# March On! Infantry Co.



## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

I came to Infantry Co. on my own, but since coming to appreciate this brand of watches I have read items from other watch hunters who have similarly arrived at Infantry watches and found them to be astonishing value for money. One such author is "tony-maroney" who, in a post on ebay.co.uk, reviews one of Infantry's heavy square quartz examples and concludes that "Honestly, I don't think you can buy a better watch for this money, this is in a different league to other cheap Chinese watches. For this price (i..e. £16.50 shipped - my note) it is epic! I'm off to buy some more:-" Tony-maroney then gives us an update on other Infantry Co. watches he has bought, and of the four Infantry models he briefly reviews, only one comes in for some criticism, and even then he says that it is "relative", especially considering the low prices.

Now, I don't know who tony-maroney is, and I don't know how independent his ebay article is, but I have to say that I totally agree with him about Infantry Co. watches in general, and I also have another reason for recommending this company. This second reason relates to their after-sales service and their willingness to correspond in a personable or friendly manner to enquiries. Having read quite a number of reviews on Amazon about Infantry watches, it has come to my notice that the Infantry after-sales service is second-to none, and the company is very happy to replace without cost any faulty watch purchased new, and they frequently do not even expect you to return the faulty watch. The company is not one of those anonymous watch companies that is not "accountable", and when you buy an Infantry watch, you know that is is an Infantry Co. product. Infantry Co. has a fully functioning website and a contact section that actually works. Considering the low price of their watches, this is all pretty good, only made better by the fact that Infantry Co. has a UK branch such that ordering a watch doesn't always mean a lengthy wait before it arrives in the post. In fact, even when the watches are dispatched from Hong Kong, where the company is based, they tend to arrive sooner than other watches I have ordered from China.

Infantry Co. sells a few non-watch products but they are essentially a watch company that designs its own watches and has a good arrangement with the factory that manufactures them. It is obvious from the name of the company and the mottoes that are used, such as "March on", that Infantry Co. specialises in watches that are in military style. They do produce a range of non-military watches, and these are branded "Pacifistor." The Pacifister watches are an integral part of Infantry Co. production, and there are both mechanical and quartz models in the Pacifistor range, just as there are in the Infantry watch collection.

Infantry Co. was founded in 2011 by a "group of passionate and adventurous individuals" according to the website. The company stresses these qualities when it comes to producing watch designs and making sure that the finished product meets with their own approval.p to their own. According to Infantry, the mission of the company is "to make good styles universally available. And this is the mission everyone at Infantry Co. is dedicated to accomplish." In my opinion, Infantry watches certainly fulfill these ambitions and qualities. Looking a little deeper into the founding and working of the company, Peng from Infantry Co. has informed me that the founding of the firm came about primarily from a desire to celebrate the military life of Peng's father by means of a personal gift. Peng's father had just left the military and was about to embark on the second, civilian, part of his life, and Peng wanted to give him a military-related watch. On some Infantry watches, the caseback has the date, 2010, etched upon it, but it would seem that the company really got underway in the following year.

Simple and attractive date/day Infantry military-style lumed watch. Alloy or stainless steel case (some confusion here), scratch-resistant glass crystal, and nylon fabric strap (pic from alibaba.com):










Infantry Co. has a research and development team and works in a close relationship with the factory that makes their watches. The company has taken part in the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair, and there is a stated ambition aimed at the development of new watch designs and the expansion of the firm's online business.

Before looking at the Infantry branded watches, I will just say a thing or two about the Pacifistor range. Generally speaking - and I have personal experience of a couple of Pacifistor watches - these watches are very good value for money, and at the moment, Amazon is selling some of them for very low prices. There are certain similarites between the Pacifistor and Infantry watches, and these include a sensible limitation on what the models undertake. For example, Pacifistor mechanical watches do not try and be all-singing-and-dancing in terms of complications. They tell the time, and that is that. This means that the Pacifistor (and Infantry) mechanical watches do what they say they will do, and are decently made and pretty reliable. One Pacifistor watch, a quartz example with a date window, seems to be particularly popular, perhaps because of its general quality and the rather nice dial which has a latitude/longitude drawing of the globe on it's white dial. The Pacifistor range includes a few mechanical pocket watches of which I have no experience, but the wrist watches I have purchased have all been without faults and I am pleased with them, especially considering how little they cost.

My favourite Pacifistor mechanical watch, also available with black dial and with polished 43mm diameter stainless steel case. A straightforward and decent quality mechanical hand-wind watch, currently selling on Amazon UK for the ludicrously low price of £12.99 (pic from aliexpress.com):










The Infantry collection of watches is actually quite varied, and the company breaks it down into a number of ranges, including the Infantry and Infiltrator series', the Chronograph series and the Aviatrix series. Yes, I know, the term "aviatrix" refers to a female pilot and the watches in this series would be defined as gents' watches, and talking of spelling errors, there is a slightly irritating spelling error on the dial of the rather good Pacifistor dive-style quartz watch. However, this is a small price to pay for a Chinese origin for these watches, and I can forgive Infantry Co. for these minor mistakes.

The Infantry-branded watches are all military in style and they range from classic retro military-type watches, with circular dial and case and simple functions, to more complex watches that have both analogue and digital displays. The company not only produces watches with digital chronograph elements but also has a few analogue quartz chronograph watches in its collection. These analogue chronos are really quite nice, if somewhat conventional, and they utilise a decent quality Miyota flyback chrono movement. There are also quartz watches which have subdial calendar complications, and the three-dial quartz watches with calendar function are attractive and currently very inexpensive. One thing you won't find on any Infantry/Pacifistor watch, thank goodness, is the use of fake subdials that are merely there for "decoration."

Infantry mechanical watch with leather strap, stainless steel case and scatch-resistant glass - even nicer than it looks in the photo and a simple but reliable watch. Currently on Amazon.uk for £13.99 and listed honestly as being primarily a hand-wind watch rather than making pretention to be fully automatic (pic from bidorbuy.za):










In terms of design, I would say that Infantry Co. produces three main types of design. Firstly, there are what I would call Homage and retro watches, where a classic design, sometimes taken from a top-line watch company, has been reworked. What I appreciate is that there is no intention to deceive here - the watches are very visibly branded, Infantry, and there are no deceptive marks on the dial such as "Swiss Made". Then there are watches of a functional yet relatively conventional military design that sometimes contain digital elements, and finally there are watches which are what I would call "blockbuster" design, and these rather unusual military-type watches are apparently very popular in spite of their weight and large size. I couldn't possibly wear one of these watches but I do admire their substantial construction and very low price.

Heavy duty stainless steel and rubber watch with "dual-precision" Japanese quartz movement and anti-scratch glass. Case diameter 50mm. This picture shows three different colourways available, and this model, with its multi-function digital display appears to be a rugged and well-regarded watch - Amazon UK are selling this model for £19.99 at the moment (pic from inkfrog.com):










As with the Pacifistor mechanical watches, the Infantry mechanicals are simple in function but reliable and sufficiently accurate for daily wear. There is one model in particular that I really like and show here above - I have two of these. The finish is very good, and unlike many cheap Chinese watches, the model comes with a decent strap.

When looking at a company that deliberately chooses to produce watches that are eminently affordable, one has to try and find out what corners, if any, have been cut to enable the watches to be retailed for so little. In the case of Infantry Co. I would say that the shortcuts or cost-cuts have been carefully managed and have been made to the least possible detriment to the quality of the watches. In general, Infantry Co. seems to use decent materials and the finish of the watches is amazingly good considering the price. My observations and reading has highlighted a few negative factors, which are as follows. Firstly, I was a bit disappointed that the simple Japanese quartz movement, when used in my own Infantry watches, is of the low-end black plastic variety even if reliable. I would have preferred one of the metal Miyota movements. Secondly, the "scratch resistant" glass used by Infantry Co. has been claimed to be not very scratch resistant although I haven't found the watch glasses to be poor in quality in the watches I have purchased. Some people have been sent watches where the finish is not quite up to scratch, such as dust under the glass or uneven plating/coating on the case. However, given the fact that Infantry Co. is apparently quite ready to admit a fault and replace a watch immediately, it seems churlish to go on about these cost-saving measures, especially given the low price of the products. In terms of water resistance, where corners are often cut in Chinese watches, Infantry watches are usually a stated 30 metres water resistant, which is sufficient given the price of the watches. There is one problem that has arisen during my research into Infantry Co. watches, and one that is related to cost-saving measures. There seems to be some confusion over the nature of the metal used to manufacture the cases for some Infantry watches. It is difficult to tell what the underlying case/bezel metal is when the case is black-coated or plated, and in the case of some watches, a case will be described as stainless steel on on site and alloy on another. This confusion also arises in the case of the watches stated to contain a Swiss quartz movement on one site, which are then found to contain a Japanese Miyota movement on another site. At this moment, my computer will not allow me into the Infantry co. website for some reason (perhaps Infantry Co. are revising their website) so I can't immediately check on this discrepancy. As with all cheap Chinese watches, one does have to be circumspect with those from Infantry, but I am pretty certain that any enquiry to the company will evince an honest answer, and at the prices being charged by Infantry, I feel that even if the specs do contain a discrepancy, the value for money is generally still up there with the best.

Infantry Co. in my opinion offers a good range of military style watches that are eminently functional, reasonably well-made, and in value for money terms perhaps unrivalled. In my dealings with Infantry Co., I have found them to be a friendly bunch of people, unusually willing to correspond and be helpful. Obviously, you don't buy an Infantry Co. watch with huge expectations - and that would not be the point of having an Infantry Co. watch on your wrist. What you can expect is a watch that is functional and reliable, chosen from a collection that provides distinct military-type watches in all the main military styles, from traditional to the more extravert, well-made and of decent materials and, finally, of a quality that one need not be ashamed of.

Infantry quartz Aviatrix chronograph watch with date window, using a Miyota Fly Back OS11 chronograph movement. Stainless steel case, genuine leather strap, lumed hands and numbers, scratch-resistant glass and 100 metre WR. This is one of Infantry's more expensive offerings and is priced at just over £60 on Amazon, where for some reason, the movement is listed as being Swiss. This confusion is a pity as is the use of the word "Aviatrix" on the dial when nowadays, "aviator" would be quite appropriate for both male and female pilots. I illustrate the watch because it is one of my favourite Infantry models (pic from alibaba.com):


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2015)

another good one Honour, it will be interesting to see if they evolve into a more upmarket brand as some others have done, unfortunately for some they will always be Chinese and frowned upon, i however don't really care where something's made as long as the quality is there :yes:


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

very good article. they might overcome their quality problems with steel, plastic and assembley.


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## mexico75 (Aug 21, 2014)

Nice article. That last chrono is quite nice design wise, shame the quality isn't there.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Thanks for the responses, fellow members. In connection with your remark about the analogue chrono, mexico75, I agree with you when it comes to the price/quality ratio in the case of this model, and I don't really know why it is so expensive compared to other analogue Infantry chronographs. I think it may have something to do with the confusion over whether this watch contains a Swiss movement. There are a few other Infantry quartz analogue chronograph watches which are about half the price of this model, and they are actually rather nice and very good value for money.

I wrote an email via Amazon to Infantry this morning about my concern that their website has suddenly gonem off the air, apart from the homepage. The company immediately replied, thanking me for writing about them and assuring me that the website is, or soon will be, back online. However, the watch purchasing facility on the website is apparently not (yet?) up and running.

You wonder, Bruce, if Infantry Co. may go upmarket, and this relates also to your comment, vinn, about their problems with materials and assembly. I do know that Infantry Co. is committed to making their watches available to a wide spectrum of the public, which means that prices need to be kept relatively low. I do feel that if the company went upmarket, it would actually lose a vital selling point, and would be competing with firms that already manufacture (or brand) quite expensive military/military-style watches - companies that have already carved a niche out for themselves in the market. At the moment, Infantry Co. has cleverly spotted and filled a viable market space, and they would need to be careful about increasing their prices too much in a quest to become higher in quality at the expense of affordability and customer choice.


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## Bob Sheruncle (Aug 28, 2013)

I have one in my collection.

I think it was a fiver off ebay. :thumbsup:


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## novatron1_2 (Jun 23, 2005)

Trying to reduce my collection and then you go and post this! Look great especially given the price.

Just checked Amazon, how can they sell a sub homage delivered for just £7.99???


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

I've got one in my collection, acquired from this very forum, can't remember if it was a freebie/Secret Santa, or just a cheapo 10 quid special. Amazon are still selling them for £14.99, which is amazing value for what they are.

I like the size (massive!) and it's nice and comfy on the wrist. The strap in particular is a beauty, made of soft thick rubber. The only slight things I can "criticise" (if you can call it that) are the batteries are a bit fiddly to change, due to this model having two fitted inside, one on top of the other. IIRC there are two circuit boards held together with about 6 tiny screws. Not impossible, just fiddly. Also, the twin digital displays are more or less unreadable in daylight, and not much better with the green backlight on :laugh:

All in all, a good fun watch, with a nice quality rubber strap that is probably worth the money on it's own:










:thumbsup:


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

peng, thank you for your company's response. any chance to get a repair drawing of the movement? - regards --vinn


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Sorry I didn't get to you earlier, Peng of Infantry and others who have posted about this brand since I last wrote a reply on this thread. I shall be messaging you at Infantry, Peng, and I hope you are well and that Infantry is doing as well as I think it should. I honestly consider that for the money, Infantry watches are spot-on, and there is no pretence that these are the height of the watchmaker's art. That isn't the point, and how refreshing to find a company that is so friendly and willing to communicate. March on! is what I say. :thumbsup:


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## federico.85 (Jul 17, 2015)

The third one looks stunning!


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## greasemonk (Oct 4, 2012)

well done honour,another great write up.the manufactorer contribiting to the thread is reallyunusual but very good.it certainly has made me aware and more interested in the brand..


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Dear Peng, I have sent you a message via the Infantry Co. contact system in answer to your request, and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Thanks also to everyone else who has posted on this thread. This particular bit of writing has given me an extra zim of pleasure, due to members' responses and the fact that Infantry has been such a pleasant company to communicate with and write about.


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Now there's a great response - - indicative that perhaps Infantry is a company where you can ! "buy the seller!" as we always say, and I like the "TIMEX Camper" mil look one Honor has posted on the OP - - but then I would, wouldn't I ? :yes:


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Do not worry Peng, I am very impressed with your company and it's products, here on the forum we always say that as a buyer, you should always check out the seller and his reputation before you buy - - the review "Always Watching" has given Infantry as a company will inspire confidence in buying your watches :yes:

It is difficult to remember that we are writing in English - and you Peng, don't have English as your first language, so we must try to make our writing easy for you to understand the full meaning.

xiè xiè !

Mel


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## damo08 (Aug 21, 2015)

The 2nd one looks similar to a seiko. The last one though, that is a beauty..


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

Where's Peng and his contribution to this thread gone?


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

> Where's Peng and his contribution to this thread gone?


Perhaps Mach, Paul or Roy might be able to shed light on this? It does appear rather odd that peng's posts have disappeared. Maybe it has to do with forum policy?

David


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

I think Peng tried to advertise stuff for sale on here without asking permission, so I suspect he might have been suspended. I saw a post he put up with a link to the Infantry sales site, which I thought at the time was a bit out of order :nono:


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

It's interesting the attention AW gets. Over on the CW forum, he did an article about Elliott Brown and they've responded!


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## Verschlonika (Aug 5, 2015)

Davey P said:


> I think Peng tried to advertise stuff for sale on here without asking permission, so I suspect he might have been suspended. I saw a post he put up with a link to the Infantry sales site, which I thought at the time was a bit out of order


Hi. I'm here. When I receive e-mail from yours, I just come here.

Sorry to post a link about a link to the Infantry sales site .

Because I just want to tell you about the activity of the watches. Could anyone let me know how to contact Mach, Paul or Roy? I must to explain about this thing.

I'm deeply sorry for all friends here. Hope for your understanding! I won't do it again, Unless I have asked mission.

Hi. All friends!

I'm here. When I receive e-mail from yours, I just come here.

Sorry to post a link about a link to the Infantry sales site .

Because I just want to tell you about the activity of the watches. Could anyone let me know how to contact Mach, Paul or Roy? I must to explain about this thing.

I'm deeply sorry for all friends here. Hope for your understanding! I won't do it again, Unless I have asked mission.



mel said:


> Do not worry Peng, I am very impressed with your company and it's products, here on the forum we always say that as a buyer, you should always check out the seller and his reputation before you buy - - the review "Always Watching" has given Infantry as a company will inspire confidence in buying your watches :yes:
> 
> It is difficult to remember that we are writing in English - and you Peng, don't have English as your first language, so we must try to make our writing easy for you to understand the full meaning.
> 
> ...


I'm sorry to misunderstand your meaning. Yes, I don't have English as my first language. Sometimes I write in Chinese or German (Deutsch).

Please forgive my broken English. What's more, thank you very much for your nice response!

Kind regards.


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

Hi

Go to this page http://www.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/staff/ and you will be able to send a message to Roy who is the owner of the site.

David


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## Verschlonika (Aug 5, 2015)

DJH584 said:


> Hi
> 
> Go to this page http://www.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/staff/ and you will be able to send a message to Roy who is the owner of the site.
> 
> David


Hi David,

Thank you very much for your nice help! I have sent messages to Roy.

Best Wishes,

Peng


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