The Best Military and Intelligence Unit Watches

Customized Timepieces From Rolex, Breitling, Tudor, Bremont, & Omega

In the W.O.E. community, military “unit watches” are at the heart of modern watch culture. A unit watch is a timepiece that is customized by the manufacturer for members of a specific unit or organization. Customizations generally include the unit’s insignia on the dial and/or an engraving on the caseback. Unit watches are generally private purchases, paid for by the individual operator, and not issued or purchased by the government. 

Given our position at W.O.E., I think I can safely say that no one on this planet knows more about unit watches. Whether this is something to be proud of or not, you can decide. Today, we take a look at a few of my favorite unit watches from some of Swiss watchmaking’s greatest names. 

French GIGN operator wearing a Tudor Pelagos unit watch, made for the Intervention Force. Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale is the elite police unit of the National Gendarmerie of France, responsible for hostage rescue and CT.

Since I launched W.O.E., I have noticed an uptick in unit watches. What was once reserved primarily for elite aviation and SpecOps units has trickled down to law enforcement, conventional military units, and intelligence organizations. If I can be so arrogant as to suggest it, W.O.E. has had a significant impact in bringing awareness and increasing unit watch adoption. (End Humble Brag - Break)

You will notice that most of the watches in this Dispatch come from major Swiss watch brands: IWC, Breitling, Tudor, and Omega. Smaller brands like Christopher Ward, Sangin, Pagoda, Elliot Brown, and many others are making significant headway in this space. We may have to make another list. Stay tuned.

US Army Delta Force Breitling Superocean

Starting off with a bang, in 2009/2010, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta, AKA Delta Force, commissioned a custom Breitling Superocean. The subtle unit insignia is printed on the dial at nine o’clock, and "Oppressors Beware" is engraved on the side of the case. 50 total were made. In my discussions with operators from the era, these watches were sometimes worn on operations, but they were generally reserved for time off and low-intensity training. Many former operators continue to wear the watches to this day as mementos of their service with the Army’s Tier One SpecOps unit. 

Delta Force veteran Mark Antal wears the Unit Breitling post-retirement. (Photo Credit: Task Force Antal/Facebook)

Unit members in the late 2000s experienced some of the most sustained combat of any SpecOps operating in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in other countries as a part of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). The fact that an operator took the time to step back and commemorate this unit with a custom watch is special and indicative of the roles of timepieces as mementos among the military elite. All of the examples of the Delta Breitling we have seen are well worn after years of hard use, the way it should be.

Australian SAS Omega Seamaster

We have covered Omega’s modern Unit Watch program extensively, but Omega’s relationship with intelligence and SOF units goes back decades. In the early 2000s, Omega produced several unit watches for the British Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS). By 2012, the Australian SAS wanted in on the action and commissioned an Omega Seamaster with the SAS Winged Dagger over the outline of Australia on the caseback. The case back is also engraved with the member's year of selection, his PMKEYS (regimental number), and “Happy Wanderer”, the unit's marching song.

The watches were again commissioned in 2016. The first batch could be purchased by both serving and former SASR operators, the latter only by those still serving. According to former SASR operator Andy White, the Omega Seamaster was chosen specifically due to SASR’s dive capability and operators spending so much time above and below the water’s surface. 

SGT Diddams MG, a close friend of White, was KIA in Afghanistan in 2012. In January 2021, while his family moved from Melbourne to Perth, his watch, an irreplaceable heirloom, was stolen from their car. It's identical to the one pictured, with the only differences being the selection date and his number: 95/8239384. Please keep an eye out for the watch. 

Italian “Polipetto” Rolex Sea-Dweller 

(Photo Credit: Phillips)

When it comes to unit watches, Rolex is the gold standard, having produced some of the most sought-after and collectable references (read expensive). While the British SAS Submariner and Explorer IIs are probably the most well-known, there are several more obscure references, and one of our favorites is the so-called “Polipetto”, a customized 16600 Sea-Dweller made for the diving branch of the Polizia di Stato or Italian National Police. 

(Photo Credit: Phillips)

Part of the watch’s charm is the unit’s insignia, a stylized octopus, which is printed on the dial at nine o’clock, along with a custom caseback engraving. Among the most coveted and collectible modern Rolex sport watches, only 78 examples were produced, and of those, only 28 bear the service number of the individual diver on the caseback. In addition, the 16600 is perhaps the last great Sea-Dweller, with a 40mm case, no lame “Rolex” text on the rehaut, an aluminum bezel insert, and even lug holes on some examples. Slap an octopus insignia on there, and it’s easy to see how one Polipetto example hammered for 165,100 Swiss Francs (around $207k) in 2024. 

Canadian Tudor Pelagos 39 

Tudor is arguably the leader in modern unit watches, having produced customized versions of their tool watch line for everyone from the 75th Ranger Regiment to the US Secret Service Counter Assault Team (CAT, AKA Hawkeye). It is difficult to narrow these down to a “favorite”, but for the purposes of this Dispatch, I’m going to go with the custom Pelagos 39 developed for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Emergency Response Team (ERT).    

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) is Canada’s federal tactical unit tasked with CT, high-risk arrests, and hostage rescue, a loose equivalent to FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT).  

The watch contains an ERT crest on the dial, which represents the original teams consisting of six members and one team leader (7 maple leaves), a Cavalry sword, and a .308 rifle. The coolest part of this watch is the lume; the maple leaves are not lumed, which results in a cool contrast with the rifle and saber standing out. A total of 83 were produced and delivered in early 2025.

UK ‘Special Reconnaissance Regiment’ Rolex Submariner 

(Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)

There are military watches, and then there are modern legends. This Rolex Submariner, engraved with the insignia of the UK’s Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), falls squarely into the latter category. The emblem says it all: a Spartan helmet intersected by a sword, surrounded by smaller Spartan helmets, a nod to a unit that doesn’t seek recognition and rarely grants it. This was produced in 2013, and Rolex ceased these unit-specific customizations not long after, handing the torch to Tudor, which continued the tradition of partnering with elite units.

Watches like this SRR Submariner and the famed SAS Explorer II are among the last of their kind. Military-commissioned Rolexes with real operational provenance are increasingly rare. Last year, one was auctioned off by Sotheby’s for a whopping 36k British pounds, which amounts to over $46k in real money (at the time). 

Will Rolex ever restart its unit watch program? It's hard to say, but we would love to see it.

French Olympic Omega Seamaster Diver 300 

Submitted by an anonymous member of the W.O.E. community.

We have covered the new Omega Seamaster unit watches at length, so we won't beat a dead horse here. There have been some great unit watches developed, many of them not seen by the wider public or posted on social media. 

That said, there is one that stands out. Omega produced a Seamaster for the three elite French law enforcement units tasked with security for the event: GIGN, RAID, and BRI. This is one of the few examples I have seen of a unit watch developed for three separate units, which makes it stand out.

Omega was the official timekeeper of the 2024 Olympics, and while marketing stuff is fun, a GIGN/RAID/BRI unit Seamaster is what really gets us going. Beyond the insignia on the case back, this is effectively the same watch as the one utilized by US Secret Service officers during the recent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump and a unit-specific model created for the Danish Frogman Corps. 

US Navy’s IWC Top Gun

When it comes to aviation squadron watches, IWC Schaffhausen is king.  There are numerous notable IWC squadron watches, but arguably the most well-known is the brand’s partnership with the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (the real TOPGUN). But interestingly, this didn’t start as a unit watch, but a commercial endeavor.

In 2007, IWC entered a commercial relationship with the US Navy, becoming an official licensee and beginning its line of TOP GUN watches. Featuring the logo of the 1980s hit movie of the same name, the series of watches became a staple of IWC’s offerings with licensing fees directly funding morale, welfare, and recreation programs for US sailors, retirees, and their families.

This prepared the foundation of a more organic relationship, IWC’s foray into custom squadron watches. Having seen watches from the TOP GUN commercial line, pilots from the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School reached out to IWC to investigate the feasibility of making a unit watch for the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) program. 

The result was the 2018 release of the IWC’s first custom military piece: the Edition ‘SFTI’ in both a Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII and a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph. These exclusive watches continue to be made today, but can only be purchased by TOPGUN graduates, the way it should be.

US-Afghan Special Mission Wing Bremont 

The Special Mission Wing, AKA "the triple seven," was an Afghan unit trained and mentored by Americans for air lift assets, most notably the Russian-built Mi-17. This watch was produced by Bremont for the American servicemen supporting that unit. Bremont's custom unit watch program has produced some unique timepieces for UK, US, and Australian SOF and aviation units, and was a leader until the recent redirection of the company under CEO Davide Cerrato.

The insignia at twelve o’clock is taken from the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan insignia, while each of the numbers around the dial is representative of the Dari script. The 7 (V) is flanked by two “ghost” 7s representing the 777 Special Mission Wing (VVV). The helicopter is the Mi-17V5, which was purchased by the US government for the Government of Afghanistan and flown by both NATO and Afghan crews. Finally, the Cyrillic underneath the Bremont prop is a Russian transliteration of Bremont and is a tribute to the Russian heritage of the Mi-17.

We are big fans of “Arabic dials” (in this case Dari), and this is a cool piece.  
Unfortunately, the 777 SMW was disbanded after the US pulled out. Many of the pilots made it to freedom, where they are working to get their families out as well. 

UK Special Air Service Breitling Avenger

British SAS G Squadron Richard Williams wearing a custom 22 Special Air Service Breitling Avenger Seawolf.

I have a hypothesis that unit watch culture in the United States Special Operations Forces originated with our cousins across the pond in the UK.  In 2003/2004, approximately six years before Delta Force’s unit Breitling, the UK’s Special Air Service (SAS) ordered a customized unit watch, a Breitling Avenger Seawolf with the SAS insignia at nine o'clock.  

Former SAS Melvyn Downes commissioned Avenger Seawolf with the SAS insignia at nine o’clock on the dial, along with a D Squadron coin. (Photo Credit: Melvyn Downes)

We spoke with former SAS Melvyn Downes about this piece, who said around 200 were produced. Only serving 22 SAS operators could purchase the watch and all were individually numbered. Some active members of SAS sold them to former members. Given the amount of cross training and deployments between UKSF and Delta, I assess with medium confidence the Delta Breitling was born out of this relationship.

French Marine Nationale (MN) Tudor Pelagos FXD

In contrast to many of the watches included here, which are small batch custom versions of core models within each brand’s standard civilian catalog, the Tudor Pelagos FXD owes its very existence to an elite military unit. Leaning into a partnership that started in the 1950s, the Commando Hubert, the French Navy’s elite maritime special operations unit, asked Tudor to develop a new dive watch for the specific use case of its combat swimmers. 

With integrated “fixed” lugs and a bidirectional countdown bezel, the Commando Hubert version of the watch has only two lines of text at six o’clock: “Pelagos” and “200m” as well as a unique dive strap and custom caseback. Soon after the watch was created, Tudor released the civilian FXD in 2021 to massive fanfare among the Use Your Tools crowd, with the also-sexy black variant coming in 2023. 

Over the past couple of years, the Pelagos has become a popular platform for other unit watch projects, but what is even cooler about the FXD is that the watch itself was organically developed for SpecOps end users. 

US SEAL Team Six Tudor Pelagos FXD

Fleet Master Chief Isom also wore the Tudor for an event in Hawaii in March 2025. (Photo Credit: United States Indo-Pacific Command)

When Tudor released the “Black FXD” in September 2023, we published a Dispatch on the background of how the original Blue FXD was developed in partnership with SEAL Team Six. While we sought approval to tell the story prior to release, it gained more traction than expected, and we took it down at the request of those involved.

Fast forward to today, and the cat is very much out of the bag. The watch has been posted on social media, seen at public events, and even discussed at length by a former member of the Command during a recent episode of the Unsubscribe podcast.

Master Chief Dave Isom was sworn in as the SEAC on 23 June. (Photo Credit: The Joint Staff) 

Most recently, the watch was seen on the wrist of former Gold Squadron member, Fleet Master Chief Dave Isom, when he took over as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In contrast to the commercially available version, the Gold Squadron FXD has a simpler “two-line” dial with “PELAGOS” executed in gold and “660 ft”. Most visibly, the hook and loop strap boasts a gold center stripe, in contrast to the regular red stripe. Each squadron has its own version with the squadron insignia on the caseback. Very cool.

Final Thoughts - Should You Collect These Watches?

Decades from now, the individuals who earned these watches will have all moved on in their lives and into retirement, and their unit watches will be among the few lasting, and wearable, reminders of their service. What makes these timepieces special is that they can’t be bought; they must be earned.

French GIGN operator wearing a PVD Breitling Endurance Pro unit watch.

That said, inevitably, some unit watches do end up at auction, fetching upwards of $30-50k on the open market in many cases. Watches that were originally designed and intended as keepsakes for a select few can now be purchased by the highest bidder.

While it is unfortunate that some practitioners choose to part with these meaningful timepieces, I also understand that life circumstances change, and the astronomical secondary market pricing can be irresistible. That said, it is a shame that those practitioner’s great-grandchildren won’t be able to treasure the watches worn by their ancestors. 

Danish King Frederik X wearing his Omega Seamaster Unit Watch, a memento of his service with the Frogman Corps.

For collectors, I understand the attraction, but I also think it is a little bit strange to wear a modern watch like this that you have no direct relationship with. No, I wouldn’t go as far as to say it is “stolen valor,” but there is something about it that just doesn’t feel right. From a collector’s standpoint, there is a difference in my mind between new “unit watches” and vintage military-issued watches. As the decades roll on, maybe my feelings will change.

For me, when a watch like this comes up for auction, the life is sucked out of it. I am naive about the auction world, but from the outside looking in, it appears to be champagne and cocaine, a part of the watch industry I just don’t relate to. The fact that an earned watch can be acquired by the highest bidder, who almost certainly isn’t the kind of person who would have earned the watch in the first place, just doesn’t pass the smell test.

That said, I believe in the basic principles of capitalism and do not fault anyone involved. We see the world as it is, not as we feel it should be.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE.

Read Next: An Exploration of “Unit Watches” from the Special Operations Community: Tudor