Limited Edition Monta Triumph in Military Green

Windup Watch Fair Chicago began on Friday. The US-based trade show – brought to you by Worn & Wound – hosts 50+ brands such as Oris, Citizen, Christopher Ward, and G-Shock. With no admission fees whatsoever, Windup Watch Fair is the perfect place to get hands on with your favorite watches, discover new brands, and meet the people behind the products. A familiar name on this year’s Windup roster is St. Louis-based Monta. If you’re familiar with Monta (or recently read my Oceanking review), you’ll know that the brand is owned by the same people behind Everest. In conjunction with Windup Watch Fair, Monta released a military green dial Triumph – the last of the watch’s first generation, limited to just 95 pieces. Let’s take a closer look at Monta’s latest offering.

Monta Triumph in Military Green

If you’ll remember, the Monta Triumph was released at Baselworld 2017. The Triumph is Monta’s take on the military field watch: high legibility, rugged design, no-frills philosophy. Immediately you’ll notice high-contrast arabic numerals and brushed finishing on a steel case. Fit with 150 meters of water resistance (thanks to its screw down crown), the Triumph is ready for whatever you might throw at it. Upon its release, the Triumph’s dial was available in black, grey, white, blue, and for a limited time, green. This original green color, while somewhat similar to the new military green hue, featured a sunray finish. This was a great-looking dial, but something about ‘sunray finish’ doesn’t scream ‘field watch’ to me. Luckily, Monta answered my prayers with the new military green Triumph. 

On Friday, Monta unveiled Triumph in military green. This lacquer dial features a flat finish (not quite matte) – a far more utilitarian look than the original green Triumph. The difference between flat and sunray isn’t superficial, a flat dial allows for easier legibility in many circumstances, particularly with white numerals/indices. As with most watches, you just need to see it in person to get the full experience. If you’re in Chicago, you can go see it today (July 16th) at the Monta booth at Windup Watch Fair.

Thoughts on the Military Green Monta Triumph

If I were to describe this watch in one word, it would be ‘cohesive’. The Triumph is already a stellar field watch. Without stubbornly adhering to early-mid-century design cues, the Monta Triumph tips its hat to the field watches we’ve known and loved for decades. It’s a breath of fresh air in a genre of watches that often feels repetitive (coming from a guy that wears a Hamilton Khaki Automatic almost every day). Complementing this design perfectly is the military green dial. Of course, field watches were designed and created for soldiers. . . in the field. Military green is a natural pairing with the silhouette. Green dials can often come across as loud or flashy, but the dark earthy tones of this dial are very subdued. It could easily be your everyday watch. 

To top it all off, this is the last production run of the first generation Triumph. While we have no idea what the second generation will look like (or when it will arrive), we know that this is a great watch. If you’re interested, I would act fast – the military green Triumph is limited to just 95 pieces.