RJM 03 – REC Watches

“Herr Reichsmarschall, give me a squadron of Spitfires!”

- German fighter ace Adolf Galland’s quoted answer when asked what more he needed to clinch the victory during the Battle of Britain.

Originally developed by Reginald Joseph Mitchell in the early 1930s, the Supermarine Spitfire aircraft is today a well-known icon recognized as an aerodynamic marvel which helped change the course of history.

Reginald Joseph Mitchell, designer of the Supermarine Spitfire aircraft.

Designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft, 'the Spit' would soon take on a crucial role in the fight for air superiority over the English Channel, tasked with engaging the German Messerschmitt BF 109E fighter planes during WWII.

Little did RJ Mitchell know, the Supermarine Spitfire aircraft would go on to be produced in a total of 24 different marks and become the only British fighter aircraft to be in continuous production before, during and after the Second World War.

Unfortunately, of the approximately 20.351 Spitfire aircrafts built in the period 1938-1948 less than 100 original aircrafts are currently estimated to be operational and in airworthy condition.

Our mission with the RJM Collection is to increase that number – read on to discover how!

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In the Spring of 1945 a Spitfire aircraft crashed on the Russian tundra during a dogfight. This is her incredible story.

The RJM Collection incorporates salvaged parts from Spitfire Mark IX aircraft serial number PT879, which boasts a rather remarkable story - even for an already rare vintage aircraft!

The PT879 was among the approximately 1.118 Mark IX Spitfire aircrafts delivered in Murmansk as part of the Allied Forces Lend-Lease aid policy to support the Russian war effort.

The Russian squadrons of Spitfires suffered severe losses due to friendly fire as the British aircrafts looked similar to the German Bf 109. While we do not have any evidence if this was also the fate of the PT879, we do know that this aircraft crashed during a dogfight in Spring 1945 with just 29 hours on the airframe and was recovered off the Russian tundra by an unnamed farmer.

The PT879 was recovered as a crashed but complete airplane - with the engine, with the propeller, wings, fuselage. Basically everything.

More than a half century later, in 1998, the battered aircraft was finally recovered in Murmansk as a complete but crashed aircraft. No other Spitfire aircrafts have ever returned from their service in Russia, this is the only one.

Today, the PT879 is undergoing a full restoration in the UK by Peter Teichman. An accomplished pilot, Peter has made it his life’s work to restore classic warbirds to their former glory and is uncompromising in restoring the PT879 to the same standards as when it left the factory at Castle Bromwich on the 4th of August 1944. An impressive number of PT879’s original parts are to be used in the restoration of the airframe, and more than 500 parts were used in the now-renovated fuselage.

Even so, there remained considerable aluminum parts of the salvaged wings which were not suitable for restoration. These parts, authentic pieces of world history featuring original marks and dents, are directly incorporated into the design of the RJM Collection, ensuring that every single RJM timepiece becomes visually unique.

In addition, in honor of this one-of-a-kind aircraft, we will be donating part of the proceeds of every sold RJM timepiece towards the restoration of the PT879 such that she may soon return to where she belongs: The skies!

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Limited in nature - and utterly unique in design

Our mission with the RJM was to capture both the design, era, and story behind the PT879 Spitfire Mark IX aircraft.

Starting with the case design, we wanted to incorporate part of what made the Spitfire aircraft such an aerodynamic masterpiece – the wing shape and wing structure. This characteristic feature is captured in the crown guard, which takes its shape from the elliptical wing form as seen from above and is decorated with the internal spars and ribs that ensured lightweight and strength to the wing construction.

The crown itself takes inspiration from the conical nose-tip, including indents where you would find the propeller blades. This also allowed for a diamond crown design typical for both modern and vintage pilot-inspired timepieces.

In contrast, we wanted the dial design of the RJM to capture both the experience of sitting inside a Spitfire aircraft, but also to take inspiration from watches worn by RAF pilots of that era. 

To be specific, our goal was to create a modern interpretation of the so-called Dirty Dozen watches, a name given to a group of 12 watches commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense and worn by British soldiers during the Second World War.

Finally, we wanted the battle-scarred Spitfire aircraft aluminum to take center stage in the design, positioned right above 6 o´clock with integrated date function, adding depth and uniqueness to every timepiece, and ensuring that no two RJM timepieces look the same.

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Design references

The case of the RJM is inspired by the watches worn by the British Royal Airforce and the British Army during WWII - with a modern twist and proportions as the RJM measures 40 mm – and not 34 mm as was the norm during the WW2 era. These watches were gentleman sized – not to be mistaken with the oversized German B-Uhr – had long lugs and a slightly larger crown in order for the pilot to wind his watch with gloves on.

On the RJM-03 the “NOSE UP” is inspired by the ‘elevator trim’ indicator gauge from the cockpit of the Spitfire aircraft.

We wanted the dial design of the RJM to capture both the experience of sitting inside a Spitfire aircraft, but also to take inspiration from watches worn by RAF pilots of that era.

The tail of the seconds hand takes form from the propeller blades of the MK IX Spitfire aircraft. The first MK I prototype actually had a two-blade wooden fixed-pitch propeller, whereas the last Spitfire aircraft mark, the MK 24 (type 356) was equipped with five metal blades.

The four “holes” on the tip marks the number of blades on the MK IX Spitfire aircraft Rotol propeller – first introduced on the MK VI (Type 350). The four-bladed propeller measured 10 ft 9 in (3.27 m) in diameter, housed in a pointed spinner.

The crown protector is heavily inspired by the Spitfire aircrafts elliptical wing shape & wing structure. This is part of what made the Spitfire an aerodynamic marvel and what makes the RJM stand out on your wrist.

The crown tip is inspired by the nose cone of the Spitfire aircraft combined with a traditional pilots-watch inspired diamond shaped crown.

The rotor decoration on the RJM is inspired by the Spitfire metal rivet construction. Bonus info: Every single rivet on our donor PT879 MK IX Spitfire aircraft was removed by hand in order to re-use as much of the aluminum in the restoration process as possible.

The RJM contains a piece of world history in the form of untreated aluminum cut directly from the PT879 MK IX Spitfire aircraft– showcasing the actual marks and dents of this particular aerodynamic marvel that helped change the course of history.

Diameter 41mm

(40mm without crown protector)

Height 10.9mm

Opening diameter 33mm

Weight 78g

3 Hands w. lume/ Date

Military green dial w. vintage luminous

Gungrey PVD, stainless steel case

Gungrey PVD, stainless steel bezel

2 years full warranty

3 ATM, 30 meters

Reference Miyota cal. 9015 movement with rotor decoration

Type Mechanical, self-winding

Frequency 28,800 VPH (4.0 hz)

Power reserve 42 hours

Jewels 24

Case 316L Stainless steel

Top glass Sapphire Crystal with 3 layers of anti-reflective coating

Caseback glass Mineral Crystal

The handcrafted and untreated aluminum dial is cut directly from the wings of the PT879 MK IX Spitfire aircraft. Every dial features the original marks and dents of its Spitfire aircraft donor. This also means that every dial is visibly unique.

Strap Width 20 mm

Military green canvas strap with matte stainless steel PVD-coated buckle and quick-release system.

The RJM-03

The RJM-03

The legendary Spitfire Aircraft

“Herr Reichsmarschall, give me a squadron of Spitfires!”

PT879 The "Russian Spit"

In the Spring of 1945 a Spitfire aircraft crashed on the Russian tundra during a dogfight. This is her incredible story.

Designing The RJM

Limited in nature - and utterly unique in design

Design references

Story Card

Technical Specs

The rjm-01

The rjm-02