It’s time for the latest Oracle Time membership giveaway! We host these giveaways every 3 months providing Oracle Time members the chance to win some awesome watches. Previous prizes include the Spinnaker Bradner GMT and Baltic HMS 003. Next, up for grabs is the Formex Field Petrol Blue – details of the giveaway can be found at the bottom of this article. But first, let’s meet the watch with a hands-on review.
If you’re unfamiliar with Formex, they are a byword for practical, accessible tool watches and the Field collection is the ultimate example of that. The Field Blue’s titanium case measures 40mm in diameter, making it super lightweight and suitable for wrists of all sizes. Strapping it on, it’s the type of watch you can wear day after day without becoming wearied by the weight. I’m sure there are diehards out there who will complain that it doesn’t have the appropriate heft for a tool watch but as titanium becomes more common in the industry, people will gradually acclimatise to lighter timepieces.
In terms of colour, the case has a distinctive grey tone with a sand-blasted finish. It’s actually lighter in shade than many titanium watches and I find that helps the finish to stand out more. The same material is used for the crown, which is itself quite wide meaning there’s the slight issue of it digging into your hand at certain angles. However, the benefit of such a wide crown is that it’s easy to use with an excellent feel as you unscrew it and use it to change the date and time.
The fact that it’s a screw-down crown also helps to provide the watch a 150m water resistance rating. That’s what you’d expect from a field watch. The origin of field watches is closely related to the military as they were designed for use ‘in the field’, hence the name. So they’re generally designed to survive a quick splash through a river or puddle but isn’t designed for extended use in water. Although with its petrol blue dial, this specific Formex Field isn’t particularly militaristic.
The dial has a sandwich construction, which means it’s constructed of three layers: the base plate, a layer of retro, beige lume and then a top layer with stencil-like cut-outs for the Arabic numerals and hour markers. It makes for a very distinctive display that’s solidly legible in both light and dark conditions.
Unstrapping the watch and turning it over reveals the solid titanium caseback engraved with a cool honeycomb pattern. It protects the Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement held inside. The Sellita is the archetypal work horse movement, widely used across the industry due to its accessibility, ease of repair and decent reliability. Plus, it has the improved 41-hour power reserve that Sellita introduced a few years ago, making it almost weekend-proof.
I must say that when it comes to daily wear watches, I’m a sucker for a field watch. They’re the perfect balance of utility and style and the Formex Field Blue lives up to that expectation perfectly. It would fit in my personal collection seamlessly next to the Seiko Alpinist and Christopher Ward Shoreline. Sadly I won’t be adding this particular piece to my collection because instead it’s going to be given away to one of you instead. Thanks for that.
For a chance to win the Formex Field Petrol Blue simply sign up to become an Oracle Time member before January 3rd 2024. What better way to start the new year than with a watch worth £890 on deployant leather strap? Plus, by signing up to the membership you’ll receive a host of additional benefits including receive 10 print editions of the magazine straight to your door, invitations to exclusive events and priority access to future collaboration watches.
Price and Specs:
More details at Formex.
Wonder how did they came up with the name Formex?
I have tried to sign in but my account needs to be activated, I have never received an email to activate.
This watch looks like it could become my new favourite field watch!
I love field watches and have a few in my collection such as my Seiko Alpinist, Hamilton Khaki Field automatic and a CW C65 Dune auto but none of them are made of titanium. What I really love about this Formex Field watch is its sandwich dial construction. It make this dial really pop and standout. Also its 150m water resistance makes it no slouch. This watch would look great on an Artem strap.
I’ve just been reading about this Formex Field watch and it looks and sounds just right for me. The blue dial is quite neat and not cluttered so for me, that’s a winner.
Having been searching for the right field watch, the article on the Formex Titanium came at the right moment for me. It encompasses everything that I have been searching for. Most watches that supposedly fall into the “field” category are either diver style or have polished cases and bracelets so not really suited to field use. For me, a field watch needs to be a balance of size and ease of readability with a Matt finish that is non reflective and of course automatic rather than quartz so the sealed nature is not impacted by battery changes. The Formex appears to meet all of these criteria. Looks like a great watch.