Just yesterday we were studying a field watch and we’re already back dissecting another one. One, unlike the other, which comes with heritage and legacy, two things which aren’t easy to navigate for the current owner of the brand. Because whenever we talk about having a past, it makes taking decisions for the present difficult and for the future more challenging. As thus far in our exploration of historical brands which continue to exist a century after their creation or which have been revived recently—whichever form it took—it has always been clear that zigzagging through heritage ain’t easy, and that embracing it whilst at the same time trying to move ahead of the curve presents a whole suite of challenges which can make or break a brand’s very own existence. Copy/past old designs and the enthusiast community quickly becomes bored; innovate too much and the biggest fans of the brand will barrage it with criticisms so much so that the brand’s very raison d’être will be challenged.  

I’ve always thought how lucky I am to only have to write about watches, not design them. 

The brand which comes with heritage and which is trying to modernize itself is Timor. We looked at Timor a while back (before that I bothered dating articles) by putting its Heritage W.W.W. under the microscope. The W.W.W. is an ultra faithful recreation of the World War II-era Dirty Dozen watch the brand made, down to the case dimensions, case and dial design. It was met with success because Timor created a faithful but modern version of the vintage W.W.W. which is difficult to find, or expensive to buy, or challenging to own, whilst other brands which also made the DD changed the case design and dimensions, or dial design and dimensions. Some of us cared a lot about getting the original but freshly baked which is why it worked. But Timor’s new owner, Benjamin Briggs, decided it was time to bridge the gap between World War II and 2025 by creating a contemporary version of the W.W.W. whilst at the same time preserving—and honoring—its core aesthetics and soul. Hence the Modern Field 100M. 

Specifications 

But this review won’t only focus on the Modern Field 100M but also on the Timor’s Expedition Case—another creation which aims at demarcating the brand from the rest of the horological world. When I first saw the case in person I thought Mr. Briggs wasn’t just a watch enthusiast but a mad scientist, as the Expedition Case looks like an insane creation at first glance, but as a logical continuation of Timor’s military heritage upon closer inspection, as the case looks, in fact, akin to sensible piece of equipment a soldier would have on his/her person. But we will come back to it later though I would like you to know what I’ve worn the Modern Field 100M in the Expedition Case the whole time I borrowed the shabang because it is, for the lack of a more elegant word, awesome. So the 100M is the result of Mr. Briggs’ own horological inclinations and Timor’s fans requests for a screw-down crown and a more stealthy chassis which would make the watch disappear during parades. (And on the field too.) 

The first big technical novelty therefore is the screw-down crown which brings the watch’s water resistance to 100 meters up from 50 meters for the Heritage W.W.W. which has a traditional push/pull crown. However the 100M could have had the same depth rating without a screw-down crown because modern technologies make it possible to be so. But many of us watch nerds do prefer to have a threaded crown for extra (emotional) security. Then Mr. Briggs covered the stainless steel body with an anti-glint (read: anti-reflective) DLC coating which reduces the visual wrist-print of the 100M as well as protects the case from scratches, tarnishing, and corrosion. So it’s a win-win for Timor and its fans as the watch looks more distinct and is more robust. What I didn’t expect by adding the DLC coating is an improvement of the already excellent contrasting nature of the hands + hour markers vs. dial as the whole black case treatment makes the latter and the former seamlessly blend in one with one another. The result: superlative legibility I adore. 

Moving on, the Modern Field 100M is equipped with a domed sapphire crystal endowed with several layers of anti-reflective coating, so that we can benefit from the dials’ extraordinary legibility in all lighting conditions. Below it we find a matte black dial and two types of SuperLuminova lume: BGW9 on the hour and minute hands as well as on the Arabic numerals of the 24-hour military scale; C1 on the large Arabic numerals and the small seconds hand. Why? Because BGW9 glows brighter but dims faster than C1 which glows with less intensity but lasts longer. Therefore: based on the size of their applications and locations on the dial, the two types of lume do not clash with one another and make it possible to read all critical information equally well at night. Quite a few micro/indie brands use dual-lume applications on their watches but I bet they do so because it looks cool and not because it serves a particular purpose. (If it did, they would have mentioned it.) Already we see a lot of attention being put in the 100M but there is more. 

Indeed, the caliber which ticks inside is a modified Sellita SW260 (4Hz/38 hours of power reserve) which Sellita exclusively customizes for Timor by removing the date functionality so that there isn’t a ghost date position. (Some folks would have deemed it unreasonable to have the latter on a watch that costs $1,299 USD—yes that’s the price of this model, but I couldn’t care less about it.) And finally, let’s talk about fastening options: the model I borrowed came on a black nylon NATO-style strap with matching DLC-coated hardware which is what you get for $1,299 USD. Or you can opt for a DLC-coated three-link stainless steel bracelet whose end-links were designed and manufactured to perfectly fit the case of the 100M for an extra $200 USD or a total of $1,499. USD. Although I didn’t try the bracelet I find it to be looking darn well with the DLC case as we rarely see a semi-modern, semi-traditional field watch paired with something else than a nylon strap. Again, a sign showing Benjamin Brigg’s Timor effort to modernize the brand by making some bold moves. 

But before we move onto the design of the Modern Field 100M we must talk about the Expedition Case. So the crazy engineer’s idea to make a robust tool watch more robust, or a discreet field watch pop from the wrist like a crazy piece of military equipment would. The idea behind the Expedition Case was Mr. Briggs’ own wish—and that of owners of vintage W.W.W.’s—to wear the OG without bringing a potential fatal blow to it. As the Expedition Case fits modern and vintage Timor field watches alike which is hugely nerdy and genius at the same time. So what is it? It’s a large body of steel measuring 43 x 53 x 14mm finished with a black oxide coating; a removable polypropylene bezel insert screwed-down to the steel frame; and two plastic holders which secure the watch case inside, where the bottom part screws into the top part. From the steel body come fixed lug bars with a 22mm lug width so that one can fit the provided larger nylon strap through the Expedition Case. The case + watch combo is large but surprisingly easy to wear.

Design 

The Timor Modern Field 100M sans the Expedition Case is also a nimble piece of badass utilitarian horology as it fits my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist gloriously thanks to a case measuring 36mm in diameter, 45,5mm lug-to-lug, 12mm thick, and coming with an 18mm lug width. These are roughly the same dimensions as the period-correct Heritage W.W.W. which demonstrates Mr. Brigg’s commitment to preserving the winning format of the original field watch. (Another bold move in my opinion.) The case of the 100M is in itself rather simple and straightforward from a design perspective and is virtually identical to that of the W.W.W.: slab-sided flanks, a step bezel construction where the latter is built like a pyramid as it descends onto the mid-case; narrow lugs seen from above which are rounded seen from the side and which turn down towards the wrist like claws; and the DLC coating which tone downs what I find to be an elegant profile for a field watch as it was intended to do for tactical and presentation-like purposes during parades. 

The genius of the 100M is the dial configuration which Mr. Briggs also wanted to make to respond to his own and the brand’s fans wishes to have a small-seconds field watch with a full stack of Arabic numerals. His solution—a deceptively simple but elegant one—was to halve the small-seconds sub-register to make way for the six o’clock hour marker and add a double-tipped seconds hand so that it would be easier to know the precise time to the second. (And perhaps for strategic purposes when hacking the movement.) The result is one side of the seconds hand which received a bead-blasted treatment, and the other which was lumed. Moreover, the numerals for the 24-hour military scale were integrated within the design of the half-moon small-seconds sub-register so that it is also possible to read the military time in its entirety, so that we have the best of all worlds in terms of field and tactical time-keeping. Lastly, Timor preserved the legible pencil-style hour and minute hands which were also bead-blasted for further tactical purposes. 

The Heart of the Matter

Did Mr. Briggs indeed manage to modernize Timor? You bet your grail watch he did. And this couldn’t have been, and won’t continue to be, an easy thing to do as many people who know of Timor expect to see the same iconic watches recreated to the spitting image of the original versions, whilst many other people who know of Timor would expect to see modern releases which honor the brand’s heritage but don’t look like pastiches of the OGs. It is a damn-if-you-do-and-damn-if-you-don’t type of situation which I believe Mr. Briggs has so far managed to navigate elegantly and successfully. The result of his vision for Timor is a resolutely modern field watch which is what the brand would have most likely ended up making in 2025 should it had not gone on a multi-year hiatus before that Mr. Briggs became its loving guardian. Both the Modern Field 100M and Expedition Case are sensible pieces of military equipment and superb interpretation of contemporary pieces of utilitarian timekeeping devices which have a rightful place to occupy in today’s horological market. 

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that we find ourselves with (too) many options for good field watches today and that figuring out which one is for us and which one isn’t is quite difficult. (Oh, First World conundrums we so relish to rid ourselves of.) I for one love heritage and admire the legacy certain brands come with, and I am particularly enamored with ultra purpose-driven tool watches whose design truly follows function. So I find the Timor Modern Field 100M to be exactly the type of field watch I’m into, and the Expedition Case to be the type of accessory I just appreciate having and which I know I’d be happy to have should my suburban life suddenly become…a bit more adventurous. For $1,299 USD on the nylon strap and $1,499 USD on the DLC-coated bracelet, the 100M presents excellent value, so does the Expedition Case at $139 USD. (Additional colorful bezel inserts can be purchased for $19 USD each.) 

Thanks for reading.