No 381 - Victorinox I.N.O.X. Sky High

If you have seen the videos of the I.N.O.X. you know that this is a true tool watch. For me it was impossible to ignore this timepiece even though I must admit I didn’t love it the first time I saw it. I actually discarded it as a rather ugly creation. But the more I learned about its features, all the tests it had to withstand during its development, this ugly duckling grew into a something beautiful I became to love. The I.N.O.X. is the definition of a tool watch. 

#381 - The Victorinox I.N.O.X. Sky High limited edition, ref: 241772.1

This is actually happens to be my third I.N.O.X. My two first were the classic black dialed version on the black rubber and I must admit it felt kind of weird to have polished details on a watch like that. I knew that obviously it was capable of taking a hit but I didn’t want to expose the glass ring to any unnecessary scratches if I didn’t have to. So when the titanium version was released with its gray bead-blasted finish it felt like a much better way to present the I.N.O.X. I was about to buy one of the Ti's but then suddenly the Carbon version came along and I immediately decided I wanted that one. But then I waited a little too long and when I finally came back into the I.N.O.X. mode again I discovered that the Sky High had been released and then it was love at first sight. I loved everything about it. Its looks, all the cool accessories and of course the whole space concept. The fact that it was limited also made it much more interesting than the others. 

Unfortunately it was impossible to find a used one, because the watch had just been released, so I had to find a good deal on a new one. I considered this watch as potential keeper material so I figured it was worth it to pay a little extra if it was as good as I hoped. The choice fell on Gnomon Watches who first of all had this watch to a very competitive price but also their service is outstanding. I love the feeling of ordering stuff from halfway around the world on a Friday to then get it delivered on Monday morning. Fantastic!

This watch was just as cool as I expected. But as soon as I got it I was thinking “hmm… I wonder how the Carbon version would have felt…” I know, I’m seriously damaged. Luckily my beer brewing buddy Billy got turned on by it so I sold it to him. We now have 33% of our brewing crew wearing I.N.O.X.’s and we will reach 44% as soon as I get a hold of the Carbon. And yes, of course I’m aiming for 100%!

The Naimakka paracord strap. Super comfortable to wear and really cool. Made from a special fibre used in the space industry that is eight times stronger than steel. How awesome is that?

Just so you know, all the pictures in this post were taken by Billy who is a much better photographer than I’ll ever be. So please don’t think that those kind of quality photos is something you’re going to get used to in the future because then I’d have to hire him. No, you’ll just have to cope with my crappy cellphone photos for upcoming posts 😊

I will be back with more posts about the Victorinox I.N.O.X.’s, trust me. I'm not done here. Perhaps I'll the write a little more about the watch's features and the whole concept around it the next time. I haven't really exposed any of the watches I've owned to the kind of test they deserve so perhaps it's time to get a little more creative? It's a tempting thought. I've really only got one complaint that I need to address, that to me is a quite crucial point, and that is the weak lume. Why? I just don't get it. I really hope future I.N.O.X. editions will have more and stronger lume.

 

© All pictures by @billybjorling unless noted.

No 11, 37, 55, 60, 142 & 172 - Victorinox Dive Master 500

As I've written earlier, the Divemaster was the Victorinox watch that I really wanted. So of course I kept one eye open in case one would show up. When my wife and I went to New York in the beginning of September 2009 I found one at TJ Maxx of all places. It was the orange faced version on the steel bracelet. Heavy stuff! The Divemaster is about the same size as a Breitling Seawolf with a case that measure 44mm wide, 18mm thick and with a lug width of 22mm. It was first when I came home that I noticed that the dial just said “SWISS ARMY” instead of “Victorinox”. Some of the early models released in North America apparently had this design but I’m not sure of why. I remember I sold this one to a fire fighter. Of course it was to finance the PVD-version. The Black Ice.



#11 – The first  out of six Divemasters that I’ve owned.

That’s correct. The Black Ice was the one I REALLY wanted and in April 2010 I went for it. No substitutes this time! It was just as cool as I expected it to be and I think this version really is the best one of the quartz Divemaster’s. But as usual I didn’t keep it for very long and this time it was since I had a good friend who really liked it and when he asked me how much I wanted for it, instead of questioning myself if I really wanted to sell it, I immediately started to make up new plans of what to buy next. He’d given me a chance of scoring something new so keeping it wasn’t an option when the opportunity to sell came up. That really is the true sign of a flip-o-holic. You just need a new fix badly and you seize every chance you get and usually you make poor deals because you don’t have time to wait. So, I sold the Black Ice. My good friend Oscar who bought it still wears it today in good health and I always appreciate to see it on his wrist.

#37 – The Black Ice with a little water on it.



Wristshot on a sunny day on the balcony.

The third one I bought was in October 2010. It was the regular steel version as the first I had but it had the black dial and came on the original rubber strap. The lack of lume in the bezel, which both the Black Ice and the titanium version have, made it boring. Quick sell. 
 

#55 – Steel version on rubber.

In November 2010 it was time for the annual vacation in Florida and I wanted something to look forward to and I happened to find a cheap Divemaster in titanium on WUS and the seller agreed to ship it to my hotel. Sweet! The vacation watch was all set. I planned it carefully and it got delivered to the hotel the day after my arrival. For two weeks it got to explore a small part of the atlantic ocean but mostly it got to visit shopping malls and golf courses before I sold it when I came home. Since the Divemaster is quite a large watch it does really well in titanium. Smaller titan watches can sometime tend to feel like toys.



#60 – Titanium version. Lume in the bezel! Yeah!



An early morning at IHOP in Lauderdale by the Sea on US1. On our way to Miami.

In August 2012 I bought another black faced steel version just because I got a good deal. This time on a steel bracelet. Kept it as a beater for a couple of months and then sold it cheap again.



#142 – The fifth one. Steel version with steel bracelet and black dial.

The last one was another orange which I think I took as a part trade in June 2013 just to seal a deal. My plan was of course to sell it. By this time I’d realized the Divemaster was not for me. It only took four years and six tries but hey! Who’s counting?



#172 – The sixth and last one.



I’m still a fan of Victorinox and the new limited edition automatic Divemaster chronograph looks really promising. I might just have to try that one but it’s quite expensive and it will have to be a killer deal to even consider it. Also the new Inox might be a potential candidate for a future purchase.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 3 - Victorinox Infantry Vintage Day/Date

I have always had a thing for Victorinox. To me Victorinox is associated with quality. I guess it is because everyone tried to copy their folding knives and no one could compare with their standard. When I discovered Victorinox also made watches I immediately expected them to be built well. The first model I fell in love with was the Dive Master 500. It came in a PVD version and was called "Black Ice". I lived in Uppsala at the time, a small university town an hour away from the capital, and took the train to Stockholm one evening after school to visit the only store who carried Victorinox in their assortment.

Unfortunately they only had a blue faced Dive Master in stock, no Black Ice. But my eye caught something else. The Vintage Infantry Day/Date. "Wow! A military watch!". It was love at first sight. Who cared it cost a little over $700? Who cared it had a push/pull crown, was wearing huge with its 44mm and had a quartz movement with a second hand that was totally off the markers? It looked so good and I was going to keep this watch my whole life anyway! Yeah right...

Product image of the Victorinox Infantry Day/Date ref. 241291

I actually kept this watch for at least six months. I tried selling it but quickly realized I wasn't going to get back nowhere near what I paid for it. It was a cool watch though and I still think the quality felt really good. But I was a poor student who wanted new watches and I couldn't afford keeping it if I wanted to buy something new. It had to go. I'm ashamed to say that I gave it away for $200. I wasn't that much of a businessman back then. I could actually consider buying one again if I find a used one for $200 and then make up for the loss.



#3 - The Victorinox Infantry Vintage Day/Date.

Tucked away in its box right before I sold it.

A walk in Stockholm on a spring day in April in 2009.



Chilling out in Zürich in mid June 2009.

UPDATE - April 29th 2016.

I recently came home after spending a weekend i New York visiting one of my best friends. Only a couple of days before I left I found out that Ashford were selling out this exact model for only $200. So I asked my friend if he could get one for me and he ordered it straight away. Ever since I sold it back in 2009 I've regretted it and every now and then I've checked to see if there's been any used ones for sale but without any luck. But now finally it is back! And even though it's not the original one I purchased I'm going to pretend it is and instead of adding it as the next number in my chronological order it is going back as #3. Done! The new story is that it was never sold and has been a part of my collection since 2009.

I had actually prepared a nice suede strap from Hirsh for it, to replace the steel bracelet, which I brought with me to New York. I was 100% sure that the space between the lugs was 22mm. Imagine my frustration when the lug space turned out to be 23mm. It was impossible for me to wear the watch with that 1mm spacing between the case and the strap with the springbar visible. Uh uh, ain't happening!

When I came home I started to look around for nice leather straps and that's when I came across MJ Leather. I contacted Micke and asked him if he happened to have any 23mm straps in stock. He didn't but he offered to have one custom made for me. The final result turned out to be fantastic. 23-20mm at the buckle. Beautiful red leather which is going to age super nice. Fantastic craftmanship! Couldn't be happier with the strap.

With the new strap from MJ Leather.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.