Pégoud Onduleur Release: Not Your Average Pilot's Watch

The wristwatch - as we know it today - would not exist if not for aviation. You could argue that men wouldn't be wearing wristwatches, if not for Brazilian pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont, who asked Cartier to develop a watch that he could easily check while flying his plane, and thus the Cartier Santos was born, and the watch industry was forever changed. However, Alberto Santos-Dumont was not the only significant pilot in aviation history. Let's talk about Adolphe Pégoud, and the new brand and the watches created in his honor.

Adolphe Celestin Pégoud was a flight instructor and the first ever fighter ace in history. He was also the first person to parachute from a plane, the first person to accomplish inverted flight, and it's safe to say he was probably the first person to do a lot of things related to planes. Unfortunately, he was shot down by one of his own former students during the First World War, but he left his mark on aviation history, and now the Pégoud aims to do the same with watches.

Pégoud Onduleur: Flying the Distance

Pégoud is introducing the Onduleur, a six-piece collection inspired by the adventurous spirit of the brand's namesake. The Onduleur is designed as a modern pilot’s instrument, combining a 43mm faceted stainless-steel case with a distinctive fixed, undulating coin-edge bezel. Two crowns flank the case, with the second operating a rotating inner ring that provides a quick reference for a second time zone. Interestingly, this crown faces upwards instead of sidways, making it seem like a plane turbine. Beneath the anti-reflective sapphire crystal, sword hands and applied indexes feature two-tone lume, glowing blue on the hands and green on the markers.

Powering the watch is a Japanese Miyota automatic movement with three hands and a date display. A screw-down caseback, 10 ATM water resistance, and a 22mm genuine leather strap complete the package.

The Onduleur Automatic will be offered in six dial variants, including Harvest, Vintage Green, Black, Combat Ivory, Aero Noir, and Horizon Blue. The collection launches September 11, 2026, with pricing starting at $280 USD, while the Black-IP model is priced at $300.

Personally, I would have preferred a 20mm lug width, but I understand that with the larger 43mm case size, the designing team may have felt that a 22mm lug width was more proportionate. These watches and the distinctive dual crown (especially the second one) are a real swing for the fences, and I think it says a lot that this relatively new brand is debuting something so new and original that could be so polarizing.

I think it is a real cool watch, even if I understand that it may not be for everyone. Regardless of whether these watches are for you or not, this brand is off to a great start, in my opinion. Learn more at the following link!

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