There is something about WWI inspired watches that we can’t but help gravitate towards here at The Coolector and we’ve not seen many watch brands pulling off this aesthetic better than the guys at Vario with their ace-looking 1918 Trench Watches. For this first-class series of military-inspired timepieces, Vario pays homage to the original trench watches worn by WWI troops by upgrading this classic concept for the contemporary timepiece aficionado.

With prices starting at a mighty reasonable £315 for the Vario 1918 Trench Watch, it’s not hard to see why these are flying off the shelves before Christmas and they are available in an array of different colour combinations so you’re sure to find one to your (or any watch loving friend) liking. Towards the culmination of WWI in 1918, trench watches had become a symbol of courage and bravery, which signalled their push towards the mainstream and opened up a mass market in the post-war era. The Vario 1918 Trench Watch is a celebration to this period and the various design innovations that followed.

Needless to say there have been a lot of innovations in terms of materials and design in the last century or so which sees the Vario 1918 Trench Watch a much better fit for the 21st century. Some of the standout, contemporary, features of these superb, vintage style watches include scratch and shatter-proof double domed sapphire, AR-coated underside for clarity, instead of the original fragile glass, a 10ATM water resistant case of marine grade stainless steel (316L) while beefing up the wired lugs for added security, when 1910’s soft silver couldn’t bear any water and minimal shock and a modern, robust Japanese automatic movement with hand-winding and hacking seconds, a “complication” envied as a rare luxury in the early 20th century.

There is one design feature that Vario were keen to keep with their 1918 Trench Watches – namely, the true curved wire lugs. You won’t see them often on other modern-day trench watch revivals. They look pleasingly retro, but still make sense today as more secure than spring bars. This is why modern “mil-specs” issue watches keep fixed bars, thus imposing single-piece. For anyone with a love of military history and watches, the 1918 Trench collection from Vario will be tough to beat.