Victorinox Maverick Automatic Review: A Lot of Watch for Close to $1,000
Victorinox brought back the Maverick at 39mm, and the automatic version packs in more than you'd expect at the price.
This review is part of a paid partnership with Victorinox. As always, the opinions are my own.
There's no shortage of new "affordable" watches right now, and after a while a lot of them start to blend together. The new Victorinox Maverick Automatic has been an exception for me. It's been on my wrist pretty much every day since it arrived, and the more time I spend with it, the more I think it's one of the better values in Swiss watches right now.
The Brand Behind It
Most people hear "Victorinox" and think of the Swiss Army Knife, and that's fair, since it's one of those products that has become bigger than the company that makes it. Victorinox dates back to 1884, when Karl Elsener opened a knifemaking workshop in Switzerland, and in 1891 he delivered his first soldier's knife to the Swiss Army. The Officer's and Sports Knife followed in 1897, and that's the foundation of the knife everyone knows today.
Watches came much later, but the same thinking carried over. Victorinox has never been about exotic movements or showy complications. It's about whether the thing works, whether it can take some abuse, and whether you can wear it every day without worrying about it. The new Maverick fits that description well.
Size and Fit
The biggest change is the size. The Maverick has been around for about two decades, and many of the older models measured 43mm. Every watch in the new collection is 39mm, which makes it a much more versatile everyday watch and opens it up to a lot more wrists.
The automatic is about 12mm thick, only about a millimeter thicker than the quartz versions, and the lug width is 21mm. I measured the lug to lug at about 49mm, which is on the longer side for a 39mm case, so it does wear a little longer than the diameter suggests. On my 6.75 inch wrist the proportions still work well. It has enough presence thanks to the bezel and the bold markers, but it never feels like a slab of steel.
Design and Details
The case is 316L stainless steel, which Victorinox actually engraved on the side of the case, and it mixes brushed and polished surfaces. The dial has a metallic finish, and the indexes combine polished and sandblasted finishing, so they catch light differently depending on the angle.
What stands out most to me is the faceting on the lugs. A lot of watches at this price end up looking like an homage to something else, and the Maverick doesn't. The lugs give the case a shape of its own, and it's the detail I notice most when I look down at it.
I also like that Victorinox put the date at six o'clock. It keeps the dial much more symmetrical than the usual date at three.
The lume is laid out a little differently than you might expect. Only the 12, 3, 6 and 9 markers are lumed, but there's a lumed dot at every hour as well, so it's easy to read at night. On the automatic, the polished ceramic bezel insert has its full scale lumed, which is a really nice touch at this price. The quartz models use a mineral insert instead.
The green on my review watch is, in my opinion, one of the best configurations in the lineup. It gives the watch some personality without going overboard. If I were buying one, this is the one I'd pick.
The Bezel
The bezel turns in both directions. Victorinox has positioned the new Maverick as a versatile everyday sports watch rather than a traditional dive watch, and the bidirectional bezel is part of that. My personal preference is that a dive-style bezel be unidirectional, since that's the safer setup for someone actually diving, but I don't dive, and I suspect most people buying this won't either. It's a matter of taste more than a real drawback.
Bracelet and Strap
I reviewed the Maverick on the bracelet. Every Maverick now uses a tool-free quick release system, and on the bracelet it uses a double tab, so swapping it off takes a few seconds. The rubber strap uses a single tab quick release, although I didn't have one to try.
The bracelet closes with a butterfly clasp, which isn't common on a watch like this. It looks clean on the wrist, but there's no micro adjust, so it's worth taking the time to get the sizing right when you first set it up.
The Movement
The automatic runs on the Swiss-made Sellita SW200. It's one of the most widely used Swiss automatic movements out there, it beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour, and pretty much any competent watchmaker knows how to service it. In a watch that's meant to be dependable and easy to live with, that matters more to me than some obscure proprietary movement that could be a headache to service ten years from now.
You can see it through the display caseback, which has a wireframe Swiss Army Knife graphic over the movement. It's a fun nod to where the brand came from.
Every Maverick is rated to 200 meters of water resistance, up from 100 meters on the old 43mm Maverick Large, and has double anti-shock protection. If you want a grab-and-go watch, there are also ten quartz references powered by a Swiss-made Ronda 715 with added magnetic resistance. For me, though, the automatic is the one to get. In total there are 14 references, 10 quartz and 4 automatic, across blue, black, green, red and two-tone options. Every Victorinox watch also comes with a 5+ year warranty.
Price
This is where the Maverick Automatic really makes its case. It's $1,110 on the rubber strap and $1,200 on the bracelet, and for that you get a Swiss-made watch with a Sellita SW200, a display caseback, a ceramic bezel with a fully lumed scale, and a tool-free strap system. You don't often see all of those together at this price. Quartz models start at $650.
It scratches a lot of the same itch as the new Longines HydroConquest at roughly half the price, and it comes from a Swiss brand with more than 140 years behind it.
Verdict
Victorinox didn't try to turn the Maverick into something it isn't. The SW200 won't impress anyone looking for an exotic movement, and the design isn't trying to reinvent the sports watch. What Victorinox did was improve the things that matter to most buyers: a better size, a proven automatic, a fully lumed ceramic bezel, easy strap changes and a design that stands on its own, all at a price that's hard to argue with. If you're looking for your first Swiss automatic, or just one good watch you can wear every day without thinking twice, the Maverick Automatic belongs near the top of your list. Check it out here.
Specifications: Victorinox Maverick Automatic
Case: 39mm, 316L stainless steel, brushed and polished
Thickness: approx. 12mm
Lug to lug: approx. 49mm (measured)
Lug width: 21mm
Bezel: bidirectional, polished ceramic insert with fully lumed scale
Dial: metallic finish, polished and sandblasted indexes, date at 6
Movement: Swiss-made Sellita SW200, automatic, 28,800 vph
Caseback: display, with wireframe Swiss Army Knife graphic
Water resistance: 200m
Bracelet: steel, double-tab tool-free quick release, butterfly clasp
Warranty: 5+ years
Price: $1,110 (rubber strap), $1,200 (bracelet)
