I don’t know what a sports watch is. I’m inclined to think it’s any watch that isn’t a dress watch and doesn’t have a specific style or functionality, like a pilot’s watch or a chronograph. Or are those just types of sports watches? You tell me, because I’m still lost. Clemence calls this watch a field watch but is it? And Is a field watch just another type of sports watch? Can’t watches just be watches? I think it’s a field watch in the sense that it can go into a field and you don’t have to worry about field-related damage. Maybe calling it a go anywhere, do anything watch is better. Maybe that’s what a sports watch is. Whatever a sports watch or field watch or go anywhere, do anything watch may be, I can tell you for certain what this Clemence Munro is: Pretty darn great.

At 37.5mm, the stainless steel case of the Clemence Munro hits on watch sizes trending down. The 45mm lug-to-lug and 10mm thickness made it a great wear on my 7-inch wrist. But the devil (or maybe God?) is in the details. Clemence has dialed everything in so perfectly here, that if you’re comfortable with the overall size, you’ll be in love with the case and bracelet. The crown is sized just right, large enough for a good grip but not so large as to seem out of place. The bezel has circular brushing with a polished bevel below that and a polished ring still beneath that, creating plenty of light play without even getting to the main case. There’s a polished chamfer that travels around the entire perimeter of each side of the case, an outline of sorts around the brushed sides that lends a bit of elegance to this otherwise purposeful design.

Drilled lugs make changing straps a cinch, and the quick-release bracelet is brushed to match the lugs (messing this up is one of my pet peeves). On top of that, the bracelet’s links, which are finished to match the case, are fully articulating, meaning they effectively mold around your wrist. For a bony-wristed galoot like me, that’s a godsend, because it means there’s no real gap anywhere around the wrist. And (!) the bracelet has a 2/3 link plus a built-in microadjustment mechanism.

This watch is entirely defined by its dial, and the dial will be love it or hate for almost everyone. I’m in the love it camp. This is the Ridgeline Dusk colorway, which builds off the Ridgeline colorway from the original four Munro dials (the Munro is also currently offered in brushed gray, teal, and salmon). Both Ridgeline dials are meant to capture the criss-crossing slopes and contrasting hues of Scottish Glen, but the Dusk softens the palette with muted takes on the same tones, arranged in a new configuration. Personally, I like the desaturated look of the Ridgeline Dusk, and I think the black segment is best positioned as it is here, serving as a sort of “ground” against which the foliage and sky rest. Aside from that, there’s not a lot groundbreaking or different here. The dial has a mix of applied numerals and batons, all with Super-LumiNova BGW9 fill and polished surrounds; the hour hand has a large, stylized arrow, and both hands get the same lume fill. I found th elume to be solid but nothing truly exceptional — it does what it’s meant to do.

I love what the caseback is doing precisely for what it’s not doing. It is not trying to display some ham-handed, overthought engraving or artwork, nor is it trying to pretend that the movement inside is some spectacle worth displaying. Circular brushing, minimal text, and a star — perfect. Because the movement underneath does not need to be on display. The Miyota 9039 isn’t a high-end caliber, it’s a workhorse caliber and it looks like one. Clemence have stepped it up a bit by regulating it to -/+ 12 seconds per day in three positions and it still delivers 42 hours of power at 28,800 vph.

There are countless watches that fall in the $500-$1,000 range that you can buy that will get you almost the exact same thing as the Clemence Munro: perfect size, great build, exceptional comfort, solid specs (e.g., the Astor+ Banks Fortitude Pro and the Beaucroft Element). At the end of the day, the cases and strap/bracelet options have so little differentiating them that it comes down to the dial. With the Munro collection, that’s also the case, because Clemence has so perfectly nailed everything else. The current lineup eschews the basic black and white of the original release, meaning every dial has something to offer. I’m of the mind that the Ridgeline Dusk I got to try out is the best amongst them because it’s doing something different and in the sea of affordable go anywhere, do anything watches, different means a lot. The Clemence Munro is priced at £499 GBP on rubber, £558 GBP on leather, and £575 GBP on the steel bracelet (around $640/$715/$735 USD). For more information, please visit the Clemence website.