The Bite Magazine Issue 17

W hen you consider the multifaceted kni fe manu f ac- turer Victorinox, the brand is like the Armani of men’s survival accesso- ries. Since it was founded in 1884 by Karl Elsener in Switzerland, the brand has evolved into providing high quality products such as watches, cutlery, travel gear, apparel and fragrances. With his mother’s support, Elsener opened a knife cutler’s workshop in Ibach-Schwyz and in 1891 established the Association of Swiss Master Cutlers which enabled him to supply knives to the Swiss Army, hence the name ‘Swiss Army Knife’. In 1897, the original Swiss Officer’s and Sports Knife was patented and then in 1909, following the death of his mother, Elsener choose her first name Victoria as the brand name and registered the emblem with the cross and shield as a trademark which is today registered in over 120 countries. It wasn’t until 1921 that stainless steel was invented which marked a highly significant development for the cutlery industry. And as ‘inox’ is the interna- tional term for stainless steel, Elsener decided to add this to the end of ‘Vic- toria’ to create the new brand name of ‘Victorinox’ which it is still known as today. Ten years later, Carl Elsener II introduced automation and com- missioned Brown Boveri to set up the world’s first all-electric hardening plant in Ibach that guaranteed all knives would be of the most consistent high quality. During the last year of the Second World War, the Swiss Army Knife became known all over the world with the U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe buying them in large quantities and taking them home as souvenirs. In 1989, Victorinox entered the North American watch industry with its then U.S. sales partner, and then a decade after that, it entered the international travel gear market with American TRG Group in St. Louis as the licensee. The brand launched a clothing line in the U.S. in 2001 and opened its first store in New York’s SoHo district selling prod- ucts from its six categories of knives, watches, cutlery, travel gear, apparel and fragrances. In 2014, Victorinox acquired the travel gear business from previous licensee TRG Group and established the new business unit under Victorinox Travel Gear AG. They also celebrated their 130th anniversary that year with the fourth generation of the Elsener family still managing the brand and Carl Elsener Junior as the current President, CEO and Chairman. One of Victorinox’s dynamic travel accessories is the Spectra Expandable, a collection of carry-on and luggage pieces with a flexibility that allows for up to 45% more capacity. Travellers can choose from the global carry-on in Terra Cotta Red, Moss Green, Stone, Alloy, Red, White or Black; the dual-ac- cess extra capacity carry-on in Terra Cotta Red, Moss Green, Stone, Alloy or Black; the expandable global carry-on in Red or Black; or the expandable compact global carry-on in Navy, Red or Black. The luggage pieces come in a choice of 26, 29 and 32 8-wheel travel cases in Terra Cotta Red, Moss Green, Stone, Alloy, Red, White and Black, with an additional colour hue of Navy availa- ble in the 29 8-wheel model; while the medium and large comes in Navy, Red and Black, and the extra-large expanda- ble is available in Black only. For the ladies, the Harmony 2-in-1 Laptop Backpack from the Victoria col- lection in the new colour hue of Laurel Green as well as Stone, Alloy and Black provides a two-way carry design with an organisational panel that is convenient enough to hold a 15.6-inch laptop and a tablet. The Victoria Charisma Bag avail- able in Laurel Green, Stone and Alloy has a padded compartment for a 15.6- inch laptop, with an organisational panel for a smartphone and other essentials, and convertible sleeve to slide over the handle system of a wheeled luggage. For a small convenient bag that you can put over and across your shoulder, the Affinity Crossbody Day Bag is ideal. It has a top zip closure with an organi- sational panel and is available in Laurel Green, Alloy and Black. And finally the Victoria Sage available in Laurel Green only has a padded compartment for a 15.6-inch laptop, a zippered pocket for a Tablet or Reader and micro-suede val- uables pocket. Victorinox’s Swiss Army I.N.O.X watches with Swiss-made quartz move- ment are engineered to endure a truly adventurous life. It is also designed to handle extreme conditions such as a fall of 10 metres, driven over by a 64-tonne tank or even a dive down 200 meters. The watches can be worn day or night, in the office or on a mountain because as the brand says, “nothing beats the durable, versatile look of the I.N.O.X collection.” The I.N.O.X Leather Watch in Black and Grey has a scratch-resistant and triple-coated anti-reflective sap- phire crystal case with an ultra-resistant 43mm leather strap that is cut from the same leather used to craft boots for firemen. The I.N.O.X Professional Diver Watch in Black, Red, Blue and Yellow, is an ISO 6425 certified diving watch that has a unidirectional rotating bezel with a count-up scale and comes with an exclu- sive 45mm genuine rubber strap and a new Swiss Army Knife which includes a tool to change the strap. The I.N.O.X Paracord Watch in Red, bite men