Avi8 Spitfire 300

AVI-8 Spitfire Type 300: Automatic, Bracelet, and an Airplane Rotor [Review]

The newest affordable flieger

Avi8 Spitfire 300

As with all of the watches AVI-8 produces, the design of their latest model is influenced by aviation. The brand is pronounced aviate after all. This time, they went with the WWII era Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft.

Spitfire Aircraft

Introducing the Spitfire Type 300 Automatic. Read on as we go over every mm of this new piece…

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Automatic Watch

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a watch with the word Spitfire in the name, but it’s the first time we’ve seen one with a dial inspired largely by the knots gauge of the namesake plane. AVI-8 didn’t miss a mark on this design and even made the minute hand look like the needle of the gauges. The slim fixed bezel makes the 42mm diameter almost all dial, adding to the legibility and field of view.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Hands On Box

It’s hard to remember the last time AVI-8 put out a piece with a flat dial. They are really big on textures and multiple levels. The markers on the spitfire are raised, and to add more depth, the half dial in the center has a sandwich style appearance for the 07 and 09 markers – more on this later. The screw heads at 6:00 and 3:00 are also applied and raised out of the dial with a subdued finish that reflects at certain angles.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Dial Macro Screw

Upon close examination, the dial has a lot going on, but it’s a breeze to read on the wrist. As with any proper pilot watch, legibility is key.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Dial Macro 45

Using all Arabic markers, the Spitfire places the minutes in the primary position. When we quickly glance at time, we’re rarely looking for the current hour, so it makes sense to get an instant read of the minutes. This style of layout can be useful for flying and diving, where you need to track shorter spans of time.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Dial Macro Screw

The 07 and 09 have a sandwich look to them at a wrist’s length away, but there isn’t a plate underneath, and it isn’t lumed. It’s more of a debossed or stamped effect. There is text on the knots gauge in the Spitfire plane with a similar appearance. The metal screws are also found on the gauge.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Dial Macro Logo

165 feet water resistance is screen printed at the top of the dial in an appealing vintage layout. Note that the crown is push-pull style, so don’t put too much weight on the rating.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Crown

The scratch resistant sapphire crystal is treated with an anti-reflective coating (AR) and gives a clear view into the textures of the dial.

Firing up a lumeshot on the Spitfire Type 300 is a real joy! Glowing double digits all around the dial is something pleasantly different.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Lumeshot

The lume is Swiss Super-LumiNova and it’s clear that AVI-8 was generous with applying the material. It charges up quickly and keeps consistent glow with a slow fade. We’ll definitely be doing a Lume Wars! video with this watch soon.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Lume Distortion

The convex crystal is a bonus for fans of crystal distortion.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Crystal

The Spitfire ships on a stainless steel bracelet with Oyster style links. All of the earlier AVI-8 watches were on straps, so it’s really nice to see them developing decent bracelets. The endlinks slide right up against the case to create seamless consistency, nothing janky here. When buying this model from AVI-8 you’ll get a leather strap for an entirely different look, however, this may not be the case when purchasing from other retailers.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Side

The crown side of the case features a carved design that represents the silhouette of the Spitfire wingspan. Looking at the watch from this angle, the crown is meant to be the propeller of the plane and the two lines are the wings.

Spitfire Plane

We keep seeing references to the side of the case being a similar shape to the plane’s wings from a bird’s eye view, but couldn’t see it.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Case Side

Most of the case has a brushed finish. The five dots at the lugs are meant to look like rivets on the side of an aircraft. The height of the case is 13.6mm thick with a 51mm lug-to-lug.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Chamfered Edges

Polished chamfered edges on the lugs are a nice touch.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Clasp Closed

The bracelet finish is also satin brushed and looks like any undesirable desk diving swirlies would be easy to clean up. The best way is to use a polishing machine with a satin wheel, but you could always hit it up with a Scotch-Brite pad if needed!

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Clasp Open

The endlinks start out with a 22mm lug-width and taper down to 18mm at the clasp. There is a flip lock that gives extra protection to the spring-loaded double push button deployment system.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Clasp

It’s not easy to see in the picture above, but the clasp has 3 micro adjustments for an easy way to deal with seasonal wrist size fluctuation without having to remove full links. No tool kit, no problem. DIYers can carefully use a toothpick or a pin to remove the springbar for sizing.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Caseback

Flipping it over, the exhibition caseback reveals the engine. Powering the Spitfire Type 300 is a Miyota caliber 8218. This self-winding movement is based on the caliber 8215, an affordable automatic workhorse found in many microbrand watches. The difference between the two caliber is that the 8218 places the sweeping seconds in the subdial at 4:00.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Miyota 8215 Macro Rotor

The 82XX series of movements have an indirect sweep seconds design that sometimes causes hesitating seconds. This occurs on many watches, but the small seconds subdial on the Spitfire will make this phenomenon much less noticeable.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Miyota 8215 Macro

Without a doubt, there will be comments posted online about how the Spitfire doesn’t have hacking seconds. While Miyota has started to add hacking functionality to some of the 82XX movements, the 8218 in this piece does not hack.

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Miyota Custom Rotor

The rotor has a decent thickness to it and the whirring is satisfying without being overbearing. We’ll post a video of the spinning in action. We love what AVI-8 has been doing with their rotors, especially this one. The details really give you something to admire and appreciate. It gives the Spitfire a unique touch and separates it from any other Miyota powered watch that may be in your collection.

Wristshots:

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Wristshot

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Wristshot Lugs

Avi8 Spitfire 300 Wristshot Side

The AVI-8 Spitfire Type 300 automatic watch is available in 4 styles:

  • Steel case/bracelet, blue dial (AV-4073-11)
  • Steel case/bracelet, green dial (AV-4073-22)
  • Black IP case/bracelet, black dial (AV-4073-33)
  • Grey/Gun IP case/bracelet, grey dial (AV-4073-44)

Avi 8 Spitfire Model Lineup

Conclusion: The Spitfire Type 300 is a bracelet automatic with a unique style, sapphire crystal and sweet custom rotor for around $430 USD. It looks amazing and wears well with almost anything. This piece is definitely clear for take-off!

Order the Spitfire from AVI-8 here, or look for it in our watch shop here. Follow @avi_8 on Instagram and tell them we sent you!

 

  • AVI-8 Spitfire Type 300 Automatic
    AVI-8 Spitfire Type 300 Automatic

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Dylan Singh
Dylan Singh
3 years ago

That plane rotor is sick.

Christian
Christian
3 years ago
Reply to  Dylan Singh

“Aerotor”

William
William
3 years ago

Am I the only one with the awkward feeling that it’s not right to have a Japanese Movement in a watch modeled after a British and Allied Forces aircraft fighter from World War II?

Chrys
Chrys
2 years ago
Reply to  William

As equally awkward as putting a NATO strap on a Russian diver’s… 😉

imawis
imawis
3 years ago

Nice watch but non hackable movement is deal breaker for me

imawis
imawis
3 years ago

Why do you think they went with the Miyota 8 and not the Miyota 9 with hacking?

Caliber Corner
Caliber Corner
3 years ago
Reply to  imawis

Every watch brand has their own reasons for selecting a certain movement: from dial layout, case specs, and cost to name a few. Brands don’t always design a watch with hardcore watch enthusiasts in mind, so functions like hacking or manual winding are not always a priority. Sometimes the design itself is what matters most. With regards to the Spitfire Type 300 in this review, the dial layout (specifically the small seconds subdial) would not… Read more »

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