Initially launched in 2014 as a timepiece designed for optimum sturdiness, the Victorinox INOX has steadily expanded over the past decade, and it now exists as a complete assortment that features every part from easy three-handed quartz fashions to mechanical divers and chronographs with solid carbon instances. Nevertheless, as a part of a batch of latest releases that remember the tenth anniversary of the INOX assortment in 2024, Victorinox has created the smallest model of the INOX that it has ever put ahead, and the brand new Victorinox INOX Small takes the elemental idea of the Swiss model’s ultra-durable wristwatch and distills it down right into a correctly compact 32mm package deal.
On the time of launch, the Victorinox INOX Small assortment spans 4 totally different fashions — two in chrome steel and two with a rose gold PVD end. The 2 chrome steel fashions are paired with matching bracelets and can be found with both black or blue dials (ref. 242036 and ref. 242038, respectively). In the meantime, the rose gold PVD variations are fitted with both blue or white dials (ref. 242035 and ref. 242037), and they’re accomplished with rubber straps that match their respective dial colours. Though the 2 chrome steel INOX Small watches supply a lot of the identical total aesthetic that characterizes the model’s full-size fashions, the rose gold PVD references supply a softer and extra female expression of the INOX assortment’s decidedly utilitarian profile.
Crafted from recycled 316L chrome steel, the instances of the brand new Victorinox INOX Small watches adhere to the identical chunky and utilitarian profile that defines the remainder of the gathering, they usually measure 32mm in diameter by 9mm thick, with huge angular lugs which can be set 16mm aside and prolong to create an total lug-to-lug profile of 41mm. The highest of the INOX Small’s case is fitted with the gathering’s signature faceted bezel, and sitting inside the bezel is a flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective therapy. Whereas the strong caseback includes a screw-down design, the signed crown at 3 o’clock operates with a typical push/pull motion, and it is a slight disappointment because the INOX assortment is meant to be the model’s most strong and sturdy providing.
For these interested by weight, the brand new Victorinox INOX Small watches are available in at roughly 42 grams (not together with their straps or bracelets), and whereas the INOX Small continues to be ISO-certified for resistance to shocks, water, and magnetism, it solely gives a 100-meter depth ranking, quite than the 200 meters of water resistance offered by its full-size counterparts. Moreover, the quirky tool-oriented design components discovered on different not too long ago launched Victorinox fashions have been carried over onto the brand new INOX Small watches, and along with having their depth rankings engraved alongside the rim of their bezels with small triangles pointing to the crown, additionally they have a “Stainless Metal AISI 316L” inscription on the left-hand facet of their instances to indicate the fabric of the watch
The dials fitted to the brand new Victorinox INOX Small watches comply with the identical elementary design as what will be discovered elsewhere inside the assortment. Nevertheless, quite than having their date home windows on the 4:30 place like the unique INOX fashions, the brand new INOX Small watches have their date shows relocated to six o’clock to create a greater sense of symmetry. Completed with a grain-texture floor, the INOX Small’s dial is furnished with utilized luminous hour markers sitting partially recessed into an angled chapter ring that surrounds the periphery of the show, and a luminous model of the model’s emblem takes the place of the 12 o’clock index. With that in thoughts, in contrast to the bigger fashions from the gathering, the brand new INOX Small watches don’t characteristic a minutes monitor printed alongside their chapter rings, and this may be considerably of an inconvenience, particularly when setting the time.
The handset fitted to the brand new Victorinox INOX Small watches gives a slight variation of the design that first made an look on the model’s Journey 1884 assortment final yr, and it options an uncommon profile with small skeletonized frames extending from the information of the hour and minute fingers. Whereas the form of the handset is undeniably a bit divisive, it is usually solely distinctive to Victorinox, and it’s steadily turning into one of many defining traits of the model’s trendy device watches. Moreover, green-glowing Swiss Tremendous-LumiNova is utilized to the fingers and hour markers to assist with low-light legibility and, on the 2 chrome steel INOX Small fashions, the information of their polished seconds fingers are completed vibrant pink to advertise better visibility and distinction.
Powering the Victorinox INOX Small is the Swiss-made Ronda Caliber 775 quartz motion, which is basically a smaller model of what will be discovered contained in the full-size quartz INOX fashions. Much like its bigger counterparts, the Ronda Cal. 775 gives an accuracy ranking of -10/+20 seconds per thirty days, and it runs on a single No. 364 energy cell that gives a battery life of roughly three years. Though it’s a dependable and confirmed design, the Ronda 775 is hardly auspicious from both a development or efficiency standpoint, and whereas Victorinox additionally makes computerized INOX fashions, a easy no-frills quartz motion will inherently supply superior resistance to magnetism and impacts, and it additionally represents the model’s unique imaginative and prescient for its INOX lineup.
Whereas the rose gold Victorinox INOX Small fashions are fitted with rubber straps that match the colour of their dials, the 2 chrome steel variations are each paired with three-link bracelets. From a core design standpoint, the bracelet for the INOX Small is more-or-less only a smaller model of what will be discovered within the model’s Journey 1884 assortment, and it includes a flat three-link design with brushed surfaces and high-polished bevels on its decrease horizontal edges that add a delicate sprint of refinement. The bracelet connects to the case with an built-in quick-release system accessed by small buttons on the underside of its end-links, and it tapers from 16mm on the lugs all the way down to 14mm the place it connects to its signed butterfly-style folding clasp.
Along with being smaller, one key distinction between the brand new Victorinox INOX Small’s bracelet and the bracelets discovered on fashions from the model’s Journey 1884 assortment is that its butterfly-style clasp lacks the extra security latch that may be discovered on its bigger counterparts. Moreover, whereas the bracelet is well-made with fully strong parts, the detachable hyperlinks connect with customary friction-fit pins (quite than single-sided screws). Equally, the clasp gives a slender design with a double push-button launch, though it doesn’t embody any kind of micro-adjustment system, which might have been a welcome addition to a mannequin that’s particularly designed for strenuous use and outside environments.
General, the brand new Victorinox INOX Small succeeds at being a considerably extra compact model of the model’s ultra-durable device watch. Nevertheless, I can also’t assist however really feel that these new reduced-size fashions are barely watered down in comparison with their full-size siblings from the INOX assortment. Whereas solely a handful of individuals will ever want greater than 100 meters of water resistance, the omission of a screw-down crown nonetheless serves as a relentless reminder that the INOX Small isn’t as succesful as its bigger siblings, and I personally really feel {that a} minutes monitor (or another manner of exactly studying the time) must be an compulsory characteristic on something that guarantees to be a function-forward device watch.
Given its considerably lowered sizing, the brand new Victorinox INOX Small is primarily supposed for a feminine viewers, and the model even categorizes the midsize 37mm INOX fashions as ladies’s watches on its official web site. My wrists measure about 6.5 to six.75 inches in circumference, and whereas I’m objectively a fan of small watches, the brand new INOX Small fashions are undeniably a bit undersized for my private preferences (therefore why I made a decision to {photograph} it on a lady’s wrist for this text). With that in thoughts, attributable to their chunky and angular profile, Victorinox’s INOX watches constantly put on a bit bigger than their on-paper dimensions, and I might simply see the 2 chrome steel INOX Small fashions being appropriate for males with slender wrists, or just for individuals who need a sturdy device watch in a extremely compact total package deal.
Whereas I might have cherished to see the Victorinox INOX Small fashions retain the very same capabilities as their bigger siblings, they nonetheless supply way more sturdiness than most individuals will ever require, and their considerably lowered proportions enable the INOX assortment to be loved by a wider and extra numerous viewers. With retail costs set at $700 USD for the strap-equipped rose gold PVD fashions and $750 USD for the chrome steel variations which can be paired with matching bracelets, the brand new Victorinox INOX Small watches price barely greater than their bigger quartz counterparts, which finally appears quite counter-intuitive, contemplating that they’re each smaller and fewer strong. With that in thoughts, the present three-handed quartz INOX fashions have been round for fairly just a few years, and I think about that an up to date era would possible be accompanied by the same worth enhance to position it instantly in step with the brand new INOX Small lineup. For extra data on the Victorinox INOX Small, please go to the model’s web site.
