Tough Watches

German watchmakers Sinn use Submarine Steel for the watch case of the UX and to further toughen this it is hardened using a special process called “Tegimenting”.

After the steel has gone through this process it has a hardness of 1200 Vickers, what does that mean? Well, steel typically has a hardness of 220 Vickers so its nearly 6 times tougher.

Furthering its status as a tough watch is its phenomenal water resistance, being rated to a depth of 12,000 meters!
The UX uses a case filled with incompressible silicone oil to protect the quartz movement from pressure and Sinn states that its is completely “seawater-resistant”. Also functionally reliable at temperatures from -20c to + 60c

The German GSG 9 special forces unit, famous for their rescue of the hijacked “Landshut” aircraft on October 18, 1977 chose the UX as their Official service watch for use by their maritime unit on its missions.

For more information about the watch and the company visit Sinn

Rogue Warrior “Red Cell“

Retired Commander Richard Marcinko aka the “Rogue Warrior” wanted a tough watch built for him that was capable of withstanding the extreme rigors of any combat environment. He had a very specific set of requirements he wanted met.

Marcinko’s requirements were that the watch dial be easily read in all types of lighting situations; that the movement must have the best shock protection available and finally that condensation will not form inside of the watch. All at a price the average soldier could afford.

To satisfy these requirements innovative cutting edge solutions were used. Making an easily readable dial in all lighting conditions involved combining a set of hands and numerals together that made for a design that could be quickly and easily read.

While making the watch easy to read in low or no light situations Super Luminova was applied to the dial. The watch was also filled with Krypton gas to prevent condensation from forming inside the watch. These are the only watches in the world to combine Krypton gas and Super Luminova lume to create what is known as the Kryptolite dial.

In order to have the best shock protection available a relatively new nano material developed by the British Army called d30 was used to encase the movement. The material is a soft foam-like material that when impacted becomes hard and rigid. Also protecting the watch from impact is a 4mm mineral crystal, used for its greater impact resistance than sapphire crystal, two solid steel bars add further protection. Read more at the Rogue Warrior site

Kobold “Seal”

The Seal is Kobolds toughest watch and is limited to only ten pieces per year. It was designed with high-stress military and professional diving activity in mind and features two shock-resistance systems.

The first system, INCABLOC, is integrated into the movement. The second is a patented system incorporated into the case and specifically designed for the Seal, called SAS, it is a back up system designed to withstand extremely strong impacts.

To guard the automatic movement against the effects of magnetism Seal watches are also equipped with a substantial secondary interior case constructed of soft iron.

All this is housed inside a case made from lightweight aerospace-grade titanium and features a patented screw-locked design for the bracelet preventing it being torn from your wrist.

Testament to the Seals toughness are the Antarctic expeditions and ascents of Everest the watch has been used on, which you can read more about at the Kobold website here.

Ball “Engineer Hydrocarbon”

Although, unlike the previous two this is a non-military watch, the Engineer Hydrocarbon is a very tough watch with some formidable technical features.

Ball are famous for supplying watches for the American Railroads and their company motto is: “Since 1891, accuracy under adverse conditions”

Ball watches are aimed at explorers and adventurers as well as those just generally in need of a tough watch.

The case is specially constructed to protect the movement from magnetic fields and to be shock resistant. It’s made from Titanium coated with Diamond-Like Carbon and specially equipped with an antimagnetic soft iron inner jacket and undergone rigorous impact tests to ensure shock resistance of 7,500G’s.

Some of its features include:

* Certified cosc chronometer cold temperature endurance to -40 c .
* 7,500G shock resistance
* 12000A/m of magnetism resistance
* Water resistant to 100m
* Tritium tubes on hands (including the GMT hand) and dial.

For more information visit Ball.

CX Swiss Military Watch

Next is an incredibly tough dive watch that currently holds the world record for water resistance for a mechanical dive watch certified to a depth of 20,000 Feet.

In order to prove its toughness the manufacturers decided to invite consumers to come up with some test ideas for the watch and subjected it to some brutal real-world testing.

Its first round of punishment was to be blasted with 6,000 liters of water from the powerful water hose of a 40 ton fire engine.

Having withstood this, it was then run over by a truck, shot with a shotgun.and if that wasn’t abuse enough it was then subjected to two huge explosions.

It survived all this torment intact and functional!

Some of its features include a sapphire crystal that is a phenomenal 10mm thick!! A Solid titanium case and bracelet, the watches diameter is 46.0mm, thickness 28.5mm, weight 265gr total.

Read more about the CX Swiss Military Watch

G-Shock

When talking of tough watches the G-Shock line from Casio will inevitably come to the mind of most people. Since their introduction in the mid-eighties they have developed an image and a reputation for toughness.

When it was first launched the G Shock was developed to be the ultimate tough watch. Casio engineers followed a development concept called “Triple 10″ aiming to create a watch that could withstand a ‘10-meter’ free fall, have ‘10-bar’ water resistance and a ‘10 year’ battery life.

They reached 200 prototypes before they achieved their goal. To achieve this they used a hollow structure and floated the movement inside using cushioning at critical points.

Available in a huge variety of colours and variants.

See videos demonstrating the G-shock toughness.

Luminox “Navy Seal“

First introduced in 1994, the Navy Seal is the watch that made Luminox famous.

Asked to find a more reliable watch for night missions, Nick North, the officer in charge of procurement discovered the Luminox at a trade show.

Working together with Luminox to develop a tough watch that was specifically for the Seals, modifications were made and the Navy Seal was born. Since then the Seal has been used by many elite military and law enforcement units.

The advantages of using micro gas light sources has long been recognized by the military and the capability to read watches in any conditions being very important. Luminox watches use a proprietary technology featuring tiny borosilicate glass capsules to continuously illuminate the hour markers, hands as well as sometimes the bezel too. The technology was in the past reserved for military use.

Luminox watches have been requested for use by U.S. Air Force pilots, FBI and ATF agents, Secret Service officers, Border Patrol units, Coast Guard officers, SWAT teams, helicopter search and rescue pilots, professional divers as well as general law enforcement officers among other groups.

Considering that since its a watch chosen for use in some of the toughest professions in the world it should be worthy of the label “tough watch.”

Traser H3

Traser has three H3 models, the P5900, P6500 and the latest released in February 2010 which is the P6600, this fulfills all the military requirements as mandated in MIL-PRF-46374 G. That is, it meets the high military requirements of the DOD. And exceeds with a water resistance of 660ft.

Thousands of H3 watches have been issued to the US armed forces. H3 watches are the first military watches to be equipped with patented mb-microtec H3 illumination.

Sporting a typically plain military aesthetic with understated looks, the matt-black case is constructed from fiberglass reinforced polyamide for toughness. Its equipped with a rotating bezel and attached to the wrist by NATO style strap.

If you’re looking to make it uniquely your own it can be ordered with a “private label” dial.

You can read about some of the Trasers adventures at the Traser site

Arctos GPW L1

Arctos-Elite watches are made in Pforzheim, Germany using Swiss ETA and European mechanical movements.

Arctos make watches “for the most extreme demands of Special Forces, as well as for the demanding watch connoisseur”

Arctos is the first German watchmaker to use zirconium oxide (ZrO2) for its cases, a high-tech ceramic, the material is extremely hard and apparently almost impossible to scratch, and ideal for use in extreme environments.

Further features of this tough watch are a protective case back made from titanium and a design conforming to Pressure Proof German Industry Norm DIN 8310. They come available in solid black, blue or white.

For further information visit the Arctos Site

MTM

Ex military personnel and watch technicians founded MTM in 1980. Since then they have become one of the leading suppliers of tactical military watches to military and police units around the world.

MTM’s mission is to “develop tough, dependable, rugged military watches utilizing state of the art technology”

All of their watch cases are manufactured from a solid block of 316L stainless steel or titanium. They feature a swiss made movement, screw down crown, locking screw case back and a dial made from a form of carbon fibre not dissimilar to that used by NASA.

They are limited in production and are GSA approved as mandated by MIL-W-4637 4f and each watch is individually numbered.