I’d already been ‘into’ watches throughout high school and faculty, however my look for that initial “nice watch” when coming into the skilled world finished with one from Victorinox Swiss Army. Dutifully following the recommendation of a sophisticated friend, I had a really specific listing of what to seem for: “Sapphire crystal. 316L chrome steel. Automatic movement if you'll afford it, Swiss-made quartz if not.” I couldn’t, thus when several weeks within the rabbit burrow overwhelming no matter data was really out there at the time on quality Swiss-made quartz watches, I sprung for a VSA Divemaster five hundred, wooed by its daring, “ice black” PVD case and deep-diving capability, similarly as its myriad of dial textures flat-top with creamy inexperienced Super-Lumi Nova.

After nearly a decade of laborious wear, that watch currently sits in a very drawer, needing a replacement battery and crown tube, however it still brings a smile to my face, because it represents a private flag within the sand marking my initial real entry into the hobby. thus once the VSA Alliance timer landed on my table, one thing regarding its icy dark case, matte gray dial and funky inexperienced accents once more smitten a well-known chord, reminding Pine Tree State of that point spent poring over forums and reviews, and also the ensuing thrill of finding ‘just’ what i used to be searching for. By identical token, maybe some words on this wonderful new Victorinox can notice their thanks to new tactical smartwatch searching for a markedly superior and handsome quartz timer for a hair beneath five hundred greenbacks.

The Alliance Sport timer isn’t associate anomaly – there’s definitely no shortage of well created and similarly-priced quartz chronographs supercharged by high-quality Swiss or Japanese-made movements. The Bulova satellite Pilot timer, the Certina DS two Precidrive, Tissot Chrono Classic, and also the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Chrono Quartz are all standouts that straight off return to mind. Even the Runwell timer from Shinola can be a contestant for the proper vendee. however amongst the same, solely the Tissot and also the Victorinox formally are available in beneath $500 – and that’s spoken language plenty for the VSA.

But what puts the Alliance actually in a very league of its own is that the downright staggering quantity of detail within the dial. Take, for instance, the superbly designed, 3-dimensional monoclonal dial with cylindrical ridges forming every of the three registers. on the outer circumference of the dial runs a skinny, circular channel, interspersed by twelve severally fashioned mounds, making a seamless foundation for every spherical, hyphen-shaped hour marker. Even the oft-maligned date window gets a pleasant bevel to feature a small amount a lot of visual depth and texture.

Then there’s the color-balance; multiple reminder gray and VSA’s signature creamy inexperienced Super-LumiNova are each contrasted sharply by showy red indicators, then close against a really cool polished bronze black case, that evokes the “ice black” end that after role player Pine Tree State to the older Divemaster. Even typography nerds shouldn’t notice an excessive amount of to cry regarding here, with wonderful consistency and legibility exhibited between the dial and also the laser-engraved metal transit edge insert. It’s not simply the sheer level of detail, however the standard similarly – all amounting to a package that you’d be in a bad way to seek out on even associate automatic watch accounting many times the maximum amount.

That said, it’s necessary to acknowledge that with Victorinox watches, you’re typically not paying for movement innovation – however rather some wonderful dial and case quality. That’s all well and smart, as it’s wherever the Alliance actually shines, however I’d in person be happy to pay a of fascinating quartz movement. because it stands, the movement within the Alliance Sport timer may be a pretty commonplace Swiss-made Ronda 5030.D with little seconds, 30-minute, and 12-hour counters. however this might very be a fun watch with a a lot of fascinating caliber like Seiko’s VK64 meca-quartz with its sweeping center-mounted seconds counter, Bulova’s 262 kHz caliber with its 1/10 split-second counter, or a a lot of powerful, up-market engine like associate ETA 251.274 Powerdrive, that may be a extremely customizable and serviceable caliber conjointly utilized by alternative piece of cloth brands like Certina.

All things thought of, whereas it’s a shame the Ronda movement getting used within the Alliance Sport doesn’t provide any further practicality on the far side the fundamentals, it will have a reasonably wide documented name for being extremely correct and reliable. And from a style viewpoint, the classic layout is accentuated by a center-mounted seconds needle hand that includes a spherical, pill-shaped counterweight that appears a small amount sort of a Swiss Army knife – quite a neat visual tie to hour markers on the dial. Again, gripes regarding the options of the movement are a way cry from a legitimate criticism. It’s simply that a bit a lot of movement selection here might get even dyed-in-the-wool watch enthusiasts very excited regarding the Alliance Sport timer.