Tom Carter Vanguard Watch Review

At $211 I anticipated the watch would be fitted with a mineral crystal and indeed it is. I do not believe the cost of sapphire is extreme, and I believe even if this model was offered at slightly under $250, a sapphire upgrade would be a huge feature that would draw more attention. Beneath the almost 38mm mineral crystal dial opening is a matte black dial that is quite clean and uncluttered. The typical branding, at an appropriate font, is located above and below center dial. Everything about the dial and handset is either black or beige except for the date window. Large numerals are painted on the dial at the 12 and 6, while the other markers are oval and square shaped. The handset is what I would classify as stick shaped and perfectly sized for the large dial. A date window is positioned at the 3 o’clock-position and is good sized for those of us visually impaired. In well-lit conditions, I couldn’t imagine anyone having difficulty with the date and time. The one puzzling aspect about the dial is that there are absolutely no luminous properties. I find it truly interesting that the company would construct a watch at 200 meters water resistant but fail to include any superluminova at least on the handset. Hopefully, Tom Carter will consider adding lume properties to future models.

The Vanguard comes with a brown leather strap measuring almost 6mm thick near the 22mm lugs tapering to right around 4mm at the 20mm buckle. I was afraid the watch strap, at first glance, might be slightly short for my 7 3/4 inch wrist, but due to 10 sizing holes a good fit wasn’t an issue. I believe the strap should fit wrists slightly over 8 inches with a bit of tail through the keeper. The strap construction also consists of 2 keepers, one fixed and one floating, which is a must for any strap. The strap isn’t quite as soft and supple as many straps I have seen over the years but it still provides an adequate level of comfort on the wrist. The strap is finished off with a nice quality heavy-duty buckle. The buckle measures right around 6mm at the thickest point. I like that Tom Carter didn’t use some sort of standard buckle, but I would have gladly made the sacrifice for a more standard buckle if a sapphire crystal may have been used on the watch instead. I am not overly fond of the single rivet at the lug end of the strap, nor the white stitching. I think a beige stitch would have really looked great corresponding to the beige contained on the dial.

The case back is screwed down to the upper case and has the usual branding etched in the central portion of the case back. Beneath the case back is a Miyota 2415 quartz movement. I am not familiar with this particular movement but it has been spot on accurate since delivery. The movement does have a hacking function so that is a nice bonus.

If you are in the market for an ultra-affordable canteen crown style watch, then Tom Carter has some really nice options. While the Vanguard doesn’t have eye-popping specifications, however, the features are solid and present a good value at $211USD. The watch would be perfect for various recreational activities and with a rubber strap would be appropriate for snorkeling and swimming due to the 200 meters of water resistance. I really think Tom Carter should consider sapphire crystals on all of their models, which would be my biggest suggestion for upgrade on future productions. I would like to thank Tom Carter for providing the Vanguard model for review. I would like to thank each of you for reading and look forward to any thoughts and comments. Don’t forget to take a moment to view the brief YouTube video presentation and subscribe to WatchReport on YouTube.