Modern Military Watches
Like I mentioned in the previous post about military watches, I have been fascinated by these tools, built with a purpose, ever since I was issued one at the time of my service. Over the years I had bought and sold a few watches, always looking for those pieces from the past to buy. However, I found that collecting vintage watches often means not wearing them, since those pieces often are not in the best conditions.
So, since I enjoy wearing tough, legible, and purpose-built tool watches, I thought I'd search modern equivalents to those issued pieces from yesteryear.
I found a few, and after some selling and buying, I settled on these three, with a fourth coming soon.
The three watches are, from left to right:
MKII Watches, created by Bill Yao, where he reimagined classic military watches with modern technology, materials, and movements, have always been at the forefront of quality and legibility. Bill took a new approach to recreating some of the most iconic military watches of the past, the A-11 in case of the Cruxible, and the Benrus Type I in case of the Paradive, and made them tougher, and able to handle even more punishement. These two pieces always rotate on my wrist when I'm hiking, climbing, traveling and on the range.
The MKII Cruxible
The MKII Paradive
The RESCO Patriot was developed by an active duty Navy SEAL, and tested during BUD/S. It's a tough watch able to survive pretty much everything. Super legible and resitant to magnetism, the Patriot is a modern military watch on its own accord. This watch usually goes with me to the range and projects where I'll be spending time with soldiers.
The RESCO Patriot Gen 1
The fourth watch coming up soon is another creation by Bill Yao, only this time under the brand Tornek Rayville. He brought back one of the most rare and iconic watches from the Vietnam War era, the Tornek Rayville TR-900. His TR-660 brings back the design, legibility and overall awesomeness of that watch in a modern package. I can't wait for the watch to arrive.
And, well, since you probably are asking about the case, it wouldn't be a good collection of modern military watches without a good, solid military case. So, I went with a Pelican Case, makers of almost indestructible cases. I used the Pelican 1120 with a custom foam inset that can handle three watches. I have another on the way for the fouth and hopefully fifth as well (yes, if I can get my hands on a Sangin Instruments Atlas).
Yes, I have bit of a passion for watches, and those older (and modern) tool watches are my main focus. This has also prompted me to go learn horology and how mechanical watches work. Who knows, maybe I can design and build my own military watch...
Edited 02/07/2022: added new pictures and a link to the 2nd installment of modern military watches.