The year of 2009 is a double anniversary year for the famous watch manufacturer Victorinox: 125 years since it was founded and the 20th Anniversary since its first watch was introduced. To mark this significant year, the brand has released two watches, aiming to demonstrate such values as functionality, virtuosity, reliability and efficiency. Both of them are from the acclaimed Infantry Vintage collection. As shown in the pictures, the red dial watch with a red strap is the Infantry Vintage Limited Edition with 125 pieces available worldwide. And the timepiece, featuring kind of olive and cream tone, is a normal series watch, named Infantry Vintage Jubilee Edition.
The difference between the two versions lies in the inscriptions engraved on the dial and case back. On the limited one, we can find the legendary “Limited Edition” located at 3 o’clock and “125 years” at 8:00 that replacing the numeral of 8. The regular olive dial version only has “Jubilee Edition” at the 3 o’clock position. In addition, “125 years, your companion for life” is engraved on the case back, accompanied with the brand’s logo for both watches. The Infantry Vintage Limited Edition also has a limited edition number to present its identity.
The two watches share the same specifications, except the forementioned difference. As a striking fusion of functionality and reliability, the watch is performed in a vintage style, featuring a 316L stainless steel case with 44mm in diameter. Functions include hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph, as well as a telemetric scale. Protected by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment, the dial presents a smart design, in which luminous hands, oversized numerals, chronograph subdials, and date aperture are cleverly decorated to provide admirable legibility. The watch also employs a screw-in case back. The case is mounted on a leather strap, in line with the color of the dial. It is water-resistant to 100 meters.
A Swiss-made, quartz chronograph movement – ETA 251.272 powers the watch, offering a exceptional function of telemeter scale. The telemeter scale was commonly used in the past in the artillery, with which artillery observers can determine the distance between them and the enemy. Today, this function in a watch can be used to measure the distance to a storm by measuring the elapse time between a flash of lightning and the ensuing clap of thunder. This elapse time is then translated to distance by the scale on the dial.
