Now, before I begin the review of the Victorinox INOX, there’s something you should know – I’ve been a long-time fan of Victorinox and I own a bunch of their products – from pocket knives and multitools to kitchen knives and wine openers. And I’ve been extremely satisfied with all of them. As a company, Victorinox embodies the true spirit of Swiss manufacturing, offering high-quality products for a very reasonable price. So naturally, when they’ve ventured into watchmaking, I was very interested in the result.

And the result was the Victorinox INOX – the quartz timepiece which managed to endure 130 different torture tests and come out unscathed. I really liked the design – my only 2 gripes with it were the rather bland and uninteresting dial and, you’ve guessed it – the very simplistic quartz movement. Luckily, Victorinox remedied both of these things when they released the I.N.O.X. mechanical – and ever since then, it’s become a grail of sorts for me and I spent the next couple of years periodically scouring the internet in search of one that was priced to my liking.

And finally, back to the watch in question. Milled from a single block of steel, the I.N.O.X. feels exactly like that – a monolithic, robust structure that, incidentally, also tells the time. The massive crown guards hug the crown, making it almost integrated into the case. Yet, despite this, the crown is easy to unscrew, since it protrudes from the underside. The bracelet, even though it doesn’t taper, offers a comfortable fit, due to the way the end-links are integrated into the case and the removable half-links. A diver extension is also available, tucked away under the clasp. But there’s also beauty in this rugged beast – the hexagonal bezel, featuring the only polished surfaces on the watch (DLC coated for protection), even though reminiscent of the Genta sports watch designs, is a far cry from a blatant rip-off or even a homage – it’s very much its own thing and gives the Victorinox INOX a unique look.

There’s also the beautifully patterned guilloche dial – designed to resemble the texture of the handles on their Alox line of pocket knives – a nice tie-in to their heritage and something that adds a bit of visual interest to the otherwise striking, yet quite subdued, blue dial. The triple AR coating on the underside of the sapphire crystal only makes staring at the dial that much more mesmerizing. Not to mention the lumed shield logo at 12 o’clock. And to finish it all off – there’s a display caseback, in spite of the 200m WR, showing off the ETA 2824-2 movement with a decorated rotor. Slightly unnecessary in my opinion, considering the tool-y nature of the watch, as well as the fact that even though rugged and reliable, the 2824-2 is not what you’d call a looker.

Another point worth mentioning is that despite its size of 43mm and overall tank-line build, it’s neither too big nor too heavy on the average-sized wrist. It is in fact very well balanced and quite wearable. Despite the fact that Victorinox isn’t really a watchmaking company and their lack of heritage and provenance, they are so confident in the quality of their watches that they’re offering a 5-year warranty. And considering all of their operations are actually based in Switzerland, you can rest assured that the “Swiss made” on the dial means exactly that. No legal loopholes, interpretations or abuses of the all-important phrase on the dial here. Now, if you were reading carefully, you may have noticed that I really like this watch. In fact, I love it. For me, it is the ultimate proof that grails don’t have to be unattainable, as well as that when you finally get your hands on one of yours, it doesn’t mark the end of your watch-collecting journey. *What the acronym actually means: Impact Neutralizing Object for the X-Tremes. So much lamer than mine, I know.