I do love a good field watch, with all the stripped-back, military-slanted utilitarianism that involves. They do however blend into each other a little, whether that’s another Dirty Dozen-inspired revival piece or a rugged trench watch. Which is why I was looking forward to Farer’s newest trio of pieces; they never have too much problem standing out from the crowd.
Like any field watch worth the name, all three of the new pieces are built to survive adverse conditions, albeit more a muddy trek up our very modest mountains than the crushing depths of the ocean. In fact, as the name shows, they’re largely inspired by the British landscape and, more specifically, our breath-taking national parks.
First up is the Exmoor, with its grassy green dial inspired by the eponymous stretch of sweeping gorse and heather. Putting the field in field watch, if you will. As ever with Farer, the green is just one of many colours, with white numerals, yellow indexes, a light blue second hand and a red date hand, matching the last four days of the month.
On paper it shouldn’t work, but pair it with the solid, vintage-sized 38.5mm stainless steel case and a cool, technical look and you have my personal favourite of the three. Plus, I just love Exmoor. Beautiful place.
Second up is trip to Scotland with Lomond and its blue dial take from Nessie’s domain. It’s the most elegant of the three with fewer colours and half the numerals replaced with baton indexes. It also uses a bit less colour for a more restrained feel, if restraint was something you were actually looking for in a watch.
The final member of the field watch triumvirate finishes the whistle-stop tour of mainland Britain’s national parks with Pembroke in South Wales. Here the numerals have been moved a touch more central in a navy blue ring (I assume) referencing Pembroke’s waterside locale. Maybe it doesn’t. Either way, it’s a cool flash of contrast.
All three pieces are water resistant to 200m and rugged enough to survive a good few bumps and bruises, making the engraving on the back all the more fitting: ON LAND AND WATER. Backed by a Sellita SW221-1 automatic movement with a 38-hour power reserve, these are some of the most visually interesting field watches around.
They’re also, as ever, incredibly affordable, so don’t worry if you do plan on getting yours covered in mud.
Price & Specs:
Model: Farer Field Watch
Ref: Exmoor (olive green textured dial)
Lomond (dark navy blue matte dial)
Pembroke (white sector dial with navy blue debossed numeral circle)
Case/Dial: 38.5mm diameter x 12.3 mm height, stainless steel
Water resistance: 200m (20 bar)
Movement: Swiss Made Sellita SW221-1 calibre, automatic, 26 jewels
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power Reserve: 38h
Functions: Hours, minutes, sweep second, date by pointer with quick setting, hacking seconds
Strap: Each model includes three straps:
Exmoor – Tan American Horween leather with steel buckle, airforce blue waterproof nylon NATO and ‘5 row’ integrated stainless steel bracelet with tri-fold clasp
Lomond – Brown American Horween leather with steel buckle, dark navy blue waterproof nylon NATO and ‘5 row’ integrated stainless steel bracelet with tri-fold clasp
Pembroke – Marine blue American Horween leather with steel buckle, green waterproof nylon NATO and ‘5 row’ integrated stainless steel bracelet with tri-fold clasp
Price/Availability: £875
More details at Farer.
