MEET THE WATCH: Victorinox Swiss Army Golden Delta

A gold watch is not a timepiece that I aspire to wear every day, but sometimes I wear one when I feel nostalgic for the ’90s. Gold has long been a symbol of opulence, wealth, privilege and maybe gaudiness when overdone. I consider myself to be a down-to-earth guy so gold is not really something I covet. So why would I hunt down two versions of the Swiss Army Golden Delta watch by Victorinox? Maybe I had a case of watch curiosity or perhaps gold fever. Most likely, I was chasing a watch that I let get away when I had bigger things on my mind.

I first learned about the Victorinox Swiss Army Golden Delta a few years ago when I helped a watch collector research a watch that he remembered from his youth. His hazy verbal description was enough to eventually identify that watch. We concluded that was the stainless steel version of the Swiss Army Delta. You can read about it at WATCH SLEUTH: Identifying a Mystery Victorinox Swiss Army Watch from the 1990s.

Little did I know that this early research project would fuel a larger curiosity and compel me to give up several months compiling the Victorinox Swiss Army Watch Identifier. I figured if he and I had questions about past Swiss Army models, then perhaps other watch collectors around the world would too. I was not wrong either as this tool is one of the most-visited parts of the Watch Hunter site. Thank you for everyone who sees a value in that database. I hope it saves you many hours scouring the internet for photos and info about Victorinox Swiss Army watches. Now, let’s get back to the Golden Delta.

Once I learned about the Swiss Army Delta watch and saw a magazine ad from the mid-1990s, I decided to casually search for a specimen. I was not exactly hellbent on owning a Delta, but I would consider it if a good deal came my way. It is surprising that these old watches can hold a steady value. While not what I’d call expensive, many of the Swiss Army Deltas for sale were a little bit more than I wanted to spend. $100 or less was my budget.

As a (sometimes) frugal watch collector, I look for the best value for my dollars. Many mental calculations go into this equation including desirability and street value. Availability also comes into play. I keep a list of watches that I want, but I am an opportunist that maximizes the best deals on watches. This means that my collecting can take a meandering path through eBay and watch forum offerings. Sometimes, I don’t know what I am going to buy until I am actually pushing the PAY NOW button. This keeps this hobby exciting because I never know what the next watch will be.

To be honest, I wanted to own the stainless steel Swiss Army Delta more than a Golden Delta. I have a preference for shiny silver tones over yellow gold. However, opportunities knocked, and that is why I currently own two Golden Deltas instead of a single steel one. Besides, I wanted to compare the two sizes in this article because there is quite a difference between them. More on that later.

Finding a Golden Delta

The biggest problem is finding a Swiss Army Delta that is in decent condition. These watches harken from the 1990s and represent some of Swiss Army’s oldest models. Given that many watches break, get buried in a junk drawer or are lost to time, Deltas do not come up for sale that often. They are not the most well known Swiss Army watches either. They are sometimes misidentified as the more common Cavalry models.

There was a previous time that I almost bought a Swiss Army Golden Delta. When my mother passed away, I needed a watch for her funeral. I considered buying a Golden Delta watch to mark this life-changing and heartbreaking moment for me. In the end, I decided to wear a different watch to her memorial service that I already owned. That very personal story can be read at Picking a Watch for My Mom’s Funeral.

Months later, I regretted not buying the Golden Delta. I kept coming back to it in my thoughts. However, the price had risen from where it was before. I waited patiently until one day I saw a Golden Delta on eBay that needed repair. I figured for a small outlay of cash, I could try one on my wrist. If I liked it, I could get it fixed, or I could attempt to swap the busted quartz movement myself.

There are a few versions of the Swiss Army Golden Delta. The differences have to do with the case size and whether the watch has a matching gold bracelet or ostrich leather straps. I never foresaw myself getting the Golden Delta with the gold bracelet, but that was the one that appeared. I bought the smaller 29 mm version first by accident due to a seller error. He had listed it as a men’s watch, and he wore it. I’d opt for the larger 37 mm watch, which fits my wrist better. Most people would consider that to be the men’s watch, but that is up to you. Anything goes these days.

I figured that I could always swap the gold bracelet for leather straps if I felt like I was OG’ing (over golding). I’m glad that I got the bracelet because it elevates the watch. I did not expect to like it, but it is charming in a shocking way. It’s also a bit flashy so  I’ve only enjoyed it around the house so far. Sometime soon, I’ll get the courage to wear it in the real world… maybe with a tie even (gasp!)

I should probably point out the obvious that the Swiss Army Golden Delta is not a solid gold watch. That would be ludicrously expensive! Instead, it is thinly gold-plated, but not everywhere. Gold-plating can be seen on the case,  crown and on parts of the bracelet. The outer bracelet is gold-plated, but the underside is stainless steel. Interesting! I had not expected to see this cost-cutting technique. How exactly does a manufacturer plate only one side of a bracelet? Maybe it’s like a spray tan. haha

This mix of metals occurs elsewhere on the watch too. Parts of the deployant clasp are stainless steel. This includes the hinged fold-out and the hidden dive suit extension. The clasp has micro-adjustment holes, which is a welcome feature. Some watches made today don’t have them, which can make sizing the bracelet a difficult thing to accomplish.

The Lure of Gold

Mankind has lusted after this metal for thousands of years. Whole civilizations have been conquered and enslaved for it. People migrated vast distances for it. Yep… humans are obsessed with this precious metal. Other metals sometimes don’t stack up. Real gold has a certain brilliance to it and reflects light like nothing else. As a comparison, I photographed the Golden Delta on top of my wife’s department store jewelry, which is not real gold. These two metals are not even close.

Don’t expect the Golden Delta to look like a solid gold watch. The surface is not that thick. I have to confess that a few flakes of gold came off easily when I rubbed a rough spot on the bracelet. In some places, I can see the base metal underneath. That’s okay. I was not expecting a top-of-the-line luxury watch. You can infer that your Swiss Army Golden Delta to look the same way with some hard wear (below right), but you can still find pristine specimens like the lady’s model (below left).

Unique Delta Features

Swiss Army Delta watches have distinguishing features that are unique to the Delta family. While many people mistake Delta watches for Cavalry watches, they are quite different. One telltale element is that the Delta’s crown is located at the 2:00 spot, and not the 3:00 spot. This location essentially takes the crown out of the width measurement of the watch so it feels smaller. Notice that the crown is almost flush to the case, and there is a dip in the case bezel for maximum streamlining.

Other features unique to the Delta watches are hinged lugs. Unlike most watches that have fixed lugs, the Golden Delta’s move in a 90-degree arc. The purpose of this is to allow the Delta to fit as comfortably as possible on practically any wrist. The lugs adjust to the wear, and not the other way around, which is usually the situation.

Hinged lugs make the Swiss Army Delta feel like a completely round watch. The lug-to-lug distance is usually greater than the width on most watches, but not really on the Golden Delta. I find this to be an elegant solution to make a better fitting watch, for more wrist sizes. The hinged lugs improve the Golden Delta both practically and aesthetically. This is a subtle, yet significant part of the design.

It might not be clear from the photos, but the dial of the Swiss Army Delta is not pure white. It is more of the color of cream with maybe a microscopic hint of peach. Perhaps, this color tone works better with the rest of the dial than stark white might have. That is because the colors on the dial are a little out of the ordinary. Take the lume for instance, which is a minty green outlined with black. The black outline effect can also be seen on the baton hour and minute hands and also the needle-like second’s hand. This means that you will always be able to easily see the hands. Accents of red text and a red SWISS ARMY shield logo add a pop of contrast to the dial.

The Swiss Army Golden Delta has a rehaut (internal bezel) that has minute/second hatch marks and a minty green triangle marking every five minutes. The triangles align with the Arabic numerals. The 12 is replaced with an applied logo and the porthole date window is where the 6 normally is. The date window is discreet, to say the least. You can barely notice it because the date wheel is a similar color as the dial. Inward of the Arabic numerals is the rest of the military 24-hour scale in red that Swiss Army of this vintage era favors.

If the Swiss Army Delta is a memorable watch, then the Golden Delta is unforgettable. It has an interesting blend of class, kitsch, cool and old-man “don’t give a hoot” attitude all at once. While I might save mine for special occasions, it will always bring a smile to my face. Somehow, it reminds me of the gold-toned Seiko watches that my father wore in the 1980s, and his closet full of ties.

His watches were not high-end Rolexes or Omegas, but they left an impression on me as a child. My father wore a suit as a marine biology teacher for every working day of his life. This watch would have been fantastic under his jacket sleeve paired with a wacky tie like the sea life print above. Like my father, the Swiss Army Golden Delta appears to be different than the rest of the “normal” world. I’ll wear this watch when I want to feel a little different too. Now, if I can just get my wife to wear the smaller one, we can be watch geeks together!