In January 2026, a message arrived through the contact form on our website. A squadron in the Royal Australian Air Force was looking for a watchmaker to build something specific: a watch designed around their own identity, made for the members of the unit, at a quality level worth wearing for decades. Six months later, a numbered series of more than thirty custom watches was on its way to Australia — each one personalised for the person who ordered it.
This is the story of how the 10 Squadron project came together, from the first sketch to the finished watch. We are sharing it the way we experienced it: as the designers and manufacturers of the piece.
What is a custom squadron watch?
A custom squadron watch — often called a unit watch — is a timepiece designed for and ordered by the members of a military unit, built around the unit's insignia, colours, and identity. It is not an off-the-shelf watch with an engraving added at the end. The dial, bezel, caseback, and often the movement decoration are designed from scratch for that one unit, and the watch is typically produced as a numbered series that is never sold to the public.
Unit watches have a long tradition in military aviation. They mark service in a particular squadron at a particular time — something a standard-issue watch never can. After several of these projects, including our earlier work for a USAF F-35 squadron, we have learned that the best unit watches come from close dialogue: the unit brings the identity, we bring the watchmaking.
The brief: black, white, and a red "10"
10 Squadron operates the MC-55A Peregrine, an electronic warfare and intelligence aircraft based on the Gulfstream G550 airframe. The squadron found us through our website after seeing our earlier custom military work, and their brief was clear from the first conversation.
The squadron's colours are black and white, and they wanted the watch to reflect that: a subtle, stealthy look built on a matte black dial and a black ceramic bezel. The squadron's logo — a white knight chess piece set over the Southern Cross constellation — is printed on the dial, together with the words the squadron chose to carry on it: FIND FIRST STRIKE FIRST. The number "10" is picked out in red, a detail inspired by the red accent on our F-35 project. And the aircraft itself is present twice: as a silhouette of the MC-55A Peregrine on the bezel, and on the custom oscillating weight (rotor), visible through the sapphire display caseback.
How does the design process actually work?
Every custom project starts with sketches, and sketches are meant to be argued with. We went through multiple iteration rounds with the squadron's project team, refining the design piece by piece. One example: the 12 o'clock marker started as a Federation Star, but as the design matured, we replaced it with a downward-pointing triangle — a cleaner, more legible choice for a tool watch, and one that let the logo and the red "10" carry the identity.
Honest technical dialogue matters just as much as drawing skill in this phase. The squadron asked whether the logo itself could be lumed. We liked the idea, so we tested it with our dial manufacturer — and the result did not meet the quality we were willing to put our name on. We said so, showed why, and the design moved on. In our experience, a custom project earns trust not by saying yes to everything, but by being clear about what will actually look good on the wrist five years from now.
Throughout production, the squadron received progress photos: the custom rotors, the ceramic bezels, the dials as they came off the line. When you order a watch that does not exist yet, seeing it take shape matters.
When quality control earns its keep
During a production review, we caught an error: the dials had been manufactured with the original Federation Star marker instead of the agreed triangle. The correction was straightforward — new dials were made promptly, and the delay was minimal — but the episode is worth telling because it shows what quality control in a custom project actually means. Details like a 12 o'clock marker are exactly the kind of thing that slips through when nobody is checking against the approved design. We check.
The watch itself
Under the squadron identity sits the same engineering we put into our own military watches. The case is 316L surgical-grade stainless steel, 40 mm across and 46 mm lug-to-lug, at 11.95 mm thick — sized to sit flat and stay out of the way on the wrist. The crystal is slightly curved sapphire with an inner anti-reflective coating. The bezel is a 120-click unidirectional design with a ceramic insert and BGW9 luminous markers, and the dial is a two-layer sandwich construction in matte black with Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9. Water resistance is 20 ATM (200 metres) with a screw-down crown.
At its heart beats the Swiss automatic Sellita SW200-1, operating at 28,800 vibrations per hour — a movement chosen for its proven reliability, precision, and durability. The sapphire display caseback shows the custom MC-55A rotor — and carries each watch's individual engraving.
One series, thirty-plus individual watches
The caseback is where a unit watch becomes personal. Each watch in the series is individually numbered, and each member chose their own caseback text — a callsign or name and ID number, or the default "MC-55A" marking. Ordering ran through a dedicated, hidden product page on our site, where each member reserved their watch number and entered their personalisation directly. Finished watches were then shipped individually to each member — a practical detail when a unit's people are rarely in the same place at the same time.
What this project says about custom work
The 10 Squadron watch joins a portfolio of custom projects that now spans satellite operators like KSAT, the Store Norske mining company, and military units on three continents — you can read how a project like this is structured in our practical guide to custom watches. The pattern repeats: an organisation with a strong identity, a first conversation over email, sketches, honest iteration, and a numbered series that exists nowhere else.
It is worth noting how this project started: an enquiry through the contact form on our website. If your unit, squadron, or organisation is considering a watch of its own, that same form on our custom watches page is where every project begins. Bring the identity — we will bring the watchmaking.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a custom squadron watch?
A custom squadron watch is a timepiece designed specifically for a military unit, built around the unit's insignia, colours, and motto rather than adapted from a retail model. It is typically produced as an individually numbered series exclusive to unit members, often with personalised caseback engraving for each wearer.
How long does a custom military watch project take?
For the RAAF 10 Squadron project, the timeline from first contact to delivered watches was about six months: initial dialogue in January 2026, design iterations in February, approval and ordering in March, then roughly three to four months of production before delivery in June–July. Complexity of the design and production volume affect the timeline.
Can every watch in a unit order be personalised?
Yes. In the 10 Squadron series, every watch was individually numbered, and each member chose their own caseback engraving — a callsign or name with ID number, or a default aircraft marking. Ordering ran through a dedicated product page where members reserved their number and entered their text.
What movements are used in ÁIGI custom watches?
Custom projects use the same proven automatic movements as our regular collections. We most often use the Swiss Sellita SW200-1 and the Miyota 9000 series — all reliable, widely serviceable calibres.
How do we start a custom watch project for our unit or company?
Every ÁIGI custom project starts with a message through the contact form on our website — that is exactly how the 10 Squadron project began. Describe your unit or organisation and what you have in mind, and we take it from there with sketches and an open design dialogue.
