Best Military Watches of 2025 for Epic Adventures or Your EDC

21.02.2025 02:24

A good military watch is a utilitarian tool built to handle combat situations. Generally, they fall into three categories: field watches made for ground assaults, pilot watches for flyboys, and divers meant for action on the open sea. But much like a good pair of combat boots, you don’t need to be a war fighter to wear them. Plus, they lend a hardened swagger to your EDC.

Modern soldiers generally opt for nearly indestructible digital watches, like the Casio G-SHOCK—our best overall pick. But historically, services around the world commissioned and issued battle ready mechanical pieces to soldiers, grunts, sailors, and fliers, many of which are still available today with improvements from contemporary watchmaking tech. So if you’re in the market, here are our picks for the coolest military watches you can buy right now.

Best Military Watches at a Glance

Best Military Watch Overall: G-SHOCK DW5600E-1V
Best Military Watch for Low Light: Luminox Navy SEAL Foundation "Back to the Blue"
Best Military Watch for Cool Factor: Seiko SPB153 "Captain Willard" Watch
Best Military Watch for Divers: Tudor Pelagos
Best Budget Military Watch: Casio F-91W
Best Military Field Watch: Bulova Hack
Best Military Watch for Pilots: Breitling Navitimer
Best Military Watch for the Commanding Officer: Rolex GMT Master II

Best Military Watches of 2025

Best Military Watch Overall: G-SHOCK DW5600E-1V

G-SHOCK DW5600E-1V Watch

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Over the past 30 years the mighty G-SHOCK has become a ubiquitous bit of kit across all branches of service. At least four models have been approved for official use by the US military, but the OG style DW5600E-1V reigns supreme. It’s lightweight, easy to read, and built like a brick latrine. Plus, the classic utilitarian vibe is both high speed and high style.

CASE: Resin
MOVEMENT: Digital quartz
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 48.9mm
STRAP: Black resin

Best Military Watch for Low Light: Luminox Navy SEAL Foundation "Back to the Blue"

Luminox Navy SEAL Foundation "Back to the Blue" Watch

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Rugged construction, check. Exceptional reliability, check. An epic amount of lume, check, check. The Luminox Navy SEAL Foundation 'Back to the Blue’ is a no-nonsense 200 meter dive watch built around a 45mm, ion plated black stainless steel case and powered by a Ronda 715 Swiss Quartz movement. The unidirectional dive bezel is cast in a blue fiberglass compound uni-directional bezel and the dial features 16 Luminox Light Technology tubes that glow for up to 25 years in any light condition. Flip the watch over to find the Navy SEAL Foundation logo engraved on the caseback honoring the organization that provides support for the warriors, veterans, and families of Naval Special Warfare.

CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Ronda 715 Swiss quartz
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 45mm
STRAP: Blue rubber

Best Military Watch for Cool Factor: Seiko SPB153 "Captain Willard" Watch

Seiko SPB153 "Captain Willard" Watch

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Seiko makes numerous watches worn by warriors, but their most iconic was the 6309 known by enthusiasts as the “Captain Willard” after Martin Sheen’s character in the Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now. Vintage 6309s from the era are highly sought after by collectors and examples in ‘used’ condition still fetch a pretty penny. But a few years back, the brand dropped a new version—the SPB153. At 42.7mm wide and 46.6mm lug to lug, it’s an eminently wearable, automatic dive watch with special ops swagger and with looks that could kill…if it wanted to.

CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Seiko 6R35 automatic
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 42.7mm
STRAP: Black rubber

Best Military Watch for Divers: Tudor Pelagos

Tudor Pelagos Watch

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The US Navy issued more than a few Tudor Submariners to frogmen during the Vietnam War. The brand no longer makes the model but the mil-spec diver DNA has been passed down to the Pelagos line. Constructed in titanium and steel, the diver is rated to 500 m of water resistance and uses a lumed, 60 minute uni-directional bezel to track dive times. The COSC certified in-house calibre MT5612 is accurate to -4 / +6 seconds per day and offers a power reserve of around 70 hours. While this version comes on a bracelet, a black rubber strap with buckle and dive extension to fit over a wetsuit comes in the box.

CASE: Titanium, steel
MOVEMENT: Tudor MT5612 automatic
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 42mm
STRAP: Titanium bracelet

Best Budget Military Watch: Casio F-91W

Casio F-91W Watch

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According to one owner, this watch might actually be bomb proof…but let not test that. However, if you do put one of these on the wrist you can feel free to try the 1/100-second stopwatch, the daily alarm or the automatic calendar. It also tells the time in either 12- or 24-hour formats and comes in more than 10 colors beyond the traditional black for those who might prefer an "out on leave" look.

CASE: Resin
MOVEMENT: Digital quartz
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 38.2mm
STRAP: Black resin

Best Military Field Watch: Bulova Hack

Bulova Hack Watch

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The field watch is the original military watch and Bulova’s Hack is a great affordable, mechanical option. It’s a simple, time only, 38mm piece but the dial uses Arabic numerals to tell the time in both standard and Zulu formats. The automatic movement does offer a hacking seconds function for synchronization (aka stop seconds,)… thus the name.

CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Miyota 82s0 automatic
DIAL: Cream
SIZE: 38mm
STRAP: Black leather

Best Military Watch for Pilots: Breitling Navitimer

Breitling Navitimer Watch

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Flyboys love Breitling’s Navitimer. More than 70 years ago, Willy Breitling added a circular-designed slide rule to a chronograph, allowing pilots to make calculations mid-flight. The contemporary version has been upgraded with an automatic, COSC certified 1/4th second, 30 minutes, 12 hours chronograph movement with a 70hr power reserve. So it’s perfect for the next sortie or just sorting out how to kill time in the airport before your flight home.

CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Breitling 01 automatic
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 43mm
STRAP: Black leather

Best Military Watch for the Commanding Officer: Rolex GMT Master II

Rolex GMT Master II Watch

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Rolex is the king of sports watches and their GMT models have long been a popular choice worn by soldiers around the world. Today, thanks to scarcity and price the GMT Master II hunk of steel fit for the brass. The automatic movement now features a 70-hour power reserve, an independent hour hand, and a radiant 24-hour Cerachrom bezel. It’s easy to use, whether you’re keeping tabs on units deployed thousands of miles away or your family back home.

CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Rolex calibre 3285 automatic
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 40mm
STRAP: Stainless steel bracelet

What Is a Military Watch?

Because of the numerous roles soldiers and sailors play, there is no list of official requirements for a military watch, but as previously mentioned, they generally fit into three categories: field watches, dive watches, and pilot watches. All need to be tough as nails, easy to read and deliver on their task and purpose. Most feature hands and indexes coated in luminous paint for low-light visibility and offer a stop-seconds function for synchronizing with others or against a reference time.

A field watch generally doesn’t have complications beyond telling the time, but a GMT adds some value for those deployed in a timezone away from home. A dive watch, of course, needs to be water resistant to 200 meters and provide a mechanism for timing the duration spent under the surface. Pilot watches tend to be large enough to fit over the sleeve of a flight suit and sometimes feature a chronograph function that can help calculate speed and track distance traveled.

Why You Should Trust Me

I’ve been collecting watches for nearly as long as I’ve been able to tell time. Around the age of 10, I started disassembling pocket watches to see what makes them tick. Today, I feel naked if I accidentally leave the house without a watch on my wrist—and, yes, I’ll go back and get one. (Horology or OCD? Only my shrink knows for sure.) Currently, my cache includes a variety of vintage and contemporary pieces from microbrands to G-SHOCK. Most days, I wear an Explorer II (Ref. 226570), but my grandmother’s Mickey Mouse watch will always be my favorite.