# Best rugged black/PVD military watches?



## bfgreen

Hi there, like many here I am a huge fan of military-styled watches. My work also often lends itself to me needing a no-nonsense "rugged" black watch.

So I find myself wondering what are the best options out there for realy rugged, solid, trusted, black or PVD watches? I like mechanical movements have to admit that quartz seem to fit this pupose much better.

So what are the real contenders? The classic Luminox navy seal style and all of it's variatons, the MTM special ops (don't make me laugh, second hands in the shape of daggers?, are they for real?), or the Casio line of G-Shocks?

What watches do you think best serve the purpose of a true black rugged special-ops/military watch. If you can post pictures it could be an interesting thread.

It seems like every manufacturer has a PVD version available, but what's the real deal for a military tool watch?


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## Chris B.

I too am a fan of PVD black watches and I'm sure that there are a lot more worthy contenders but my Luminox 8401 "Black Steel" is a current favorite...










But if you're into a more simple look, you can't beat the Marathon Navigator IMHO.....


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## Crusader

Indeed, the true mil-issue black watches would be the plastic US milwatches by Marathon Sandy, and the re-issues by Traser/H3 ... or the CWC SBS dive watch.

Not all military watches sport the black finish, mind you ... a dull steel finish is just as military in provenance as PVD.


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## sntangerbg

Crusader said:


> Indeed, the true mil-issue black watches would be the plastic US milwatches by Marathon Sandy, and the re-issues by Traser/H3 ... or the CWC SBS dive watch.
> 
> Not all military watches sport the black finish, mind you ... a dull steel finish is just as military in provenance as PVD.


totally second that:gold


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## SHANE 1000

*Not really a Military watch but this is Rugged, ETA 2824 Auto and PVD also solid as a rock bomb proof.*


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## Incurable

Perhaps not strictly a military watch and certainly not as effective an offensive weapon as the watch above, you may want to take a look at https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?p=242560#poststop and see if it sparks your interest. At 153 grams, it's certainly no lightweight.


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## psychlist

Here's a well-used CWC diver, as issued to Royal Marines and SBS -


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## bfgreen

Crusader said:


> Indeed, the true mil-issue black watches would be the plastic US milwatches by Marathon Sandy, and the re-issues by Traser/H3 ... or the CWC SBS dive watch.
> 
> Not all military watches sport the black finish, mind you ... a dull steel finish is just as military in provenance as PVD.


Crusader, I completely agree with your comments. It's just that I'm in the market for a black rugged military-styled watch that can take a beating and I can't help wondering what options are out there that I haven't seen or thought of. I started this thread to let folks suggest their favorite black watches so that I could begin to see some of the options. Thank you to everyone who has posted here, please keep the pictures and suggestions coming...


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## Crusader

I have to admit that ever since I got to know the beautiful Damasko toolwatch gray, I have given up on black watches. Have you checked out www.damasko.de (the site is also available in English) yet? The product line is also carried by www.timefactors.com.


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## Cristobal

(Edited by moderator: Text posted only consisted of html and/or php codes nobody could understand). The only thing left is the url. Kind regards Mike)

http://arctos.info/en/html/blackwave.html


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## Anomaly

I don't know if it is the best...but I sure like it.

Doxa SUB750T Sharkhunter - Military Edition


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## stockae92

bfgreen said:


> So I find myself wondering what are the best options out there for realy rugged, solid, trusted, black ... watches?


i think you just describle any G-Shock in black :-d

if you want PVD, Kobold looks good if your wallet can handle it. (the lume (brightness) doesn't go well with the price tag though)

otherwise, bring in any of your metal watches, let jack @ iww PVD it for you and you got a PVD watch of your choice


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## sntangerbg

stockae92 said:


> i think you just describle any G-Shock in black :-d
> 
> if you want PVD, Kobold looks good if your wallet can handle it. (the lume (brightness) doesn't go well with the price tag though)
> 
> otherwise, bring in any of your metal watches, let jack @ iww PVD it for you and you got a PVD watch of your choice


By the way I am considering buying a Tutima Commando II and submitting it to IWW for this kind of treatment...:think:


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## Plissken

sntangerbg said:


> By the way I am considering buying a Tutima Commando II and submitting it to IWW for this kind of treatment...:think:


Now that I would love to see!


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## bfgreen

stockae92 said:


> i think you just describle any G-Shock in black


You're right and I love a lot of the new ones including the MTG910DA-1AV. My issue is that most of the new G-Shocks have proprietary straps that are built-in or closely integrated with the watch case. I like to use a plain black Velcro strap for various reasons and I don't see how I could do that with many of the new Gs. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be very interested to hear...

BTW - this is becoming a great thread, thanks everyone!


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## stockae92

i agree, one down side of G-Shock is that you are pretty much stucked with their straps. and some vintage ones are impossible to find!

but here's one option, on some G-Shocks, you will be able to use one of these

http://www.countycomm.com/adapter.htm

or these

http://www.broadarrow.net/maratac.htm

to wear the watch on zulu strap (24mm works great, i use 22mm for smaller size G-Shocks)

and there are certain models that comes with black nylon strap from Casio (e.g. i remember a G2300/2310 model, etc)

but still, you don't have too much strap options with G-Shocks, that's for sure


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## bfgreen

As far as G-shocks go, this is about as "black" as I could find. Nice looking watch but I haven't seen any good pictures that show the strap connection. Anyone know if these are readily available and if they use regular spring bars? I believe the model is a Mudman G-9000-3VER.


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## stockae92

as fas as mudman (mud resistant case) goes, its a little tricky

they don't use spring bars, instead, they use screw and tube to hold the deeply recessed lug.

so adaptor doesn't really work well (or at all) with the mud resistant case.

other than that, mudman are fine G-Shocks


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## T. Wong

One of my favs is the Casio Protrek PRG 80YT all black titanium. Very big and stealthy. Or the G Shock specially modded black bezel compass Wademan treated with a flat black gun metal product. The Trasers are cool too and cost effective. The French navy is known to have issued the G shock DW 9052 models.


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## SHANE 1000

*Cheap and GOOD is always a nice selling point , and this MTM!!.. is just that Cheap, Good, Solid, Accurate, WR, Heavy,And cool looking, with some of the best PVD I have ever seen better by far than some of the top brands with the PVD treatment, very well done *:-!


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## Chris B.

SHANE 1000 said:


> *Cheap and GOOD is always a nice selling point , and this MTM!!.. is just that Cheap, Good, Solid, Accurate, WR, Heavy,And cool looking, with some of the best PVD I have ever seen better by far than some of the top brands with the PVD treatment, very well done *:-!


Shane -

I DO like the way that looks! Is that the MTM Predator Model? How's the lume on it?

Chris


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## SHANE 1000

Chris B. said:


> Shane -
> 
> I DO like the way that looks! Is that the MTM Predator Model? How's the lume on it?
> 
> Chris


Chris the Lume is very very good and crisp especially the Numbers, however the "Spec OPS" logo also glows and to me that is the only downfall of this watch , and that is the Spec Ops logo, it bugs me, but a small price to pay for such a decent piece, I like it a lot, as the case style is a favorite of mine.


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## bfgreen

SHANE 1000 said:


> *Cheap and GOOD is always a nice selling point , and this MTM!!.. is just that Cheap, Good, Solid, Accurate, WR, Heavy,And cool looking, with some of the best PVD I have ever seen better by far than some of the top brands with the PVD treatment, very well done*


Shane this really is a nice looking watch and one of the ones that I had considered, but as soon as I noticed that the minute hand (and the sweep second hand on some of the other models) was in the shape of a bayonet/dagger it just started to look too gimmicky for me - I mean come on! Great picture you've posted shows a lot more than the ones on the MTM website, and like I said it's a NICE looking watch - enjoy.


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## SHANE 1000

bfgreen said:


> Shane this really is a nice looking watch and one of the ones that I had considered, but as soon as I noticed that the minute hand (and the sweep second hand on some of the other models) was in the shape of a bayonet/dagger it just started to look too gimmicky for me - I mean come on! Great picture you've posted shows a lot more than the ones on the MTM website, and like I said it's a NICE looking watch - enjoy.


I agree with all you said Brian , I don't like some of the features , especially the Logo Spec Ops ?? and the dagger is kind of cheesy, but overal I personally can over look some of the Mild cheese to get to the Extra sharp Cheddar, It is a pretty decent watch for the money and the build quality surpasses some watches at triple the price, Plus its fun and tough as a beater.


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## caffeinated

Question for you guys. I've only recently heard of PVD, is this pretty new? From what I've read it sounds pretty tough.

I ask because I once had a black watch that I wore out to a field exercise in a swampy area, and after a week of being coated with Army issue "bug juice" (DEET), most of the black coating had melted off. This was a cheap quartz though. I was a PFC then and I had a tendency to break watches into small pieces, so I never paid much for a watch. You think PVD could stand up to DEET?

The watch had a nice brushed stainless steel look to it after I finished cleaning the rest of the black off. So not a total loss.

Steve
(Shane, I don't mean to hijack your thread, I could start a new one if you prefer.)


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## jeyyt

I love the Casio PAW1300t-7v. Love the features on it, especially that it can last so long!!


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## JoeTritium

I'm a little shocked at how well my new Seiko 5 held up at work for the last week. I work construction and scratch up every watch I wear to work, within a few hours. This Seiko would not scratch!

The TiN coating Seiko is using is on the SNZG17J1 SUPER Tuff!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_nitride


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## bilingham

May I suggest the Kronos Italian paratrooper style watch. Great looking, beautiful PVD finish, ETA 2824-2 movement. Less than $300.


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## tacticalpen

If you like Ti and tritium:


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## hg1978

I would recommend the nite mx10. Its a official SAS issue incl Nato Stock Number.

http://www.nitewatches.co.uk/shop/mx10/MX10-201Ghttp://www.nitewatches.co.uk/shop/mx10/


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## Pilot2

One of my MKII Blackwaters.


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## mikev

wow !


Anomaly said:


> I don't know if it is the best...but I sure like it.
> 
> Doxa SUB750T Sharkhunter - Military Edition


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## DEP21

Practically? Sinn Instrument series or U1/U2.
Dream watch? Zenith Stratos Zenith Stratos Flyback 24.2060.405/21.c707 Mens watch
Then again if you really want to spend, Project X will PVD and customise your Rolex Sub in this vein: PROJECT X LIMITED EDITION STEALTH MK IV customized ROLEX 116610LN


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## Nono01

Black PVD military watch? Sinn 142S


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## azpops

This is my Vortex (not coated), but there's a member who had his coated and man does it look sick!










Pops


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## river rat




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