German Military Titanium Watch. GPW Big Date. 200M W/R. Sapphire Crystal. Black Field Rubber Strap.

I own several expensive watches and bought this one (Big Date) to use as a beater work watch and it is a remarkable value for the price.Lightweight, rugged, easy to read and the rubber strap is the best one I've used. Sapphire crystal that doesn't scratch and I gave it ample opportunities.If the crystal had anti-reflective coating on both sides I would pay twice the price and still consider it a bargain. And that would still make this watch competitive with watches three times it's price.I repeat, it's a very good watch for a good price.

Good looking military style watchLike the big date numbers

I’ve always been a fan of military style watches since I was a teenager, though I’ve really only owned watches of this type over the last 15 years or so. I always loved how my grandfather’s old 1940s radium dial Hamiltons glowed in the dark and wanted a watch like that. But by the 1960s the dangers of radium were obvious and watchmakers phased it out.I didn’t learn of tritium dials till I saw ads for the Luminox Navy Seals watches in the late 1990s. They encased the radioactive element in glass, limiting if not eliminating totally the danger. So I wanted a tritium watch and set my sights on the 3005. I ended up owning two, each of which simply stopped working after a year or two and neither of which was very water resistant. A swim at the beach left water droplets in one’s dial, hardly a dive under any pressure. I loved the rotating bezel, though, and found it very useful for timing presentations and appointments, so after the second 3005 died I looked for another military type watch.I thought I’d found it in the Marathon Navigator, which actually was sold in PXs and came in a military issue-like plain cardboard box. I used one happily for a time, and when after a short time one of the tritium tubes became unglued from the face received an immediate replacement from the dealer. I also decided I preferred the 12 hour markings on the Navigator bezel to the 60 minute marks on the 3005. I’d never used a navigator type watch bezel before, but liked how it adjusted for time zones by a click or two of the bezel.And then one day last Thanksgiving on the way out of town I noticed the Navigator’s bezel had fallen off. I had no idea how or where. I can be hard on things but not that hard. It simply seemed to have become detached and disappeared. The watch was well out of warranty so I debated what to do next.I ordered a couple of other Navigators through Amazon, looking for the best price, but sent both back, one because they shipped the wrong model and the other because after reading user comments I thought maybe the Trazer would be more durable. So I ordered the P6600. It was beautiful straight out of the box but as a few reviewers have noted the lume was very weak, especially for a tritium dial. Compared to the old Navigator in a dark room it was barely noticeable.The P6600 also seemed big for my wrist and a little busy with markings. I liked it, but not enough to keep it. So back it went.Then I came upon the Arctos GPW. To my mind it is a beautiful watch, very well made, and reviewers praised its luminescence, even though it is luminous paint that must be charged by exposure to light and not self-glowing like tritium. But out of the box, side by side in a dark room with the Marathon – which has better lume than the 3005 – it glowed strongly, was easy to read and shipped immediately by Arctos set exactly on time. It seemed very well made and the titanium case meant it was very light. I was impressed.Until it got really dark that night that is, since after 20 or 30 minutes the lume fell of markedly. By morning it was barely a blur. I loved the watch, minimalist large markings, precision feel, screw in crown. But I never stopped wanting real tritium.And then in googling I discovered Nite watches. They were more expensive, but they seemed from photos and reviews and descriptions to be what I was finally after. I read everything on their website and debated several choices. The Hawk immediately grabbed my attention for its price and super tritium dial. But it is the largest watch out there, and only comes with a 60 minute bezel.Then I turned to the NATO series, and focused on the ones with a 12 hour bezel, specifically the NATO4-24 (same as the NATO3-24 but with a plain rubber strap). After several immediately returned emails with their customer service master, Sam Burgess, I took the plunge. I ordered it on a Thursday evening (UK time), it shipped on Friday and arrived at my door in central Texas Monday morning by DHL. One day business express from Southampton, England? No extra charge? Set precisely to U.S. Central Standard Time? This is a formidable operation.And the watch itself? For me the it’s best of most of the others. Wasn’t sure how quickly I’d adjust to the 13-24 hour dial versus U.S. standard 1-12 but I don’t notice it any more. The lume is excellent all night long. Screw-in crown, water resistant to 300 meters, superb workmanship, genuine Swiss date movement. It is a heavy watch – stainless steel and extra thick sapphire – that’s how you get 300 meter water resistance I guess. And it isn’t field serviceable – few watches that water resistant will be. But advertised battery life is several years so that doesn’t seem to be an issue.So if you’re looking for a military style watch with tritium markings, I’d certainly encourage you to look at the Nite series, even though they’re not sold on Amazon. (If you don't need tritium the GPW is terrific). Frankly, they (the Nite series) should be. They are easily the equal of the other choices out there, at least from my perspective. Hope this info is helpful.

Good watch for field operations.

I feel like a secret service. ..

In a market flooded with millions of wrist watches, this one is a good choice at the +$200 range. Nice case with a light,satin finished (titanium or aluminum), good size - not small but also not to big, good finishing overall giving the watch a more upscale appearance and a reliable quartz machine. But the best feature of this beauty is that... it makes you live longer! Instead of showing only 31 days its calendar goes way up to 39!!! YES! it gives you eight more days per month to enjoy life better!!! Seriously,,. I didn't returned it for the fun of it. Every month I keep it rolling a few days just to look at it and have fun...

Good looking watch that just exploded after 1.5 years. I was signing papers one day and just heard “parts” moving/shaking/crashing beneath the watch face surface. I made a call to the company about having it serviced. They never returned my call. Thanks, guys. Nice operation you got going on over there.

Went south after very Cush life ,wore it for dress only , nice looking,but only went 3 years ,going back to auto watches

El primer día que lo he llevado a la piscina le ha entrado agua. Además, antes de que le ocurriera esto era casi imposible cambiar los días y el calendario llega a 39 días. Pero lo peor es que le ha entrado agua el primer día. DINERO TIRADO!!!! Que este fabricado en Alemania parece una garantía, pero está claro que no lo es. Nunca he dado un comentario negativo y creo que se me considera un buen cliente, pero que pase esto con un reloj de este precio es abusivo.