 100 bar) and temperature resistance and functionality in accordance with the European diving device standards.

The 44 mm x 22 mm piece is powered by the automatic SW 200-1.

Price: $2,160 US including a green silicone strap and an olive drab textile strap.

U212 (EZM 16) mission timer

The U212 is a 47 mm bad-boy, crafted from German Submarine Steel. It has all the ingredients of a professional Sinn diving piece: TEGIMENT coating on the bezel that also uses the captive design instead of the conventional snap-in rotating mechanisms, as well as the Ar-Dehumidifying technology for the case construction.

The U212 is certified by DNV GL to be water resistant to a diving depth of 1,000 m (100 bar), and function reliably in temperatures ranging from –45°C to +80°C.

Prices start at $2,820 US.

For more about Sinn, visit www.sinn.de/en