When it comes to the ultimate sports watch, Tutima’s M2 Pioneer stacks up against the best of the well-known brands – and even has a little more to offer in terms of gutsy looks and top-notch German craftsmanship. Recently, I borrowed the M2 Pioneer and wore it for a week at the beach – in the ocean and around town. If the comments I received were any indication, I think there will be a few more sales of M2 Pioneer watches coming soon.
Thanks to its bright black-and-red color combination, the watch has a sporty appeal, but with a somewhat urban chic edge to it. The pearl-blasted solid titanium case measures 46.5mm in diameter and yet fits snugly to the wrist without seeming overbearing.

The watch was first part of the brand’s NATO Chronograph collection of professional timing instruments developed in 1984 and that continues to this day to be the official service watch of the Germany Army’s pilots. However, the most recent version is tough and reliable thanks to some impressive updates that work for diving as well as for aviation.

What’s Inside the Tutima M2 Pioneer

Powered by the Caliber Tutima 521 automatic chronograph movement, the watch offers 44 hours of power reserve. In addition to offering the hours and minutes, the watch features a small seconds subsidiary dial, and chronograph counters for minutes and hours, as well as a central seconds hand. There is even a date display and a 24-hour indication. While this may sound busy, it is all arranged on the dial in a very clean and easy-to-read style.

The case is water resistant to 300 meters and features integrated pushbuttons with a grooved neoprene inlay making them easy to use but not obtrusive. The bidirectional rotating bezel is equipped with luminescent capsules for easy underwater or night reading. Thanks to an inner case made of mu-metal (a nickel-iron alloy), the watch is protected from magnetic fields – making it incredibly useful when in the air, and reliable when exposed to everyday magnetism.

The velvet black dial boasts red and white accents and the black Kevlar strap is lined with bold red. It also is chocked with additional high-quality aspects such as a screw-in crown, screw-in caseback and sapphire crystal that is coated to ensure anti-reflection. Naturally, the time and chronograph hands, along with the hour markers, are all coated with Super-LumiNova.

My Impressions of the Tutima M2 Pioneer Watch

What I loved about having this watch in the ocean is that I was totally comfortable with it in the water because of the screw-in crown and screw-down back. But what makes it cool is that when I took it off my wrist to show to a few curious people, the case back is engraved with a plane – recalling Tutima’s vast experience with pilots. It makes for good story telling.

Also, because Tutima is a great brand with top-quality yet value-oriented watches, I was proud to take it off my wrist to show others. It is a comfortable watch that is not heavy because of the titanium case, and it has an overall presence about it that makes people take a second (and even a third) look. Maybe the best part of all is the quality/value ratio, since this chocked watch retails for just $6,100.

While I borrowed the black strap model, the M2 Pioneer is also sold with a titanium link bracelet, but also contains the Kevlar weave strap and the tool for changing the strap.