Alexander Krupp puts the Victorinox Infantry Automatic under the microscope. The watch exudes a simple, military-watch styling and a no-frills price to match. How did it fare under scrutiny" Scroll down to read the full review.
Victorinox Infantry Automatic
The Infantry Automatic from Victorinox has many of the features of a traditional military watch: large, easy-to-read Arabic numerals, a minutes track, luminous hands and dial markers, a prominent sweep-seconds hand and a water-resistant case.
Military Styling as a Matter of Fashion
Nevertheless, the watch?s military styling is clearly a matter of fashion, not function. The case, which is 40 mm in diameter and highly polished, isn?t rugged enough for a soldier?s wrist: it?s almost delicate-looking and has no added protection such as surface hardening, a screw-down crown or screwed lugs. It will do much better in civilian life. Thanks to its relatively thin case (10.4 mm) and sloping lugs, it lies flat against the wrist and slips easily under a shirt cuff. In keeping with the watch?s low price, $695*, the watch is simply made. It contains an undecorated ETA movement in the lowest of four quality grades, a mineral glass caseback instead of a sapphire one, and a simple pronged    buckle. But it has no serious flaws. The only minor ones are that the crown is a little too small for easy winding and setting and the faint, stamped hour numerals from 14 to 22 look more like flaws on the dial than useful indications.

Thes...