Tested: Best Everyday Wristwatches

It's hard to imagine what modern watch models would look like if it weren't for the 20th century's obsession with war.

The most iconic wristwatch models, from professional diving watches to Flieger pilot watches, were born out of the need to help soldiers perform their tasks better. Among all military-inspired watch styles, none is as closely associated with the armed forces as the field watch. The simple design of these watches has remained unchanged since World War II, but today, you don't have to be a soldier to wear them.

Whether it's the American A-11 or the British WWW-style "Dirty Dozen," World War II field watches featured black dials, highly visible white Arabic numeral indexes, and white hands. Among modern field watches, you'll find a bit more variety, but the original models remain popular. In our guide to the best field watches, we've gathered plenty of options from both camps.

A Brief History of Field Watches

Military operations require events to be highly coordinated and precisely timed. As a result, the military was among the first to widely use wristwatches. Like any other military equipment and gear, the military didn't immediately start using existing watch companies to produce specialized military watches - a genre we know today as "field watches." Original field watches emerged from World War I trench watches and at least partially helped the Allies achieve victory in 1945. While modern armed forces have since moved on to using primarily tactical watches, smartwatches, and ultra-rugged watches in the G-SHOCK style, there remains a huge popularity and demand for vintage-inspired military field watches.

This led to a new era in watchmaking, where companies aimed to create ultra-durable yet minimalist watches specifically designed for battlefield use. This resulted in various watch breakthroughs, such as cases with much higher shock resistance and weather resistance, and even watches that could be synchronized more accurately, known today as "hacking." Over time, field watches also acquired a somewhat standardized dial layout, consisting of ultra-light, wildly minimalist dials, often with a 24-hour scale (military time). Another distinctive feature of field watches that developed over time is the type of strap used, which almost always consists of nylon or textile straps (instead of steel bracelets).

What to Look for in Good Field Watches

While buying modern watches isn't all that different from buying other styles of watches, there are a few points you should definitely consider when purchasing new field watches. Below, we briefly discuss the five most important factors to think about before pulling the trigger.

• Case: The case of the watch - the element that actually comprises the watch - is of great importance. When considering this area, you should pay attention to several parameters, such as case size (case width, lug size, lug-to-lug distance, thickness), water resistance level, and the material from which it is made. It's also worth noting more specific elements of the case, such as the crown, case back, and bezel.
• Movement: As the element that powers the watch and makes it tick, the watch movement is also of great importance. Whether quartz, mechanical, or automatic, you should pay attention to movement characteristics such as power reserve and accuracy. It's also worth finding out whether the movement is an off-the-shelf product (often from companies like Sellita and ETA) or if it has been modified or even fully developed in-house.
• Dial Design: Most field watches have a similar dial layout; however, they can differ from each other in several parameters. When considering the dial of a field watch, pay attention to its color and material, set of hands, indexes, and date window presence. It's also worth noting the type of luminescence used on the dial.
• Bracelet or Strap: While the strap or bracelet can almost always be easily replaced, it's still worth paying attention to the type of bracelet or strap that comes as standard with the watch. In the field watch realm, the vast majority of references come with a NATO strap or another type of textile strap.
• Pedigree and Historical Connection: There are many modern field watches that draw inspiration from World War II watches. There are also modern field watches created by brands with a long history of supplying watches to various military forces. While this area doesn't change the watches themselves, there's something special about watches that have a more tangible connection to the past.

Best Solar Field Watch: Timex offers many great affordable field watches priced under $100, and you can't go wrong if you're looking for an affordable quartz chronometer with a classic look. But if you need something more premium, we recommend the North Field, with its combination of vintage and modern aesthetics, solar-powered movement, date window, and sapphire crystal. The Expedition North Field Post Solar watches are available in green and bronze colors (here), as well as an all-black version, and feature surprisingly reliable build and finish quality for watches priced under $200.

Citizen Chandler

Best Field Watch: Could these watches be more field-worthy? Sorry, had to make a Chandler joke from "Friends." Jokes aside, these are excellent small field watches. Compact size, beautiful traditional design, reliable water resistance, and always dependable Citizen Eco-Drive movement that runs on any light, make the Chandler an extremely popular budget field watch.

Marathon General Purpose Quartz

Best Durable Field Watch: As we've mentioned, field watches are largely associated with past wars, but Marathon watches are different in that they are genuinely used by modern soldiers. Made in Switzerland, the General Purpose Quartz, or GPQ, watches are highly durable. Designed for infantry and created to government specifications, the GPQ features a minimalist military-style dial with tritium hour markers and applied hands, housed in a lightweight, shock-resistant fibershell case capable of withstanding all sorts of impacts.

Nodus Sector Field

Best Modern Field Watch: Los Angeles-based microbrand Nodus doesn't take the path of least resistance when it comes to design. The brand's watches consistently offer new forms, and the Sector Field is certainly no exception. The intricate multi-layer dial with a dizzying number of cutouts, colors, and textures makes the Sector Field a unique watch you'll never tire of looking at. These modern-style watches come standard with a steel bracelet and are offered in several color options.

Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical

Best Field Watch: As a pioneer of trench watches in World War I and one of the original manufacturers of the A-11 in the subsequent war, there's simply no brand more associated with field watches or better at executing them than Hamilton. The Khaki Field watches from the former American (now Swiss) brand, particularly their hand-wound version, are considered archetypal field watches and are direct descendants of the A-11. If you're a field watch purist, these are the ones to own.

Seiko Prospex SPB117

Best Japanese Field Watch: The Seiko Prospex SPB117 is a sleek yet robust field watch with a 39.5mm stainless steel case, Caliber 6R35 movement, and a 70-hour power reserve. The watch boasts 200 meters of water resistance, LumiBrite-coated hands and indexes, an exhibition case back, and a three-link stainless steel bracelet, making these otherwise minimalist field watches surprisingly versatile.

Timor Heritage Field WWW

Best Modern Reissue: While the W10 model certainly has its fans, no British military watch is more revered than the World War II "Dirty Dozen." Timor was one of the twelve in-demand original manufacturers that made these robust watches to Crown specifications, and now the revived British (formerly Swiss) brand has brought back its main claim to fame. The new Swiss-made Timor WWW watches look almost identical to the original, with their design developed by a British Army veteran.

Tudor Ranger

Best Luxury Field Watch: As expected from Rolex's sibling brand, the Tudor Ranger is an ultra-premium interpretation of military-style field watches, maintaining the traditional minimalist, utilitarian design while unmistakably defining it as a luxury watch. The Ranger field watch features exquisite design and finishing of the 39mm stainless steel case, a steel bracelet with Tudor's T-Fit safety clasp, and an in-house Calibre MT5402 automatic movement, COSC-certified, with a bidirectional rotor and a 70-hour power reserve.

Bertucci A-2S

Bertucci is quite well-known as a producer of affordable field watches (that's basically all they do), and they have a solid reputation in this area. Founded in 2003 to create the perfect field watch, Bertucci produces just about every possible variation of this form - even field watches with fully luminescent cases - but it's hard to go wrong with the reliable stainless steel A-2S case.

• Case size: 36 mm
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Movement: Quartz

CWC British Military G10

It's no secret that mechanical watches are currently in vogue among enthusiasts, but British company CWC takes pride in its quartz heritage. As one of the early adopters of quartz technology, CWC created the first quartz watches issued to British troops in 1980. The G10 model is a highly accurate modern version of these 40-year-old watches, and it's about as classic as field watches with quartz movements get.

• Case size: 36.5 mm
• Water resistance: 50 m
• Movement: Quartz

Victorinox Swiss Army Heritage

This new release from the makers of Swiss Army knives returns to basics in a beautiful form. There's nothing revolutionary here, but you get a very well-crafted and attractive field watch. Swiss assembly, quartz movement, a 40mm stainless steel case, and a traditional dial with a convenient date window at the "6 o'clock" position make for one enticing package.

• Case size: 40 mm
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Movement: Quartz

BOLDR Venture Black Dawn

Moving from traditional field watches to a few modern options - BOLDR. The Singaporean company BOLDR is known for its rugged watches, and the Venture model is one of the staples in its catalog. This version, Black Dawn, combines a black PVD-coated titanium case, a black NATO strap with blacked-out titanium hardware, and vintage-colored Japan Superlume to create a very modern military-style piece.

• Case size: 38 mm
• Water resistance: 200 m
• Movement: Automatic

Unimatic UC2

The new permanent collection from Unimatic includes the UC2 model - a minimalist take on field watches from the Italian brand. Of course, Unimatic watches are essentially a reduced version of dive watches without a bezel - this model boasts 300m water resistance - but in our opinion, it ticks all the boxes. The watches are robust, easy to read, and there's nothing unnecessary in their design. In other words, we'd take these watches into battle any day.

• Case size: 38.5 mm
• Water resistance: 300 m
• Movement: Automatic

RZE Resolute

The RZE brand has existed for less than two years but has already carved out its niche with its signature titanium cases with ULTRAHex coating, used in all models, which are 8 times more scratch-resistant than stainless steel. The brand's first watch, the Resolute, is a modern field watch that, thanks to a well-thought-out dial and killer lume, looks sharp enough to become a versatile everyday watch.

• Case size: 40.5 mm
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Movement: Automatic

Benrus DTU-2A/P Field Watch

When it comes to classic American field watches, Benrus's DTU took over from Hamilton as the favorite watch of American soldiers in the 1960s (the civilian version also gained some fame on Steve McQueen's wrist in the film "Bullitt"). The beloved Vietnam War-era watches, first released in 1964, have been recently revived by the newly reborn brand. The modern version of the watch features a Swiss-made automatic movement, a bead-blasted 316L stainless steel case, and is assembled in the USA.

• Case size: 39.5 mm
• Water resistance: 50 m
• Movement: Automatic

Luminox Atacama Field Automatic

Luminox is a modern watch brand, and therefore it produces very modern watches. The Atacama Field Automatic is a new modern take on field watches, and if anyone knows what modern soldiers want from their watches, it's Luminox. The official watch supplier to the Navy SEALs has equipped the Atacama with 200m water resistance, a sapphire crystal with AR coating, and Luminox Light Technology, providing self-powered illumination for up to 25 years.

• Case size: 44 mm
• Water resistance: 200 m
• Movement: Automatic

Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Series 2

If you prefer to stick to the old school when it comes to wristwatches, you'll appreciate this work from British company Christopher Ward. These watches from the OG microbrand, now a major brand, pay homage to the classic Smiths W10 field watches from 1969. A Swiss-made chronometer with timeless vintage style, the C65 Sandhurst Series 2 is the predecessor of the second generation of the first CW watches to be granted the British Army's heraldic badge.

• Case size: 38 mm
• Water resistance: 150 m
• Movement: Automatic

Weiss Standard Issue Field Watch

At this point, the Standard Issue field watches from Weiss can confidently be called a modern classic. The watches, with their hand-polished surgical steel case and hand-painted marine brass dial, feature the Weiss Caliber 2130 mechanical movement - a heavily modified Soprod M100, assembled and finished by hand with full decoration. In other words, these aren't your average field watches; they're something special.

• Case size: 38 mm
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Movement: Hand-wound

Bremont Broadsword

Compared to other military watches like divers and pilot watches, true luxury versions of field watches are a rarity. In fact, Bremont's Broadsword model, inspired by the "Dirty Dozen," may be the only one on the market that truly fits this definition. Created in collaboration with the British Ministry of Defence and made in the UK, the Broadsword boasts a chronometer-certified Swiss movement, a typical "Dirty Dozen" three-hand layout, and custom-made Super-LumiNova mint lume on the hands and indexes.

• Case size: 40 mm
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Movement: Automatic

Rolex Explorer

Is the king of field watches even a field watch? Well, not quite. The classic Rolex mountaineering watch is an "explorer's watch," but with its 36mm case, ridiculous lume, and black dial with white indexes, including Arabic numerals, the Explorer is often categorized as a field watch, and we follow suit. Based on watches that accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay to the summit of Everest in 1953, these slim Rolex watches have been on the wrists of countless adventurers in every decade since.

• Case size: 36 mm
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Movement: Automatic