In recent years, there has been a notable growth in the field of American-made watches. Detroit-based Shinola is frequently discussed, and Pennsylvania-based RGM has long been lauded in its efforts to bring handcrafted horological artistry back to the famed Lancaster area; but no list would be complete without mentioning Los Angeles? Weiss Watch Company. The brand, founded in 2013 by Cameron Weiss, has been steadily releasing and revamping a growing collection of field watches, made unique by the brand?s effort to source, manufacturer, and assemble as many American parts for the watches as possible. Weiss is likely best known for the release of its Caliber 1003? a rare example of an almost completely American-manufactured movement.

Among its many different styles in the field watch category, we?ll be focusing on Weiss’s most classical design in the Weiss 38-mm Standard Issue Field Watch. The piece, as its name indicates, is a 38-mm watch with a utilitarian, brushed steel case with a polished bezel, worn close to the wrist at 9.7 mm in height, and with a signed crown tight to its side. The watch’s dial is available in four colorways, each upon a machined, naval brass baseplate: navy blue, forest green, white, and latte (a sort of aged tan color). On the outer edge is a minute track with 1/5 marks between each one-minute marker, and a small Arabic numeral for every five; accompanying them are larger Arabic numerals for the hours. Toward the bottom of the dial is ...