Victorinox Watches

History of Victorinox Watches

The history of Victorinox dates back to 1884, when the company’s founder Karl Elsener opened a cutlery workshop in Ibach-Schwyz in Switzerland. In 1891, the firm introduced soldier’s knives to the Swiss Army. This led the foundation of the Original Swiss Army Knife, which soon became one of the most sought-after Swiss products.

In 1909, the company officially registered the iconic "cross and shield" emblem. In 1989, the Victorinox USA distribution partner began watch business in the USA under the Swiss Army brand. In 1999, a new watchmaking company named Victorinox Watch SA was established in the Swiss Jura region. It acquired Wenger SA in 2005. Soon after this high-profile acquisition, Victorinox has progressively expanded its watch production facilities. Presently, the brand’s wristwatches are manufactured by Victorinox Swiss Army Watch SA. In 2014, the company launched INOX watch collection to mark its 130th anniversary. The year also marked the 25th anniversary of its watchmaking division.

Victorinox Watch Collections

(1) Victorinox Airboss

Victorinox Airboss is an impressive collection of thoroughly engineered pilot watches honoring the brilliant airmen. Masculine in nature, these contemporary timepieces are inspired by the flyer watches of the bygone era. Combining robustness, excellent reliability and extraordinary precision, this series offers outstanding models like Mechanical and Mach 9.

Airboss Mechanical is a 42mm diameter stainless steel self-winding watch driven by the Sellita SW200 movement. It is available with or without the external circular slide rule bezel. Airboss Mach 9 is an automatic chronograph model equipping with the iconic ETA Valjoux 7750 movement. Made of stainless steel, this colossal 45mm watch features a bidirectional rotating bezel with slide rule function. Both models are also available in black PVD versions.

(2) Victorinox Alliance

Victorinox Alliance is a collection that dedicated to men and women. This series stands out with its classically styled dress watches endowed with a built quality usually found in the field or sports models. These minimalistic wristwatches are robust enough to withstand pressures up to the depth of 100 meters. Blending elegance with reliability and ergonomics, these daily wear timepieces also offer the best wearing comfort.

The Alliance series typically offers automatic and quartz versions. For men, the brand typically provides quartz-powered watches with 40mm or 44mm case size. There are two quartz models for women: the 28mm Alliance XS and the 35mm Alliance Small. Powered by the ETA 2892 self-winding movement, the Alliance mechanical model features a 40mm case. This collection includes time-only, date, day-date, chronograph and moon phase watches.

(3) Victorinox Fieldforce

Victorinox Fieldforce is a collection of sporty, serious and masculine timepieces. They show off a rugged, dynamic design. Also suitable for your urban lifestyle, these watches incorporate Calendar (day and date), Chronograph or GMT. They usually feature 42mm diameter stainless steel cases with 100m water resistance and external bezels with countdown or tachymeter scales. The red centre-seconds hand features a Swiss Army Knife-shaped counterweight. Proudly reflecting its Swiss DNA, every Fieldforce watch boasts a red cross and shield on the dial.

In addition to the above-mentioned models, Victorinox offers Fieldforce Classic and Fieldforce Sport watches.

(4) Victorinox INOX

One of the best-selling timepieces from the company, INOX is the only Swiss watch to survive 130 extreme endurance homologation tests. They are extremely robust timekeepers. In addition to the standard INOX model in stainless steel, the brand offer variants like INOX Carbon, INOX Mechanical, INOX Professional Diver, INOX Titanium and INOX V.

Except INOX V, all representations in this series are water-proof up to 200 meters. Among these timepieces, INOX (including its Carbon and Titanium editions) and INOX Mechanical models feature 43mm diameter cases. I.N.O.X. Professional Diver has a 45mm housing. INOX V is a ladies’ version, and it features a 37mm case with 100m water resistance. Excluding the Mechanical variant, all INOX timepieces are equipped with quartz movements.

(5) Victorinox Maverick

Victorinox Maverick is a comprehensive collection of contemporary styled sports watches for men and women. Generously endowed with eye-catching aesthetic features and sportiness, these quartz watch models are ideal for rebellious-spirited and freedom-loving customers. These robust timekeepers are available in two categories, when it comes to functionality.

In the first category, the brand offers models featuring a date display at 6 o’ clock. These timepieces are available in two sizes: 43mm for men and 34mm for women. The second segment is typically comprised of chronographs with a 43mm case size. Mounted with unidirectional rotating bezels and water-resistant to 100 meters, all Maverick watches are ideal for extreme-sports activities and recreational diving.

Summary

Victorinox Swiss Army watches are popularly known for their exceptional quality, robust design and chronometric performance. Most of the timepieces are made of 316 L stainless steel. It also offers dual-color and PVD coated versions. In addition, the brand utilizes materials like carbon and titanium for producing some models.

A salient feature of the iconic brand’s timekeepers is their exceptional water resistance rating, typically ranging from 100m to 500m. The best water-poof Victorinox watch is the Dive Master 500. This professional diving model has a water resistance of 500 meters. All INOX models are 200m water resistant. All other watch collections (including ladies’ versions) are water-proof up to 100 meters.

The watches are mounted with scratch-proof sapphire crystal glass on the dial side. For enhanced protection, models like Fieldforce, INOX and Maverick feature crown guards. The most popular dial colors used with Victorinox watch are black, blue and white. The brand also provides various other dial shades like gray, green, chocolate brown, red, pink and silver.

True to its Swiss Army style, all Victorinox watches boast exceptional dial visibility. Most of the Victorinox watches have Super-LumiNova® luminescent coating for better night readability. In the Night Vision model, a built-in LED light illumination system has been used.

The brand maintains a great selection straps. It includes genuine leather, stainless steel, mesh, fabric/textile, paracord and rubber.