Like all of the watches from AVI-8 in the Hawker Harrier line, the brand new 4056 is inspired by the famous Hawker Siddeley Harrier fighter jets. Probably best known for being able to take off and land vertically, these revolutionary aircraft allowed the military to operate in extremely tight situations where all previous planes were too cumbersome to use. The 4056 comes in three distinct designs (the 4056-01, 4056-02, and 4056-03), all of which use a different color scheme. Whichever model you chose, the 4056 includes a plethora of intriguing design elements that make for a fun and interesting watch. Avi-8 is great at coming up with original aviation-inspired touches, and they have really outdone themselves on this particular design.
Case
Let’s start with my favorite part of the 4056’s case: a relief of the Harrier jet’s enormous turbine fan has been carved into the back of the 316L stainless steel case. This is a fantastic way to incorporate a prominent aspect of the airplane into the watch design and it looks really cool to boot; definitely not your average case back. Avi-8 has given the 4056 an anti-reflective treated sapphire-coated mineral crystal, which sits within a thin bezel.
The polished lugs articulate, cinching the 45-millimeter-wide case snugly to your wrist. An anodized aluminum pusher resides at the 2 o’clock position on the outside of the case, color-matched to the specific 4056 model you choose.
Below it sits the large crown, which surprisingly is a screw-down design, even though the watch only achieves a 5 atm water resistance rating. It hardly seems worth the effort required to operate a screw-down crown if it doesn’t come with a stellar water resistance rating, but I am sure some people appreciate the added security it provides against snagging the crown.
Dial
There is a lot going on with the dial; no matter which color scheme you choose, it is a very busy design. Avi-8 has included some standout features on this watch, but even with a large diameter and small bezel, they make for a jam-packed dial.
Now, let’s dig into some of those interesting features, starting with the nifty seconds counter. Sitting atop the 6 o’clock marker, the round seconds wheel rotates while a red arrow indicates current second. Another cool feature is the large day display situated at the 3 o’clock position, looking rather like a fuel gauge in a vehicle. All of the days are on permanent display while a small hand points to the current day of the week. Keeping the theme going, the chronograph display at 11 o’clock resembles a speedometer’s half-circle layout.
Moving on to the hands, the sword-shaped hour and minute hands look sharp and are well-defined against their crowded backdrop. The long chronograph hand has an arrow-shaped tip; look closely and you can see that the colored part of the “arrow” resembles an airplane, so there’s another fun feature that I am sure will add to the owner’s enjoyment of this watch. SuperLuminva on the hour markers and hands allow the watch to remain functional in the dark, at least for a few hours.
The chapter ring features a tachymeter, black on tan at the top half and the negative on the bottom. There are only two Arabic numerals on the dial: the 0 and the 6. That’s right, like most of the other Hawker Harrier II watches, there is a 0 in place of the 12 o’clock position on the 4056. The date is displayed on a very small window that sits at a 45-degree angle to the rest of the dial. This makes for somewhat difficult viewing, but a yellow accent around it helps draw your attention to it.
AV-4056 Movement
Avi-8 has gone with the Japanese-sourced Miyota FS80 quartz movement, which includes chronograph, day, and date functions. This movement is rated as accurate to ±20 seconds per month. As this is a Citizen-derived movement, I am sure it will prove to be sufficiently accurate and reliable for just about all preferences.
Band
The combination of leather and canvas on the 22-millimeter wide band evokes the impression of a military pilot’s harness system, creating a nice and secure feeling strap.
The band was very stiff fresh out of the box, and will take some wearing in to soften up. Each model has a different color band, and while all look good, I am partial to the black-and-tan style sported by the 4056-02 model.
Final Thoughts
Included with your 4056 purchase is a 60-millimeter fidget spinner designed to resemble the turbofans from the Harrier’s Rolls Royce engine. Now, I never got into fidget spinners, but I’ve never seen one this cool and I wouldn’t mind giving it a twirl. Also included is a 2-year warranty, so after that expires, let’s hope the 4056 proves more reliable than the planes they are modeled after, although with the Miyota quartz movement, I have no reason to doubt that they will be. While I am not a fan of all of the elements Avi-8 put on this watch, I highly admire the originality and creativity that went into this watch.
To view AVI-8’s full line of watches visit their official website here.
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