Jack Mason
"The Pursuit Shadow A True Pilot Watch"
Authors Note: For full transparency I was not gifted this watch for review but lent it instead. The way I acquired this Pursuit was in fact a Pursuit itself, it was not the normal reach out through email and discus facelessly the possibility of the SBWC providing a form of marketing or review of a product for our community. This review in fact was thousands of kilometers, a flight across Canada and shaking hands that made this all possible. There will be no bias and I will give this specific piece a thorough review holding zero punches. Spoiler alert there are very little punches to be thrown!
Introduction:
I was fortunate enough to travel across Canada and meet Peter from Jack Mason at the Vancouver Time Piece Show. The whole experience felt surreal, being a part of the Sketchy Boyz Watch Club Admin Team has truly afforded me opportunities I’d never thought possible. Making my way from booth to booth there were the staple brands I had heard lots from of course but there were also brands that I had limited exposure to. Enter Jack Mason. One of our Admin Team CJ had written an article about them previously on their Diver and up until the Vancouver show that’s all I knew, so when I had the opportunity to hold their watches in person, I dove right in.
Talking with Peter over the typical watch nerd stuff, movements, materials and design I wanted to shift gears. There were thousands of people moving through that old Shipyard Pipe Shop and I didn’t want to just be another specification driven watch enthusiast who tend to turn their nose up to anything if it is a millimetre out of place. Switching up the conversation to function specifically those hard facts are what matter to me at the end of the day does it work? Does the watch serve a purpose and meet that purpose. I can honestly say the Pursuit meets and exceeds the standards I’d lay down for a modern flight watch.
At the end of the show, I swung by Peters booth, and he handed me the watch. To earn that trust through our initial meeting was a great feeling. Peter was a super intelligent genuine dude that I would say regardless of being sketchy or not we would be lucky to have the guy in our community.
Testimonial From the Cockpit
(Credit: @thepilotswatch)
"I’ve been a fan of Jack Mason since their original Strat-o-Timer - I own one of the original Candy Corns from the limited launch! When I was offered the chance to test out the pursuit pilot, I jumped at the chance. I will admit that while I was excited to try it out, that did come with a certain amount of uncertainty of how I would feel about a Jack Mason at a significantly higher price point. My fears however were ungrounded. I found myself reaching for the Pursuit Pilot on days when I had planned to wear other watches. The clean almost stark legibility coupled with its rugged durability made it an incredibly reliable companion in the cockpit. On an interesting personal note to me at least, while I love the bracelet on this watch, I think it’s one of those few pieces that just works better on a NATO. A good single pass takes this piece from a slightly dressy GADA piece to a full-on purpose-built tool.
While testing I exposed the Pursuit Pilot to -1.5 to +6.6G’s and Pursuit Pilot and it’s holding up fantastically. This is really the first time I’ve taken a baseline accuracy reading on a watch in normal conditions and on a day where I pulled a substantial amount of G’s for a prolonged period. I’ve noticed the Pursuit Pilot is well regulated at ~+5 spd and after experiencing a lot of G it ran faster and averaged +10 spd on that day. It settled back down the following day to holding +5 SPD. So in actual hard use, the timekeeping drifts slightly outside of the manufacturers spec but quickly returns when back in normal conditions. However, this is to be expected with a mechanical instrument and it’s performing excellently and I highly doubt the average user is subjecting their timepieces to that level of prolonged high G work. The Pursuit Pilot is a tool that absolutely holds up. It might sound like this discussion of timekeeping accuracy in a high G environment is largely academic as most real world missions are planned and synchronized on GPS time. However, GPS availability is likely to be one of the first casualties in a high end near peer conflict and however unlikely that is to occur, reliable mechanical timekeeping has a place as a back up."
-@thepilotswatch
Jack Mason Pursuit Shadow Pre Review Checklist
TAXI – CHECKLIST
Crew – Set for Taxi
Lights – As required
Ordnance/Pins/Covers – Arm/Remove as required
Chocks – Out
Brakes – Release and Check
TAIL WHL Switch – Unlock
HSIs, Ais, Standby Compass, turn and slip indicators, and Backup AI - Check
Jack Mason Pursuit Shadow Review Cleared For Take Off
Unboxing? Wearing? Travel:
Leaving British Columbia with three watches now tucked into my ARES Multi-cam watch roll I had to decide which one to wear on the trip home and you guessed it the Pilot watch was getting the wrist flight time. After removing a couple links from the bracelet, which was a breeze to adjust, I threw it on my wrist. First feeling I got was this thing is well built, and I can see the instant attraction for Pilot oriented collectors. I had up until this moment not really worn anything other than a Marathon Navigator which truly is a strictly tool watch built for flight. This Pursuit however was something a little more. Dressed up on the bracelet for formal occasion or I could see this thing riding on a NATO in a cockpit going Mach 5 no problem. Rolling my wrist over and checking out the clasp to watch head the whole fit and finish was leagues above what I was expecting. The sliding micro adjust was a nice touch and was utilized when cabin pressure changed and my wrist grew.
Reading Chris Hadfield’s most recent book “The Defector” as I flew across Canada glancing down at my wrist I couldn’t help but think this watch is beyond cool. It reminded me of the first time I strapped on my Hamilton Khaki Mechanical. But this watch was new, modern with a touch of class from the past. It had specs you could trust. Something most brands fall short on. Does it look like a flight watch yes? That’s where most companies and brands stop. Jack Mason went a step further and gave this watch what it needed. Even more important what the end user needed.
Packaging
Jack Masons packaging for this specific piece was very minimalistic which if you have read my articles before I’m a big fan of. Closets full of boxes from big names that collect dust just are not my thing. A simple carboard sleeve, a signed cardboard clamshell book style box with some information on the inside with a watch pouch and tag hanging showing their Dallas roots which gave it a touch of luxury. The watch was tucked away nicely and had a piece of fabric between the bracelet and watch head to avoid any unnecessary scratching (although the case coating would have mitigated any chance of this).
As I said the packaging to me was all that was needed. Nothing over the top the way it should be. What mattered was within that small leather pouch.
Case
The Pursuits case is made of 316L Stainless steel and comes in at a very reasonable 39mm. On the wrist the case is done with perfect symmetry leading it to wear like a true 39mm. Lug to lug is 46 which helps it remain stable, and it also lays quite flat. With a mix of brushed and polished surfaces done incredibly well keeping this watch as a dual-purpose tool watch with a sport watch aesthetic.
The bezel, this being a flight/field style watch the bezel is fixed and finished with a brushed top surface and polished outer ring. Something that will aid in protecting against scratches even though the whole case is coated with a hardness to protect against scratches altogether. Around the case you have a high polished chamfer that paired with the bezel chamfer guides your fingers and thumb to the crown. The crown is beautifully done with no crown guards needed its very sturdy, with a knurled coin edge and an embossed logo (The JACK MASON Texas Star) and rope style border. The function of the crown is a breeze and buttery smooth. Being a screw down crow it gives you that added sense of security at 150M water resistance. Ill take this moment to do a small comparison. As mentioned above I spoke of my Hamilton Khaki Mechanical, this watch the Pursuit that is, is everything I wanted from Hamilton. To see this type of fit and finish it helps you understand the price point a little more. Don’t get me wrong I really enjoy my Hamilton, but comparison is not only the thief of joy but an ultimate form of compliment. Both watch companies do their purpose well.
Back to the Pursuit. The thickness of the Shadow is 11.8mm which is a sweet spot that most do not achieve. It slides right under the cuff of a shirt but also stands proud enough to be a showstopper. The lug width being 20mm makes this watch a certified strap monster. Although I do think it looks incredible on the steel it comes on a WOE NATO is not out of the question.
The caseback is solid stainless steel no fancy sapphire glass to reveal the movement something I think is over done as of recent and truly is not needed unless the movement is some work of art. Jack Mason instead keeps it simple here with an engraved branding and specifications around the circumference of the caseback. The caseback is secured with four screws at the corners of the watch case providing another piece of security leading to the watches water resistance.
Dial
The Dial of the Pursuit is almost perfectly symmetrical sitting under a healthy AR coated sapphire crystal. The crystal is incredibly clear, and the coating is done to what I would say is a perfect blend of functionality and subtle flare. What I mean by that is the blueish hue stands through which in the elements it works like a dream and does its job mitigating glare (crucial in a cockpit of course) but in low light or inside it appears to throw a thin blue vail over the very well-done Flieger style dial. There is a circular brushed stainless chapter ring leading you down to the dial. The dial itself is a dark black lending to that Shadow name. This watch is almost a shape shifter when it comes to appearance in different light. I should mention the Pursuit also comes in multiple color ways which all are very well done. Although I think the black is the superior choice, but that’s just me.
The minute track is painted on in a stark contrast white to the black dial. Starting with 60 at the twelve o’clock and carrying on with stick markers in between increments of 5. With applied thick lume indices this watch has a solid lume presence rocking the Lumicast X2 Grade lume. These rectangular blocks sit thick and proud at the 3, 6, and 9 and have a triangular piece at the high noon or 12 o’clock position. All other positions around the face are smaller rectangles and oriented along the radius of the dial. The numbers printed on the dial are done very well with zero bleeding like they were baked right onto the surface.
(Credit: Jack Mason)
Branding and logo are not over done here with a Jack Mason Star applied just below the twelve o’clock. Some specifications are also done via print just below the hand stack reading (Automatic 150 Meters) also done in that stark white keeping this dial very clean.
Now for the hands! Bringing us that Flieger flair the hands are straight out of an old P51 or heritage gauge of an aircraft. The hour and minute hand reach perfectly to their designated task and are a elongated sword style shape with a border of stainless and a healthy fill of lume. A small difference from most instruments which are not bordered but souly paint throughout. This stainless border gives the Pursuit the class I spoke about where it blends tool and sport. The second hand is stick like with a flag style counterbalance. The colours of course harken to the heritage of the brand and are the state colours of Texas. The whole face of the watch in my mind is incredibly well done and clean. All business.
Bracelet
The Pursuits bracelet is something that most watch brands around this price point rarely get right. Let me explain, The Pursuit should be the standard for these other big brands to focus on. The bracelet is smooth brushed stainless steel with female end links that aid the bracelet in falling right around your wrist not impacting the watch heads presence on top of your wrist. Pure class. On the wrist it does not pull at hair and tapers brilliantly from the quick release 20mm end links to 16mm at the clasp like a luxury bracelet should. Its not boxy and finished with small chamfers down the links on the flanks make it extremely comfortable to wear.
Adjustability. The Pursuits bracelets is extremely functional and secure. Its no nonsense screw links coupled with a on the fly micro adjust system is again what most watch nerds look for. The double push button deployment clasp is signed and finished very well. The milled clasp mechanism is smooth to operate with a little note lasered onto the arm stating “Be Your Best” something that I’m sure most pilots wearing a Flieger can relate too. Anything short of that would be potentially catastrophic.
Movement
(Credit: Jack Mason)
What’s under the hood. The Pursuit runs a La Joux Perret G101 Swiss made automatic movement. This movement is strictly an Hours, Minutes and Seconds style movement which really is all you need in a Flieger/Field watch. I would be interested to see a date window done at the 6 O’clock on this specific model which I think it would be that added versatility that some may see as a make or break. Reality though most of us do not need the date on the fly as much as we just need a quick time reference. These movements are regulated by Jack Masons watchmakers and sit around +/- 5 Seconds a day running at 24 Jewels and 28,800 vibrations per hour. The pursuit has a 68 Hour power reserve and if you’re like me I rotate watches daily so its nice knowing your watch is waiting for you running the next time you pick it up.
(Credit: Jack Mason)
Another feat of engineering/design is their approach to anti magnetism. Jack Mason has placed a anti magnetic movement Nickel-Iron cage that aids in protecting the watch from magnetic fields. This type of protection meets the standards of ISO 768 and as a minimum, which safeguards the watch from magnetic fields of up to 4,800 A/m. Something you see in higher end luxury brands like Omega. Stepping into these niche securities sets Jack Mason apart from their peers.
Conclusion
Overall, I was very impressed with the Pursuit, and it is now on my short list. It is an achievable Flieger that ticks a lot of the right boxes. It really impresses me how these bigger brands with such high prices are not on Jack Masons level when it comes to fit, finish and specs. These smaller lesser-known brands are truly putting out great pieces that deserve to be in the field or in the skies providing accurate time keeping and being used for their intended purpose. Hats off to Jack Mason for this killer piece, what a stellar looking watch.
A special thanks to Peter for lending me this watch and trusting me with a review. I hope you all have enjoyed the article. Head on over to Jack Masons website and check out their catalogue!
Cheers
-66
"You should be a two-star general by now, Yet here you are."
"I am where I belong, Sir"
-Maverick