Tissot Introduces the Heritage Navigator “Săgeata Orientului”
Announced at the end of 2020, the Heritage Navigator “Săgeata Orientului” is a limited edition made for Tissot’s distributor in Romania that recalls the glamorous era of early aviation. Based on Tissot’s world-time wristwatch that’s a remake of the vintage original of the 1950s, the Săgeata Orientului was conceived to mark the 100 years since the founding of CFRNA. Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne in full, the CFRNA was a French-Romanian transcontinental airline that flew passengers and mail between Paris and Istanbul in the 1920s before merging into Air France. Translating as “arrow of the orient”, Săgeata Orientului was the original route flown by the CFRNA that included several stops on the way, including Bucharest. Despite taking 21 hours, the CFRNA flight was high-speed travel by the standards of the time, with the same trip by rail taking three days. Initial thoughts Although the Săgeata Orientului is essentially a colour variation of the Tissot world time – originally launched in 2013 for the brand’s 160th anniversary – it is smartly executed, and just as importantly, backed up by a rich historical tale evocative of the glamorous early decades of aviation. And being a Tissot, the Săgeata Orientului is naturally affordable. The US$1800-ish price tag makes it strong value, and an eminently compelling buy (which I first came to know of thanks to Monochrome). The only downside of the watch is inherent to the Heritage Navig...