Creating versatility in its new design, Yema is offering the Urban Field in two diameters: 37.5mm and 40mm. Each maintains a 7.8mm thickness and is made from polished steel. The sleek visual quality of the exterior is one that Yema accomplished for the sake of versatility, making it easy to wear everyday as well as with a suit. The Urban Field is available with three distinct strap and bracelet options, each offering a customizable approach to the military-style adventurer watch.

The dial is inspired by field military dials, known for their straightforward layout and utmost legibility. All of the odd numbered hours are marked with Arabic numerals, while the remaining values are represented by geometric indices. Each of the hour markers and the hands are coated in Super-LumiNova that make them visible in low light conditions. Completing the functionality of the dial is a seconds track that spans across its periphery. Aesthetically, the dial has a dynamic texture created by sandblasting that contrasts the smooth polishing of its exterior. For coloring, Yema is making the new Urban Field in five new hues, including white, black, vibrant blue, lush medium green, and a mustard yellow-gold. 

Powering the Urban Field is the caliber SW210-1b from Sellita. It is a hand-wound mechanical movement with an accuracy rate of  +/- 7 seconds daily. Capable of indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, the mechanism offers a power reserve of 45 hours. The movement is visible via an exhibition caseback, revealing its upgraded Elaboré and decorated finish inclusive of blue screws and Geneva stripes. 

Pricing for the Yema Urban Field begins at $1,099 for the iteration presented on a Bonklip steel bracelet and $1,249 when secured by a Beads of rice steel bracelet. Each option comes with an additional Urban leather strap as well. 

To learn more, visit Yema here.

On the exterior, the USMC dive watch series features a 42mm carbon composite case with a unidirectional ratcheting bezel. Its silhouette uses sharp lines and angles that are reminiscent of the way a gemstone is cut with facets, introducing a new case style into the ProTek catalog. On the reverse, the screw-down case back is embossed with the USMC logo, speaking to the partnership between the brand and the military branch. Complete with a screw down crown, the watches are water resistant to 200 meters, an attribute that is tested in both air and water for assurance. The case is secured by a genuine rubber strap with a ribbed pattern that adds to the robustness of the watch. All nine models sport a unique colorway, with those defining details occupying an outer dial ring, the crown, or in some cases the rubber strap. 

For the dial, ProTek opts for a sleek black background with contrasting white details. The 12-hour Arabic style indices are bold, while the complementing 24-hour indices are adjacent in a slightly smaller font size. Adding another functional aspect is a date window at 3 o’clock using a sleek white numeral with a pronounced white outline. Around the periphery of the dial is a set of geometric markers that provide an alternate method of indicating the time in low light conditions. Those rectangular markers as well as the hands feature ProTek’s self-powered ProGlo illumination. The tritium illumination is brighter than conventional lume and is capable of glowing continuously for 25 years without needing a charge from an external light source. 

Powering the USMC collection is a Citizen/Miyota quartz movement that offers a 10-year battery life. With a mechanism that is ultra-accurate and long lasting, the watch embodies the reliability and toughness of the Marine Corps professionals it supports. 

Pricing for each of the models in the new ProTek USMC collection is marked at $450.

To learn more, visit ProTek here.

The history of IWC’s popular Big Pilot’s Watch stretches further back in time than the histories of most wristwatches. IWC first made the watch for the German Air Force in 1940. Observation watches inspired the styling of this 55-mm-diameter timepiece, which encased pocketwatch Caliber 52.T.S.C. This timepiece has left its mark on the design of pilots’ watches today – together with comparable models from German manufacturers like A. Lange & Söhne, Wempe, Laco, and Stowa.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage 55 with manufacture caliber and manual winding returns to the original diameter of 55 mm. ($14,800)

Distinguishing characteristics were the military triangle flanked by two dots at 12 o’clock, a sans serif typeface for the numerals (which include a 1 that looks like an unadorned vertical bar), and rhombic hands. Each of these features can still be found today on almost all current IWC pilots’ watches. Even the Mark XVIII preserves the family’s design, although its prototype, the Mark 11 pilots’ watch created for the Royal Air Force in 1949, used other marks and hands.

But the successor of the original model wasn’t unveiled until 2002, when IWC re-released the Big Pilot’s Watch with a 46-mm-diameter steel case and in-house seven-day Caliber 5011. With its large, eye-catching size and sleekly simple design, this watch soon distinguished itself as a masculine statement on the wrist. In addition to the characteristic dial, the conical crown is another unmistakable feature, and a user-friendly one, too, because the crown’s shape makes it easy to use when wearing gloves.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage 48 has a light- weight titanium case. ($13,400)

The diameter of the case of the classical Big Pilot’s Watch has remained unchanged (46 mm) from 2002 to the present day, although current versions encase the improved Caliber 51111. Like the Mark models, the Big Pilot’s Watch belongs to the Classic Collection, whose watches have casebacks engraved with an image of the classic Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. The watch has a strap crafted by the artisanal Italian shoe and leather goods manufacturer Santoni. Over time, IWC has built the Big Pilot’s watch family into a small collection. Here, IWC pursues several different paths: the new models are more historical, more modern, more complicated or more elegant than the classic.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage with 46-mm bronze case (1,500 pieces, $13,200)

The Classic Collection also includes four Heritage models that are definitely worth a closer look. The 48-mm-diameter Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage 48 encases IWC’s own hand-wound eight-day Caliber 59215 and date display, but an even greater effect is achieved by the Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage 55: its 55-mm-diameter case contains hand-wound manufacture Caliber 98300, which amasses a 46-hour power reserve. Here, IWC is resuming its original diameter of 55 mm. With beige luminous material and a matte case, the newcomer’s style comes very close to its predecessor, even if it has a small seconds subdial; the original model had a central seconds hand.

IWC recently unveiled the Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage in a classical diameter of 46 mm. The unlimited edition has a titanium case, and the limited edition of 1,500 pieces is available with a bronze case. All are equipped with a soft-iron inner case to protect the movement against magnetic fields – the predecessor lacked this practical detail. The 48-mm version has a little window in the caseback, which offers a view of the balance and, according to IWC, scarcely detracts from the protection against magnetism.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Spitfire in rose gold with sunburst pattern on the dial ($26,90)

IWC also offers an elegant version of the Big Pilot’s Watch in the Spitfire collection. Here the 46-mm case is made of rose gold, a sunburst pattern embellishes the anthracite-colored dial, and an engraving of a Spitfire fighter jet adorns the back. This line also includes a version that features the useful complication of a digital annual calendar: the 46-mm Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Spitfire is powered by manufacture Caliber 52850, which amasses a seven- day power reserve and can be admired through the sapphire back.

But IWC also knows its way around the world of modern design.The Top Gun Big Pilot’s Watch models combine a matte-black ceramic case and a textile-look wristband for a contemporary military touch that nonetheless preserves the other traditional characteristics. Here, too, a Big Pilot’s Watch is available in the classical 46-mm size. The titanium back bears the Top Gun emblem as a relief engraving. The wristband looks like it’s textile but is actually made of patterned calfskin for greater durability.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun with matte-black ceramic case ($13,800)

Another member of this line is the complicated Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun, which houses automatic Caliber 51614, based on the 50000 Caliber. In addition to the correct calendar with date, day of the week and month, it also displays the moon-phase with two lunar disks: one for the Northern and one for the Southern Hemisphere. A four-color version of the Top Gun logo adorns the caseback.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun with double moon- phase display for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres ($38,600)

There are also elegant models that commemorate French pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his famous book, The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince). e classical Big Pilot’s Watch is currently available in a 46-mm steel case only as the Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Le Petit Prince” with a blue sunburst-embellished dial. The Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edi- tion “Le Petit Prince” knows which months have 30 days and which have 31 days, so it needs man- ual correction only at the beginning of March. IWC offers it in rose gold or in white gold, each in a limited series of 250 watches. The sapphire back reveals a planet-shaped rotor and a portrait of the Little Prince based on Saint Exupéry’s sketch, which he included in his book.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Le Petit Prince” with blue dial embellished with a sun- burst pattern ($12,900)

IWC also offers the annual calendar as the Edition “Antoine de Saint-Exupéry” with a brown dial, also limited to 250 watches, but only in rose gold. The sapphire back has a view of the rotor, which is similarly made of rose gold and depicts a Lockheed P-38 Lightning – the last aircraft flown by Saint-Exupéry.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint-Exupéry” requires manual correction even less frequently because its calendar mechanism also switches correctly at the end of February – and does so not only in ordinary years, but also in leap years. This steel watch also has a sapphire back. The rose-gold rotor bears the letter A – the initial of the first name of the pilot and author; another letter A is on the dial. Unlike the perpetual calendar in the Top Gun line, this watch has a simple moon-phase display. IWC uses the elegant numerals with serifs on the annual calendars and on the perpetual calendar in this edition.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” in rose gold (250 pieces, $32,400)

IWC has also released numerous special editions over the years: the Big Pilot’s Watch Edition DFB, the official watch of the German national soccer team, was unveiled in 2012 with a silver dial. There was a version made for the Patrouille Suisse aerobatic squadron (which also had a silver dial) and various editions for jewelers with yellow, orange or red numerals. Not counting these special editions, the current collection consists of 12 different models. More than one-third of all IWC pilots’ watches are Big Pilot’s Watches.

Ref. 500912, Caliber 51111, the dial again has a 9, new wristband, 46 mm ($12,900)

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.