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The history of N.B. Yaeger
NBY is powered by Martin Braun, a young German master watchmaker already famous for his Martin Braun brand, a collection of watches focusing on complications and innovation. Years of work with vintage timepieces sharpened his skills and awakened a desire in him to recreate and improve upon classic designs in watch making.
One of watch making’s classic designs is, of course, the pilot’s watch, which has re-emerged once again as a popular style. “At NBY, we have made it our goal to do something about boredom,” Braun says. “There is a yawning chasm of unimaginativeness that exists most decidedly in the entry-level price range for mechanical watches.” His objective is to change this.
NBY’s mechanical pilot’s timepieces feature the same attention to detail as do the models found within the Martin Braun collection, and allow Braun the freedom to design freely within another genre. These timepieces fit neither with the philosophy nor the price policies of his established Martin Braun brand. For this reason, he created a new label to accommodate his fresh, innovative ideas just for those enamoured of a clear aviator style with no excess baggage.
For the fourth year in a row, one of Martin Braun’s classic watches was nominated for the 2005 Technical Innovation award. The current issue of both WatchTime and the German watch magazine Chronos have nominated the Heliozentric as one of the year’s twenty most innovative timepieces, with placement pending a jury vote comprising American consumers and jewellers and industry experts from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria respectively. The Boreas model won first place in WatchTime magazine’s Watch of the Year 2003 Technical Innovation competition; in 2002, EOS took second place in the Watch of The Year Technical Innovation competition held by Chronos, and third place in WatchTime magazine’s Technical Innovation competition.
Brand Profile
No Barrier Yäeger fuses the distinct characteristics of cockpit instruments with precise timekeeping. These innovative timepieces are inspired by and designed with aviation fans in mind, people who love the instrumental look of pilot’s watches. The sky’s the limit: whether flying a plane or wearing your NBY around town, you will always be in style and have the clear, functional language of time needed to complete the trickiest of manoeuvres.
Pilot’s watches have been around as long as pilots have, arguably beginning with Louis Cartier and Alberto Santos-Dumont, a pioneer in the field in need of a stylish timepiece for skirting around turn-of-the-century Paris in his mad-capped flying machines. Since then, the aviator’s timepiece has become rather standardized, with most companies vying to see how many functions can be compressed into one small space. NBY is a gust of fresh air, combining well-chosen functions with good design that makes sense.
What meets your eye on an NBY timepiece is more than just plain cool. This is German-made quality at an affordable price. From the trusty timekeeping abilities of the reliable and precise Swiss ETA movements used to the one-of-a-kind look in keeping with pilot traditions, NBY offers its owner, all engines are go. An added bonus is the uniquely low cost of these mechanical beauties named for the flight alphabet.
The time is right for an uncluttered, modern approach to aviation watches, with ten good examples provided on the following pages. NBY is where the fantasy of flight meets its maker.
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