It’s hard to believe, but Astor+Banks has been around since 2012. That means the brand has seen the incredibly rapid growth of the microbrand watch scene from the inside, and has also been around for some of the bumps in the road that naturally occur as any community expands and changes. Their longevity in the industry is easy to understand when you zoom out and look at how brand founder Andrew Perez has positioned his brand over these last several years, with a series of thoughtful, consistent releases that build on each other gradually. The latest, the Terra Scout, is a new take on the classic field watch as seen through A+B’s perspective, which increasingly involves heavy doses of lume and a more unapologetically contemporary vibe.
New takes on the field watch are always a bit of a gamble. It’s such a durable and simple platform, if you make too many changes or adjustments, you begin to bury the very nature of what it’s supposed to be. But it’s also kind of boring to simply recreate the same format over and over again. Recently, I’ve appreciated Aera’s bizarro take on the genre in their M-1 Blackbird, and the Terra Scout reminds me of that watch somewhat. Not in its aesthetic (it’s clearly completely different) but in approach. That’s very intentional on Perez’s part. “I like to get feedback at shows like WindUp and wear the watch for a while before I decide to bring it to market,” he told me over email. “In this case, it took longer than expected as I mostly wanted to make sure I wasn’t just designing your traditional field watch which plenty of brands already do well.” Perez also mentioned that the launch of the Terra Scout was set back a bit by the tariff confusion of last year.
The first thing you notice about the Terra Scout is that it’s quite a bit busier visually than a standard issue field watch, thanks primarily to the multi tiered dial and the prominent date track in the dial’s interior. This simple display has a roving colored indicator passing around the track’s circumference to indicate the current date, which is an extremely intuitive solution that neutralizes date window drama, even as it perhaps introduces additional concerns about clutter. If that is a concern, the Terra Scout will likely not be for you, but I like the instrument-like presentation and feel as if it suits the piece rather nicely.
The construction of the dial is in three layers, with a minute track visible at the outermost perimeter, a top layer providing the upper part of the “sandwich” style construction, and a bottom layer that holds everything together. This slightly more complex dial execution allows for some truly impressive lume. The white dial is fully lumed, with the lower layer in black displaying hours through apertures in the shape of batons and Arabic numerals in the cardinal positions. The black dial’s lower layer, by contrast, is lumed, which creates the opposite effect.
There are three case executions: a desert sand Cerakote (with a white dial, and limited to 100 pieces), sandblasted stainless steel (with a white or black dial) and a black DLC case with a black dial. The cases measure 38.5mm in diameter, 46mm lug to lug, and 12.4mm tall, crystal included. The Terra Scout runs on an LJP G100 automatic caliber with a 68 hour power reserve and custom date wheels.
The Terra Scout is launching at a time when the watch industry broadly seems to be in a state of flux – there’s been much discussion recently about Swiss imports being down considerably. But the affordable microbrand and independent market is a different animal, and Perez still sees a lot of opportunity. “Going to in-person shows gives me a good pulse on where folks are,” he told me. “Last year I felt there was a lot of energy in our community and people are still getting excited about watches even with what is going on in the world. I feel that the enthusiast space is strong and will continue in 2026 as customers are closer to [small] brands than large brands like Rolex. As long as our community keeps growing I think we are in a good place.”
The new Terra Scout is available for pre-order now through March 1, with introductory pricing set at $875 for the standard and DLC editions, and $975 for the Desert Sand Limited Edition. Those prices increase to $995 and $1,195 after the pre-order period ends. Shipping is expected to begin in March. Astor+Banks
Zach Kazan
2026-01-28 21:00:00