Sinn Watches Meeting The New DIN 8330 Standards
DIN 8330
Germans and their standards. I can see the fun in that though. However, Sinn doesn’t joke around and is dead serious regarding meeting certain standards. The DIN 8330 is similar to the TESTAF guidelines and is to pilot’s watches what DIN 8306 is to diving watches.
Criteria
In short, the DIN8330 standards are a set of criteria for reliable, functional and safe pilot watches. What to think of standards about clear readability of the dial during day & night? The ability to operate the watch with pilot gloves? Accuracy in ranges between -15 degrees celsius and +55 degrees celsius? Also accuracy during temperatures changes are included in the standards. Resistance to vibration, magnetic fields, centrifugal forces, liquids etc. Oh, and compatibility with the rest of the night-vision equipment in a plane of helicopter.
G-force tests
Sinn and Others
At the request of Sinn Spezialuhren, the DIN (German Institute for Standardization) established a task force to develop a new standard for pilot’s watches (resulting in DIN8330). Not only Sinn was part of this taskforce, other members included Aachen University of Applied Sciences and DNV GL (formerly Germanischer Lloyd), Lufthansa Cargo, Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), Stowa, Laco and Glashütte Original.
Magnetism tests
Three Sinn Watches Have Been Certified
So, what good is that if you are not a pilot? That doesn’t matter. Germans like to have their stuff over-engineered and comply to standards that are beyond daily abuse. Just because. No matter whether it is cars, cameras, toys, kitchen supplies or watches. It needs to be well-engineered and tested. I like that attitude from a watch brand. As written before, Sinn Spezialuhren is a brand that comes with innovations and solutions for real daily problems.
Pilots
I have no doubt that a number of pilots actually wear Sinn watches and have high demands for them. With complying to the DIN 8330 standards, they can rest assured their watches will perform perfectly. I remember that our contributor Gerard Nijenbrinks, who was a Sinn agent for the Dutch market for a long time, actually delivered quite a few Sinn watches to pilots. With these new DIN 8330 compliant Sinn timepieces, they’ve become even more suitable for them.
Non-Pilots
Just like the Moonwatch was a regular chronograph before the NASA tests in the 1960’s, these Sinn watches were regular pilot’s watches before complying to the DIN 8330 standards. For me, as a non-pilot, complying to the DIN 8330 standards is of little use. But the fact that they meet these requirements, is something cool. You will have a certified readable, accurate and water and shock resistant watch. If it is good for a pilot in professional surroundings, it is probably good for you as well. The fact that you know you can go off-road with your 4X4 SUV – but never do – makes owning such a car more fun. Nonetheless, Sinn (and the other involved companies) take this dead-serious, so no jokes please.
Three References are DIN8330 Certified
In this first run, the models 103 Ti IFR, 103 Ti UTC IFR and 857 UTC VFR from Sinn Spezialuhren GmbH successfully fulfilled the strict test criteria on the 24th of June.
Take the Sinn 103 Ti IFR for example. Based on their historical (I am safe to say that) 103 model, it meets the new DIN 8330 requirements and can be seen as a pure tool watch. Starting at €2380 Euro (European price, since Sinn has no traditional distribution model here, they can be more expensive outside Europe), you get a lot of professional watch for the buck. Pictured below is the 103 Ti UTC IFR, with a second time zone indicator. Available from €2880 Euro, again European price.
If you don’t fancy a chronograph, the DIN 8330 approved Sinn 857 UTC VFR might be an interesting pick, starting at €1990 Euro (price in Europe). No chronograph, but a 60-minute scale rotatable bezel and a second timezone. Water resistant to 200M and a Tegiment treated watch case. A while ago, Sinn asked me to try to scratch a Tegimented case using a screw-driver. It didn’t feel good to go all psycho on a watch case, but in the end I did and it was simply impossible to scratch it.
I am not sure if I am a fan of the DIN 8330 text printed on the dial, but based on the press images it doesn’t look that bad. However, I’d rather have it without. But I am not German. 🙂
These three Sinn models can be ordered via their official website or through their dealer network. Currently though, the waiting time is set to 15 weeks.
