Victorinox Titanium INOX
Manufacturer: Victorinox | Price: £649 GBP ($780 USD, €699 EUR approx)
Intrepid and rugged, the Victorinox I.N.O.X. Pro Titanium Diver has underwater adventure in its horological genes. Put simply, it’s natural home is the big blue. Meet the titanium version – the strongest incarnation of the I.N.O.X. yet. Crafted from this ultra light alloy with unrivalled credentials, it delivers the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal.
Specifications
- Dimensions: Case Diameter – 45.3mm, Thickness – 14.6mm, Lug to Lug – 52.8mm, Lug Width – 22mm
- Movement: Ronda 715 Swiss Made Quartz, Anti-Magnetism, Hackable ISO Certification: 6425
- Case Material: Titanium Net Weight: 126g
- Strap: Hand-Woven Black & Blue Paracord
- Crystal: Sapphire, Triple AR Coating
- Bezel: 60 Click Unidirectional, Titanium Extras: Rubber Strap, Shockproof Case, Protective Bumper
- Water Resistance: 20ATM / 200m / 660ft
- Lume: Swiss Super Luminova®
- Crown: Signed, Screw Down with Crown Guards Caseback: Screw Down, Titanium
- Warranty: 2 Years Where to Buy: Victorinox Reference: 241813
- Options: Dial Colour: Black, Blue, Grey, White (Ltd Edition)
Victorinox - The Company
In 1884, Karl Elsener opened his cutler’s workshop in Ibach-Schwyz. At this time Switzerland was still one of the poorest countries in Europe. In the early years Karl Elsener worked to combat poverty and unemployment in the Schwyz basin, creating jobs and helping stem the flow of emigration. In 1891 he supplied the soldier’s knife to the Swiss Army for the first time. He went on to develop the Swiss Officer’s and Sports Knife – now the iconic Swiss Army Knife – in 1897, creating the foundation for a flourishing company that would be able to hold its own on the world stage.
From then on, his spirit of solidarity, deep roots in the region and strong commitment to solid values shaped the Victorinox company philosophy. Today, Victorinox is a global company with five product categories: Swiss Army Knives, Household & Professional Knives, Watches, Travel Gear and Fragrances. The Swiss Army Knife is the core product and has a pioneering role in the development of all product categories.
The Case
Surprisingly, the I.N.O.X. Pro Diver only has a water resistance rating of 200m / 20 ATM. Given the size of this behemoth, I would have expected it to be atleast 500m. The overall finish of the case is superb. The proportions of the watch are, in my opinion, way too big for my 7″ wrist. I initially thought the watch would be a little smaller but it wears extremely top heavy and very big with its large thickness and lug to lug distance of 52.8mm
Strap
Originally used for parachute suspension lines, paracord meets the rigorous standards of the American army. Its breaking point is an impressive 250kg. The nylon cord is comprised of an outer sheath and seven strands which, when individually unravelled, can be used to craft a fishing net, replace a shoelace or form a bow drill for making fire. The strap can be transformed for every use and situation imaginable. Good luck trying to put it back together and back onto the watch though. Unless you’re in the armed forces or your name is Bear Grylls I think you would struggle.
This 22mm paracord strap is probably my favourite feature of this watch. It looks great in my opinion and it is extremely comfortable. The strap that I received looks different to the one shown on their website though. I’m not sure if I have an update or not as the nylon part thats on this one is more of a hook design rather than the shown buckle & tang affair.
Movement
The movement used in the I.N.O.X. Pro Diver is the Ronda 715 Swiss Made Quartz. It is a fantastic choice of quartz movement but with the price of this watch having a retail of £649, I would have expected an automatic movement, maybe a Swiss Sellita SW200 perhaps?
Dial & Bezel
The dial has very neatly applied indices all round with a neat cut out for the date complication but it’s at the 4:30 position. Arrrgghhhh! I hate when manufacturers do that, put it at 3 or preferably 6 or just don’t bother at all. The logo is applied and very nice it is too. The rest of the dial has a total of 5 lines of text. Too much? Nah, it’s perfectly fine & legible.
The hour and minute hands are perfectly in proportion to the dial and actually suit the watches aesthetic extremely well. The seconds hand is good too being finished in red giving a good contrast against the blue dial and it does reach out all the way to the minute track. The lume used on the I.N.O.X. Pro Diver is Super Luminova® however, it’s extremely weak. That’s really disappointing considering this is supposed to be a “professional diver”.
