I’m willing to make a bet with you all: field watches will never disappear. Because when you think of it, from a functionality standpoint, field watches were the same as the first wrist-worn timepieces: simple with three hands to tell the time, although not as elegant. But I could also argue this latter point by just looking at the plethora of watches which came to light from the 1920s through the 1960s and beyond. (One of my all-time favorite timepieces being the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm which I define as being the stereotypical debonair explorer watch.) As we all know, what is simple stays, and I would further say, what is timeless well, never ages. (Duh!) Akin to a classic garment, jazz, or bangs. (I swear, bangs never really go out of style!) So field watches have been around since World War I (1914-1918 in case you forgot) and are still in style in 2024—110 years later. 

So it is normal to see contemporary watch brands create their own versions of field/exploration watches as it is within human nature to still want to explore and accomplish big things, thousands of years later. (Here I’m referring to the first migrations of our ancestors through which they populated many corners of the earth.) And it’s interesting to see that although we’ve already explored so much of our planet, we believe it is a good idea to continue doing so because we humans are meant to discover every square-inch of it. So, until we find ourselves doing the same thing on the Moon or Mars, we do want a good field watch and I have one for you: the Charlie Paris Grande Randonnée (GR) Quartz 24H. This review is a follow-up to this one in which we took a look at the mecaquartz chronograph variant of the GR. 

Specifications

Being released in 2024, it would be normal for anyone to assume the Charlie Paris GR Quartz 24H was given modern dimensions. And one would be correct: 39mm in diameter, 45mm lug-to-lug, 9mm thick and coming with a 20mm lug width. These dimensions have become for today what a 32mm field watch was 80 years ago—the standard. Because whenever we talk about a modern field watch we do indeed expect to see a diameter ranging 37-40mm. So if you don’t like smaller watches then you will certainly appreciate the dimensions of the GR Quartz 24H. And you will also appreciate the extensive spec sheet this model comes with, starting with 100m meters of water resistance (push/pull crown but screw-down case-back), domed sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating, and a perfectly finished case. 

The movement inside is a Seiko VH60 sweep-second quartz where the seconds hand ticks four times per second instead of one time per second as found on regular quartz movements. The VH60 has a stated battery life of 2 years and comes with 24-hour sub-dial at the six. Think Rolex Explorer II where the fourth hand was not initially intended to be a GMT hand but one which indicates whether it is daytime or nighttime. (Quick story: the Explorer II was created for speleologists, you know the insane people who explore caves.) So finding this type of complication on a field watch does make sense even though yes, one can tell whether or not it’s time for lunch or dinner by simply looking outside the window—except if you spend your winters in the Northernmost corners of Northern Europe. 

Design

The Charlie Paris Grande Randonnée Quartz 24H has a similar design as the one found on the mecaquartz chronograph. An almost full stack of raised hour markers (the one at the six o’clock was replaced by a small triangle pointing up) which bring the field/explorer watch vibes;  polished baton-style hour and minute hands, and a needle-shaped seconds hand complemented by an arrow-shaped apparatus; a fully graduated minute track where the five minute increments are highlighted with whole Arabic numerals (for example the “5” is preceded by a “0” to make it look pretty and balanced.) While I prefer brushed hands on field watches, I do appreciate the fact that Charlie Paris matched the finishing on the hands to that of the case and, I would further advance, to the semi-matte dial. (The latter has a light sandy texture.) 

Although one can get the Grande Randonnée Quartz 24H on a two-piece nylon strap, I would suggest taking a look at the five-link stainless steel bracelet which matches this model oh so well. In particular, the fact that the thin center links are fully polished which makes the GR look phenomenally elegant whether you are hiking in the mountains or parasailing on the French Riviera. Field/exploration watches typically don’t come with bracelets but I think they should now as much as they should have in the past. The bracelet, which is also available for the mecaquartz chronograph, endows this model with great versatility which matches the spec sheet and overall design. (Perhaps the type of watch Ian Fleming would have worn should he had been born French and two generations later.) 

Belonging to the same collection as the GR chrono, the Quartz 24H has the same sublime case design and finish. And although I’ve already talked about it in the other review I shall talk about it again here. Seen from the side, the case has a thin, elegant profile displaying horizontally brushed surfaces above which we find thin, mirror-like polished chamfers. The star of the show here are the short and angular lugs which give the Quartz 24H a “I’m ready for any fucking adventure” kind of vibes. Strangely enough, the 24-hour sub-register also gives me these kinds of vibes and that’s what I find fascinating about this collection: from a specifications perspective, the Grande Randonnée is robust; from a visual perspective, they mostly look elegant though they are ultra legible. 

The Heart of the Matter

This brings us to the heart of the matter here. You don’t know how much this model retails for, I do, and I’m about to tell you. But first look at all of what the Grande Randonnée Quartz 24H has to offer—how the case is designed and finished, how well-proportioned the dial is, and try to imagine how much you should pay for it. Can you imagine? Well, would you be surprised if I were to tell you that you could acquire one of these for the meager sum of $320 USD? That’s the pre-order price whilst the full retail will be $353—still quite reasonable, And to the spec sheet and quality of finish you should add the humble heritage Charlie Paris has for having been in the business for more than a decade, something that could or not matter to you. And I would add that 10 years feels like a lot of years to have gone through in our flimsy economy. 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed that brands tend to travel up market and not down. As they grow, they need to hire more people to manage the business so they need to earn more. Generally, this means removing more dollars from your bank account for a watch and this is when the word “value” takes on a whole different meaning. (Though “value” is a subjective matter.) So I’m pleased to see how Charlie Paris is evolving and what it’s done here: whilst the brand is going up market with some of its collections, it’s also going down by offering quality, affordable tool watches such as the Grande Randonnée. (Take a look at the Concordia (LINK) line up for more robust and pricier tool watches.) This means one can get on the Charlie Paris bandwagon at various price points. I like that. 

Conclusion 

As we’ve seen with the mecaquartz chronograph, the Quartz 24H has a lot to offer in terms of specs and design. I love mechanical movements and I equally love a good quartz one, so the choice of calibers for the Grande Randonnée makes sense to keep the price down and to make it easier for anyone to add a tool watch to their collection—or perhaps just to get a first one. And if buying from a French brand is important to you, then you should know that Charlie Paris is the only brand from my home country which currently offers quality tool watches at reasonable prices. So please take a moment to visit Charlie Paris’ website to see the entire line up for the Grande Randonnée.

Thanks for reading.