Review: the DWC Terra

What happens when a watch goes viral? Well, besides the obvious – everyone sees them, everyone buys them, second hand prices go crazy – you know the deal. That’s exactly what happened with the DWC Terra – a unique take on the field watch by the small Indian brand, Delhi Watch Co. Military-inspired field watches out there have their charm, but they all tend to blend in. For good reason too – they’re built to a military specification that calls out for case size, dial markings, and beyond — generally sticking to a formula that makes sense when it needs to be as standard as a uniform. That’s where the DWC Terra takes a huge turn. It’s a field watch, but looks more like something that would be at home on the wrist of one of the deep space truckers in Alien than it does something that’d be worn down here on Earth. They stick to the classic field watch simplicity, but the package represents something new that we’ve never seen before in the watch world. Let’s take a closer look at this interesting, affordable, and unique take on the field watch.

In case you missed it, this watch has a pretty fair amount of hype going around it. Sold out in a flash with Ticketmaster-style online queues that were thousands long, the Terra made a pretty big impact when it hit the market. DWC is short for Delhi Watch Company — a small brand based out of Delhi, India that focuses on watches with unique designs at a reasonable price point. The Terra hits both of those with ease.

Case

You may be wondering, what does a 32 x 44mm watch even look like? Well, it’s not traditional. That’s for sure. The Terra is unapologetically rectangular. It’s 32mm wide by 44mm tall with not a hint of curvature to be found. I really don’t think this watch would work had it been any bigger. The rectangle is just small enough to sit on top of my 6.75” wrist with minimal overhang. Lugs? Where we’re going, we don’t need no lugs. Just some carabiner-inspired cuts made into the case itself. With alternating openings on each side, you simply slip a strap through the slot and off you go. The Terra was offered in a limited edition of 5500 units, rendered in a textured titanium material. A larger batch in sandblasted stainless steel was also offered on pre-order, but have since sold out. Either way, both metals are a good look. The titanium leans darker and more grey, while the stainless version is a brighter silver. 

This watch is interesting in its simplicity. There’s not a whole lot of finishing going on, there are minimal (zero?) curves, and the features are kept to a bare minimum. The only hint of decoration is the angled slots cut into the case that go all the way through. I like this little touch, as it adds some visual appeal and keeps things interesting while remaining rather simple. A nice, domed Schott glass crystal tops off the dial, while a simple stainless steel case back protrudes out the back a few millimeters. Pictures here are really worth a thousand words (honestly, maybe even more). 

On the right side of the case, you’ll find a push down crown at 3 o’clock that’s inset just a little bit, giving the crown some protection from bumps. The crown itself is angular with several flat surfaces. It reminded me of the crown on the AP Royal Oak. No, I’m not comparing a $50 field watch to an AP, but that’s the first thing that came to mind.  

With the initial batches being built on borrowed water jet equipment, then moving to contracted wire EDM cutting, and eventually full CNC machining for the larger preorder batch, DWC is aiming to bring production of case components completely in-house in subsequent batches of the Terra. The brand informed me that they have strong domestic interest in the India market, but nothing for DWC has taken off internationally quite as strong as the Terra. 

Dial + Hands

The dial is about as field watch as it gets. An hour track runs around the outside marking 1-12, while smaller numerals towards the center run from 13-24. The branding is super minimal, which I appreciate when there’s not a whole lot of free space on the dial to go around. The brand’s name, Delhi Watch Company is in small text at the top just outside the minute track, while the model name, Terra, rests just below the center of the dial. A set of brushed syringe hands tell the time, while an orange-tipped seconds hand ticks its way around the dial. Rendered in a pale yellow color, the printed indices and minute track are easy to read against the base black dial. There’s what DWC is calling “vintage Japanese lume” applied to the hands and main set of numerals. It’s not particularly bright and doesn’t last all that long, but it’s decent. Not great, not terrible.

Movement

Inside the Terra, you’ll find a quartz Miyota GL32 movement. It’s a slim quartz movement with three hands and no date complication. They’re rated for +/- 20 seconds per month and should last somewhere around 3 years on a single battery. The movement is small, affordable, and certainly fits the use case and price of the Terra nicely. No complaints here. 

Strap + Wearability

Perhaps the most interesting part about the Terra is the rectangular case and how it wears on wrist. The “lugs” don’t curve down towards your wrist, there’s nothing about the case shape that should work on a human wrist, but it does. I think that’s largely due to the overall sizing. The watch isn’t all that big, and that allows for the rectangular shape to be fully contained by most wrists. When I think of rectangular watches, the first thing to come to mind is the Cartier Tank. Another watch that’s a bit curvier, but is still largely rectangular. The Terra measures in at 32mm x 44mm, while the Tank XL measures in at 31mm x 41mm. They’re pretty close in size, proving that there’s enough justification in the market for a rectangular watch to be wearable enough to actually sell some units. The main difference between the two is the dial. While the rectangular dial on the Cartier takes up most of the real estate on the top of the watch, the DWC’s is limited to a small circle, letting more of the case be seen. Again, I’m not comparing a $50 field watch from a 5 year old brand to a $5000+ luxury watch directly. They both happen to be wearable rectangles that tell the time. Ultimately, the sizing of the DWC is what makes it wearable, but there is a caveat. 

The strap connects to the watch by way of two slots cut directly into the case. They’re more akin to a fixed lug than a traditional spring bar setup. This does make pairing a strap to the watch a bit difficult and does limit the options that you have. I’d say that anything outside of a custom two piece strap will not work. The holes for spring bars in traditional straps are MUCH smaller than the lug openings on the DWC and physically will not work. While the DWC will work with mil-strap style nylon straps, I would advise being careful about which one you choose. Thicker and/or stiffer straps will have a hard time running underneath the watch and then curving up and around the chunky, straight lugs. The result with a thicker strap has what I call the seagull effect. Bear with me, we’re coining new terms here. When you look at the watch from the side, the strap arches up and around the lugs, back down towards your wrist, looking like a crude drawing of a seagull. Really, the thicker strap just makes the watch wear worse. 

Good news though, the watch comes with a thin, stretchy, flexible fabric strap that works really well with the lug shape. I also really like these knock off Garmin straps from Amazon that I wear on my CWC all the time. They’re similar to the Apple Watch Sport bands with a velcro closure. At around $20 for three straps, you can’t beat the price and comfort. 

Conclusion

Coming in at just under $50, the Terra represents what I believe to be one of the most unique watches of the past several years at a price point that almost seems impossible. $50 barely gets you a G-Shock these days, and it’s impressive that DWC is able to achieve this level of cool at such an attainable price point. Getting one is a different story though. With initial batches long sold out and a closed pre-order, DWC is currently playing catch up. They’re working hard behind the scenes to prepare to ship over 30,000 watches to customers and are building out their internal QC and shipping teams to achieve the task. 

The story of the DWC Terra is impressive. A small brand making a very affordable, truly unique watch. They’re definitely worth keeping an eye on going forward, I know they’ve got my attention. If the Terra was a bit easier to buy, adding one to your collection would be a no-brainer. DWC