Victorinox Concept One Solar Owner Review : Robust, completed and beautiful

Victorinox is a brand I have a special fondness for. As a young boy, I owned one of their Swiss Army knives, which, incidentally, required two stitches on my index finger. My first watch was a Victorinox quartz chronograph, a gift from my mother for my 17th birthday. With its orange dial, it dated from the brand's less successful period in terms of watchmaking, but it made an impression on me and got me used to wearing a watch. I recounted the rest of my story with the brand in my review of my INOX Mechanical. Last September, I had the opportunity to appear on an episode of "Petites Montres Entre Amis" on Xavier's YouTube channel. I was there to present my Venezianico. But several questions, particularly about the 60s Chrono, led me to talk about Victorinox. I learned at that point that a meetup organized with the brand would take place in Paris a few weeks later. Delighted, I invited a friend who had just bought a carbon stainless steel watch and was looking into getting a second one from the brand. I went with my wife, who also appreciates the brand. We received a superb welcome from the Victorinox and Dialicious teams. I was able to discover the Concept One and fell in love with it. Its design is reminiscent of the stainless steel, but in a diameter and thickness more suitable for everyday wear. This solar quartz version is lighter and more practical, as I don't need to set the time every time I want to wear it. The team announced its release for mid-April. My birthday is at the end of April. The atmosphere of the meetup and the easy accessibility of the Victorinox team convinced my wife. She, who was tired of giving me watches for every birthday, decided to give me this Concept One for my 32nd birthday. And despite the long weeks of deliberation between the meetup and the watch's release, my interest didn't shift to another model. We finally bought this watch online, with its "concrete" gray dial. I've heard a lot of criticism about the 21mm lug width on all Victorinox men's watches. Personally, it's never bothered me: no need to buy generic straps when the brand already offers a wide variety, at reasonable prices and with the ease of purchasing them on their website. And above all, the advantage of having only one size: with two watches and five straps, I now have ten different watches to wear. The only downside was the availability of only one dial (black) for the Solar with a steel bracelet. Oh well, I'll buy that one later. The new rubber strap is great: * thinner and therefore more flexible, it's easier to wear every day; * The folding clasp, also thinner, feels much less noticeable when worn; * Finally, the Quick Release is super functional (unfortunately, I don't have it on my other bracelets...). In any case, I recommend the Concept One, both the Solar and Automatic versions. I also recommend the brand's other watches, especially for the exceptional quality of their steel cases in this price range (they rival Longines, Grand Seiko, Rolex, etc.). And I also recommend this brand for their luggage and kitchen knives. A big thank you to Marcus and Jean-Philippe from the Victorinox team, with whom I enjoyed chatting during the meetup.