British Dressy Field Watches or Fieldy Dress Watches

I’ve been moving a lot of watches in and out of my collection over the last two years, which all started with the purchase of my Vertex M100 in May of 2021. Before buying the Vertex, I either wore my Rolex Milgauss or a dive watch most days. The Vertex M100 is a modern take on the World War Two British field watch, aka the “Dirty Dozen”, of which Vertex was a member.

The original was much smaller, as most watches were in the middle of the middle of the previous century, and finished quite crudely as its intended use scenario had nothing whatsoever to do with luxury or style. Still, the luxuriously finished 40mm modern M100 is clearly built to the same pattern as the 36mm military-issue original. Both are robust, well-lumed (exceptionally so for the modern watch) and feature simple, manually-wound movements with high accuracy and good have good water resistance.

On a NATO strap the M100 is an essential part of my army uniform (I’m an officer in the US Army Reserve). For casual weekend wear it takes on an almost Rolex Explorer GADA (go anywhere, do anything) vibe. With Milanese mesh it it ranges from casual to business casual while a black leather strap makes it almost a dress watch.

Vertex M100 on NATO

Vertex M100 on the Vertex Bracelet, and check out THAT LUME!

Vertex M100 on Milanese Mesh

Vertex M100 on the Vertex OEM black leather

I enjoyed the M100 so much that I bought their dive and chronograph watches, but I didn’t wear either of them anywhere near as often as the M100, which displaced my Rolex Milgauss as the most worn watch in my collection. In fact, the M100 is pretty close to my ideal watch, and is easily something I could wear every day as an only watch if only it were 2 or 3 millimeters smaller in diameter. I also wish there were a few half links in the bracelet or conventional or hidden micro-adjust clasp where one didn’t have a visible extension if extended. I say this because my ideal size except on the hottest summer days would have me swap out one full link for a half link, or remove that full link entirely and use a step or two of micro-adjust. Otherwise, at 10mm thick and with finishing to rival my Rolex it is perfect.

Learning more about what I really like, I bought a Pinion Neutron about 8-months-ago. This is along a similar vein to a standard field watch, only the dial is very much dressed up with a shiny brushed galvanic blue sector dial with a beautiful Guilloche pattern in the center and highly polished numerals, indices and handset. Where the blue dial is absolutely dress watch pretty, the heavy application of old-radium colored lume (a stylistic color choice more than an attempt to appear vintage) and the fully matte finished case and large crown are 100% field watch. The final product is beautiful, but is too dressy to be a field watch and too rustic to be a dress watch. I work in a courthouse, and do find it a perfect “rugged business casual” look that goes well from jeans and a polo shirt to a suit and tie, but is a bit too formal for the beach and a bit too rustic for fine dining and a show.

Dimensions are, overall, better than the Vertex at 38mm instead of 40mm, though at 11mm thick the Vertex wins for sliding under a dress cuff. I think for a workday watch, the diameter is a bit more important than the thickness, so long as it stays at or under 12mm. I usually wear this on Milanese mesh for work and it perfectly matches a dress shirt and tie. With a brown or black leather it dresses down nicely, though honestly with that dial I rarely wear this one on weekends or nights out.

Pinion Neutron on OEM brown leather

Pinion Neutron on Milanese mesh

Pinion Neutron on Milanese mesh again, with lume charged

With gray/black (Vertex) and blue (Pinion) dials covered and not a polished case surface or line anywhere (both), I next ordered a Seiko (1959 Laurel Alpinist Modern Reinterpretation with Champagne dial SPB241). At 38mm case diameter and with a half brushed, half polished case I expected to be ideal, but the 13mm thickness was a millimeter too far and that one went to the for-sale list.

Seiko SPB241, Now Sold

For a slightly dressier watch, but with lighter dial color I added the Christopher Ward C65 Dune, which I’ve only had for a few days. Like the other two, it comes close to my ideal, but a few details keep it from total perfection. At 12mm thick it doesn’t match the Pinion’s wearability, but is far better than the 13mm thick Seiko was.

Unlike the Vertex and Pinion, the CW use triangle (12), trapezoid (3, 6 and 9) and circular applied markers without an Arabic numeral anywhere other than the (color-matched, hurray) date wheel. The indices and hands are all generously lumed in old-radium color, which I think goes well with the white sand dial color.

Also unlike the Vertex and Pinion, the mostly brushed case has enough polished along the sides, the bottom edge of the bezel and even the CW logo on the signed crown to add a dressy touch to what otherwise would be a desert-colored field watch with dive watch indices. The hands and indices are also polished just like the Pinion, with the applied logo adding another bright spot to dress things up a bit.

Christopher Ward C65 Dune on bracelet

C65 Dune on Milanese mesh. Not a good match, imo

Polished case accents, finally

Lume isn’t bad, about equal to Pinion and nowhere near Vertex

I really like of these, for different reasons, and can see them all getting a lot of wrist time. I also still put on the Rolex Milgauss or my vintage 1956 Omega Constellation for a night on the town or a networking event, and my CWC Royal Navy quartz dive watch for working around the house.

Most likely I’ll add one more British dressy field or fieldy dress watch to my colection with a different dial color, perhaps a medium gray, red or green, possibly with a GMT complication. The Farer seafoam green Lander IV GMT has been in and out of my “cart” for over a year, though now with the added complication of having to choose between 39.5mm and 36mm case diameter (I’m leaning toward the 36mm).I can see this style being my go-to for at least the foreseeable future. They are nice enough to hold my interest, large enough to have some presence, and except for the 40mm Vertex are small enough to compliment rather than dominate my clothing. Finally, they are rugged enough that I could put on any of them and leave the rest of the collection at home for just about any extended vacation anywhere in the world and understated enough to (hopefully) not draw the attention of thieves.