Much like Tag Heuer, Hamilton is a brand that I have somehow never owned even though I often found myself enjoying their designs and even noticing them in TV and movie placements. Hamilton is actually a longstanding brand that can trace its roots back to 1892. They started building pocket watches in Pennsylvania and after making their first wrist watch in 1917, Hamilton was a major supplier of watches to the military. After World War II they produced the first electric watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, one of which is the style reborn as the watch seen in the Men in Black movie.
Fast forward to modern day and Hamilton is owned by the Swatch Group, a family that includes Omega, Tissot and even Blancpain. Hamilton has grown to be massively successful at marketing swiss watches with a strong tradition and swiss ETA movements (ETA is also part of the Swatch Group). Hamilton mixes its traditional, modern and military derived styling into many models spanning a large line up of automatic watches. In all of Hamilton’s current line up, there are few watches that embody Hamilton’s history like the Khaki Field line of military styled watches, loosely based on military field watches from WWII todays example is the Khaki Field Ref H70685337.
Timex has a new military model available for sale on their website, and we love the styling as much as the price. The Timex Military Classic is a quartz driven stainless steel watch that Timex designed to be reminiscent of WWII aviation equipment. Regardless of its roots, this piece has a nice military feel and a price that will please most. For $100, you get indigo backlighting, 100m water resistance, and a nylon strap.
Following hot on the heels of our review of the Rogue Warrior Avenger, let us introduce the Red Cell. Named after the unofficial title of Richard Marcinko's Navy security team, the Red Cell combines some interesting technology with a rough-and-tumble case and crystal guard.
Rogue Warrior is a new brand making hardcore watches for people who expect their watch to make it through just about anything. Rogue Warrior's tag line reads "When bad-ass is not bad ass enough." Is this simply marketing fluff, or is this a watch that sets a new standard in resilience?
In the past few years, there has been a noticeable trend for watches to be ultra-rugged, apparently designed for tougher, more demanding people. Watches have always been made to certain rigorous standars — thus Sir Edmund Hillary was able to wear a Rolex explorer to the top of Mount Everest. Today we look at a different breed of tough watches from a company whose leadership is firmly rooted at "the edge".
Rogue Warrior Watches is the wrist-borne brain child of one Richard Marckino who has an extensive history in the American military and special ops. Marcinko is the "Rogue Warrior" and has extended this brand into video games, books, knives, and now his own watch company. Rogue Warrior Watches make three models available with your choice of finish and strap. Today, we will be taking a look at their quartz chronograph: the Avenger Silver.
Last month, we posted a detailed review of the Marathon GSAR with some nice pictures, but there's nothing like seeing one in HD. In this video, I review both the GSAR (automatic) and TSAR (quartz) Marathon watches.
The Marathon Watch Company is a supplier of watches to the Canadian military, but their products are also available for use by the U.S. military, law enforcement, and other government agencies. Luckily, they are also available to the general public. The
Marathon GSAR (meaning "Government-issued, Search And Rescue"), is a stainless steel dive watch water-resistant to 300 meters, or 1,000 feet. This is a special edition watch that uses the ETA 2824 Swiss automatic movement.
Let's start with the specifications:
ETA 2824-A2 automatic movement with 25 jewels.
316L grade stainless steel case.
Water resistant to 30 ATM, 300 meters, or about 1,000 feet.
Case diameter of 39.5mm (excluding crown and crown guard), or 46mm including the crown.
If you've ever wondered what sort of watch would suit military personnel, SWAT teams and police departments, then today's review of the Luminox EVO SEAL Colormark 3051 might be of interest. Let's start off with the specifications:
Waterproof to 200m (660ft)
Mineral crystal
Non-screw-down, double-gasket crown
Quartz movement with end-of-life indicator (second hand starts jumping when the battery is low) and date complication
45 month battery life
60 click ratcheting bezel
44mm wide case, 14mm high. Case is made of a matrix of polycarbonate with carbon filler. Screwed caseback with SEAL logo.
Very light weight at 55g.
Beveled 23mm rubber strap with two-pin thorn buckle, double strap keepers and Luminox logo. Non-tapering, and quite comfortable.
The standout feature of this watch is the self-powered illumination. (More on this below). There are small vials of tritium-based light at each hour, on all three hands and the bezel pip. It'll glow for years without maintenance. On this model, the vials are green except for the one at 12, which is orange. The Colormark line is also available in other dial and lume colors.
I did my first review of an MTM Special Ops watch almost exactly two years ago. If I remember correctly, it was the only MTM model available at the time. MTM is now up to no fewer than eight different models with a very impressive selection of materials, finishes, and features. Although each MTM model is interesting in its own right, the new MTM Black Seal Xtreme Dive Watch stands out as an unusual and impressive feat of engineering.
You may remember the MTM Black Seal from an article we did last month on extreme dive watches. The most notable feature is the fact that it’s completely waterproof. What’s the difference between being waterproof and water resistant? The easiest way to explain it is that the MTM Black Seal is completely unambiguous in its claims regarding water and pressure resistance: the Black Seal has been proven in a Swiss laboratory to remain fully intact at the deepest known point on earth, the Mariana Trench, which is about 12,000 meters, or about 39,370 feet.
MTM’s secret is the silicon oil filled case which is designed to equalize the pressure exerted on the watch in a way which makes it virtually compression-proof. There are a few other watches out there which make the same claim, but none with quite the unique feature set of the MTM Black Seal:
We wrote about the MTM Special Ops Watch
in September of 2005, and found them unique, functional, and durable. We can now add "stealthy" to the list with the release of their three new models available in a camouflage
finish. Stainless steel is difficult to paint, so MTM had to PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) them
first, then apply paint. Not only is each watch individually numbered since this is a limited edition series, but each watch also has a slightly different paint
job, so no two are alike. From MTM's site:
Each Camouflage Hawk is unique – no two are the same. The patented Camouflage finish is a painstaking process with each watch showing variations and slight imperfections in color and design. These variations are not defects but rather they add to the character and uniqueness of each and every Camouflage Hawk.
MTM has also added four watches in
titanium for those preferring a lighter-weight timepiece. The titanium
pieces are PVD and plain — no cool camouflage. I was a bit surprised that
the crystals are mineral instead of sapphire, which would be more
durable, but would also drive the cost up.
If you're looking for a rugged watch with an unusual look and some interesting history, go see what MTM has to offer.
The MTM Special Ops watch is a nice-looking, rugged, functional timepiece. Apparently having previously only been available to the military and to law enforcement agencies (the Secret Service, Navy Seals, Air Force, Delta Force, Army Rangers, Special Forces, Swat Teams, FBI, DEA, Police Officers, SAS, and Special Forces worldwide), Multi Time Machine, Inc. is now making the Special Ops watch available to the general public.
The fist thing you will notice about the MTM Special Ops watch is its weight. If you prefer light-weight, inconspicuous timepieces, the Special Ops is not for you. If you like your watches substantial and solid, keep reading. The watch isn’t so heavy that you will eventually lose the use of your left arm, but the Special Ops is a dense and solid piece of stainless steel.
The next thing you will notice, after removing the watch from its packaging, is that the MTM Special Ops is a pretty nice-looking watch. It’s not Rolex or Breitling good-looking, but it’s unique and handsome. All three hands are easy to see against the black dial, and the Arabic numeral hour markers are large and clear. The 12, 4, and 8 are interrupted by the watch’s lighting system (more on this topic below), but if you don’t know where the 12, 4, and 8 are on your watch, you should probably just be wearing a digital, anyway.
Much like Tag Heuer, Hamilton is a brand that I have somehow never owned even though I often found myself enjoying their designs and even noticing them in TV and movie placements. Hamilton is actually a longstanding brand that can trace its roots back to 1892. They started building pocket watches in Pennsylvania and after making their first wrist watch in 1917, Hamilton was a major supplier of watches to the military. After World War II they produced the first electric watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, one of which is the style reborn as the watch seen in the Men in Black movie.
