Victorinox Swiss Army’s Inox watch is steeled for action

The newest timepiece from Victorinox Swiss Army, the Inox, was created to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the company, but it’s engineered to survive so much punishment that the resulting wristwatches are likely to be ticking when the company’s 230th rolls around.

The name Inox is derived from the French word for stainless steel. That’s not only what the watch case is made of but it’s also a nod to the company’s name (formed by combining it with the name of the founder’s mother, Victoria).

Created to key into the cutlery brand’s reputation for durability and reliability, the Inox features a case machined from a single block of the metal, raised hour markers that are stamped in from the back of the watch face and a scratch-resistant, anti-reflective sapphire crystal that’s set below the bezel for shock absorbency. Thanks to a screw-down protected crown, it will remain watertight to a depth of 660 feet.

Although most of the company’s watches undergo some 70 or 80 tests in the course of product development, the Inox was subjected to 130, including being set on fire, frozen in a block of ice for three days, run over by a 64-ton tank, whirled for two hours in a washing machine and dropped from the height of a three-story building.

Durable, yes, yet it manages to be a stylish, straightforward piece of gentleman’s wrist candy that belies its ability to take a beating. (That’s why the watch includes a subtle nod to the testing process in the form of a rubber strap designed to mimic a tank’s tread.) Extra protection is standard in the form of a black nylon and silicone bumper that fits snugly over the face (though the aforementioned testing was done sans bumper), so the Inox can convert from rough and tumble to dinner and a movie faster than you can say, “Check, please.”

The Inox, which uses a Swiss-made Ronda 715 quartz movement, comes in black, khaki green or navy blue. Available this month at the Victorinox Swiss Army boutique in the Beverly Center and at Feldmar Watch Co. in Los Angeles, it retails for $525 — a price that should allow you to buy one as a trusty travel companion and still have money left to get where you’re going.

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