Victorinox
- Founded
- 1884
- Based in
- Ibach, Switzerland
- In our catalog
- 3 watches from $425 to $1,150
Victorinox watches are built on the same idea as the knife that made the company famous: something useful you can rely on. They're simple, sturdy and Swiss-made, and they cost less than most Swiss watches. The I.N.O.X., the flagship, was launched with a set of torture tests that included being run over by a tank.
History
Karl Elsener opened a cutlery workshop in Ibach, in the canton of Schwyz, in 1884. In 1891 he began supplying knives to the Swiss Army, and in 1897 he patented the officer's knife with multiple tools that became the Swiss Army Knife. The company name Victorinox, from 1921, combines his mother's name, Victoria, with "inox", short for stainless steel in French.
Victorinox started selling watches in 1989 under the Swiss Army name. In 2005 it bought its old rival Wenger. The I.N.O.X. arrived in 2014, the company's 130th anniversary, and was put through 130 tests, from a 10 m drop onto concrete to a ride under a 64-ton tank.
Signature models
- I.N.O.X.: The tough one, with a thick steel case, a protective bumper option and a readable dial.
- FieldForce Classic: An affordable quartz field watch with a no-nonsense look.
- Alliance Mechanical: A classic mechanical watch with a clean dial, the dressiest of the three.
What it's known for
Victorinox watches are easy to read, hard to damage and come with Swiss movements, mostly quartz, at fair prices.
Price and positioning
Victorinox watches cost from about $400 to $1,000. In that range Tissot and Hamilton offer more watchmaking heritage, and Luminox more specialized toughness. Victorinox sits in between, and the knife connection makes it a popular gift.
Victorinox watches in our library
- Victorinox FieldForce Classic ($425 to $495)
- Victorinox I.N.O.X. ($595 to $695)
- Victorinox Alliance Mechanical ($1,050 to $1,150)