WH Wrist

Vero Workhorse Chronograph Long Term Review

A Tribute to Matt Smith-Johnson

Note: Our very own Will, not the badass scuba diving Will, but the Will who owns and operates this site, wrote an extensive and far less humorous review of the Workhorse when it was released. You can read it here only after reading my article because mine is far superior. Seriously though, read his review; he covers things like the watch’s specifications. In the interest of time (pause), I will not be covering ground that has already been so heavily trodden upon – that was not a fat joke where I was calling the owner and operator of this site… fat.

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Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, you are in for a treat today. We will be going over Vero’s fantastic Workhorse Chronograph and how it has performed over many months, and we are also going to be giving you some insight into the most talented watch designer working today. His name is Matt Smith-Johnson (MSJ) and working with Vero’s founder Chris Bourdreaux has resulted in the most unique watch coming in well under the $1000 price point. The only other designer that comes to mind who continually produces unique watches that could also easily be considered works of art is Autodormo’s founder, Bradley Price (pictured below).

Price

So, as we explore how this timepiece performed and go into great detail, we will also take a trip down memory lane while looking at some of Mr. Smith-Johnson’s previous works to get a glimpse into one of the brightest minds in watch design today.

Let’s Go!!!

MSJ Main

The Strap

Let’s get this out of the way. I despise marketing and products that are geared towards people who use the word adventure for picnics or hikes in an urban park. With hindsight, you can look back on an adventure and be grateful that you came out the other side with all or one of your digits (hands, feet, or otherwise) still intact. That being said, the Vero Workhorse Chronograph is just the type of watch I chose to wear on occasions when returning with my eyebrows unsinged, which was not guaranteed.

First, the custom Velcro strap is simply delightful in the field. It still looks new after a few months of wear and straight-up abuse. The fabric takes on sweat, blood, tears, mud, dirt, and even feces well, and it’s also easy to clean – just in case you are not fond of having a blood and poop-soaked strap on your person. The details remind me of another watch Mr. Smith-Johnson designed – the Fallout video game-inspired Laco RAD-AUX. With the Laco, Matt did an extremely deep dive into the post-apocalyptic video game world of Fallout. He developed that strap with the in-game architecture, art, clothing, and even weapons. He not only managed to make a stunning strap that genuinely looks like it belongs on the wrist of a gang boss in a Mad Maxx movie, but it is also the most comfortable bund strap ever made!

Laco

The one detail that is a joy to view and to use is the rubber grip. It provides ample purchase for your adventuring mud-soaked hands to adjust as you splinter your broken wrist while drop-kicking a fleet of feral mountain goats. The material used reminds me of the vinyl materials used in vintage cars. This will come back later in this article, and what better time than now to get into this.

WH Rubber Strap

That Dial, Oh Baby That Dial

So, in a private conversation I did not get permission to quote (this article will be a surprise for Matt), Mr. Smith-Johnson said that the stamped rims of old sport utility vehicles inspired the dimples and the gradually sloping center of the dial. You know, vintage Land Rovers from when driving was dangerous, and so were relations with other humans? Yeah, back when men were men like they are today, but without crushing mortgages that spanned an entire human’s life span.

WH EDC

When you find yourself suffering from heat stroke in the Sahel after failing to secure your tomb-raiding treasures, the visual interest of this dial will make you forget about the circling vultures overhead and the multiple human rights atrocities happening in your every direction.

The color variant I decided to purchase is called the “Track Day,” as someone who has done track days in the past, I have absolutely nothing to contribute to this dead-end sentence. However, the Track Day is missing the dimples from BackCountry version. Instead, like the Canyon, we get two colors bordering the dial, which help bring life to the viewing experience. This design touch calls to mind the trio of A. 5s that MSJ designed for Seals. Would I have liked both the colors and the dimples? Why yes, yes, I would have, for we all love dimples. If you do not like dimples, who hurt you, where do they live, and do they have any nut allergies?

SealsA5

Where was I? Yes, Dimples.

Mr. Smith-Johnson’s work with Dietrich Watches on the TC Pure timepieces showed how great of a designer he is; the dial speaks volumes about this. Working with a legendary designer like Emmanuel Dietrich, MSJ being given the green light to design these two watches foreshadows his approach with the Workhorse. Sure, dimples surround the dial, but instead of using the graduated slope as in the Vero, MSJ utilized character lines as indices that drew one’s eyes to the center of the watch. And what lies at the center of the watch? Raise your hands if you know the answer.

Dietrich

Them Hands Are Not Just for Throwing, They’re Also There to… Tell the Time

Since the Workhorse is a new and unique design, MSJ was not constrained to a parts bin or design language set in stone like my opinions on people who are “picky eaters.” Seriously, if you are a picky eater, I only pity you and your very sad existence, which only infects the lives of those closest to you. However, there is a direct lineage to other watches by Vero in the hands. Like the other MSJ-designed watch, the Meridian, and to a lesser extent, the Open Water series of dive watches, there is a familial resemblance among the brand’s offerings. This is incredibly hard to do for a new brand without copying admired designs by others from the past.

Meridian

The hour and minute hands are elongated rectangles, which provide ultimate legibility for the times you made the wrong decision to take the mist-filled fork in the road that led to darkness on your left instead of the sunny double-rainbowed option on your right. Why do you make these bad decisions? Who knows, but it certainly does not make you more interesting at parties.

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These hands are contrasted by the running seconds and 60-minute chronograph sub-register hands. These hands are adorable and chunky triangles. They add a little playfulness to the design and some tension as the running seconds fundamentally change the balance of the dial, as long as the crown is not pulled out or if the battery still has some juice.

The Workhorse was the Case that They Gave Me

The contrast theme does not stop with the hands, not just with the Workhorse itself, but with the entire watch industry. Where brands from all price categories are focused on providing you, dear reader/insufferable consumer, the toughest case finishes, Mr. Bordreux and Mr. Smith-Johnson took a different path. Those vintage-inspired bullhorns on the Workhorse do not provide much-added protection for the sapphire crystal, which, unlike you, has no problem handling itself in a scuffle. You are a soft and squishy human; they were intentionally designed to show wear. Whether you are fighting a bouncer who did not let you into the club because you are not handsome enough, or if you reached a little too deep into your coral-filled fish tank for some unspecified reason, these bullhorns will scar, giving you instant access to memories of your… adventures.

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I tried to damage the cera-coat on the main case, but like most friends, it came back unscathed and happy as ever to see my delightful and perfectly symmetrical face.

In Operation It Is Delightfully Funky

As Will, aka Watch Clicker, mentioned in his inferior review, the movement of the Workhorse was rotated 180 degrees, which resulted in an opposite chronograph orientation that quickly becomes second nature – much like your family lying convincingly to your face about the quality of your cooking.

WH Pushers Crown

The grippy Start/Stop and Reset buttons resemble a vintage car’s brake and accelerator pedals. At the same time, the screw-in crown and the buttery-smooth internal bezel crown (which also screws in) resemble vintage rims on trucks. For those of you who own a new or old Ford Bronco or Toyota Land Cruiser, this watch would look perfect with your car.

The spirit of adventuring from the before times, from before satellite phones and GPS, captivates us soft modern normies. The Workhorse taps into this but provides a product that simply kicks arse in the field.

Final Thoughts

The Vero Workhorse is a truly unique timepiece. This is not something that you can say that often at any price point. Every category is filled with homages to watches made from the same or different brands, and no one truly takes risks and comes out on top with the frequency that Matt Smith-Johnson does. Most of the audience of this site consider themselves connoisseurs of watches. To those of you who fall into this category, you owe it to yourself to add a Workhorse to your collection and wear it on your next “adventure.” Whether that adventure has you hanging off a cliff or shuttling your shopping cart through the dense crowds at a Costco on a Saturday afternoon, the Workhorse will make you smile with every glance.
Furthermore, it will take a beating without concern. It was designed to look better the more you use it. What other watch could you say the same about?

This watch has looked terrific in every single colorway thus far. This includes the three from Vero and their beautiful and vibrant collaboration with Worn and Wound’s ADPT. Bring the conversation back to cars; a successful design for a car usually results in it looking beautiful in every color. This is because there is nowhere for the design to hide. The Workhorse is just such a design.

Lastly, since I have been incredibly complimentary to the extremely handsome Matt Smith-Johnson, here is an embarrassing photograph of him from WindUp NYC 2019.

MSJ Embarassing
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