So my first (and I hope only) purchase of 2022 has arrived: a Kuoe Old Smith. I don't know a ton about Kuoe but they are a microbrand in Kyoto, producing military-inspired field watches. I've thought for a while that a smallish, low-profile field watch would suit me well, and when ads this popped up on social media, I fell in love with the green dial. I had looked at some other field watched but either they didn't have a date window, were too expensive, or too big. (The exception is the Hamilton Khaki 38mm, which was my other option.) The price seemed reasonable so I ordered it: I did include some extra money to upgrade from mineral crystal to sapphire glass. That brought it to about US $400 altogether.
The watch arrived in a brown box, tucked into a nice cloth bag (although I note the bag was made in India.)
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The watch is on a light green NATO, and a second, black NATO was included.
The case is polished all around but the finishing is nothing special -- as you would expect at this price. It seems solid enough but nothing fancy. I knew its a bit tall, and the domed crystal add to that. Its only 35mm across with 18mm lugs, so the tallness really stands out. Kuoe gives the watch height as 12mm; watchspec.com says the crystal accounts for almost 3mm of that, which is possible. It is a screw-down crown and rated to 100m, so should be pretty durable, especially with the addition of the sapphire glass.
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On my 7 inch wrist the watch looks good; the small size gives it a nice retro military feel. I was underwhelmed by the green dial at first, the texture of the dial isn't as obvious in real life as it was in the photos on Kuoe's website; but the more I wear it the more I like it. In the right light it takes on a rich, deep green hue. The cream-colored hands look fabulous to my eyes, and complement the green perfectly. There is lume on the hands and on the pips at each hour. The lume quality is not great; I woke up around 2am (after turning the light off around 11pm) and had the presence of mind to check the lume, and it had faded 100%. So not perfect for a camping trip when you might wake up in the middle of the night and want to know the time; but when I go camping I always take my Timex Expedition anyway, so not a big deal. The date window is very small, which helps the dial balance but isn't perfect for someone who is on the cusp of needing bifocals. But I really need a date window. In researching this watch I saw a few photos of Kuoe watches where the dial painting showed some obvious flaws but this one looks great. There are a few little imperfect touches, like the way the paint seems almost too-thickly applied in the lettering, that just add to its character.
I've had it on my wrist or bedside table for 24 hours now and the NH35 movement is running at PERFECT accuracy. It has not gained or lost a second since I set it! I don't expect that to last, mechanical movements in my experience do drift as they settle in, but I'm sure it will be more than acceptable whatever happens. Setting it did show some slop in the mechanism, with the hands jumping around a bit as you tried to set things, but I gather that's normal for this movement.
All in all, I'm very pleased with this timepiece. The case finishing is no better than what you'd expect at this price point and I'm sorry the lume isn't better, but the dial is a real beauty and the accuracy is a bonus. Compared to the Hamilton Khaki its a bit taller, and I suspect the Hammy has a better-finished case, but here its all about the dial.
![Image]()
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The watch arrived in a brown box, tucked into a nice cloth bag (although I note the bag was made in India.)
The watch is on a light green NATO, and a second, black NATO was included.
The case is polished all around but the finishing is nothing special -- as you would expect at this price. It seems solid enough but nothing fancy. I knew its a bit tall, and the domed crystal add to that. Its only 35mm across with 18mm lugs, so the tallness really stands out. Kuoe gives the watch height as 12mm; watchspec.com says the crystal accounts for almost 3mm of that, which is possible. It is a screw-down crown and rated to 100m, so should be pretty durable, especially with the addition of the sapphire glass.
On my 7 inch wrist the watch looks good; the small size gives it a nice retro military feel. I was underwhelmed by the green dial at first, the texture of the dial isn't as obvious in real life as it was in the photos on Kuoe's website; but the more I wear it the more I like it. In the right light it takes on a rich, deep green hue. The cream-colored hands look fabulous to my eyes, and complement the green perfectly. There is lume on the hands and on the pips at each hour. The lume quality is not great; I woke up around 2am (after turning the light off around 11pm) and had the presence of mind to check the lume, and it had faded 100%. So not perfect for a camping trip when you might wake up in the middle of the night and want to know the time; but when I go camping I always take my Timex Expedition anyway, so not a big deal. The date window is very small, which helps the dial balance but isn't perfect for someone who is on the cusp of needing bifocals. But I really need a date window. In researching this watch I saw a few photos of Kuoe watches where the dial painting showed some obvious flaws but this one looks great. There are a few little imperfect touches, like the way the paint seems almost too-thickly applied in the lettering, that just add to its character.
I've had it on my wrist or bedside table for 24 hours now and the NH35 movement is running at PERFECT accuracy. It has not gained or lost a second since I set it! I don't expect that to last, mechanical movements in my experience do drift as they settle in, but I'm sure it will be more than acceptable whatever happens. Setting it did show some slop in the mechanism, with the hands jumping around a bit as you tried to set things, but I gather that's normal for this movement.
All in all, I'm very pleased with this timepiece. The case finishing is no better than what you'd expect at this price point and I'm sorry the lume isn't better, but the dial is a real beauty and the accuracy is a bonus. Compared to the Hamilton Khaki its a bit taller, and I suspect the Hammy has a better-finished case, but here its all about the dial.
I wonder how many others complained about the weak lume. Kuoe, if you're reading this, how about upgrading me???
