In case you cannot tell, Victorinox Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chronographs are plastic watches, and they will likely outlast all of us considering that this material can survive for thousands of years. I wonder what future alien archeologists will think of these as they pick them out of the dust? Will they think that we are clever or just cheap? Will they think us to be horological heretics or advanced beings who wear quartz watches over mechanical? I guess we will just have to cross our fingers and hope that a few of us remain to explain it to them. Let’s hope that they are more of the “E.T. type of alien” than the “Predator type”. haha
This Odyssey Extreme Chrono is gorgeous in grey
Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chronos are a part of a larger family ofย Odyssey watches that Victorinox Swiss Army no longer makes. I consider them to be Vintage Swiss Army watches. This means that they were produced before 2005 and have the old style SWISS ARMY logo on the dials. I believe that these particular chronograph models were produced near the turn of the century between 1999-2001. I used theย serial numbers on them to confirm their age.
Vintage Swiss Army means that “Victorinox” is not on the dial
To the best of my knowledge,ย Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chronographs wereย produced in brilliant yellow, black, and grey. There were also 3-hand versions made in those colors plus red and blue. Product knowledge about these watches is difficult to find because they were sold in the early days of the internet. Even if info about these watches existed at one time, old websites are disappearing fast. I would not be surprised if there were a few Odyssey Extreme Chronograph modelsย out there that I do not know about. How cool would it be if there was a red or blue Odyssey Extreme Chrono? Please leave a comment if you know of additionalย Odyssey Extreme Chrono watches not shown below.
Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme watches came in multiple colors
The design of the Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chrono is largely determined by the battery-powered quartz caliber used in it. There are two subdials dedicated to the chronograph function including a 30-minute totalizer at the 10:00 position and a 1/10th of a second indicator subdial in the 2:00 position. The remainingย subdial at 6:00 is a running secondsย indicator that proves that the watch is working. All subdials are printed in a darker contrasting color creating a Panda-style dial. The exception is the all black version that has dark grey (almost black) subdials. The red central chronographย second’s hand matches the subdial hands, and is a welcome splash of color that echoes the red SWISS ARMY shield logo.
Contrasting subdials appeared on most chrono models except black
The swordย hands are modified from the typicalย ones seen more often. A frame appears near the top of the sword ends making it look like a triangle at the tip. The hands are blackened for improved visibility, except for the black model that appears to have steel colored hands. The printed white number indices are also lined in black so that they can be read against the dial.
The dial reads “T SWISS MADE T” meaning that tritium was used to lume the hands and indices. This is another indication of the watch’s age because this minimally radioactive luminescent material was later replaced by inert SuperLuminova. Tritium is supposed to have a fairly short half-life of 12 years meaning that myย Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chrono lume should be kinda dull. It’s not the strongest, but my watch still glows after sunlight hits it as seen below.
My Odyssey Extreme’s Tritium lume still glows dimly
The diver’s bezel is color matched and has a partially graduated scale that has been painted. The bezel functions with a counter-clockwise rotating motion but does not ratchet as smoothly as a metal bezel does. This could be because of the material used, or maybe it is because the vertically challenged bezel can be hard to grip. The illusion of depth inside the case is enhanced with a black rehautย that has a printed minute/seconds scale seen below.
A plastic on plastic bezel can be hard to turn
The rest of the watch case was produced in a finely textured black plastic, which reduces hard refections like bead blasting would do for a steel watch. Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chronos had and integrated strap ends between 20 mm lugs. It had integrated crown guards, a fluted stainless steel crown and pushers that were color-matched the mian color of the watch. In some of the photos you might see remnants of the injection molding process, however, you really don’t notice it too much while wearing it.
The main watch body is made from black plastic
Probably the quirkiest looking part of the watch is the integrated plastic watch bands. These straps have the wave pattern that is often seen in diving watches that help expand the watchband when needed. I suspect that they are used here to provide wrist ventilation. Notice that there is no space visible between the lugs so it might be difficult to fit another strap to the Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chrono.
Drilled lugs and a generous fitting watch band
Ironically, there are drilled lugs but I believe those are not intended to be used to regularly change the straps. The lug holes are extremely narrow so using a normal spring bar tool would likely widen the holes significantly… so I left mine alone. I’d only change the strap if it broke, which is a real possibility because of the age of the band material. Plastic can become brittle over time and crack if you bend it too much. Notice the black plastic buckle and also the elongated holes in the strap. This makes the buckle tang easier to use and is an allowance for the rigid band material.
The snap-on case back seen below is responsible for the low 166 feet water resistance rating. The fluted pattern might lead some owners to believe that they need a special Rolex-style case back remover tool to open the watch, but the back pops off with a case back knife revealing the battery compartment.
The watchband including the buckle is also color-matched plastic
On the wrist, theย Odyssey Extreme Chrono is comfortable due to its relatively small case size of 40 mm and the lug-to-lug width of 49 mm. It is only 12 mm tall and light as a stack of credit cards weighing in at 1.7 ounces. The wavey watch band gives your wrist plenty of leeway should it expand.
A pleasurable on-wrist experience
Lately, I have had a fetish for yellow watches. They really don’t match anything except maybe a yellow sports car or baby chicken. Most people that I know don’t wear anything this bright to the office, but this Odyssey Extreme Chrono has made me break out of my comfort zone a little. Instead of going with a neutral watch or trying to match a watch to my shirt, I just let my yellow watch stand on its own. It’s fun and its playful appearance keeps me smiling all day.
It’s like sunshine on your wrist
If bright colors make your eyes hurt, then the grey or black Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chronoย might be more suited to your style. The grey has the same patterning as the yellow version, but it is worlds apart in saturation. The black version is a bit of a black sheep… pun intended.
A grey Odyssey Extreme Chrono matches everything
The black version is more serious and looks significantly un-Panda-like. Its subdials look very dark grey against a black dial. The image below shows a neat detail about the subdials that is easy to miss and this is that each one of them has a different scale – 10, 30 and 60 tick marks. You can also see that the number 4 has been removed and replaced with a black-on-white date wheel. The numbers on the black version appear to be thicker than on the other two chronograph colorways so maybe they have been outlined in white.
Nothing basic about this black watch. Photo: eBay
For many people, it may be easy to dismiss a plastic watch as a throw-away object, but I don’t look at it that way.ย These are well made affordable sports watches. While it might be true that their appeal could be limited to people with an interest in slightly retro analog watches, I hope that we can appreciate these Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chronos for what they are… good design executed in affordable materials. They have earned a permanent spot in my Vintage Swiss Army watch sub-collection, and that makes me as happy as a bright yellow watch on a cloudy day.
Swiss Army Odyssey Extreme Chrono… waiting for the aliens
