If you like bold, big, and built like a tank mechanical military watches, and these days I am a convert, then you might like to know something about a French company whose name seems to be different depending on who you consult. The original company seems to have been called Mer-Air-Terre (Tr.: Sea-Air-Land) and this was shortened also to MAT. However, the firm also goes by the name of MATWATCHES online. The MAT watch illustrated in CAR Magazine for next month is stated as coming from MAT, and I shall therefore use this name here for the firm as it neatly straddles the three company titles. MAT is a rarity in being an independent watchmaking concern, and it has pride in this aspect of its status. As with many watch companies, it is difficult to say how extensive the manufacturing capability is at MAT, but there does seem to be a substantial input from the company, even though the watches trend to be designated as "Swiss Made," due mainly to the use of Swiss mechanical movements.
MAT was born out of a special order of watches to be used by the police officers of RAID, essentially the French version of SWAT, fulfilled in 2005 with the launch of the MAT AG1-RAID watch, now an iconic model which will surely become a collectors's item. Evidently, the MAT concern was in operation by that time even though the firm's website gives a date of 2007 for MAT's foundation. Whatever the case, MAT produced the watches for RAID to the required specifications and RAID has used MAT watches on every mission since. The company now began to manufacture watches for other French forces and services, including the Paris Fire Brigade, the French Foreign Legion, COS (the French special operations command and control centre), and even national mine clearance/bomb squad units. MAT has been able to flexibly add various features for specific security and military purposes in its range of watches, with some of them even requiring to be protected from magnetic fields by an internal Farraday cage.
Since the formation of the firm, MAT has expanded to include its own manufacturing workshop, and R&D department, a quality control department and its own marketing and after sales service. This expansion has come about partly because while the company only sold its watches to the military and security organisations at first, it subsequently opened up sales to the general public. The workshop is in the Rue Vignon, close to the Madeleine Church in Paris, and within this workshop all assembly, quality control and repair/maintenance of the watches takes place, meaning that design and manufacture can react swiftly to new demands. MAT also designs its watches in-house.
The MAT UTC Naval Aviation watch with two time zones, designed with the technical assistance of pilots from the French navy and the US army and designed to be capable as a dive watch in addition to its "flying" role. Sapphire glass internally anti-reflective and ETA 2892-3 automatic movement. Limited edition of 50 watches in each of three colourways, and comes with three different straps (pic from oceanictime.blogspot.co.uk):
MAT has a fundamental design policy that is summed up by three qualities that every MAT watch must possess. The watches should be Rugged, the dials easy to read, and the style understated. I have to say that although the watches are certainly well-built and rugged, with a high degree of legibility, they are not, in my opinion, understated. These are bold watches and reveal their functions and purposes directly. As far as I am concerned, this is no bad thing where MAT is concerned because the watches are bold for a reason and not merely bold as a fashion statement.
The MAT watch shown in CAR Magazine by Ben Oliver is a black automatic designed for the French bomb squad. It bears the legend, "Swiss Made," comes with three different straps and utilities tritium lume. The text that goes with the picture announces that MAT watches are now available in the UK for the first time, and gives a UK price for this model of £1430.
The MAT AG6-1 Demineur bomb squad automatic wristwatch as illustrated in CAR magazine and now available (pic from matwatches.com):
Although it is refreshing that MAT manufactures watches that are simple in addition to the more complicated timepieces, even producing simple three-hand models, my own favourite has to be the MAT AG5CHL automatic chronograph reviewed by David Bredan on 15 June 2015 on A Blog to Watch. I should just mention here that this is the "left-handed" version (hence the 'L' designation) apparently designed for bomb defusers who wanted to wear the watch on their left wrist but without the crown being in what would be the normal position on a left-handed watch. I say "apparently" because the title of the watch given in the review is the Special Services Diver's Chronograph Watch, and I am not sure how much bomb disposal is executed by this arm of the forces. It seems that MAT makes it something of a speciality to produce watches with crown/buttons on the left side of the case.
The MAT AG5CHL is a handsome beast and apparently has a substantial and yet soft touch to the hand, partly because of the black PVD coating and partly because the case and lug edges have sensibly been slightly rounded. The immediate impression is that the watch is well-built and one could be forgiven for thinking that it is hewn from a single piece of steel. The case is 44.5mm in diameter and the lug width is 24mm. The lugs have been drilled to permit easier replacement of the strap - just as well since this watch comes with no less than 4 different straps - orange rubber, black rubber, black leather, and canvas. Other build specifications, such as the crystal, are all up to a high standard. Just don't forget that this chronograph does NOT have a date feature.
The MAT AG5CHL automatic chronograph with the orange rubber strap (which Bredan likes as being just the right shade of colour for the watch) (pic from ablogtowatch.com):
The AG5CHL uses the trusty Valjoux 7750 automatic chrono movement which runs at 4 hertz and has a power reserve of about 44 hours. David Bredon comments on the fact that in this watch at least, the movement is rather noisy, and I must say that in police and military work generally, I would have thought that a silent watch movement would be more appropriate. Bredan does like the fact that in this model, the running seconds register has been abandoned in favour of a two-register dial, and for me too, it is that combination of two large registers vertically positioned that makes this watch so very compelling. One disadvantage of the 7750 movement is its thickness, which obviously transfers to the thickness of the watch - 16.5mm. Fortunately, on a watch of this kind, a bit of extra thickness is not perhaps a critical matter.
Another view of the chronograph discussed in the text, again with the orange strap (pic from lastreplica.net):
Leaving aside the irritation about the noisy movement, David Bredan makes only one real criticism of this timepiece and that is about the lume. He complains that the lume is very poor, and wonders why MAT didn't go for C3 Super-Luminova. As for water resistance, this is at 200 metres - perhaps not a great figure in terms of today's dive watches but sufficient - and the crown is screw-down as is the caseback and the two chronograph buttons. Like other MAT watches, it can certainly be said that the firm's intention to keep prices reasonable while fulfilling the criteria of producing watches that contain quality craftsmanship and French traditional watchmaking values has been upheld by this watch, which is now priced at about US$3,150.
In conclusion, I myself am surprised that I have not come across MAT watches earlier. They are certainly an asset to the watch market, now that it is not a question of "members only" access to these well-built and attractive military watches.
