rlauferblog

INTRODUCTION

If you have read my previous Timepiece Show reviews, you may have noticed a couple of observations that I have made in passing that I think deserve a lot more attention!

First, I am always amazed by how much crossover there is between watch collecting and my other hobbies. Every Timepiece Show I run into people I know from the firearms, custom knife, and EDC communities. I guess that shouldn’t be too surprising as there is a lot of common ground when it comes to an appreciation for design, engineering, craftsmanship, materials and cool gear in general lol.

The second observation is even more relevant to this review: it is AMAZING how many exhibitors at the Timepiece Show make exactly the types of watches I like most! And, as you probably know by now, my two favourite categories are dive watches and military watches!

When it comes to divers, the deeper the better! I have a particular fascination with extreme dive watches rated to 1000M and beyond. I absolutely love the over-engineering required to make a watch capable of surviving those kinds of depths.

Military watches appeal to me for a different reason. I especially like watches with real military provenance. There is certainly nothing wrong with a cool military-inspired watch, but for me there is something extra special about a watch that was actually issued, procured or commissioned by a military unit, or specifically developed in collaboration with one for operational use.

And then there are the watches that combine both worlds.

Probably the best example is one of my favourite watches in my own collection, my Sinn EZM 2B GSG 9 edition. Sure it is insanely technical. I mean its oil-filled case made of submarine steel combined with its anti-magnetic and a-magnetic movement allow it to be used all the way down the Mariana Trench or for EOD! No wonder it is the official watch of Germany’s GSG 9 counter-terrorism unit! Extreme deep diver AND real military provenance? YES PLEASE!

So this year I’m approaching my Toronto Timepiece Show review somewhat differently. Rather than working my way around the exhibition floor booth by booth, I’m going to concentrate on those two genres: the divers and the military watches—with particular attention paid to the watches that manage to be both. And judging by the exhibitor list, I am going to have A LOT to cover!

EXTREME DIVERS:  1000M+

Being an owner of Sinn’s most extreme diver, the EZM 2B GSG 9, I thought they would be the perfect place to start my coverage of 1000M+ divers.

I have always been a fan of the U1 with its iconic blocky design and distinctive “Lego” hands and hour markers, not to mention some insane specs like a case made from German Submarine Steel — the same type of high-strength, seawater-resistant steel used for the outer hulls of the German Navy’s Type 212 submarines! The captive dive bezel uses Sinn’s TEGIMENT technology for increased scratch resistance, while that 1000M depth rating is independently certified by DNV.

Over the years, Sinn has introduced several variants of the U1, such as the “B” version seen here with a matte-blue dial and matching blue silicone strap. It looks good, but personally I would go with the iconic matte-black dial and red-and-white hands.

The Mühle-Glashütte S.A.R. Rescue-Timer was actually one of the watches I was most interested in seeing at the show. Developed with captains of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS), this is a serious purpose-built tool watch rated to 1000M. The first 56 were delivered to rescue crews back in 2002, and some of its unusual design features — including the massive 4mm-thick sapphire crystal and protective rubber bezel — were developed specifically around the demands of maritime rescue work. So it is both an extreme diver and has legit first-responder creds.

While I love the specs and provenance, I was a bit concerned about the compact size and how the integrated lugs would contribute to the overall look and feel. My first impression on the wrist confirmed those concerns — it felt a bit too small for me.

I should mention that they also had a full-lume version on display, which was interesting since my first “real” watch was a full-lume TAG Heuer (as worn by James Bond in The Living Daylights lol), but as with the Sinn U1, I prefer the iconic original.

The first dive watch rated to 1000M used a monobloc design, meaning the case was machined from a single solid block and the movement was inserted from the front! Watch brands have since largely moved away from monoblocs as new technologies became available — and presumably for ease of manufacturing and servicing.

The BALL DeepQUEST is one of the only remaining dive watches I know of that still uses this design. Don’t be fooled into thinking the DeepQUEST is old school though, because it is FULL of modern technology! It uses a patented automatic helium-release valve integrated directly into the crown rather than requiring another opening in the case. This ingenious solution allows the monobloc case to remain intact while still allowing helium that can accumulate during saturation diving to escape during decompression. The overall construction also gives the DeepQUEST an incredible 7,500G shock resistance.

Of course, it uses tritium micro-gas tubes on the dial and hands for the insane lume BALL is known for.

While I was hoping to see the white-dial variant, the black dial was pretty stunning and the whole watch had a SERIOUS presence! Its size and weight are exactly what I love in a chunky dive watch!

The EDOX SkyDiver Neptunian ticks all the boxes for an extreme diver, with a 1000M depth rating, helium escape valve, ceramic bezel and a massive 3mm-thick sapphire crystal. But what really makes this watch interesting to me is its history.

The Neptunian traces its lineage back to the original EDOX SkyDiver Automatic, produced for Swiss paratroopers in 1969. A second generation followed in 1973 before EDOX resurrected the design decades later, eventually evolving it into the 1000M SkyDiver Neptunian in 2020. So despite the somewhat contradictory “SkyDiver” name, there is actually a pretty cool reason for it!

Best of all, unlike several other watches I had hoped to see at the show, they had the exact version I wanted — the green-dial 80120-3NM-VDN. And yes, it looked every bit as good in person as I hoped.

Compared to the BALL, it had a slimmer profile

Cool caseback

Like EDOX, STOWA also has a surprisingly long history of building dive watches, dating back to 1963.

The modern Prodiver carries that history into considerably more extreme territory with a 1000M depth rating, titanium case, helium escape valve and ceramic bezel. And, as I came to learn during my time at their booth, STOWA watches have AWESOME lume!

The version that really caught my attention was the Prodiver Vintage 95 Limited, released in 2022 to celebrate STOWA’s 95th anniversary and limited to just 95 pieces. I loved the vintage-style dial and old-radium coloured lume, although there was one small problem — I literally couldn’t get my hand through the rubber strap! 😂

Thankfully they also had the Prodiver Rhodium on a bracelet, which gave me a chance to actually try the Prodiver on. At 42mm across, 15.6mm thick and just over 50mm lug-to-lug, this is a substantial dive watch on paper, although the titanium construction keeps the weight down considerably.

Last year the Oris Aquis Pro 4000M was my favourite watch of the show, so naturally I was hoping to see it again. No such luck, but Oris did have the newer Aquis Pro 1000M, which offers the same kind of serious dive-watch credentials in much more conventional dimensions.

At 49.5mm, the 4000M is an absolute beast — including an insane 23.4mm thickness (though still thinner than my Surefire/Luminox 2011 lol) — while the 1000M comes in at 46mm and a considerably slimmer 16.5mm. Still a big watch by normal standards, but almost restrained by comparison!

STANDARD DIVERS: <1000M

With the 1500T now discontinued, the 750M SUB 750T is currently DOXA’s deepest diver and, thankfully, retains the chunky dimensions of the outgoing model.

I tried on the Caribbean with its blue dial and matching rubber strap, but I MUCH preferred the iconic orange Professional dial on the beads-of-rice bracelet.

Speaking of iconic DOXA orange, the SUB 300T Clive Cussler celebrates the legendary adventure novelist and creator of Dirk Pitt, who famously wears an orange DOXA in the books. The compass-inspired dial and intentionally distressed case and bracelet give the watch a cool “recovered from an old shipwreck” vibe, with each example individually weathered so no two are exactly alike.

As proof positive of my point about the crossover across my hobbies, I literally ran into a Clive Cussler right after the show at the USN/CKG knife show, where another collector happened to be wearing one!

If you have ever seen the DOXA rep in video coverage of shows, you would know that she is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the DOXA lineup and knows all specs of every variant of every model lol

Jacques Bianchi’s JB300 Indigo Maris has a lot of features that I like, such as a brushed Grade 5 titanium case with a “destro,” or left-side, crown. I also like the way the lume glows blue to match the deep-blue dial. It is limited to just 150 pieces.

The OM200 is a 200M diver created in collaboration with Olympique de Marseille, incorporating the football club’s blue and white colours and logo. I particularly like the blue bezel and matching blue rubber strap.

The JB200 Tide Gauge II adds an unusual mechanical tide indicator to Jacques Bianchi’s signature diver design, showing the progression between high and low tide directly on the dial. A pretty cool and appropriate complication for a watch born in Marseille.

The stainless-steel Maurice Lacroix PONTOS S Diver was among my top-10 watches at Timepiece Montreal 2026

So you can imagine how I feel about the new titanium version because let’s face it, titanium, like bacon, makes everything better!

The PONTOS S Diver Titanium retains the 42mm case and serious 300M depth rating but switches to a completely sandblasted titanium case, giving the watch a much more purposeful tool-watch look while substantially reducing the weight. The distinctive internal rotating dive bezel is controlled by the crown at 2 o’clock, while a second screw-down crown handles the movement. Inside is Maurice Lacroix’s automatic ML115, running at 28,800 vph with 26 jewels and a 38-hour power reserve.

The Jack Mason Strat-o-timer Titanium Diver GMT combines two useful tool-watch complications with a unidirectional dive bezel and a Miyota 9075 flyer GMT movement. The 40mm case and bracelet are made entirely from Grade 2 titanium and it’s rated to 200M. I photographed both the Cobalt and Anthracite versions, but definitely preferred the blue!

Apparently even the prize watches at this year’s show had to include a serious diver! DELMA donated a Shell Star Automatic for the raffle, and of course I made sure to get my ticket in for this one.

The Shell Star is actually an important model in DELMA’s history, with the name dating back to its first professional dive watch in 1975. The modern version is a serious piece of kit with a 500M depth rating, helium escape valve and Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement.

DELMA makes some seriously cool dive watches — including the insane 4000M Blue Shark IV — so I really hope the fact that they donated a watch for the raffle is a sign that we’ll see them exhibiting at next year’s show!

HIDDEN “WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING” DIVERS

NOMOS is an unusual watchmaker in its own right, producing its mechanical movements in-house in Glashütte and even developing its own proprietary escapement, the NOMOS swing system. But the Ahoi has another surprise — despite looking more like an elegant dress watch than a conventional diver, it’s actually rated to 200M, with a screw-down crown and crown guards.

The white one in this pic is the 40.3mm Ahoi, while the other two shown are the smaller 38.5mm versions. Naturally, I would opt for the larger size!

I rated the Isotope Hydrium Trippy #6 in my top-10 at Montreal Timepiece 2026, but in retrospect I should have given it a higher rating because it was one of the few watches that I actually “thought” about after the show! Its hypnotic dial seems to have worked!

I was hoping to see it again in Toronto but, alas, it is now sold out.

I did get to see the new Hydrium Grey Reef Shark, which, like all the Hydrium variants shown here, is a legit diver with 300M water resistance!

300m with an exhibition caseback that is!

I love the beadblasted finish (used to that from the custom knife world) and it fits great

Great to see Jose, a great ambassador for the industry

And now for something even further from a conventional diver: how about the Out Of Order Shaker, a cocktail-inspired diver with 300M water resistance that can be wound by its accompanying shaker?

The rep (or should I say bartender?) demonstrates winding the watch via the shaker…

and voilà! An After 8, with its green-and-brown colour scheme inspired by the classic after-dinner cocktail.

This “bartender” probably gets pretty good tips, judging by the Angelo Azzurro Automatic GMT Limited Edition on his wrist!

The Out Of Order Ghost 4.0 is another unlikely diver with 200M water resistance, but the real party trick here is the absolutely insane use of lume! Super-LumiNova appears on the bezel, indexes and hands, but they didn’t stop there — even the stitching on the leather strap glows!

Flip it over and the craziness continues, with a lumed Ghost logo on both the sapphire exhibition caseback and the custom marbled-rust rotor. The marbled-rust treatment is also used on the dial, with each individually produced to create its own pattern.

And if all that wasn’t enough, the Ghost 4.0 is limited to just 100 pieces

Yup, I like it!

The Out Of Order Diverissimo Azteco is a legitimate 300M diver and gets its name from the intricate Aztec-inspired pattern covering the dial, but what I really like is how they carried the theme beyond the obvious.

The same pattern continues onto the movement

and even the bracelet clasp, details that are easy to miss until you get up close

VINTAGE STYLE DIVERS

I normally gravitate toward extreme tool watches with equally extreme specs, but every once in a while I come across a watch that makes me forget all of that simply because it is so damn beautiful! The Echo/Neutra 1956 GMT Khaki is one of those watches. I absolutely love the combination of the khaki dial with the red-and-blue GMT bezel and vintage styling.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have some legitimate tool-watch credentials, with a GMT function, screw-down crown and 100M water resistance, but in this case I am definitely focusing on form over function!

The Redwood Tactical V3 takes its inspiration from the original Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, developed in the 1950s for French combat divers. Redwood offers the V3 in several different configurations, including both automatic and solar-powered movements, while retaining that wonderfully simple vintage military-diver aesthetic. And despite the retro looks, these are proper 200M dive watches with sapphire crystals and unidirectional bezels.

The Redwood Marine Engineer takes its inspiration from the golden age of deep-sea exploration, particularly the ambitious Project Mohole expedition of 1961. The vintage looks hide some thoroughly modern dive-watch specs, including 300M water resistance, a 2.5mm domed sapphire crystal and automatic NH38 movement, all packed into a very wearable 40mm case and assembled here in Canada.

MILITARY WATCHES

AIR

When I hear the name STOWA, I immediately think of the Baumuster B, as it is the quintessential Flieger watch to me. Granted, they wouldn’t have had them in bronze back in the day, but that is the variant I wanted to see. Good thing STOWA brought that exact variant because it was STUNNING! This was one of the few watches at the show that actually exceeded my expectations, and its lume definitely put me over the edge.

I LOVE how extensively and coherently the dial is illuminated. Because it’s a Baumuster B / Type B layout, you have that dense outer minute track plus the inner hour indication, so when the lume is activated you don’t just get bright hands and a few glowing hour plots — the instrument-style dial architecture itself comes alive.

This one was automatic

but of course I would get it with a manual-wind movement

The STOWA Flieger Verus Black Forest takes a much more modern approach to the classic Flieger design and is available in three variants. Of the three, my favourite was definitely the green Foxfire.

The watch is inspired by the phenomenon of foxfire, the natural glow produced by certain fungi found in forests, which STOWA recreates through an unusual two-level lume treatment. The hands and 12 o’clock triangle glow brightly, while the black numerals and minute markers produce a much subtler green glow in the background.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this one, but it looked much better in person than I anticipated. I might even have picked it as my favourite Flieger at the show if STOWA hadn’t also brought that Baumuster B!

Hanhart is another name that is virtually synonymous with pilot’s watches, with a history of producing aviation chronographs stretching back decades.

But rather than starting with its historically inspired models, I’m going to begin with a couple of Hanhart’s more modern military aviation watches — the FLY NAVY Aerosphere and PRIMUS FLY NAVY.

The FLY NAVY Aerosphere was created in two versions representing German Naval Air Wings MFG 3 and MFG 5. The dials are essentially the same, with the individual unit represented on the caseback by its respective coat of arms.

Normally I am very much a bracelet guy, so I fully expected to prefer the steel bracelet. I was also a little skeptical of the unusual Hook Strap, which has a stretchy textile construction, and wasn’t even sure it would fit my wrist. Much to my surprise, not only did it fit, I actually preferred it to the bracelet!

The PRIMUS FLY NAVY takes a considerably more modern approach, including one feature the Hanhart rep thankfully pointed out to me: flexible articulated lugs. Rather than being fixed to the case, the lugs can pivot through roughly 45–50 degrees, allowing the strap to conform much more naturally around the wrist. It’s the kind of detail that’s much easier to appreciate when you see the mechanism up close.

From Hanhart’s modern military aviation watches we go back to one of its most historically important designs, the 417 ES. The original 417 was developed in the 1950s as a pilot’s chronograph for the newly formed German armed forces, with Hanhart supplying the Bundeswehr for almost a decade. The modern 417 ES recreates much of that original design, including the distinctive fluted rotating bezel, twin-register chronograph layout and, appropriately, a manual-wind movement.

And of course there is that famous red chronograph pusher! One legend says that a pilot’s wife painted the button with red nail polish so that whenever he used the chronograph he would think of her and return home safely. Whether or not that’s exactly how the tradition began, the red pusher has become such an iconic Hanhart design element that I actually said to the rep, “Why would anyone buy a Hanhart without the red button?” 😂

The 417 ES 1954 Heritage Flyback takes things even further, including a column-wheel flyback chronograph movement and a return to the original 39mm dimensions of the 1950s 417. The 417 also has one particularly cool celebrity connection: Steve McQueen famously owned and wore an original Hanhart 417.

And here’s a pic of McQueen wearing his, with more details on the story in Hanhart’s The Watch Book: Hanhart and the German Watch Industry.

While YEMA may be best known for its seafaring watches like the Superman and Navygraf (more on those later!), the brand also has strong connections with the French Air and Space Force, including several watches developed through official military partnerships.

The Flygraf Pilot (shown here on the right, next to a Barracuda) is one of YEMA’s newest releases, developed through its partnership with the French Air and Space Force. It features a highly legible cockpit-inspired dial, French Air and Space Force insignia at 6 o’clock and a military camouflage finish incorporated directly into the steel case. Interestingly, it uses a Seiko VH31 quartz movement, which gives the seconds hand a mechanical-looking sweep.

The Flygraf CPA10 is a more established model, having been designed and developed with the Commando Parachutiste de l’Air No. 10 (CPA10), one of France’s elite airborne commando units. More than 100 personalized examples were made specifically for CPA10 members, while the civilian version features a lightweight Grade 2 titanium case and YEMA’s French-made CMM.10 manufacture movement.

The Oris ProPilot Altimeter may not have the military provenance of some of the other watches in this section, but it has one of the coolest aviation complications: a mechanical altimeter built directly into the watch! By unscrewing the crown at 4 o’clock, outside air enters the case and an aneroid capsule measures changes in atmospheric pressure, allowing the watch to display both altitude and air pressure around the perimeter of the dial.

The current version can measure altitude up to 6,000 metres / 19,700 feet, which Oris says is higher than any other mechanical watch altimeter.

GROUND

The Sinn EZM19 was one of the biggest surprises of the show for me, particularly because I wasn’t even expecting to see one there, so props to Sinn for sending two samples! Like other watches in Sinn’s Einsatzzeitmesser, or “mission timer,” series, the EZM19 was designed around the requirements of a specific operational role — in this case fire-service command personnel. Sinn developed the watch with the involvement of Thomas Stanke, a senior German fire-service officer, with the unusual timing system designed around the way incidents are actually managed.

That explains the rather unusual bezel and dial. Rather than simply timing elapsed minutes, their markings allow an incident commander to keep track of specific operational intervals, including the 35-minute reporting cycle as well as longer periods extending out to four hours. It’s a great example of function dictating design — those strange-looking markings actually have a purpose.

And being a Sinn, of course, there is plenty of technology packed into the watch beyond the timing system, including Ar-Dehumidifying Technology to improve functional reliability and prevent fogging, along with the kind of rugged construction you expect from an EZM.

Not only is the unique bezel/dial combination highly useful, it also results in some absolutely GLORIOUS lume!

When I returned to the show on Sunday, I discovered another Sinn that I somehow completely missed on Friday — the EZM 3 S. This is the blacked-out version of Sinn’s classic EZM 3 mission timer, with a Black Hard Coating on a TEGIMENT Technology basis, and underneath that stealthy exterior is a seriously capable 500M dive watch with 100mT magnetic-field protection, temperature resistance from −45°C to +80°C, and Sinn’s Ar-Dehumidifying Technology.

Compared to my EZM 2B GSG 9, it is smaller (41mm vs. 44mm), and that is noticeable on my wrist. That said, I do love this watch from both the technical and provenance sides, not to mention its awesome lume!

I love you too Sinn!

The Elliot Brown Holton Professional 101-001 has some of the strongest modern military credentials of any watch at the show. It was developed in response to a request from a specialist branch of the British Armed Forces, with prototypes undergoing extensive field testing before the first production watches were delivered for military use in 2017.

The 101-001 was assigned NATO Stock Number 6645-99-303-0677 and carries the subdued grey Broad Arrow on its dial identifying it as British military property.

Calling a watch “bomb proof” sounds like typical marketing hyperbole — except Elliot Brown actually tried blowing one up three times, culminating in 500g of explosive placed directly beneath it. The battered watch was still running. They’ve also run a Holton over 15 times with a Land Rover Defender, while another standard 101-001 continued operating down to an incredible 1,921 metres underwater before finally giving up. Elliot Brown Watches

Between the legitimate military provenance and those absolutely insane torture tests, the Holton is one of those watches that actually became more interesting to me the more I learned about it. In fact, after writing all of this, I kinda want one! lol

The success of the Holton has also led Elliot Brown into a fascinating world of Special Projects, producing bespoke watches for military, government, security and intelligence organizations around the world — many of which the company deliberately doesn’t publicize. They had a couple of examples on display in Toronto, including a very cool U.S. Secret Service version and this considerably more mysterious example whose insignia I couldn’t identify.

MICROMILSPEC! I finally get to see them in person!

The MICROMILSPEC Field Testing Unit is particularly interesting because it was the company’s first watch and essentially became the starting point for everything that followed. In 2019, MICROMILSPEC distributed 30 watches to serving personnel in the Norwegian Armed Forces, who were asked to actually use them in the field and report back on their performance and accuracy. The watches were deliberately stripped of decoration on the bezel, crown and caseback so that the wear and damage accumulated during testing could be easily documented.

I love the whole concept because rather than simply designing something that looks like a military field watch, MICROMILSPEC literally gave them to soldiers and said, essentially, “Go beat the shit out of these and tell us what happens.” 😂

The MICROMILSPEC MILGRAPH was originally developed for Special Operations Forces. The watch combines chronograph and GMT functions with some very purpose-driven design features, including its left-side controls and QuadGrip bezel, whose four deep recesses make it easier to operate while wearing gloves.

One detail the rep specifically pointed out to me was the heavily textured rubber strap, which carries over the repeating diamond/pyramid grip pattern from the bezel, giving it an almost firearm-grip-like texture — something I can definitely relate to.

The MICROMILSPEC Fieldmaster grew out of the Field Testing program, incorporating feedback gathered from 30 serving military personnel between 2019 and 2022. That feedback resulted in some interesting choices, including oversized hands and indexes for legibility, small seconds so that nothing crosses the main timekeeping hands, a lightweight titanium case and no rotating bezel because it was considered unnecessary.

Nice lume on their watches

Patches representing their military collaborations

Marathon needs very little introduction when it comes to military watches. The company has been producing timing instruments for Allied Forces since 1941 and continues to supply government and military customers today, with a large number of its watches carrying NATO Stock Numbers (NSNs). Unlike watches that simply borrow military styling, Marathon’s designs are built around actual government and military specifications.

I covered the award-winning ADANAC SSNAV-D at Timepiece Montreal 2026, and here it is next to its American counterpart, the new U.S. 250 SSNAV-D (let’s see if we can get my buddy to buy one of these too lol). Disclaimer: no new trade wars were created by their proximity!

Out of all the Marathon watches, I was most anxious to see the 41mm USMC GSAR. They didn’t have one at the show itself, but thankfully one of the Marathon reps brought one along to The 2026 Toronto Marathon Watch x The Grey NATO Hangout after-party on Saturday night specifically so I could finally check it out — so a big thanks to him for doing that!

The USMC version takes Marathon’s already military-proven Government Search and Rescue (GSAR) platform and adds official United States Marine Corps markings, including the USMC emblem on the dial and “U.S. MARINES” deeply engraved into the side of the case. The bracelet configuration I tried also carries its own NATO Stock Number (NSN 6645-01-699-5587). Underneath the USMC treatment it’s a serious tool watch, with 300M water resistance, tritium illumination and a Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement.

Interestingly, once I finally got it on my wrist, the 41mm case looked smaller than I expected (although, in fairness, the bracelet was adjusted for a smaller wrist, so I couldn’t position it exactly where I normally would). I still really like the watch, but I actually preferred the way another 41mm Marathon looked on my wrist!

And it was this one! The 41mm TSAR Duvdevan was one of my favourite watches at the show.

Actually, technically it wasn’t on display at the show! Neither the Duvdevan nor the larger 46mm JDD YAMAM (covered next) was out on the Marathon table, but thankfully the Marathon guys were kind enough to pull both out from under the table when I asked about them — so a big thanks to them for the special exhibits! lol

The Duvdevan is part of Marathon’s Official IDF Collection and carries the unit’s insignia on the dial and caseback, along with the very cool “IDF SF 217” deeply engraved into the side of the case, identifying Duvdevan as IDF Special Forces Unit 217.  Duvdevan (Unit 217) is an elite IDF commando unit specializing in urban counterterrorism and undercover operations, which certainly adds to the appeal of the military markings for me. Technically, it is based on Marathon’s 41mm TSAR (Tritium Search and Rescue) platform, essentially the quartz counterpart to the automatic GSAR, with a high-torque Swiss ETA F06 quartz movement. Apart from the movement, the TSAR and GSAR share the same basic dimensions and specifications, although visually the Duvdevan felt different to me thanks to its simpler minute track and subtler dial markings — and perhaps the rubber strap versus the bracelet played a role as well.

The other watch the Marathon guys pulled out for me was the considerably larger 46mm JDD YAMAM. Like the Duvdevan, this one becomes a lot more interesting once you know something about the unit whose markings are on the watch. YAMAM is the elite unit of the Israel Border Police and Israel’s National Counter-Terrorism Unit, specializing in operations including hostage rescue, counterterrorism, sniping, breaching and bomb disposal. The more I learned about the YAMAM while writing this, the more I liked it. In fact, given YAMAM’s counterterrorism role, this would make a pretty awesome counterpart to my Sinn EZM 2B GSG9! lol

The watch itself is based on Marathon’s 46mm JDD (Jumbo Day/Date) platform, and “Jumbo” is certainly appropriate — it measures 46mm across, 18mm thick and 55mm lug-to-lug. The YAMAM edition adds the unit insignia to the dial and “YAMAM” deeply engraved into the side of the case, while one particularly cool detail is its bilingual English/Hebrew day display.

I noticed when preparing this review that, unfortunately, the hour hand in my photograph was blocking the Hebrew day display, a key feature of this watch! I reached out to Marathon, and they graciously provided me with a close-up, along with a pic of the caseback that I forgot to take. Once again, Marathon went above and beyond — something I’ve come to really appreciate about dealing with these guys.

One of the coolest Marathon watches I encountered actually wasn’t on the show floor at all. At the Marathon after-party, the folks from MICROMILSPEC introduced me to Brock Stevens, a U.S. Navy Diver and member of the Watches of Espionage photography team, who was wearing one of the new Marathon × Watches of Espionage Titanium SAR Limited Editions. A big thanks to Brock for letting me try it on and get some close-up shots!

Limited to just 200 pieces, the watch was unveiled only a few days before the Toronto show and is inspired by Marathon’s original early-2000s SAR, replacing the familiar GSAR tritium hour markers with large MaraGlo indices and eliminating the date altogether. The Grade 5 titanium case also makes this a rather different animal from the standard steel Marathon divers.

There are some wonderfully subtle W.O.E. details on the dial, including the small red WOE signature at 6 o’clock and four red minute markers near the beginning of the minute track. Those aren’t arbitrary: they reference the espionage concept of the “four-minute window” for a clandestine meeting between an intelligence officer and a source.

Marathon also supplied this 41mm Arctic Red Maple GSAR as one of the prizes at the Toronto Timepiece Show. Based on the familiar GSAR platform, the Arctic edition features a stark white dial with a red maple-leaf appliqué, celebrating both Marathon’s Canadian roots and Canada’s military heritage.

Canadian brand Whitby Watch Co. had several watches on display, including these Wounded Warriors Canada editions of its Arrow and Ambassador models. The collaboration supports Wounded Warriors Canada and gives both watches a nice connection to Canada’s military and first-responder communities.

SEA

Next up is another watch that, like the Sinn EZM19, was designed around the very specific timing requirements of military and first-responder operations. But while the EZM19 accomplishes this primarily through its specialized dial and bezel markings, the Elliot Brown Beachmaster takes the concept even further, adding a dedicated mission-timing hand and independently adjustable internal timing bezel to create what is essentially a mechanical mission planner on your wrist.

The Beachmaster NIVO 0H0-623 was originally conceived following a request at a Royal Marines event, with the resulting watch taking four years to develop. Even the name comes directly from amphibious operations: a Beachmaster is the officer responsible for the disembarkation phase of an amphibious assault. And even the unusual grey-green dial has a military connection: NIVO stands for Night Invisible Varnish Orfordness, a camouflage colour originally developed for British night bombers to reduce their visibility at night.

This is where all those additional hands and markings start to make sense. The Beachmaster’s patented mission-timing system can be configured to count down toward H-Hour, while simultaneously allowing the wearer to establish another future event or rendezvous point. Once H-Hour arrives, the system transitions from counting down to tracking the time elapsed since the operation began. Even the conventional-looking external dive bezel is actually a countdown bezel, rather than the more common count-up type.

The Beachmaster is individually tested to 300M and fitted with a whopping 3mm-thick domed sapphire crystal — here you can really see just how substantial that crystal is as well as their movement suspension system.

Next up is the YEMA Navygraf Barracuda CMM.20 Limited Edition, developed in close collaboration with the Marine Nationale and specifically engineered around the requirements of French Navy submariners. Limited to just 400 pieces, it takes its name from France’s Barracuda nuclear attack submarine program and incorporates several details inspired directly by submarine operations.

The forged-carbon dial and bezel feature a 20-minute countdown sector highlighted in red, corresponding to synchronization protocols used aboard submarines, while the red accents continue onto one of the coolest features of the watch — its red-tinted sapphire exhibition caseback. The red crystal references the tactical red lighting used aboard nuclear attack submarines, which allows crews to read instruments while preserving their eyes’ adaptation to darkness. The caseback is also engraved with the insignia of the French Navy’s Submarine Forces.

YEMA also had a couple of other Navygraf models on display, including the Navygraf Marine Nationale 400th Anniversary Limited Edition, created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the French Navy, as well as the standard Navygraf.

Last but most certainly not least in my coverage of military watches, Squale! In fact, I actually made it a point to visit their booth first on VIP & Media Opening Night!

Squale is one of THE pioneers of modern dive watches, with a history that goes back to the 1950s when Charles and Hélène von Büren established their watchmaking company in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Both were passionate about diving and water sports, and Charles became an early specialist in designing and manufacturing high-pressure dive-watch cases, initially supplying them to other Swiss watch companies. He officially registered the Squale name in 1959, and those early cases could often be identified by the little shark logo appearing on the dial or caseback.

Squale’s watches subsequently became genuine tools of underwater exploration. Italian freediver Enzo Maiorca wore a Squale Master while setting a world record at 67 metres, while Jacques Mayol wore a Squale 2002 during his own record-setting dives. The company also developed a long relationship with the Italian Navy, winning contracts in the 1980s to supply professional dive watches to its elite Gruppo Operativo Subacquei (G.O.S.) diving unit at La Spezia. These weren’t simply military-themed commercial watches — the Navy established the operational requirements and Squale produced watches specifically for them.

Here are some examples of the Squale lineup on display in Toronto.

As you might expect, however, I was particularly interested in the company’s military collaborations, including the 2001 Marina Militare.

The 2001 Marina Militare has the kind of provenance I love because this isn’t simply a civilian watch dressed up with military markings. The project was developed at the request of the Italian Navy, with the original watches reserved exclusively for Navy personnel before Squale subsequently produced a limited civilian edition. The distinctive case was designed specifically around the Navy’s requirements and features an unusual bidirectional bezel that can only be rotated after it is pressed down, preventing it from being moved accidentally during a dive. The watch is rated to 600M, while the dial and caseback proudly carry Marina Militare markings.  THIS was exactly the kind of Squale I came to the show hoping to see!

Squirrel! Moment Watches

As I mentioned at the top, my goal wasn’t to cover the entire show, but rather to concentrate primarily on dive and military watches. That said, I did have a few “squirrel!” moments along the way where something completely outside those categories caught my attention, so I wanted to include those here.

First up in my “squirrel!” category is a watch that has been generating a ton of buzz online — the new Oris ProPilot X Gonzo Edition. And this isn’t simply another fun Muppets-themed watch: at C$14,500, it was also one of the more expensive watches I encountered at the show!

This is the third watch in Oris’s Muppets series, following Kermit and Miss Piggy, but this time Oris went considerably more upscale, using the 44mm titanium ProPilot X Calibre 115 with its skeletonized, manually wound movement and enormous 10-day power reserve. And they’ve had some fun with it: Gonzo’s face gradually appears on the mainspring barrel as the watch is wound, while the power-reserve indicator uses a tiny chilli pepper-shaped hand — because apparently a conventional power-reserve indicator simply wasn’t Gonzo enough.

Staying with Oris but moving in a completely different direction is the Big Crown Pointer Date Lou Gehrig Limited Edition, created in honour of legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig. Appropriately, the watch is limited to 2,130 pieces, representing Gehrig’s remarkable streak of 2,130 consecutive games.

There are some great little details hidden in the design. The blue number 4 on the date ring represents Gehrig’s uniform number — the first number ever retired in Major League Baseball — while the vertically brushed silver dial references his famous “Iron Horse” nickname. Even the brown leather strap with its contrasting white stitching is designed to evoke an old baseball glove, something the Oris rep specifically pointed out to me at the show.

Flip the watch over and the caseback carries an engraving of Gehrig delivering his famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, along with the individual limited-edition number.

Another watch that caught my attention was the STOWA Chrono Black Forest Moon, which STOWA refers to as its most complex mechanical watch, combining a chronograph, complete calendar and moonphase. But what caught my attention was the design: the dial has a three-dimensional embossed texture intended to resemble the surface of the Moon, while the moonphase itself represents a blood moon and glows a spectacular orange-red in the dark.

The watch Farr + Swit calls the Vice Edition immediately reminded me of one of my favourite scenes from Kung Fury, where the hero travels through time by running across a surreal glowing neon grid straight out of an ’80s vision of the future. The pink-and-blue grid pattern on the Vice instantly brought that scene to mind.

Funny enough, I’d previously come across a STAY RAD patch featuring almost exactly the same retro grid design through my EDC/tactical communities, so naturally I had to photograph the watch and patch together! I even brought an extra patch for the guys at Farr + Swit as a little show of appreciation for their design.

Continuing the ’80s nostalgia is another Farr + Swit watch that I specifically wanted to see, the brilliantly named Retro Digital VHS – KILL COUNT. This time the inspiration comes from the slasher movies of the 1980s, with the face of the watch designed to look like an old VHS cassette complete with blood splatter. Even the packaging is on point with the watch presented inside a reusable VHS cassette housed in an appropriately cheesy horror-movie-style sleeve.

As someone who actually grew up during the VHS era, I absolutely love stuff like this. It’s inexpensive, completely ridiculous and FUN — which is something I sometimes think the watch industry could use a little more of!

And apparently I wasn’t finished with the ’80s nostalgia quite yet! Canadian brand Whitby Watch Co. had its Triumph 50th Anniversary Ambassador on display, celebrating 50 years of the legendary Canadian power trio that formed in Toronto in 1975 and became one of the defining arena-rock bands of the 1980s.

This is actually officially licensed Triumph merchandise and is limited to just 50 pieces, making it a pretty cool little piece of Canadian rock history to wear on your wrist while you Fight the Good Fight!

And to finish off my “Squirrel!” moments, how about some watches that aren’t actually watches at all! Horological artist Dan Tanenbaum creates sculptures using repurposed watch parts, transforming gears, movements, dials, bracelets and other components into some absolutely wild pieces of art.

Time Bomb (he donated one of these as a raffle prize as well)

Game controller

Love the shades made out of watch bezels

His display was certainly one of the more unusual things I encountered at the show — and provided a pretty appropriate way to finish a section dedicated entirely to things that made me stop and go “SQUIRREL!” lol

And now for my personal show awards! I have picked one show favourite in each category. As always, one important caveat: these aren’t necessarily my favourite watches each company makes, or even the exact versions I’d personally buy. They’re my favourites among the EXACT watches that were actually on display at the Toronto Timepiece Show 2026. So, for example, in some cases if the runners-up had brought a different dial colour, or a strap instead of a bracelet, the result could have been different!

Award	Winner
Extreme Diver	BALL Engineer Hydrocarbon DeepQUEST
Standard Diver	DELMA Shell Star
Hidden Diver	OOO Ghost 4.0
Vintage Diver	Echo/Neutra 1956 GMT Khaki
Air	Oris ProPilot Altimeter
Ground	Marathon 41mm TSAR Duvdevan
Sea	Squale 2001 Marina Militare
Squirrel!	Farr + Swit Vice Edition
Best Lume	Sinn EZM19
BEST OF SHOW	🏆 BALL Engineer Hydrocarbon DeepQUEST

Unlike last year, I had a lot of time to do some pre-show research, and given the expanded list of exhibitors — including several brands that I had wanted to see in person for a long time — my expectations for this year’s show were extraordinarily high!

And Timepiece Toronto did not disappoint!

I was so happy to finally handle a Mühle S.A.R., and to see watches from Squale, BALL, EDOX and MICROMILSPEC in person for the first time, among many others. More importantly, there were plenty of watches that surprised me once I actually had them on my wrist — which is really what attending a show like this is all about.

A huge thank you to Jason and his team, all of the exhibitors, and the brands they represent for putting together another fantastic show!

My swag

RL

I have been attending Scriptus Toronto for years but this was my first time attending Scriven Montreal.

My first impression was, wow what a beautiful venue!

Our first stop was Stylo, my favourite pen store, who were sharing a table with Esterbrook, my buddy Ingo’s favourite pen brand.

It didn’t take long for our first purchase lol. Ingo was actually looking for an Esterbrook Rockstar

and it exceeded his expectations (note the Estie King of the Night in his pocket).

A quick nib test and it was a done deal

Stylo brought a wide assortment from Pilot and Nahvalur

The Vanishing Point Raden was my favourite. Always great to see the crew from Stylo, they are so nice and helpful!

As you may know, I love Japanese Maki-e so Muze pens was our next stop.

I loved the Taccia Empress Serpent! Definitely my favourite pen of the show!

That said, the classic Goldfish was awesome too!

Muze also had another pen that I REALLY liked, the Muze x Cypress 5th Anniversary Cobra! First, it is made our of Micarta! I love that material and have it on several of my custom knife handles as well as the grips on my Ed Brown 1911. You can see the layers of Micarta in my pic of the tip below. Secondly, it has a really cool Cobra shaped clip.

And now for something different, a Magic Wand pen from Timber Elegance Pens!

Actually, two pens as the wand contains both a calligraphy pen as well as a fountain pen.

Not to mention the spell casting tip!

Very creative Timber Elegance!

Speaking of creative, some pens turned out of cactus and other materials in resin by Creation Denis Durocher. Absolutely beautiful.

More displays from Ranga Pens

Tangent Pens

Stacked

The prize table

With a chance to win an Esterbrook Bungubox! They had some available at the show but of course those sold out immediately.

Another prize from Timber Elegance

I picked up one of the show special Leuchtturm journals

Got it stamped

and embossed! The same gentleman who embossed the one I got at Scriptus did the setup

while his son did the actual embossing!

of course he starts with a test before doing my actual journal

the before

and after

nice job by the father and son team

Meanwhile, Ingo stopped by xplio nibs to have his Waterman checked out. He bought it new but it didn’t seem to be writing properly.

Sure enough, the prognosis was “mis-aligned and too tight” so he will definitely make good use of the four squares in this pic which are grinding stones of different grits.

Here we go…

And the finished product.

Ingo said it was a “night and day” difference.

I am sure you must be wondering how this show compares to Scriptus Toronto? Well, they are very comparable in size and selection so I really couldn’t pick a “winner” from that perspective. It was great to see some familiar faces as well as discover new ones. The venue was beautiful and it was super convenient to have on-site embossing and nib repair. Either way, the people were just as nice. I have many many hobbies and attend 20+ shows per year and have always thought fountain pen people are among the nicest. I hope to be back next year.

Oh and it was nice to be captured by CBC lol

There was a collector get-together at Poutineville planned for 5pm and we left a lot earlier but in that spirit we did stop in for some poutine! I got the Fire Breather with hot sauce and 3 hot wings on top.

Ah Montreal…

RL