When Minuteman started the process of prototyping this watch, I was immediately intrigued. It’s a departure from the more “rough and ready” style of their A11 field watch or Parker chronograph. This is a watch that looks like it can go from the outdoors to the office without missing a step. I was eager to put that to the test.
Minuteman Watches is a brand that prides itself on keeping production local and meaningful. They do all assembly in their facility in Illinois and do their best to source as many of their parts as possible from within the United States. Minuteman was one of the first companies to use the Ameriquartz as their movement of choice in the A-11 field watch. The brand produces watches in small batches on an individual order basis so each production run is quite limited. They also have a strong ethos of giving back to the community; 10-15% of the price of each watch is donated to a charity that benefits U.S. military veterans.
The basic specifications for this watch show that it will be quite capable in a variety of environments, despite its dressy first impressions:
| Diameter: 38mm excluding the crown | Movement: Miyota 9039 |
| Lug to Lug: 45mm | Crystal: Sapphire |
| Lug Width: 20mm | Lume: Superluminova BWG9 |
| Thickness: 11mm | Water Resistance: 660 ft (200m) |
The prototype I received has a lovely green sunburst dial. Some greens lean towards olive, some greens lean towards blue. This one is a pure kelly green. To my eye, it’s pretty close to Pantone 3537C when in the sun. In low light conditions, the dial is very dark – almost black. The sunburst effect gives the dial a lot of depth and is mesmerizing to look at.
Adding literal depth is the fact that the hour indices are actually cutouts on a separate BWG9 lume layer under the green dial. This makes the markers bold and clean, and extremely legible in the dark. The angular, polished hands (also lumed) nicely complement the dial. The dial text is straightforward and utilitarian, matching the clean geometry of the hands and indices. Minuteman plans to make these with red, black, and blue dials in the same sunburst finish. If those dials have the same depth of color and flash of the green, all four variants will be stunners.
The case is definitely a step in the dressy direction for Minuteman. Every surface is mirror polished except for the top of the lugs, which have a fine brushed finish. The 38mm size and slightly rounded lugs make the watch extremely wearable on my 6.5” wrist. On the back is a laser engraved version of Lady Liberty in the motif very similar to old wheat head pennies. Personally, I think Liberty II would be a great name for this model, but the final name is still under discussion at Minuteman.
My one sticking point came with trying to use the crown. It’s recessed, which I loved, but unscrewing it to set the time or wind the watch was a struggle due to the polished surface and rounded teeth. Once the crown is unscrewed, it’s very comfortable to use. Luckily, this is a prototype and Minuteman does plan to change the crown to a push type. This will not affect the current water resistance rating in the slightest. Given the recessed crown, I don’t think it is likely that the wearer might accidentally pull it out either. Once you have the crown out, setting and winding is a snap, especially since the movement hacks. There are only two positions to the crown as this watch uses a true no-date movement in the Miyota 9039. It ran extremely well during my time with the watch, well within the +/- 30spd factory specifications. I tribute this to the hand assembly and testing process at the Minuteman facility.
The included leather strap is thick, well finished, and formed to my wrist within a day. Minuteman deliberately chose a manufacturer that is US-based in keeping with their pledge to keep as much of the production of the watch in the United States as possible. The leather reminds me a lot of what you might seek for a good boot; it will crease, it will patina, and it will look better every day that you wear it.
Like all of Minuteman’s watches this will be a limited run with each made individually as they are ordered. The brand anticipates the watch selling for under $700, depending on the final production details. If you like the looks of this prototype and the mission behind Minuteman, then I strongly urge you to not sleep on this watch once it’s released. They won’t be around for long. To keep up with the latest, sign up at MinutemanWatches.com.
