Todd Snyder Military Watch

Bringing a 1970s Viscount dial back to life in a new 40mm series

While Timex was in prime Archive era bringing out new interpretations of old designs, Todd Snyder also released several hit collaborations with Timex at the same time for his own fashion retail operation. The 2017 Military Watch was a well-received 40mm beauty that came in four nice versions. It was based off a design a really cool dial taken from one little 35mm of the 1977-78 Viscount automatic lineup.

That Viscount was supposedly dust resistant and water resistant to 80 ft.(24.38 m)! It had a black dial and a 24hr track like a field watch, but no military roots and was certainly not a tool watch.

The Viscount did have a great looking dial. As it happens, I had purchased a ’78 Viscount a few years before the Todd Snyder Military watch was released. So I when I first saw a Todd Snyder Military, in probably 2019, I was instantly crazy about the dial but didn’t connect the two until later research. The dial looks good to me in all four colorways.

The dial layout is what this watch is all about. It has a lot going on. That’s why it is attractive to me. There are lots of layers to contemplate. The Arabic numbers are of a semi-bold machine/DIN style, similar to most Timex field/pilot dials, with round features. There is a inner 24 hr track in a second color that is rather small. I’d like those to be a bit larger, but it does cleanup the overall look and makes them secondary to the 12 hr numbers. At the center is my favorite feature- the cross hairs or reticle; something I always like on any watch.

Below the 12 is TIMEX type and above the 6 is a stylized Broad Arrow (pheon) in a round end style like the 12 hr numbers. The broad arrow was an interesting choice. It brings the military connection to the watch because it originally was a graphic device used by the British Defense Ministry to indicate a government issued item. It also is a device used by contemporary military fashion designer Nigel Cabourn for the 12 number in his watches. It is a controversial topic with mil-spec watch collector/enthusiasts who might say it doesn’t belong on watches not issued by the ministry. I can understand this, but I still like it!

The most intense feature of the dial is the minute track. There is a number for each five minute interval in the same color as the 24hr numbers, but in a bolder more extended type, and then each minute/second line is broken up with five more indices! Field watch meets stop watch. Its all so tiny and useless, but I love it. If you pull back a bit, it gives the appearance of a fuzzy bar segment connecting each hr number. For more on this see David Schwartz’s(its a great day to wear a watch) YouTube review of the watch. Tiny WATER RESISTANT type is squeezed at the very top. The same for TODD SNYDER at the very bottom.

There is no date and no lume on the dial. Also, no Indiglo even though I did see one site that said the watch has Indiglo. The baton style hands do have some lume, at least three of the four. The grey version’s hands appear to be filled with paint; no luminescence. They all have a red second sweep.

The 40mm case is the standard one used by Timex on many watches like the Allied and Expedition Scout lines. Plain bezel, flat mineral crystal. The crowns match the cases, matte black with black cases, blasted silver with the brushed stainless cases. This is unlike most of the Timex Mk1 series, which I will write about in future, that have mostly shared polished silver crowns and pushers no matter the case finish. The press on steel case backs have Timex x Todd Snyder branding, WR50m, date code and battery type.

The ribbed 20mm NATO style strap they come with is, to me, a pretty nice strap as it is. Like all things Timex, good luck getting a replacement! But, since they are 20mm, the sky is the limit for finding something else you will like. The black and cream dial versions come with the pale olive color strap that has polished hardware signed Timex on the buckle. The black one comes with black strap and matte black hardware. The grey dial model comes with a grey strap and shiny black hardware. The black and grey version sometimes came with a second camo strap, too, depending on source/box. I have not worn either on the 20mm Timex signed camouflage strap with black hardware. I never owned one and still am wary of wearing camo as fashion? Maybe its from being in the Army so long or that most camo straps seem cheesy? I’m sure there is something out there I could go for?

The 40mm wide stainless case is robust and utilitarian. Lug to lug length is 49mm. Case and crystal are only 10.5mm thick. 20mm between lugs.

The cream dial with black and red dial printing, TW2R78800VQ, is my favorite. It just has a nice warm retro feel. The black hands and numbers of the cream background are easy to read. Looks great on the stock olive colored strap, though I am constantly trying other options.

The black dial, TW4B05800VQ, is true to the old Viscount, white, red and yellow printing, white hands, on the black background. The red-on-black 24 hr track is not as easy to see as it is on the cream dial. Probably the worst of the four? The three colors on black give it interest and this one feels more modern than the cream dial.

The blackout,TW2R78600JR, has silver-grey hands, with white and grey printing on the black dial. The 12-hour numbers and 24 hr track are in white with all the minute track printing grey. Maybe the most legible of the four colorways? It has a whole different stealth look to it. You can lighten it up a notch by putting it on the grey version’s strap.

Now the grey sheep of the family: the TWG0176007S. Maybe a reach? It has it’s own subtle appeal. The warm grey color of the dial is nice, and the big 12 hr numbers tie into the black case and the white minute track and reticle cross hairs and arrow pop. The small five minute numbers in black are hard to read. I wonder if red would have worked? It comes on the grey strap which really neutralizes the watch/strap/dial into grey camouflage. That grey dial looks pretty cool on a khaki strap with black hardware.

Well, there they are. Again, Todd Snyder did a great job with these and I really can enjoy wearing them. The bulk of my collection is this category of watch. Not a mil-spec watch, not a tool watch, maybe a light duty field watch, but mostly a military fashion, MILFASH, watch.