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Victorinox FieldForce Titanium LE
In the world of watches, there seems to be some sort of weird stigma around quartz watches. At one point in time, I shared this opinion myself, but I feel if a watch is attractive and well made, the fact that it is quartz does not bother me all that much. The Victorinox FieldForce Titanium LE (quite a mouthful huh?) is a classic looking piece and the first of two quartz watches I have in hand for review from Victorinox. Most feel quartz watches are inferior to mechanical pieces and should be cheaper because quartz movements are cheap. It is true that quartz movements, at least your basic ones like this Ronda 517 are not very expensive, and are cheaper than their mechanical Swiss counterparts. But, many Japanese movements used in countless watches I review are inexpensive as well, so why is quartz looked so down upon? I have heard the phrase- “A quartz watch has no soul”. Well, I have news for you, neither does a mechanical or automatic piece have a soul. They are inanimate objects. In all seriousness, I understand the intention and meaning behind that phrase but quartz watches defintily have their place. Maybe as I get older I appreciate more things for what they are and quartz watches are great grab and go pieces, and beyond that, are far more accurate than an automatic.
Victorinox FieldForce Titanium LE Specifications:
- Numbered limited edition for North America, only 1400 Produced
- Ronda 517 Movement with day/date complication
- 42mm Titanium Case
- 50mm Lug to Lug
- 20mm Lug Width
- 10mm Thick
- Strap Length 120/80mm
- Brushed Titanium case and case back
- Aluminum bezel insert
- 100m Water Resistant
- 57 gramsย
Price $495
https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Products/Watches/Men%27s-Watches/Fieldforce/p/249168
Yeah, that intro was a little preachy, but it is amazing to me to look at the Youtube comments and see how many think this Victorinox FieldForce Titanium LE should be an automatic or should be much cheaper, based solely on the movement alone. As I said, I am sure at some point in the past I felt the same way, and I am not sure exactly when it happened, but my opinion changed. I like to look at the watch as a whole and not just the movement, and also what my intended purpose for the watch will be. Now, if you are someone who just does not like quartz, I get that. There are many reasons to not like a quartz watch, but to feel they are inferior really shouldn’t be one. Anyways, this piece from Swiss Army is limited to 1400 pieces and is only available in North America. I am not sure if that means you can only buy it here, or if you can only have it delivered here as well, but I assume you can have this watch shipped anywhere in the world, it just means you won’t see this at dealers anywhere else in the world. By the way, anyone else thinks 1400 is an odd number to choose? Why not 1500? I don’t know, just how my mind works.
Okay, on to the watch. What you have here is a simple and classic piece. It is extremely lightweight being all titanium, follows the rest of the FieldForce lineup being easy to read with large Arabic numerals in this case and a day/date complication. The red bezel and outline on the numbers and of course the iconic red shield logo harken back to the days of Victorinox when red was used on their watches all the time, whereas today they seemed to have moved away from that with a lot of their releases. I really liked the last FieldForce I reviewed, that one was a chronograph, and in all PVD, and I have been going back and forth as to which version of this series I like more. *(Editors note. I just realized I reviewed a chronograph of the Alliance Sport. Totally different watches! Guess I just remembered it wrong or thought they were more similar. Apologies and Carry On!) Of course, there are many more versions of this series that you can check out on the Victorinox website, but I am just going off of the two I have had in person. This model I believe is the only one in titanium as well, which as I said, is super light. 57 grams to be exact. You really have no idea it is on your wrist, yet, when you look down, it has a nice presence as this is still a 42mm watch with a 50mm lug to lug. It is not small, nor oversized.
As with many Victorinox Watches, this one is no-frills. The case is all brushed titanium, no high polish to speak of, and the case back is what you expect from most of the Swiss Army Lineup, flat, circular brushed and just the important info printed for you to see. Nothing elaborate, and that is intentional. This is a watch that is meant to be worn comfortably out in the field, and be a no-nonsense companion piece. That said, my biggest gripe with this watch is going to be the lack of a screw-down crown. For many, this is a none issue. For me, it holds it back. The crown guards do protect it, but I just feel like it could get snagged in a pocket or something and get pulled out without me noticing. Since it is not a dive watch and only 100m water-resistant, it is not like I would be in the pool or ocean with it where this happening would be a much bigger deal, it is just a preference I prefer with watches, especially sport watches such as this.
The dial is probably my favorite part of this watch. The granite texture, the red and white numerals, the day/date, and just the fact it is in your face clean and easy to read. Unfortunately, as you will see the lume is not all that great, but I have come to expect that with most of the Victorinox lineup, with the exception of the DiveMaster Series (which they totally need to bring back asap!). It looks great when all charged up by my UV light, but it loses strength quicker than popeye when he runs out of spinach. For a watch dubbed a field watch, I guess I expected more though, but it is what it is. One nice touch is the Swiss Army Shield logo lights up as well, and for the amount of time it is glowing, it looks pretty good.
Where does that leave my summation? I do really enjoy this piece. I love that it is titanium, the natural rubber strap is a joy to wear, the red and black color combo is sharp and as I said, I do not mind that it is quartz. Yes, I would prefer a screw-down crown, and the lume could be better, but this is a hell of an attractive piece and just easy to wear. Sure, there are a lot of other options though, that you can get not only a simar style but also a much cheaper price. Momentum Watches would be one example of good solid quartz watches, as would Bertucci. $500 may be a lot of money for some for a quartz piece like this, I get it, so explore and do your research. The Victorinox FieldForce Titanium LE does have a lot going for it in terms of build quality and looks, and of course, the brand has heritage and pedigree, which definitely matters to many people in the watch world. I think this watch has its place for sure, and all the links are in this review if you want to check out more. At the end of the day, this grab-and-go titanium watch looks and feels good, should last for many years, and is from a long and historied brand.
