I was devastated. A favorite Fossil watch that had lasted me for years broke. I couldn’t get it to work, and felt like repair wasn’t worth it. My hunt for a new everyday watch began. I wanted hardily built, to the point and something I could wear doing anything, from casual at the office, or hiking in the mountains. I may have found it…

Rock solid and filled to the brim with nostalgia, Szanto Watches (Time Concepts) seem to have created a vintage gem, with an effortless but rugged set of timepieces, which are nice enough to wear around the office (if vintage is your thing), but just enough ‘sturdy’ when you want to roll up your sleeves and get dirty.

Szanto describes their 1100 Series as being a ‘Rugged Military Style’ watch, complete with 42mm coin-edged case, canvas/leather strap and Japanese Quartz movement.

Simple & Rugged

I’ve always loved simple, easy to use pieces of equipment and the Szanto 1103 follows my love affair with the uncomplicated, yet long lasting. While I haven’t had the watch for that long, as soon as I strapped in, I could tell this could be something I’d wear for years, or at least, until ‘vintage’ is no longer, and something else older comes along.

The case feels solid, but not heavy. Even at 42mm, which is the largest size my somewhat small wrists can look good with, I didn’t feel weighted down, or like I was going to accidentally bump anything with the it.

The heavy weighted canvas and leather strap probably helped. Supple nubuck lines the inside and canvas on the out. I don’t feel like either would fall apart after many hours of wear. This model’s canvas is listed as gray, but I might be inclined to say it’s a very warm, almost khaki, gray. It may not look it in these photos, but I prefer this over olive drab, or sand khaki.

Another nice part about the strap is a width that doesn’t make my tiny wrists feels overly small, though I always wish for a strap with less length, it seems this one was average. I end up putting most of my watches at the last notch. I suppose that’s what it’s there for.  Don’t miss that nice and heavy buckle with the ‘Szanto’ brand on the back.

Clear, easy to read hour markings that glow in the dark, with 24-hour time inset within, the minute hand is quick and snappy. For some reason certain watches don’t seem so quick to read, but this one was nice to glance and glance away. I’m still one of those idiots who, from time to time, reads the hours as one too few, so this is always helpful.

A watch you don’t want to take off, comfortable and supremely solid, I’m surprised the Szanto brand isn’t in more store shelves. (Or maybe it is and I haven’t been paying enough attention.) I was extremely excited when I came across them online and can’t wait to see what they come up with next. If I had to make one change, it would be having a shorter length strap, or maybe an illumination feature, rather than the by-dark glowing markings.

Disclosure: This product was provided to me for the purposes of review.