The Bradley watch from newcomer Corvus is a tool watch, straight up. Adhering to 1950’s military dive watch specs, Corvus’ founding brothers Cam and Tom worked diligently to create a watch worthy of the man they named it after General Omar Bradley. We think they more than succeeded. Click through for more.
Drawing from a rare Bulova dive watch prototype and the Tornek-Rayville TR 900, the Bradley is meant to be a military grade watch. With the originals being issued to Force Recon Marines and Navy Seals during Vietnam, that was a tall order. Cam and Tom worked with reknowed case manufacterer Fricker to bring their design to life (to see more of that process check out their blog.) The case they developed is not some off the shelf model that’s been retasked, it’s custom specifically to the Bradley and machined in Germany by Fricker. Going a step further, the Corvus guys wanted to make the case as durable as possible as settled on a process known as Klosterizing, which brings the 316L SS to a hardness of 1076 HV.
he proceeded to pick up a steak knife and without a word proceeded to saw at the Bradley for a while… not a scratch to be seen on the watch
Over dinner, when I asked Cam how well the Klosterizing worked, he proceeded to pick up a steak knife and without a word proceeded to saw at the Bradley for a while… not a scratch to be seen on the watch, but the knife was a lot duller. The watch dial is painted with Satellite Black paint for the darkest possible face, in person it’s so black it looks like a void with floating indices. The bezel is the 60 click undirectional type you need for diving with cool “stealth lume” on the first 15 minutes, and it’s water resistant to 300m/1000ft. For guts, the Bradley has the well known ETA 2824-2, which though not the finest ETA movement it’s considered to be the most robust, what you need in a military watch.
Cam and Tom want their customers to get not only a watch when they buy a Corvus, but a feel for the history connected to it. The packaging of the Bradley looks like that of a issued watch, plain cardboard with shredded packing, and a pamphlet detailing the background of the watch. They each come with a deadstock Tropic Rubber strap, and a “Real Bond” NATO strap. Keep your eyes peeled for a reproduction t-shirt about “the friendly skies of Vietnam.”
Corvus created a dive and field watch that’s a testament to classic design and restraint coupled with modern technology. It won’t be the flashiest or most well known time piece you could get for $1,300, but it will be the most rugged. Seriously a steak knife? That’s just BA.
Cost: $1,300
