Swiss Army Officers Mechanical

Swiss Army. Victorinox, the original manufacturer of Swiss Army Knives, has been in the business of manufacturing precision timepieces for the past ten years. Given the military heritage of the highly successful Swiss Army Knife, it is not surprising that Victorinox selection of watches consists mainly of military inspired designs.

Swiss Army Officers Mechanical. The Swiss Army Officer's Mechanical is an automatic date watch, displaying the date in a 3-day window at the six o'clock position. Like other military inspired watches, 12 and 24-hour (military time) markers are found on the dial.

The watch has a stainless case with the dial protected by the sapphire crystal glass. The case is 40mm in diameter, and the movement inside can be seen through a crystal case back. The case is water resistant to 100 meters.

The watch can be had with a steel or rubber bracelet and choices of a black, silver or gray dial. Picking up the watch, it feels a bit light, apparently because bracelet of the steel bracelet version is not made of stainless steel. Overall, the watch is of good quality and the sample I tested changed date precisely a 12 midnight. Something many Rolex's won't do. Still the non-stainless bracelet is a bit of a letdown.

About Victorinox. In 1884, Karl Elsener opened a cutlery workshop in Ibach-Schwyz with the support of his mother Victoria. Seven years later Karl Elsener is contracted to manufacture soldier's knives for the Swiss Army. The invention of stainless steel is of central importance for the cutlery industry. Karl Elsener coins the company's new name, Victorinox, by combining his mother's name with "inox" (Inox is derived from the French word "inoxydable", which means stainless.). In 1999, The company expands its watch business and sets up Victorinox Watch SA.