Attached to the Victorinox Swiss Army INOX case is a modern looking diver’s style rubber strap that I don’t have any complaints about. All I will say is that the unique style of the INOX case makes me really wish that Victorinox Swiss army produced a matching steel metal bracelet for it. In my opinion, this watch would look great on a bracelet, and for all I know, the brand is coming out with one for the Victorinox Swiss Army INOX next year.

As I mentioned above, inside the watch is a Swiss Ronda caliber 715 quartz movement. No doubt there are going to be a lot of watch lovers who would be much more excited about this watch if it had a mechanical movement in it. True enough, there are lots of mechanical watches in the Victorinox Swiss Army watch family, but in my opinion, it is a brand that does best when it does quartz. The brand feels the most comfortable when producing an attractive, high-quality quartz watch for under $1,000 – which, in my opinion, is a sweet spot for the brand. Want to get someone a good looking yet not too expensive Swiss watch? Victorinox. Want a decent Swiss tool watch? Victorinox.

This is one of the new quartz watches I would wear – even though I have a soft rule against wearing all analog quartz watches. I find the most interest in quartz watches that do things mechanical watches cannot – which mostly translates into certain types of functionality. Having said that, I could make an argument that the Victorinox Swiss Army INOX is much more durable in a quartz movement state than it would be as an automatic. So using that logic, quartz would give the watch a reason to be on my wrist. Though, I would have no hesitation recommending the watch to others not as deep in the watch nerd universe, given the good design and highly legible dial. This is a quartz watch that makes me like it a lot more than I originally thought I would.

I always like to make sure that Victorinox Swiss Army watches I review have 24 hour scales on the dials. It is sort of part of the brand’s design DNA, and while for a second I though the 24 hour “military time” scale was missing, it is in red just on the outside of the hour markers before the outer-most scale (that has some vestigial markers, given that the seconds hand ticks and doesn’t go over those spots). Those are perhaps the only “purely for design” feature of the watch but they aren’t really distracting at all.

One of the most famous marketing slogans in history of 20th century products was for Timex watches. “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking” was the promise of the American watch maker to buyers who had legitimate concern over their watches failing or breaking during the course of normal wear. There was a time not too terribly long ago (although it is practically inconceivable to imagine now) that if you didn’t have the time on your wrist it may have been difficult to find. Today the vast majority of people are around clocks of all types all the time so having a perfectly accurate or functioning watch doesn’t necessarily matter. Nevertheless, we still subscribe to the notion that we only want to use and wear “bullet-proof” gear. At least some people do. So for them, the marketing promise of the Victorinox Swiss Army INOX watch strikes a major chord and I think it was clever for the company to take this direction.

Having said that, I should point out that the Victorinox Swiss Army INOX watch is not the most durable watch in the world and is probably pretty standard for watches of this ilk and construction. Though, it does have a distinct and attractive look to it that makes it a sensible buy for a “pretty beater.” Enjoy the cute yet useless plastic case attachment, and have yourself a decent everyday wear that you don’t need to worry about, even at its premium-for-quartz price of $525. victorinox.com

Necessary Data
>Brand: Victorinox Swiss Army
>Model: INOX
>Price: $525 USD
>Size: 43 mm
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Active type not interested in a mechanical watch, but that wants something slick, Swiss, and worry-free.
>Best characteristic of watch: Attractive presentation with clever marketing campaign to boosts its image. Comfortable fit with legible dial.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Pricey for a quartz watch, given the competition. Would probably look amazing on a bracelet, if one was offered. Plastic case protector accessory is mostly a gimmick.