Usually, a brand sets itself up to cater to civilians and then dabbles in custom military pieces, should the commission arise. Micromilspec was founded on precisely the opposite principle. Set up in 2019 by Norwegian ex-finance guy Henrik Rye, the company was started because one of its co-founders (unnamed due to still being in active service in the Norwegian Army) was looking for a custom-designed watch for his unit. Approaching the big names, he found them to be either uninterested, lukewarm about the idea or quoted him prices that were way too high. 

Rye, who already had metal in the game having set up Brathwait, an affordable watch brand with a Bauhaus bent, saw an opportunity and decided to create the watch, for the 330 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, himself. Lead designer Anders Drage was brought on, Rye reached out to suppliers he knew in Switzerland and, with the original commissioner, the three formed a company dedicated to manufacturing tool watches designed for the field. They called themselves Micromilspec – a nod to the size of the brand and that its watches met military specifications. 

Initially that was Micromilspec’s sole mission. Since launch it has produced timepieces for army regiments, emergency response teams, naval flight squadrons and combat units, including His Majesty the King’s National Guard, the Royal Guard’s Battalion of the Norwegian Army. The watches themselves, or rather the civilian versions that can be seen on its website and now at the Time + Tide Studio in London and Melbourne, aren’t your typical military style. The Nageur de Combat, commissioned originally by the French combat divers, is dark grey microblasted PVD with a stealth wave pattern on the lower half of the dial. It looks completely different to the Offshore (not the Audemars Piguet range) with its retro, ’60s vibe and bright blue dial, which in turn is a contrast to the Field Testing Unit – a modern military beater, tested by the Norwegian Armed Forces, which looks as though it could have come from the set of Kubrick’s 2001.

Joining this roster of ruggedness is the Milgraph. It is born out of over 40 custom military projects and first developed for Special Operations Forces; military units who engage in activities that, according to Nato, ‘use unconventional techniques and modes of employment’. Everything about this watch has been engineered to be instantly legible and extremely comfortable. The subdials are clearly labelled, with the hour counter at 12 o’clock, the seconds at three and the minutes at six. The chunky hour and minute hands are Super-LumiNova- filled, while the 24-hour hand has a bright orange tip. The bezel’s satisfying four-notch design, called a QuadGrip, is easy to manipulate, and is also unidirectional so it can be used as an elapsed-time counter. The crown and pushers are on the left so you’re not constantly jamming them into the back of your hand; something of a concern given the case’s 42mm heft. Powering it is a Soigné-grade La Joux-Perret, a moniker that indicates it has been tested in five positions to an accuracy of +/- four seconds (the standard La Joux-Perret is +/-12) and has a Côtes de Genève finish.

‘The Milgraph embodies the essence of Micromilspec. As we expand our offerings to the public, we emphasise our commitment to professional watches with a Scandinavian and modern twist, rooted in traditional Swiss craftsmanship,’ explains Rye.

Rye may speak of expanding but, as with all civilian models, the Milgraph is limited, in this case, to just 50 watches annually. It’s a clever tactic, ensuring exclusivity at a non-exclusive price point, and also means that Micromilspec can continue to concentrate on producing more military-specified timepieces. Those watches that literally made its name. 

£2,900; micromilspec.com