Abingdon Co., the female-owned company that creates watches for women, launched its new watch series: Legends, a series that pays homage to women throughout time that have broken barriers and defied all odds. To kick off the series, the company created a small-batch of commemorative aviation watches in collaboration with The National Wasp WWII Museum to honor the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The watch will be unveiled to the public during the museum’s annual WASP Homecoming Celebration and Fly-in this weekend in Sweetwater, Texas. After the unveiling, the watches will take their first flight on a BT13 aircraft with the Chick Fighter Pilots, an active all-female flight group, at the historic Avenger Field where the WASP trained during WWII, followed by a live auction.
The WASP Watch honors the legacy of the first women to fly military aircraft for the United States. The women used their skills to transport and test planes, train male pilots and tow targets for live ammunition practice. In total, there are only 1,102 watches created as part of collaboration to honor the 1,102 WASP who served during WWII. The limited-edition watches come in two color options, silver and two-tone, featuring a smooth and durable brown leather band and starting at $775. In August, Abingdon will be expanding the WASP collection to include a gun metal watch, offered in a special collector’s box. Abingdon, alongside The National WASP WWII Museum, will gift 14 watches to the remaining 14 WASPs who currently live across the country.
The watch features the official WASP wings insignia on the face, and the words “WASP – Women Airforce Service Pilots” engraved on the back. It has the number 38 on the dial in memory of the 38 WASP who died in service. On the functional side, the watch features three time zones, four hands, a date function, Super Luminova markings, and a bi-directional rotating bezel for tracking a third time zone. The interior consists of a silver sunray dial, rivet hour markings, softened stainless steel carvings and a Ronda 505.24H Swiss quartz.
