In The Details: Weiss 38mm Limited Issue Field Watch
Background:
Many have come to know and love Weiss Watch Co. for curating their made in America watches since the brands’ inception in 2013. Over the years Weiss has been slowly adding new models to their lineup, most recently manufacturing their first automatic timepiece. However, up until the most recent release the brand has favored manually wound pieces with all their offerings. In conjunction with their manually wound standard offerings Weiss has released an array of limited run pieces utilizing the same platform/design. These pieces typically featured a special dial color, a special insignia, or even a limited run variant with different materials and finishes. The most recent addition to this list of special edition pieces, and the one we are going to be talking about today is the Weiss 38mm Limited Issue Field Watch made in affiliation with Tanner Goods to mark their 15 year anniversary. Read along to find out more about this watch which is limited run to 30 pieces.
The Specs:
The specifications on this watch are inherently very similar to that of the manually wound 38mm Standard Issue Field Watch, as it is a shared platform. This piece features the Weiss Calibre 1005 movement (based on the ETA Calibre 7001) which has time on center with a small seconds sub-dial at 6 O’clock. This movement oscillates at 21600 Vph, has a power reserve of 42 hours, and thanks to the display back case is visible with all of Weiss’s illustrious finishing details visible.
This watch is very sleek coming in with a case diameter 38mm and a thickness of just 9.2mm on a stainless steel case. Water resistance is on par with all other Weiss watches, coming in at a functional 100m. The last notable component of this piece is the limited run aspect; this watch is limited to just 30 pieces in total, furthering it’s collectability within the Weiss lineup.
Specifications:
Movement: Mechanical caliber 1005 movement (ETA 7001 base movement)
Frequency: 21,600 Vph
Power Reserve: 42 hours
Case Material: 316L stainless steel
Case Diameter: 38mm
Case Thickness: 9.2mm
Water Resistance: 100m
Crystal: Double domed & beveled sapphire with antireflective coating
Case-back: Beveled sapphire crystal display back case
Features:
Time on center w/small seconds at 6
Incablock shock protection
Super-LumiNova hour indices
Limited production to 30 pcs
The Details:
The Dial:
As with all watches we begin with the most important part of the watch (aesthetically at least), the dial. While the specifications of this piece are nearly identical to the 38mm Standard Field Watch, aesthetically it differs greatly, especially on the dial. The dial of this special edition piece features a latte color dial, similar to what Weiss already offers on their 38mm Standard Issue Field Watch. However, the hour numerals on the watch are substantially different, featuring a larger font at the 12, 3, and 9 O’clock locations only which match the font used on Tanner Goods belts. Similar to the Standard Issue Field Watch the 6 O’clock numeral is missing to make way for the small seconds sub-dial.
As you will notice from the above comparison the non-quarter hour numerals are eliminated on the special edition, giving the user only bold hash indices on the outer chapter ring for reference. Speaking of the outer indices, the outer chapter ring is nearly identical to the Standard Field Watch having a railway style 0-60 reference scale with numerical indicators in 5 unit increments.
The last and likely the most obvious detailed difference is the small seconds sub-dial at 6 O’clock. Rather than the traditional railway style 0-60 sub-dial, the Limited Issue Field Watch gets the Tanner Goods logo with no scale or numerical reference for the small seconds hand. This distinguishing feature is a way of integrating the two brands and one that works well with this limited edition piece.
The Case:
The case of this piece is nearly identical to that of the Standard Issue Field Watch. As with the Standard Issue, this piece features a 38mm diameter case which comes in at a slender 9.2mm in thickness. Then entire case is made from a 316L stainless steel and features various finishes around the case exterior. The top of the case features a radiused polished finish leading down to the case perimeter. Outboard this case perimeter on the top surface of the lugs we see a radially brushed finish that is concentric with the case diameter, adding a level of pleasant contrast. To complete the third layer of differing detail, the side of the lugs feature a linear brushed finish that extends from lug end to lug end. Aside from the finishing details on the case, a crown interrupts the design at 3 ‘clock featuring a polished finished and Weiss’s logo at the crown end.
The Case-back:
The case-back of the watch is another section that becomes inherently different with this special edition piece. As with the Standard Issue Field Watch, this piece has a exhibition case featuring a beveled sapphire crystal looking into the Calibre 1005 movement. The illustrious finishing details done by Weiss can be seen inside with finishing characteristics such as the Geneva Stripes across the major components, blue anodized screws contrasting the purple jewels, and the balance wheel and gears that are color matched to the case and movement insignia. Looking just outside of the sapphire is the stainless steel case which features a radially concentric brushed finish, matching that seen on the lugs.
All of the case-back detail so far has been relatively on par with the standard offering. However, the part of this case-back that becomes significant with relation to this special edition piece is the insignia. The first two points of insignia at the top of the case-back are particular to Tanner Goods; the first being of course the “Tanner Goods” name and the second being their slogan “Worth Holding Onto” written in a cursive font. Moving to the lower portion of the watch are some less specific insignia such as the phrase “Made in USA” letting you know the watch is in fact American made with the other being “Swiss mvmt” letting you know that the internals, the Calibre 1005, is based on the Swiss ETA 7001. However, the one insignia that is inherently most important to this watch on the lower portion is the serial number, especially being that this series will not go beyond 30 pieces.
The Strap:
Moving to the strap on this watch, it is made from a Horween Shell Cordovan black leather utilizing a two piece construction stitched together with black thread. Unlike the standard offerings from Weiss, this band is specific to this piece and no other band options are available. The reason for this is this band has custom insignia which relates to the special edition aspect of the piece. One side of the band features the Tanner Goods logo with the other side featuring a message that reads “Designed in Collaboration with Weiss Watch Company for Tanner Goods” solidifying the association between the two brands.
Normally this would be concluded by letting you know the various options that exist for the particular model watch being discussed, however being a 30 piece limited run watch there are no customization options available. This collaboration between Tanner Goods and Weiss is one that fairs well with both companies having similar ethos for designed/made in America goods that exhibit quality in every sense of the word.
What do you think of the Weiss 38mm Limited Issue Field Watch? Do you like the overall design of Weiss Watches? Let us know in the comments below.