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Introduction
In the wide world of tool watches, field watches don’t really get the love they deserve. Sure, most of our adoration goes towards dive watches, chronographs, and pilot watches ? but in a lot of ways, a simple three-handed field watch is the ultimate tool.
But what makes a great field watch"
I see a lot of watch blogs include chronographs, pilot watches, and other random three-handers in their “top 10” field watch lists and it doesn’t make much sense. A field watch should live to tell the time (and maybe the date), and that’s about it.
Some might find the design plain, but to me it’s timeless. Many have GMT scales, and some have seconds sub-dials, but the essence of the field watch is a rugged, legible, three handed watch that does one job really well. Field watches have been standard military issue since pocket watches made the transition to the wrist in WW1, and have evolved using a fairly standard military template: big arabic numerals, granular second demarcations around the edge, and a simple waterproof case. Movements are both quartz and mechanical, but have to be durable enough to stand up to a lot of rigorous use.
Many field watches on the market today are just imitations of the classics, but some are produced by the same companies that provide watches for real modern military forces. Many people settle on purchasing imitations without realizing they can purchase the real thing for not much more.
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