Ares “Liberty” Field - 1 Global Mission Timer
Author’s Note:
This watch was provided to me by Ares watches for the purpose of this review. I have owned several Ares watches over the years. I am a big fan of the brand and Matt Graham is someone I consider to be a dear friend. I will, as always, endeavour to remain as unbiased and objective as I can for this article in order to convey the best sense of this timepiece to you, the reader.
Introduction:
If you’ve been around the SBWC for the last while, you will know that Ares is no stranger to the club. We have covered several models from their catalog, toured Ares HQ, and recently have done a limited run of collaborative pieces with the brand. Ares and the SBWC are tight and we will always be here to support them and encourage people who love tactical watches and want to purchase from American brands run by American families that produce made in America products. If you want more history on Ares Watch co, their values as a company, their HQ or some pieces from their catalog, then peruse the back long of the SBWC field entries on our site.
Regarding the Ares “Liberty” Field - 1 Global Mission Timer (Just “Liberty GMT” henceforth), this watch marks not just an evolution of Ares’ catalog and designs but also the beginning of a new era for the brand. The Liberty along with its sister model, the "Independence GMT”. Ares explains the two new models on their site as the following:
- Buy In to Build In – Two American mission timers with one goal: complete sovereignty in American watchmaking.
- Liberty GMT – The American Timer
Built on our precision-turned, solid-bar-stock Field case, Liberty funds the machines, tooling, and capability to bring case machining, dial printing, and final assembly fully under one roof. - Every Liberty purchase puts your name on our machines — a permanent mark on the tools that will build the future of ARES.
- Independence GMT – The American Factory
- Built on our Diver platform, Independence funds the acquisition of our permanent home base — securing the property that will house our manufacturing for decades to come.
- Every Independence purchase puts your name in our floor — literally set into the foundation of our facility.”
So as you can see from the above description, these pieces are about more than just another watch. They are about the future of Ares Watch Co and the role the owners of these watches get to play in that story. So with all that being said, let’s take a deeper look at the Liberty GMT.
Packaging:
Ares has always done a great job with packaging and presentation, the Liberty GMT is no exception to that. All automatic Field -1s come in a Pelican RUCK 20 with a custom plate on it featuring your name, serial number and model of timer. For my Liberty GMT, I opted to check out their newest packaging and shine a light on that. This time Ares has upped the ante with a new watch roll courtesy of ESSTAC, and a custom grenade canister style packaging. Clean, simple, and matches the brand and type of watch that you are buying. It feels like packaging that is directly tied to the entity of the brand and history of the people behind it. Inside the roll you find the Liberty GMT, and in my instance, a black LASH strap (one of my favourite fabric straps of all time) and one of Ares’ FKM rubber straps (seriously nice). When you open up the packaging and look at your watch for the first time it feels like it is ready to hit the ground running. Like it was just parachuted down to you via a supply drop in the middle of a hot zone. It’s functional story telling.
Case:
The case of the Liberty GMT is precision machined from 316L solid-bar-stock steel in Ogden, UT. It is then bead blasted by hand and then either left with that “Urban” finish or then DLC coated should you want the Liberty GMT in “Deep Black”. The 41mm case feels planted and squat and indestructible. In some ways, the roundness of the case with it’s short lugs reminds me of a Seiko Tuna in the sense that it is puck-like and cylindrical. It is extremely comfortable and wearable and feels ready for anything you can put it through. The roundness of the case is something that definitely feels unique to Ares and to the watch itself. I’ve never quite seen something like it. Here are the impressive case specs of the watch from Ares’ site:
- 41.0mm single piece case with individually serialized, engraved, solid case back with screwback construction
- 42.0mm fixed bezel
- 49.5mm lug to lug 22mm drilled lugs with 1.8mm shoulder less spring bars, supplied with a Deep Black ARES Rubber strap with matching hardware
- 10 o’clock ‘fat head’ 7.2mm logo’d screw down crown, featuring aggressive ‘no slip’ teeth and double Viton seals:
- 13.3mm overall thickness
- 3.3oz total weight with LASH strap
The classic red anodized crown of the Liberty GMT is signed and located at the 10 o'clock position to avoid jamming into the back of your hand, being knocked and damaged or interfering with your gear. The 22mm lugs are also something to note. They are unique in their execution and different from the lugs found on the Diver-1 models. The Lugs are rounded on their inside corners instead of attached via an acute angle. I feel like this was an intentional design choice to compliment the roundness of the case and highlights the type of attention to detail that Ares is known for with their watches. The Liberty GMT’s case is also tested to 350M. This makes it the deepest rated field watch that I can think of off the top of my head and is no doubt an impressive feat and no doubt a testament to the Viton gaskets that Ares uses as well as the fine machining of their cases.
The crystal of the Liberty GMT is also something to point out. It is beautifully domed with a nicely rounded edge. It features an internal anti-reflective coating and great visibility with minimal distortion. It gives the watch a slightly vintage inspired feel but also provides a bit of luxury to an otherwise very utilitarian piece. Ares didn't have to give this watch such a nice crystal, but they did and I appreciate that.
The caseback of the Liberty GMT is tightly screwed down and features a sapphire display window that shows off the nicely decorated ETA 2893-2 movement. Lasered around the perimeter of the case back is your serial number, the model name of the watch, and the 300m depth rating. Each Liberty GMT is tested to the following specs:
- Individually tested and certified, fully assembled, to 35BAR = 350M.
- Anti-magnetic rating 18.8Oe, shock resistant to NIHS-91-10 standards, and thermo-compensated -0 to 50+ C
The ETA 2893-2 is a bullet-proof tried and tested movement built upon the ETA 2892 movement that has been in production for decades. It features a “caller” style GMT complication and a date. This movement is robust, well tested and reliable. Additionally, it is easily serviced.
Dial, Hands & Lume:
As with every Ares pretty much ever made…it should come as no surprise that the Liberty GMT has incredible lume. The brass dial is painted and then has several layers of C3 Super LumiNova applied to the numbers, inner GMT ring and red GMT hand, stainless steel hour minute and second hand and Ares logo at 12 o’clock. As a whole, the lume is applied to fully enhance the watches usability in low light settings, even including the GMT function. This is something that you don’t tend to see often and it’s a nice touch. The combination of a high contrast black and white dial, red GMT hand, and well lumed sword hands make for a highly readable and clean dial. There is minimal text aside from the Ares name under the logo and the model and depth rating. All the text is captured inside the circle of the GMT dial within the main dial. It creates a neat “circle within a circle” visual that is very pleasing to the eye. The GMT hand is the perfect length to hit the hour markings of the inner dial and maximize accurate time zone reading. Ares has nicely nestled the date window at 4:30 on the dial in a way that is non intrusive to the eye and does not replace or remove any of the dial digits. It blends into the busy flurry of numbers on the dial and is there simply when you need it. Ares also matched the date wheel to the black dial which is always a nice touch.
Something I wanted to touch on personally as it pertains to the “Liberty’s” dial. I love this style of GMT. It is clean and simple and it keeps everything contained to the dial. I am not a fan of rotating external GMT bezels. It is pretty infrequent that you need to track a 3rd time zone and would rather opt for a dive bezel or mission timing bezel to have a different timing option. I think what Ares has achieved here is something that looks phenomenal, with a unique DNA that is true to the brand, and is highly functional without being cluttered. This is a big win.
Made in America & Final thoughts:
Once again we have arrived at the end of another Ares review courtesy of Rico. As always, it comes as no surprise I am sure that I have nothing but glowing things to say about Ares, Matt, and the watches he makes. I really love Ares watches and what they manage to achieve with the watches they make. In a time when brands are mass producing watches in China for low cost, slapping swiss made on the dial and an unregulated off the shelf movement, Ares is striving to do better. They make their cases and assemble them in the USA, put regulated and tested swiss movements in their watches, and go to the ends of the world to serve their customers with one of if not the best warranty in the business. Don’t like tariffs? Buy an Ares, they're assembled right at home in Washington. Ares is a multigenerational run and managed family company that is here to serve those who serve, and those who like great watches. Buying a “Liberty” Field-1 GMT helps you support all that.
If you want a GMT that has an identity of its own and is built to last and survive all that you throw at it, then look no further than the Ares “Liberty” Field-1 GMT.
-Rico