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Vertex MP45

Despite being one of the Dirty Dozen, not everything Vertex made for the military was a success. In 1945, the company was asked by the War Office to make an Ordinance timing watch. Vertex worked with movement maker Lemania to fulfil the brief but rationing created a supply issue and the project was shelved. Now that the brand has been revived under the leadership Don Cochrane – the original founder’s great grandson – this monopusher chronograph has been put into production for the first time. And what a good thing too.

Available in either hand-wound or automatic and powered by an entirely new movement by Sellita, this is a watch that ticks all those military reissue boxes but still manages to look contemporary rather than slavishly retro. It’s also has a bit more of a dress feel, so maybe leave the M65 field jacket at home.

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Longines Heritage Military COSD

Based on a watch that was apparently issued to British paratroopers during World War II, there’s so much to love about this Longines. Because they are based on specifications dictated by a country’s military, watches of this ilk can all look rather similar, but this offers something a bit different.

There’s the colour pop from the red, 24-hour inner track numerals, the details of contrast white stitching on the black alligator leather strap and the perfectly proportioned 40mm stainless steel case. It’s obviously a military watch but one that is more suited to the mess hall than the trenches.

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Panerai Radiomir California 47mm

Calculators, fuses for torpedoes, depth meters, compasses – these were what Panerai originally supplied to the Italian Navy until its frogmen, divers who attached explosives to enemy warships during World War II, decided they needed watertight watches. The Radiomir was delivered to the Italian Admiralty in 1936 and by 1938 they were strapped to the havoc-causing wrists of the incursori.