With Model 158, Sinn has revived a little-known facet of its history: the Bundeswehr Chronograph. Presented in a refreshed, limited edition, how well does this retro chronograph perform?

Sinn is known for making watches for police and military forces. The EZM 1, for example, was the first mission timer Sinn designed in 1997 for special units of Germany’s customs authority. Sinn had the German special police unit GSG 9 in mind when it developed the UX divers’ watch, which is also worn by members of the German Navy’s Special Forces Command. And the 212 KSK meets the requirements of the German Army’s Special Forces Command.

But fewer watch fans may know about the points of contact between Sinn and the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, in the past. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the company’s founder, Helmut Sinn, purchased the German Army’s stock of decommissioned Bundeswehr chronographs, which were made by Heuer (Ref. 1550 SG). Helmut Sinn reworked these watches and afterward sold them as Sinn Model 155 Bw, with Sinn lettering on their dials designating “Heuer/Sinn Bunderswehr-Chronograph für Piloten” (German for Heuer/Sinn German Armed Forces Chronograph for Pilots).

Now Sinn pays tribute to this watch with its Model 158, our test watch, which is released in a limited edition of 500 timepieces. The lion’s share of this watch’s design has been adopted unchanged from its ancestor. Anyone familiar with the original model will immediately notice that the new watch is almost the spitting image of the Bundeswehr Chronograph, but a few details have been altered. The case corresponds almost 100 percent to the original. Fidelity to detail is evident in the shape of the push-pieces, as well as in the crown, which has no lettering for better usability, and above all in the bidirectional rotatable bezel of black anodized aluminum, which honors its ancestry in its minutes scale and in the typography of its numerals. The family resemblances even include subtleties such as the fluting on the rotatable bezel, the fully pierced strap lugs and a rather unusual snap-on case with four set screws. The bead-blasted surface of the case, its diameter of 43 mm, its opaque metal back and its domed acrylic crystal likewise match their counterparts on the original 155.

The new watch’s dial, on the other hand, looks somewhat different from that of its forebear. The bicompax arrangement of subdials (with seconds on the left and elapsed minutes on the right) and the typography of the hour numerals correspond to the original, but some modifications have been made. For example, the chronograph’s elapsed-time hands are highlighted in red, the hands have a more modern shape, a date display has been added at 6 o’clock and a scale with split-second markers at 5-minute increments has replaced the original scale, which marked every fifth minute with a number. The new face makes a harmonious impression and follows Sinn’s characteristic color scheme. Furthermore, the updated design scarcely detracts from the excellent legibility, which naturally topped the list of specs for the original Bundeswehr Chronograph.

Simple operation was another crucial item on the military’s list of requirements. As is usual with this caliber, the push-pieces demand authoritative force, especially when starting the chronograph. Controlling the stopwatch function isn’t made any easier by the authentic shape of the push-pieces, which offer a rather small area on their circular tops. The functionality is better with the low-rise but large-diameter crown, which — like its ancestor on the historical model — protrudes unusually far from the side of the case, thus ensuring that this fluted button can be easily turned and readily pulled outward. A stop-seconds mechanism halts the balance and thus also stops the hands: this makes it convenient to set the time with to-the-second precision. Although the bidirectional rotatable bezel doesn’t snap into place in specific increments, it’s nonetheless a pleasure to operate: it runs smoothly, but not so easily that it could inadvertently shift position.

Robustness was the third important requirement for the military. At first glance, the operating elements could be a potential cause for concern here. Fortunately, closer inspection finds that the lengthy push-pieces and the protruding crown fit in their guides very firmly and without play, thus making an extremely sturdy impression. The flat bezel doesn’t protrude beyond the case, so even without Sinn’s frequently used technology of a screwed and therefore impossible-to-lose bezel, there’s little reason to fear that this rotatable ring might snag on something and get pried off. The acrylic crystal over the dial doesn’t resist scratches as effectively as a sapphire crystal, but it’s made of the same material as its ancestor — and at least it won’t splinter if it suffers a sharp impact. The case’s water resistance to a depth of 100 meters is more than adequate for a pilots’ watch.

Despite the watch’s high resistance to pressure, Sinn has succeeded in keeping it fairly slim. The 158 encases a taller self-winding movement than the original model with a hand-wound caliber, so it can’t have a height that’s quite as slim as the 13 mm of its predecessor, but its 15 mm height and outwardly sloping bezel give it a sufficiently low-rise profile. A curved back and recesses in the case’s middle piece further help this chronograph make a slim impression.

Most of the original Heuer/Sinn Bundeswehr Chronographs encased Valjoux’s hand-wound Caliber 230 with column wheel and flyback function. The new 158 relies on Sellita’s self-winding Caliber 510. Critics allege that Sellita only imitates ETA’s movements. (Copying them would not be prohibited because their patent protection has expired.) This allegation may be true in most instances, but Sellita has achieved something here with Caliber 510 that ETA has not yet accomplished with its Valjoux 7750: namely, a symmetrical dial arrangement (tricompax or bicompax) combined with a rapid-reset function for the date mechanism via the crown. The ETA Valjoux 7753 needs a corrector button at the 10 and this extra button requires an additional aperture in the case. We prefer Sellita’s more elegant solution.

Apart from this detail, the Sellita movement corresponds to its robust progenitor with cam switching and a unidirectional effective winding rotor, whose clearly perceptible and audible idling is liable to annoy connoisseurs with sensitive hearing. The maximum power reserve of 48 hours is also similar to that amassed by the ETA Valjoux movement. Sinn encases the better “Premium” quality variation with a Glucydur balance, decorative finishing and blued screws. The case’s authentic and consequently opaque back conceals the movement, but you shouldn’t lament the absence of a transparent caseback because this watch’s concept and its caliber were developed to prioritize functionality.

The German Air Force stipulated that the watch must not deviate from perfect timekeeping by more than 10 seconds per day while its chronograph mechanism is running. Our Witschi timing machine confirmed that the contemporary 158 keeps time with significantly greater accuracy than that. With its stopwatch function switched off, it kept very nearly perfect time, gaining an average of less than 1 second per day. And with the chronograph mechanism switched on, its rate posted an acceptable daily loss of 4 seconds. However, according to our strict evaluation scheme, the difference of 10 or 12 seconds among the several positions compels us to deny it a very high rating in this category.

For the German soldiers who wore the original model, this watch was a purely functional instrument, a dyed-in-the-wool tool watch. The finer points of its workmanship played a subordinate role as long as they didn’t detract from the watch’s durability. Things are naturally different for a watch worn by civilians. It’s noteworthy to see that Sinn has paid careful attention to the quality of the finishing on the case, dial and hands. The aged leather strap with red decorative stitching likewise fits neatly into the overall picture. Only the simple off-the-rack buckle with a bent (rather than milled) pin reminds us that straps and clasps used to be items that were expected to wear out and need replacement.

The Sinn 158 is priced at $2,660, which seems reasonable when one bears in mind that it’s launched in a limited edition of 500 pieces. Other Sinn models (for example, the 103 St Acrylic on Strap priced at $1,890) are less expensive alternatives for wearers who are interested solely in functionality. But compared with other brands, and in view of its exciting history and successful design, we think it’s worthwhile to call up the reserves and put the Sinn 158 into active duty.

SPECS:
Manufacturer: Sinn Spezialuhren GmbH, Wilhelm-Fay-Strasse 21, 65936 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Reference number: 158.010
Functions: Central hours and minutes, seconds on a subdial, date display, chronograph with a central seconds hand and a counter for up to 30 elapsed minutes
Movement: Sellita 510 “Premium,” automatic, 28,800 vph, 27 jewels, stop-seconds function, rapid-reset function for the date display, Incabloc shock absorption, fine adjustment via index, Glucydur balance, 48-hour power reserve, diameter = 30 mm, height = 7.9 mm
Case: Stainless-steel case, domed acrylic crystal above the dial, screw-less crown, four screws hold the snap-on case in place, stainless-steel caseback, pressure resistant to 100 m and secured against low pressure
Strap and cla­­sp: Cowhide strap with stainless-steel pin buckle
Rate results (deviation in seconds per 24 hours, with chronograph switched off/on):
Dial up +3 / 0
Dial down +5 / +1
Crown up -3 / -11
Crown down +1 / -3
Crown left +4 / -6
Crown right -5 / -7
Greatest deviation 10 / 12
Average deviation +0.8 / -4.3
Average amplitude:
Flat positions 292° / 269°
Hanging positions 264° / 232°
Dimensions: Diameter = 43 mm, height = 15.15 mm, weight = 110 grams
Limited edition of 500 pieces
Price: $2,660

SCORES:
Strap and clasp (max. 10 points): Handsome aged leather strap with red decorative stitching; simple buckle 7
­­­Operation (5): The crown is easy to operate and also triggers a quick-reset function for the date, but more than a little force is needed to activate the chronograph’s start button. 4
Case (10): The well-crafted case is secured against low pressure and also resists high pressure up to 10 bar; the acrylic crystal is an authentic retro detail, but it isn’t scratch resistant. 8
Design (15): A very handsome classic with tasteful new color accents 14
Legibility (5): The time can be read very quickly both day and night, but the elapsed-time hands with no luminous coating offer less contrast. 4
Wearing comfort (10): The supple cowhide strap makes this watch very comfortable on the wrist. 10
Movement (20): Sinn adds attractive decorative finishing to the top-quality
“Premium” variation of Sellita’s robust caliber. 13
Rate results (10): The average gain is very slight, but the maximum difference among the several positions is quite large. The timekeeping strays into the loss column when the chronograph is switched on. 7
Overall value (15): A good value for the money and the limited series is likely to enhance value retention. 13
Total: 80 POINTS

No wonder tools designed to be worn on the wrist have been in high demand since the rise of the wristwatch. Originating from military timepieces and field watches of the first half of the last century, tool watches are built to last and to withstand the elements, shocks, and other unfortunate happenings in the daily life of a watch enthusiast. Despite their rugged nature and uncompromising focus on functionality, modern tool watches have no shortage of subtle details and sparkle with refinement, as these three pieces prove.

Today we look at three new tool watches to hit the market, with offerings from Bremont, Hamilton, and Mühle-Glashütte.

Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph

Bremont’s new Terra Nova watch line is in the tradition of the field watch, designed in the style of soldiers’ watches from the early 20th century. Both pocket watches and wristwatches, as used in WWI and WWII, had large luminous numerals and robust cases that were non-reflective thanks to their matte surfaces.

The Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph echoes these design elements, but with the addition of a stopwatch function and a rotating compass bezel. The case is made of highly corrosion-resistant 904L stainless steel and, as the model name suggests, measures 42.5mm in diameter; the bidirectional rotating bezel has a ceramic insert and, together with the sapphire crystal, effectively protects the front of the watch from scratches. The water resistance is 100 meters, which is in line with other modern field and tool watches on the market. The Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph is powered by the Sellita SW510 self-winding movement with 56 hours of power reserve, which displays the stopped minute and running seconds in typical bicompax layout at 3 and 9 o’clock. There is also a date indication at 6 o’clock.

Pricing is marked at $5,400.

To learn more, visit Bremont, here.

Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition

Hamilton’s Khaki Field Expedition is a tool watch par excellence, with a ten-bar pressure resistance, an easy-to-read luminous dial, a sturdy strap or bracelet and an automatic movement with an 80-hour power reserve. Thanks to its bidirectional rotating compass bezel, it is also perfect for trips into the backcountry. Hamilton is now adding new variants to the range: there are dials in black, white and blue, NATO straps in green, blue and gray, and a metal bracelet.

The stainless steel cases are available in diameters of 37 and 41mm, each measuring 11.5mm thick. This makes the Khaki Field Expedition also an ideal watch for couples. Both sizes are powered by the H-10 with an anti-magnetic Nivachron balance spring.

Pricing starts at $945 for the variants with NATO straps. The executions on a metal bracelet retail for $1,045.

To learn more, visit Hamilton, here.

Mühle-Glashütte Sportivo Compass Date

With the Sportivo collection, Mühle-Glashütte unveiled a new watch family this year, comprising of the Sportivo Compass Date, Sportivo Travel GMT, and Sportivo Active Chronograph, each produced in stainless steel cases with a diameter of 42.5 millimeters and a water-resistance rating of 30 bar (300 meters). 

As is typical of the Glashütte brand, the new Sportivo watches are powered by automatic movements equipped with Mühle’s own shock-resistant woodpecker regulation and personalized rotor. The Swiss made calibers, which are regulated to chronometer standards, each come to life through a transparent case back. The three watches feature luminescent dials protected by a thick anti-reflective sapphire crystal. They are attached to a resilient canvas-rubber strap.

Designed for outdoor hiking activities, this Sportivo Compass Date comes with a bidirectional rotating compass bezel that allows the determination of the cardinal points. It features a ceramic inlay and frames the blue gradient dial that has an impressive embossed texture. The watch is driven by a personalized SW 200-1 caliber and offers second-stop and quick-date functions.

Pricing is marked at approximately $2,500 when converted to USD.

To learn more, visit Mühle-Glashütte, here.

1910s
Many soldiers in World War I preferred a quickly readable watch on the wrist to a timepiece safely tucked away in a pocket of their uniform jacket. One consequence of this was that after the Great War ended, the wristwatch became popular among men, many of whom had formerly belittled it as a feminine accessory. Wristwatches worn by soldiers on the front lines were typically equipped with protective grids to cover their crystals, which were not yet shatterproof.

Waltham World War I Military Watch

1920s
Wristwatches emerged as a genre in their own right during the Roaring ’20s, and Louis Cartier was among the trailblazers. He sketched his first Cartier Tank in 1917. The model was first produced in 1919 and it was given its elongated “cintrée” shape in 1921.

Cartier Tank Cintré

1930s
The Art Deco style also influenced the design of wristwatches. With a rectangular case engraved with parallel lines at its upper and lower margins, the Reverso was a child of its era. LeCoultre was one of its producers.

LeCoultre Reverso

1940s
With the outbreak of World War II, the military again strongly influenced design in the ’40s. Pilots’ watches like the Big Pilot’s Watch, which IWC first produced for the German Air Force in 1940, were easy to read thanks to their big cases and black dials. They also had easily graspable crowns that pilots could operate while wearing gloves and their often extra-long straps enabled airmen to buckle these watches around their thighs.

IWC Big Pilot’s Watch°

1950s
Hardly any model has influenced the watch world as strongly – and has been copied as often – as Rolex’s Submariner. Its debut in 1953 inaugurated the era of round, watertight, sporty, self-winding watches.

Rolex Submariner 1953

1960s
The ’60s were the epoch of outer space. This bold adventure was embodied in wristwatches like Omega’s Speedmaster Professional, the first watch on the moon. Buzz Aldrin wore the Reference 105.012 when the Apollo 11 mission landed on the lunar surface in 1969.

Omega Speedmaster Professional

1970s
Quartz watches dominated the ’70s. Their glowing digital indicators initially relied on reddish LEDs (light emitting diodes) and later on LCDs (liquid crystal displays). The Chronosplit chronograph, which Heuer launched in 1975, was equipped with both.

Heuer Chronosplit

1980s
“Fun” was the name of the game for buying and wearing watches in the ’80s. Thanks to its incredible diversity of motifs, the plastic Swatch watch persuaded millions of people to buy watches not primarily to read the time, but to have fun and be able to quickly switch from one look and color scheme to another.

Swatch Keith Haring Watch

1990s
The mechanical watch began its renaissance in the ’90s and horological technology and complications basked in the limelight. But there were also innovations in design, for example, the Lange 1 by A. Lange & Söhne: its off-center dial arrangement would later be adopted by other manufacturers.

A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1

2000s
Scarcely any new design in the ’00s could rival the success of Hublot’s Big Bang. Its theme was the combination of widely diverse materials. This mix was made possible by the structure of the case, which combined more than 50 individual parts. The large number of limited editions also contributed toward making Hublot synonymous with bold color, diversity and joie de vivre.

Hublot Big Bang

2010s
The trend toward revealing the inner workings of a watch by skeletonizing the dial had already begun in the ’00s, but dials were often eliminated altogether after 2010. Richard Mille ranks among the pioneers of this new openness.

Richard Mille RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Ultralight McLaren F1

At first only acceptable for women, the wristwatch finally gained currency among men during the American bicycle craze of the late 1800s when a bevy of clever devices for strapping watches to the wrist – then called “wristlets” – were developed and marketed for hands-free time telling. During the second Boer War (1899-1902) and World War I (1914-1918), soldiers began buying these wristwatches because they believed, quite accurately, that a watch could help keep them alive by synchronizing movements at the front with the larger artillery blasts happening behind them. When service ended, some survivors of these wars began to use their wristwatches for hunting, fishing, hiking, bicycling and driving the occasional automobile. Watch manufacturers in Europe and America were quick to catch both the military and civilian trends, and advertisements readily conflated both uses into one message: rugged men doing rugged things needed a rugged wristwatch.

A first-series Rolex Oyster Perpetual Ref. 6350 with honeycomb dial from 1953 that sold for CHF 68,750 at Christie’s Geneva on May 16, 2016. The time-only Rolex Explorer was a rebranded Oyster with numerals on the dial that debuted in 1953 as a rugged tool for the era’s most aggressive adventurers.

In 1903, Dimier Frères & Cie. issued a patent for a watch case with attached lugs to hold the wrist strap, and as early as 1913, the New York-based mail order company Ingersoll – capable of churning out as many as 8,000 watches a day – was advertising these new wristwatches to “outdoor folks” and “husky sportsmen.” Other companies dubbed similar watches the “Skirmisher,” the “Campaign Watch” and the “Territorial Wrist Watch.” Before long, “Khaki” began to appear in ads for watches with straps made of beige webbing, and as early as 1917, the American company Depollier was selling moisture-proof wristwatches with luminous dials and Waltham-built movements as the “Khaki Watch.” The field watch as we know it today was thus codified over 100 years ago.

Shedding Victorian Values and Embracing the Great Outdoors

While these new wristwatches appealed to soldiers for obvious reasons, they also appealed to a whole generation that was shrugging off the high decoration and strict etiquette of the Victorian and Edwardian eras in favor of stripped down, functional designs and increasingly relaxed social norms. Between the World Wars, wristwatches also aligned with a rising obsession with the great outdoors, epitomized by the legacy of John Muir’s conservationism, Teddy Roosevelt’s formation of the American National Parks and the vast popularity of Ernest Hemingway’s stories about the contemplative WWI veteran and trout fisherman Nick Adams. This was a context within which a rugged tool watch could begin to capture the hearts of civilians.

Rolex, Tudor and the Civilian Roots of the Field Watch

In 1919, Hans Wilsdorf moved Rolex from London to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, where he began to perfect his waterproof Oyster case, and in 1946, he formed Tudor in order to offer similar but more affordable watches. A brilliant marketeer, Wilsdorf would exploit headline-grabbing explorers and athletes as watch brand testimonees, cementing the idea that a wristwatch could act as a symbol of one’s ruggedness and bravery. That symbolic power was – and still is – one of the core appeals of the field watch.

Even though Rolex took on only limited military contracts, many World War II soldiers – especially pilots – would buy Oysters for themselves because the legibility and accuracy far exceeded that of mil-spec watches. Wilsdorf couldn’t have asked for a better promotional lift, as these Rolex-wearing military personnel were fast becoming folk heroes and style icons. Capitalizing on that marketing opportunity, Wilsdorf rebranded the Rolex Oyster as the Air-King in 1945, a move that dovetailed perfectly with the emergence of the Jet Age after WWII. In 1953, Wilsdorf rebranded an Oyster with numerals on the dial as the Explorer, this time capitalizing on an Oyster having made it to the top of Mt. Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary’s team. Though neither the Air-King nor the Explorer were military issues, they brought straightforward aesthetics and battle-ready durability to the wrists of countless civilians.

The Tudor Ranger was an affordable version of the Rolex Explorer.

Reissued as the 41-mm Heritage Ranger in 2014, this watch helped Tudor achieve the vast popularity of their current line of vintage-inspired tool watches.

The Air-King raises questions about the differences between pilots’ watches and field watches. Though many watches were designed with pilots in mind (e.g., Charles Lindbergh’s clever Longines Hour Angle, Zeniths with billboard-sized dials, various chronographs and eventually GMTs), many WWII mil-specs covered watches for both air and ground divisions, making it difficult to draw a clear line between the two categories. Because most civilians never become pilots, commercial marketing of these watches focused on “the field,” a term which likely derives from ‘battlefield’ but which has long since become synonymous with the great outdoors. In the case of Rolex – as well as many other brands – the distinction between a pilots’ watch and a field watch may come down to naming conventions and marketing, neither of which deliver a definitive distinction.

Nonetheless, the Rolex Explorer was popular enough during the 1950s that Tudor brought out the Ranger as an affordable alternative in the early 1960s. With its black face, bold luminous markers and an impenetrable Rolex Oyster case, the Ranger epitomized the simple aesthetics and functionality of the field watch. In 2014, Tudor reissued it as the Heritage Ranger, a 41-mm field watch with a camouflage strap that helped shuttle the company back to the top of Swiss watchmaking. That camouflage strap suggests a military connection that was never really there while also capitalizing on the recent revival of camouflage in popular fashion; one can imagine that Hans Wilsdorf, the clever marketeer, would wholly approve.

The Rise of the Hamilton Khaki Field Watch

Why would a WWII-era watch design still hold sway over the popular imagination during the 1950s and ’60s, a time when fast-paced futurism promised to put the war as far behind as possible? Part of the answer is the endurance of military men as sex symbols in WWII-themed films after the war – especially 1951’s Oscar-nominated film The Frogmen, which helped cement Hamilton’s military watches into the popular imagination as symbols of masculinity and bravery.

Like most American manufacturers, Hamilton stuck to WWII-era military specifications after the war, but in 1964, the U.S. Department of Defense issued watch specification MIL-W-46374A, the template for Hamilton’s 33-mm Ref. 9219, a time-only watch with a 24-hour inner track that Hamilton would readily produce millions of. Predictably, those numbers swelled during the Vietnam War.

Today’s 38-mm Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical is larger than its predecessors from the 1970s and ’80s, but the field-watch aesthetics and durability remain largely unchanged.

By the end of the 1960s, Hamilton had partnered with L.L. Bean to sell co-branded versions of the 9219 through the Maine-based mail order company’s catalog. Offered alongside Swiss Army knives, compasses, thick wool socks and other outdoorsy goods, Hamilton would repeat this co-branded marketing strategy with Orvis and Brookstone, as well as selling countless Hamilton-branded Khaki Fields to other commercial outlets. When the MIL-W-46374A specification became defunct in the 1980s – leaving massive manufacturing capability potentially inert – Hamilton began to hit the civilian market even harder with the Hamilton Khaki Field Watch, effectively transforming this military icon into an outdoorsy lifestyle accessory.

Mil-Spec Becomes Mil-Chic

In a stroke of good luck for Hamilton and other companies selling field watches, the military-influenced style was undergoing a complex journey into high fashion during the 1970s and ’80s. In 1971, Yves Saint-Laurent unexpectedly turned camouflage prints into runway chic, a gesture in perfect sync with anti-war protesters in the U.S. who sported combat uniforms with studied irony. By the 1980s, politically minded punk bands like The Clash helped make army jackets as common as blue jeans, while Andy Warhol started painting huge canvases with camouflage patterns. Camo had become a fashion statement, which in turn fueled a significant uptick in army surplus stores at the time.

It was in this milieu that the preppy weekender look – which has always borrowed liberally from military garb – would ascend to great heights. Paul Newman and the ever-outdoorsy Robert Redford sported aviator sunglasses, khaki pants and field jackets with effortless aplomb and massive sex appeal. Meanwhile Andy Warhol – somewhat confusingly as a glamorous, gay, urban art star – complemented his Levi’s, Chelsea boots and horned-rimmed glasses with a red L.L. Bean down-filled puffy vest. Passing away in 1987, this would be one of Warhol’s last looks, one so elemental and iconic that’s it’s been a men’s fashion staple ever since.

CWC has been selling field watches to civilians since the 1990s. The 38-mm General Service model pictured here is just one of many mil-spec models CWC offers today.

These outdoorsy styles became so widespread and have endured for so long that today we hardly notice the military origins of camouflage-print Louis Vuitton handbags, $500 Prada aviators, or the epaulets and ammunition holders on a Ralph Lauren jacket. Following yet another resurgence of the preppy outdoorsy look, today’s so-called heritage brands (L.L. Bean among them) are reissuing items from their back catalogs as the latest styles. Accordingly, in 2018, Hamilton was able to bring out the Khaki Field Mechanical, a hand-wound version that’s become a hit all over again – including, for the first time, fashionable camouflage straps.

Today’s Khaki Field series ranges from blacked-out 50-mm giants to svelte 38-mm steel versions with aged lume and olive green NATO straps. The latter are largely faithful to the aesthetics of the early Khaki Field Watch, and – following current trends down into the sub-40-mm zone – some of the most popular. The resurgence of the Hamilton Khaki Field proves once again that, while technology marches more or less forward, fashion will perennially circle back on itself.

The Mechanical Field Watch in the 21st Century

Beyond Tudor and Hamilton, the field watch is seeing a broad resurgence among many brands, old and new. Below are a few examples that demonstrate how brands today are playing with field-watch style, mixing up various features to create new models that scratch that old itch for durability, simple design and the symbolic power of sporting a tough little tool watch.

CWC General Service (£199-£449) – In the 1970s, the Cabot Watch Company, or CWC, established itself in order to snatch up newly available contracts with Britain’s Ministry of Defense as Rolex and Hamilton relinquished these shrinking partnerships. By the 1990s, CWC was starting to sell mil-spec watches to civilians, and today, CWC’s blocky, utilitarian General Service models are available in a range of compelling and affordable models. The CWC W10 GS, for example, sports an ETA 2824 automatic mechanical movement, a rounded, 38-mm stainless-steel case and a classic mil-spec dial that could easily pass for a WWII-era watch. Other CWC GS models recreate the quartz units of the 1980s and ’90s in a number of military-inspired colorways.

No two of the Longines Heritage Military’s “aged” dials will be the same. With its simple 38-mm steel case and minimal dial text, it captures the stripped-down appeal of a classic field watch.

At just 38 mm across, the Bell & Ross BR V1-92 Black Steel is one of the smallest watches in the Bell & Ross catalog, but its striking, straightforward dial gives it massive wrist presence.

Longines Heritage Military Watch ($2,150) – Despite its somewhat ordinary name, the Longines Military Watch was one of the most alarming watches in all categories for 2018 because it included an intentionally “aged” dial. That aging was achieved by randomly splashing flecks of dark paint onto the cream dial, creating what many call “fauxtina.” That dial may look a little odd against the otherwise unblemished case and the brand new blued steel hands, but these speckles add depth and warmth to the simple elegance of this 38.5-mm time-only field watch. The L888 movement (built on an ETA A31 base) beats a little slower than today’s standard, but in so doing offers up a robust 65-hour power reserve.

Bell & Ross BR V1-92 Military and BR V1-92 Black Steel ($1,990) – Where CWC and Longines can draw on their own heritage, younger brands don’t let that stand in the way of producing some of today’s most compelling field watches. Consider the Bell & Ross BR V1-92 Military and BR V1-92 Black Steel, two 38.5-mm automatic mechanical field watches released in 2017. Bell & Ross excels at playfully patching together preexisting design elements to create their own concoctions, and with the BR V1-92 Military they’ve done so with characteristic grace: aged lume, a minutes track around the dial (no hours), a “mouse pip” at noon, a red “MT” logo (stands for Military Type) and a decidedly plain brushed steel case. For those seeking something more straightforward, the Black Steel’s monochromatic dial offers eye-grabbing legibility and classic military style. Though neither model resembles any historical reference, both the Military and the Black Steel look just like field watches ought to; as such, they are brilliant examples of how functional military design elements have become fashionable aesthetic cues over time.

Weiss 38-mm Standard Issue Field Watch ($950-$1,995) – Another interesting riff on the field watch comes from California-based Weiss Watches, a recent phenomenon in the American watch scene. We might catch a bit of irony in the name Standard Issue Field Watch, as this design is neither standard nor issued; instead, like the Bell & Ross, Weiss has combined classic field-watch details to excellent effect. With a 38-mm steel case, a subdial for running seconds at 6 and a railroad minutes track, this watch exudes classic field-watch style. Meanwhile, the “Los Angeles, CA” label across the dial announces that there’s no bona fide military connection whatsoever. Two movements are available: the manually wound Caliber 1005 built on an ETA 7001 base and the automatic Caliber 2100 built on an Eterna 39 base. Those looking for a bigger watch will want to jump up to the 42-mm model that features Weiss’s in-house manually wound Caliber 2005 (starting at $2,250 for steel and going up to $8,950 for the solid 18k yellow-gold models).

Seals Model C Field Explorer ($640) – Affordable, funky and inspired by seemingly everything from WWII at once, the Seals Model C Field Explorer combines various field-watch elements into a wholly original-looking watch. The blocky case and wire lugs are reminiscent of a Panerai Radiomir, while the generously lumed numerals and markers, broad hands and high contrast outer track offer classic field-watch legibility. Inside is a Swiss Technology Production 1-11 automatic mechanical movement capable of storing 44 hours of power. For the funkiest version, go for the aged stainless-steel finish with the blue dial.

Weiss Standard issue Field Watch

Seals Model C Field Explorer

The Future of the Field Watch

Where complicated watches draw us into nuanced engineering feats and bejeweled watches dazzle us with diamonds, the field watch must stick to the simplest design formula without succumbing to banality. Witnessing and judging attempts by watchmakers to meet that design challenge is surprisingly rewarding, enough so that over a century after its inception, simple field watches are some of the most highly anticipated iterations each year. Despite the slow pace of their evolution – or perhaps because of it – we can count on field watches to hold our imaginations, not only as companions for life’s various adventures, but as symbols of who we’d like to be as we explore, scout, range and traverse whatever it is we consider to be the field.

The French term torpilleur stands for a small boat designed to carry torpedoes into battle against larger, more heavily armed battleships. The name was reintroduced at Ulysse Nardin in 2017, fittingly chosen for a combatively priced watch with an in-house movement. For 2021, Ulysse Nardin’s 175th anniversary, the Swiss watchmaker is feeling combative again, and has launched a whole fleet of Torpilleur watches as a horological tribute to its storied past as a supplier of chronometers to many of the world’s navies in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ulysse Nardin President of America François-Xavier Hotier explained, “Chronometry has been our mantra for 175 years. These new Marine limited editions are designed for our friends and collectors worldwide. We pay tribute to our past as supplier of most of the admiralties in the world. It’s a wonderful way to showcase this chapter of the manufacture’s past, and a fitting addition to the many cutting-edge pieces we’ve introduced in the last two years. In short, we can now travel back in time with this collection, focus on the present with the recent releases, or even look into the brand’s future with the UFO deck clock.”

Speaking of time travel, established in 1846 by a 23-year-old Ulysse Nardin (Jan. 22, 1823 – Feb. 20, 1876), the Le Locle-based company quickly spotted the rising demand for pocket and marine chronometers that could measure time with the highest level of precision. As a consequence, Ulysse Nardin was awarded over 4,300 distinctions, including 18 gold medals, for the precision of its timekeepers over the following decades. Among its clients was also the U.S. Navy. In 1905, the Washington Naval Observatory began organizing a competition to find a manufacturer that could supply its torpedo boat officers with superior chronometers. Ulysse Nardin won the competition several years in a row, and established an ongoing relationship as an official supplier to the U.S. Navy that lasted until the 1950s.

The seven new models of the Marine Torpilleur anniversary collection (which we covered at their launch here) highlight different aspects of the brand’s current competencies: in-house movements, silicon components, tourbillon and moon-phase, enamel dials and, in the case of the chronograph shown here, also the additional measurement of elapsed time and an annual calendar. Ulysse Nardin has decided to equip only the watches powered by the automatic UN-118 (Enamel Blue and Panda) and UN-119 (Moonphase) with a COSC certificate. Hotier commented, “With the invention and use of new materials in our timepieces, such as silicon, we think it is more important to test the performance of the movement in its ready-to-wear state, i.e. once it has been put into the case with the dial and hands on it, in the same conditions the owner will wear the watch. That’s why we mostly focus on our own Ulysse Nardin certification; not only [do] we test the movement’s performance, but also the additional functions such as calendar, chronograph and power-reserve indicator. We may get some of our watches COSC-certified, but believe me, our own UN certification should be even more reassuring for collectors.”

The Marine Torpilleur Chronograph with annual calendar is available with either a varnished white or a matte blue dial, and is powered by the UN-153 manufacture movement that has replaced the earlier UN-150 movement. The dial is adorned with silvered counters at 9 and 3 o’clock, with the annual calendar being positioned at 9 o’clock. The date at 6 o’clock changes automatically (in sync with the month), and the annual calendar system (first used in the perpetual calendar model of 1996) is adjustable both forward and backward by using the large crown (which means that the month and day can be conveniently adjusted in both directions, should its owner have accidentally gone too far). Ulysse Nardin’s Caliber UN-153 is visible through a sapphire exhibition caseback, and the partially openworked rotor is decorated with the brand’s nautically inspired anchor motif surrounded by a frosted, textured surface.

The version shown here (Ref. 1533-320LE-0A-175/1A) boasts a crisp white dial showcasing Roman numeral hour markers, blued “pear” steel hands, and a well-balanced bicompax chronograph layout. The watch is mounted on a brown leather strap with four oversized white stitches; a blue strap is also available for this version (Ref. 1533-320LE-0A-175/1B).

With a diameter of 44 mm for its 50-meter water-resistant stainless-steel case, the chronograph is the largest member of the Torpilleur collection, but doesn’t wear too big on the wrist, thanks to a comparatively compact length (lug-to-lug) of 49 mm. On top of that, its white dial and blued hands make it rather versatile, sailing easily between an elegant and an almost sporty appearance. Dial legibility is generally good (and most likely better as with the blue dial version), but, unsurprisingly, the lack of luminous material on the hands and dial does reduce its capability for a cruise after dark.

In comparison, the Torpilleur Chronograph is 0.66 mm taller than an IWC Portugieser chronograph measuring 13.00 mm, and has a diameter of 44 mm compared to the 41-mm steel case from IWC. Its main advantage, however, is probably the added annual calendar function, which is, next to the power-reserve indicator, an equally user-friendly as well as a convenient feature. Add to that an in-house movement, a distinctive nautical design, and a comparatively small number of watches produced, and you’ll get a lot of reasons to embark on a horological cruise with Ulysse Nardin this year.

For nostalgic reasons, we would certainly not have been opposed to a boat christening ceremony with a “Chronometer” on the dial of the chronograph, given the company’s stellar performance at the Neuchâtel Observatory, but, overall, the chronograph and the new Torpilleur collection do appear to have hit their target.

SPECS:
Manufacturer: Ulysse Nardin SA, Rue du Jardin 3, 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland
Reference number: 1533-320LE-0A-175/1A
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date and annual calendar; chronograph: minutes and seconds
Movement: Self-winding mechanical Caliber UN-153, 406 components,
escapement wheel, balance spring and anchor in silicon, 28,800 vph (4Hz), 52-hour power reserve
Case: Polished steel case (the curving lugs and the bezel are satin-finished) with transparent caseback, sapphire crystal on both sides, screw-down crown, dial with silvered subdials and blued hands, water resistant to 50 m
Strap and clasp: Brown alligator leather strap with folding clasp
Dimensions: Diameter = 44.0 mm, height = 13.66 mm, lug to lug = 49 mm
Variations: With blue leather strap (Ref. 1533-320LE-0A-175/1B); with blue PVD-coated dial (Ref. 1533-320LE-3A-175/1A on brown strap, 1533-320LE-3A-175/1B on blue strap)
Price: $12,100