The Vero Watch Company Smokey Bear 80th Edition - Only You

I woke up early on the 12th of December in 2019. Something didn’t feel right. ‍
For the past month my wife, baby son and I had been glued to the local weather channel, eagerly waiting for rain to come. It felt like it never would. That summer in eastern Australia we had one of the worst bushfire seasons on record. We lived right in the middle of it. For weeks I could barely see the end of the driveway. Thick smoke from burning eucalypt trees sat in the air like a weighted blanket and stung my throat as I breathed it in. Eventually, after a couple of weeks of no rain, we made the decision to evacuate and head to the coast. It was a scary time, and one I’m glad is behind me.

Bush fires are a big part of life in Australia. Our summers are hot and dry and our landscape is covered in flammable eucalypt. Although carefully controlled cultural burning can help manage the severity of the bushfire season, it’s still a scary place to be on a particularly dry and hot summer. Like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have done for centuries, all Australians have learnt to live alongside this great force of nature. It’s a part of us.

With bush fire prevention so close to my heart, I did a double take when I first saw the Smokey Bear 80th edition field watch from the Portland based Vero Watch Company. Bronze case, green dial, wildfire awareness cartoon bear, what’s not to like?

Who Is Smokey Bear?

As an Australian I didn’t have the privilege of growing up with Smokey, but somehow I always knew about him. Although I may have confused him with Yogi bear or Humphrey B. Bear, who knows.
Introduced in 1944 as a part of the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention campaign, Smokey was a symbol to all Americans on the importance of individual care and responsibility when preventing wildfires. He started as an illustrated bear, had a brief stint as a real life bear, and then settled as a slightly creepy, animated shirtless bear wearing a rangers hat.
Seeing some of the campaigns from the last 80 years has me yearning to get outside and experience the wilderness that he teaches people to protect. The national parks are calling.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Smokey, Vero released two special versions of their Smokey Bear field watch, the Forest Green and the Brilliant Blue. Both contribute a portion of their sale price to help fund the ongoing education and awareness efforts of wildfire prevention. Although it’s a little vague how much exactly, it’s a good cause.

I got hands on with the green dial and fell in love. Let’s go!

The Vero Smokey Bear 80th Edition

Ignoring the Smokey Bear affiliation for a moment, the field watch from Vero is one that will never garner too much attention from movement snobs or clout chasers. It’s more for the folk that lace up a pair of redwings in the morning and cover up with a waxed canvas jacket in the evening. That is to say, ‘outdoorsy types’. The watch that it reminds me of most Is the IWC Pilot Mark XX, but instead of being worn by wannabe aviators who’s wrists are too small for a Big Pilot (me), it’s worn by cattle farmers and campers who just want to be outside. It feels like a real watch for real people.
Exactly the kind of people that I would demolish a six pack with.

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A Bronze Case And A Bear On The Dial

In the short time I’ve had the Smokey Bear 80th Edition in hand, the surface of the case has started to darken with the oils of my fingers. This watch is in a constant state of change, and I’m not sure if Vero intended this, but it reminds me of the changing landscape after a wild fire. First it’s crisp and clear, then it’s darkened with heat and flames, and finally, green appears as new sprouts start to emerge from the blackened backdrop. It’s poetic, if a little fanciful.

To be a little more practical for a second, the case is a great size at 38mm and has a nice matte finish to contrast the polished bezel and crown. Thankfully Vero has also made the casebook bronze, there’s nothing worse than a patina’d case with a bright and shiny stainless steel back. You’ll survive a little green mark on your wrist, I promise. I’m looking at you Oris.

The Dial is a really nice textured green with printed numerals and markers. At 12 sits our man Smokey with his signature rangers hat and his romantic slogan ‘Only You’ just below. It’s just enough novelty to make it fun but not so much that it feels overdone and tacky. Hands are a cathedral set with enough Lume to see fireside, what more could you want?

Movement wise, the Smokey Bear is powered by a USA regulated Seiko NH38A automatic. It’s not a particularly interesting movement technically, but it has hacking seconds, manual winding and no annoying phantom date change position. The NH series of movements are the Toyota Land Cruisers of the watch world. Not particularly pretty, but tough enough to get you out there, and get you home.

Once every month or so I get tired of the watch industry and want to shut myself off for a while. The prices, the exclusivity, the exclusion. It all wears away at me with the perseverance of a fire ripping through a forest. The Vero Smokey Bear 80th Edition, and all Vero watches really, are a breath of fresh air and exactly what I want to turn to when I need a reset. Not just because they are affordable, but because they don’t take themselves too seriously and can make me smile more than a watch with a few more zeros in the price.
Sometimes I just want to have fun and wearing something with a bronze case, a green dial and cartoon bear at 12 is just what the doctor ordered.

Great watch, great cause, great fun.

Cya in the next one and remember, only you can prevent wild fires! X

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