When it comes to watches, you’ve got them coming with Swiss parts, or perhaps even Swiss-made. You want one that’s truly Swiss, through and through? Then you should be taking a look at Victorinox, aka “The Swiss Army” folks. It’s not the first time I’ve written about one, but they’ve brought out some new models, and this one grabbed my attention.
The model in question is the Alpnach Mechanical Chronograph, shown here with the grey dial (there’s another option that has it with a black dial, that also puts the date display in black as well). I gravitated towards this gray model as I feel that it helps to make the subdials stand out, and make them a bit more legible. Of course, the orange encircling them helps in that regard as well.
As this is a Victorinox, you’re getting a Swiss-made self-winding movement (chrono in this case, obviously) that’s tucked into a 44mm stainless steel case that’s been PVD coated. Rounding out the package you have a sapphire crystal with AR coating up front, an exhibition case back, and a Nato-style strap.
This watch offers a good bit of functionality and a generously-size case, as well as the reliability and accuracy that the Swiss are renown for. At an asking price of $2,195, however, the Nato-style strap seems to be a bit of a letdown. Perhaps if it was offered as a second strap along with a leather or rubber, then it would seem a more complete package. Then again, that may just be my own preferences. I’ll leave that for you to decide!
