Hands-on With The Victorinox Alliance Sport Chronograph

Victorinox Alliance Sport Chronograph

A Swiss Army was one of my first “real” watches, purchased from a now-defunct jewelry store back in the early ’90s. It was a Calvary model, and it was about $100. Prices have sure gone up since then and the watches are no longer branded Swiss Army as we all know, but now Victorinox. The brand still holds a special place in my heart and while I have liked many of the models in recent years such as the Inox, the Divemaster and more, this Victorinox Alliance Sport Chronograph is one that I like way more than I thought I would have.

Victorinox Alliance Sport Chronograph Specifications:

• 44mm Gunmetal PVD Stainless Steel Case
• 51mm Lug to Lug
• 21mm Lug Width
• 13.5mm Thick
• Sapphire Crystal
• Swiss Ronda 5030D Quartz Movement
• 100M Water Resistant
• Rubber Strap

Retail Price $495

https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Products/Watches/Mens-Watches/Alliance-Sport-Chronograph/p/241818

At 44mm with a length of 51mm, on paper, it is a little large than I like these days but specifications are just that. They do not tell the whole story. Watches are all made different and the Victorinox Alliance Sport Chronograph wears comfortable on my 7 1/2 inch wrist. Part of that is due to it not being very thick and part of that is due to the simple and sleek case design. The style is very straightforward, as are most Swiss Army watches and this one has a classic but modern feel.

One of my favorite aspects of this Swiss Army is the grey dial. It is a unique color of grey, not really a silver grey or a charcoal grey, almost like a clay color. Until I was reading on the website I did not realize that the markers are meant to mimic the shape of a Swiss Army knife, which of course is just an oblong shape, but still something I found interesting. The color of the lume on the markers and hands has a mint hue, something that just works well with the grey dial and the red accents. Overall this is not a color combination normally seen, but all seem to play well together.

Being dubbed the Victorinox Alliance Sport Chronograph, Swiss Army apparently is taking the Sport part of the name to market it towards athletes and hikers alike. And I understand, you need to market all you can these days. That said, this is far from the first chronograph watch with a tachymeter scale. The movement is also pretty standard as well, being a Ronda 5030D. In fairness, this watch retails for $495 and I am sure can be found cheaper if you do a search online, and the dial intricacy and overall feel will probably outweigh the rather pedestrian quartz movement when most buyers are looking at it.

Of course, there always has to be something. As much as I really like the Victorinox Alliance Sport Chronograph, and the dial really has such nice detail and depth, that date placement is a no go for me. The cutout has a nice bevel to it but beyond that, it is in that horrible no man’s land as I like to call it. I just will never understand when designing a watch why anyone would think that looks good on the dial, especially on a chronograph. At the very least, a white on black date wheel would have allowed it to blend it in a little bit better and not be such an eyesore.

The strap on the other hand is one of my favorites of this particular version of the Alliance Chronograph. I have not seen the other variations of this model in person but the gunmetal PVD case with the grey dial and this rubber strap made it the clear choice. Unlike some of the Inox rubber straps that can be a little stiff, this vintage style with vent holes is extremely comfortable and pliable and allow the watch to wrap around the wrist. It has made it into the top 5 of my favorite rubber straps, which includes the likes of Isofrane and Hirsch.

One area that I am usually disappointed with when it comes to recent Swiss Army models is the lume, or lack thereof. Even though this is not a dive watch, the lume is much better than the multiple Inox models I have reviewed and that is probably due to the large surface area of the markers, though I would say they are just filled better as well and not spotty or grainy like some I have seen. The glow is nice and bright and will last through most of the night.

I know some will just outright scoff at the fact that this is a quartz watch and some might even remark why would I even review it. That is their prerogative of course but I do not understand is being that closeminded. We all have our own likes and dislikes but sometimes quartz is just looked at as a bad word in the watch collecting community and I have always felt quartz watches have their place. Yes, I have reviewed some microbrands that use automatic movements (non-chronographs) and even some that use mecha-quartz movements as well, at this same price and sometimes even cheaper. This Alliance Chronograph has a lot of other things going for it, to the nice click of the Chrono buttons, the intricate dial and just very good build quality and finishing. It’s a great grab and go sport watch and one of my favorite releases from the current lineup of Victorinox.

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Outsiders Revolution | Hands-On Watch Review

Outsiders Revolution

Today, we are going to veer off the normal review path a little. I am sure many know that Baselworld is almost over at the time of publication and Outsiders Watches apparently made a spectacle at the watch fair, or so they have said. Their first watch, the Outsiders Revolution diver is a $500 Swiss Made Submariner style homage and there is a lot to delve into when it comes to this brand and their marketing tactics. Now, let me get this out of the way. Business, in general, is hard and at this price in the watch world is a very competitive game and you need all the edge you can get. There is nothing wrong with that, but the issue usually is the product does not live up to to the hype. I will comment at the end of this review if I think it does, in fact, live up to the hype or not, but l am going to lay out some of their most recent events and they happened to coincide when I am writing this review.

Outsiders Revolution Specifications:

• 43mm Case Width
• 22mm Bracelet
• 13.5mm thick
• 51mm Lug to Lug
• Stainless Steel Case
• Blue or Black Dial
• Ceramic Bezel Insert
• Screw Down Crown
• Sapphire Crystal
• ETA 2824-2 Automatic Movement
• 300 Meters Water Resistant
• BGW9 Superluminova

Price $499 USD 

https://outsiderswatches.com/#

If you have been buying and collecting microbrand watches for a good few years, have bought off Kickstarter or even just watched a good old fashion infomercial, you have seen the style of marketing that Outsiders Watches employs. It’s over the top, it is usually too good to be true and it is what it is-audacious marketing. That is what I am witnessing with Outsiders. When I first came across the brand on Instagram, I somewhat overlooked the marketing tag lines because I have seen it before, so I decided to hold judgment on the watch until I got it in hand. I always try and stay as objective as possible. The watch itself, nothing really wrong with it and I would not put it in the category of cheap trash either, far from it. Doing research through while getting ready to do the review, it was hard to overlook just how over the top they are going being though. I mean, let’s be perfectly clear here, this is not the first watch to be marked Swiss Made and sold for $500. Hell, Invicta used to do it all the time, and they had very similar marketing lingo to go along with it.

If you read and watch our reviews here at Watchreport frequently (and hopefully are subscribed to our Youtube channel), you know that most of the time the video is recorded before the written article is done. This is done for many reasons, but mostly just how it is organized with the volume of watches that come in for review and how we have set it up. Normally, that really does not matter, but in this case, in the time between the video was done and today, the brand appeared at Baselworld. Posts on their Instagram feed were showing that they were giving out free watches to Baselworld attendees and I even saw a member of one of the Facebook watch groups I frequent post that he was one of the recipients. They legit were giving away their watches. I do not how many they allotted o give way, but I imagine a decent amount of people were game for it if nothing else than just sheer curiosity. I imagine it put some eyes on the Outsider Revolution.

Well, apparently, someone at Baselworld did not like this and called the police to escort the team out of the building and out of Baselworld. Now, I was not at Basel, so I am not sure how much of this is true and how much of this is more over the top marketing. I have not reached out to the brand for clarification and have not really seen anyone else posting about it online, save for the one individual who said he got a free watch. Giving out free watches at a massive fair such as Baselworld when you are a new brand is not such a bad idea at all. You have press there, watch journalists, watch enthusiasts etc. That is not bad marketing at all. How true it is that they were thrown out of the building? I am not sure. Maybe more will come out about this in the following days.

If you haven’t head over to their website yet, let me copy and paste some of what is posted on the Outsiders website about their company and the Outsiders Revolution diver:

” THE TRUTH.

Did you know that the $2,500 “Brand Name” watch you’ve seen in that fancy magazine ad didn’t cost more than $250 to make?

THE TEAM.

We’re a group of Swiss watchmakers and entrepreneurs who are fed up with the way things are.

We’re not paying a cent to all of the greedy middlemen who take their cut before you can get your hands on a Swiss made watch.

We are selling directly to you, and we’re taking all of those savings and passing them right on back to the person that deserves it the most.  “

That was just a snippet of what the Outsiders Website is filled with. Here’s the thing, the majority of us watch enthusiasts will laugh at most of that copy and I believe it is geared to the uninformed. Now again, from a business standpoint, it is a good strategy. Some folks may just find it insulting though. Hows the watch you ask? Well, if you have not watched the video yet, it is a nice watch. It is attractive, has some heft to it, a good movement, decent lume, and functions as it should. I do not like the proprietary bracelet and feel they are shooting themselves in the foot with that as I know many who love to wear and change out watch straps and that, of course, is a no go with the Outsiders Revolution. I imagine they wanted to do something just a little bit different, but I think that was the wrong choice.

So who are the guys behind the Outsiders brand? I am not sure, but I guess some of the attendees at Baselworld found out recently.  Are they starting a revolution? Are they upsetting the watch industry?  No. No, they are not. Are they making a nice watch at an affordable price? Yes. I know that might not be the catchiest slogan, but it is grounded in truth. Checking their website currently, it seems that you can get the Revolution for even cheaper, 20% off, in fact, using the code BaselPolice at checkout. Looks like they will ride that one as long as they can. That would bring the price down much closer to the $400 mark, making it a nice option for someone wanting a solid ETA based dive watch.

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