The Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot is an Texan-made, GADA pilot’s watch
Time+Tide
We might be wrong, but a pilot watch is not the typical format one tends to have in mind when thinking about GADA watches. Generally, divers and field watches make for the perfect go-anywhere-do-anything option. But pilot’s watches can very well take on this role, too – and the Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot is a good example of that. This new release from the Texas brand celebrates the 10th anniversary of its founding: to mark the occasion, Jack Mason has re-interpreted its debut collection. We had the chance to get hands-on with the Frost variant of this pilot’s watch, and we were quite impressed.
The case
Many brands are known for doing one thing particularly well. Rado is known for its expertise in ceramic watches, for example. Doxa is known for its professional-grade, colourful divers with a unique dual-scale bezel configuration. IWC is known for large case diameters, pilot’s watches and for its dedication to anti-magnetism. You get the picture. Jack Mason is known for designing great cases. The Pursuit Pilot’s case distinguishes itself for having a straight profile, rounded-off lugs, and a pronounced case-back with noticeable polished accents. It is as if the brand purposely wanted the case to sit tall on the wrist, which is the opposite of what we typically see – but that’s by no means a bad thing.
Despite this, it actually wears very comfortably with a diameter of 39mm, a lug-to-lug of 46mm, a thickness of 11.8mm, and a lug width of 20mm. The collection encompasses four models: the Olive, Frost and Shadow, which are made from 316L stainless steel; and a 10 Years Anniversary Edition, which is made from grade 2 titanium. Regardless of case material, all Pursuit Pilots feature a hardness coating that boosts their surface hardness up to 1,200 Vickers.
With a screw-down case-back and crown, the Pursuit Pilot boasts 150 meters of water resistance, in addition to having a sapphire crystal. These are good specs and in line with the intended nature of this model as first and foremost a tool watch. The case of the Pursuit Pilot displays a predominance of brushed treatments on the case flanks, the top of the lugs, and the upper and lower sections of the fixed bezel. We also find thin polished chamfers on the upper and lower sections of the case and the mid-section of the bezel.
The dial
The Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot’s dial is unmistakably that of a pilot’s watch, with sword-style hour and minute hands; a triangle at 12 (which is typically inverted on divers); and legible numerals. The three standard models (such as the Frost variant we had for this review) feature Arabic numerals printed in black in four sections highlighted by rectangular blocks of white lume, with larger lume batons at the 3, 6 and 9 plus a lume triangle at 12. The names of these models also reflect their dial colours: olive green, frost white and shadow black, all imagined in matte tones.
The 10 Years Anniversary Edition deviates from form, featuring an aged black dial with numerals also cast from blocks of aged white lume in addition to just the batons/markers. Additionally, the number 10 is swapped out for the Roman numeral X to commemorate the brand’s 10th anniversary. This X features bright green emission compared to the other numerals’ green emission, making it stand out even more in dark conditions.
If you are familiar with Jack Mason, then you might have noticed a few Easter eggs that nod to the brand’s geographical origin. The Jack Mason Lone Star logo at 12 is classic Texan iconography, and the blue, white, and red colouring of the seconds hand counterbalance also references the colours of the Texan state flag. All of these elements are always present on Jack Mason watches and further indicate that their watches are hand-assembled in Texas. Other than that, we only find three additional words on the dial: “Automatic” printed in orange and “150 meters” indicating the depth rating.
The bracelet
All versions of the Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot come with a three-link stainless steel (or titanium in the case of the 10 Years Anniversary Edition) bracelet complete with screwed links, quick-release spring bars, and a built-in on-the-fly micro-adjustment system. The design of the latter is similar to Rolex’s Glidelock system where one has to lift-slide-and-fold the adjustment system. Jack Mason also added directional arrows on the removable links – not to actually indicate how to remove the screws but more, we suppose, to reference the “remove before flight” tags found on aircraft? Or maybe we’re just being fanciful there…
The movement
The calibre Jack Mason chose to equip the Pursuit Pilot with is the La Joux-Perret G101, which beats at 28,800 BPH (4Hz) and comes with 68 hours of power reserve. The movement is regulated in-house to run at +/- 5 seconds per day and is protected against everyday magnetic fields by way of soft iron plates in order to meet the ISO 768 standards to protect movements up to 4,800 A/m (roughly 60 Gauss). This is an above-average movement for a microbrand release, with an appropriately above-average power reserve.
Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot pricing and availability
All four versions of the Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot – Olive, Frost, Shadow and the 10 Years Anniversary Edition – are available for immediate purchase and shipping. Price: US$1,399/A$2,200 (standard models), US$1,649/A$2,593 (10 Years Anniversary Edition)
| Brand | Jack Mason |
| Model | Pursuit Pilot |
| Case Dimensions | 39mm (D) x 11.8mm (T) x 46mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | 316L stainless steel (standard models) Grade 2 titanium (10 Years Anniversary Edition) |
| Water Resistance | 150 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire |
| Dial | Olive, Frost, Shadow (standard models) Black California dial (10 Years Anniversary Edition) |
| Lug Width | 20mm |
| Strap | Three-link case-matching bracelet, foldover clasp with on-the-fly micro-adjustment |
| Movement | La Joux-Perret G101, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 68 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | US$1,399/A$2,200 (standard models) US$1,649/A$2,593 (10 Years Anniversary Edition) |
Made in partnership with Jack Mason. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.