Just in time for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion comes the Praesidus C-47 A-11 D-Day. Inspired by the U.S. military watches issued in World War Two, the new watch contains a dial made from reclaimed warplane skin and more hyphens than any other watch I’ve reviewed. I’ll call it the C-47 from now on.
If you are familiar with Praesidus’s other A-11 offerings, you will find the C-47’s matte stainless steel case familiar. It measures 38mm wide, 45mm long, and 13mm thick, including the tall sapphire box crystal. A rounded, fixed bezel, small, tapered lugs, and a 20mm gap give it an understated appearance that worked quite well on my 6.75″ wrist. Like its forebears, it has a large unsigned crown; unlike them, it screws down to help seal the watch for 100m water resistance.
A Miyota 9039 tells the time. This 24-jewel, 28.8k bhp automatic movement is a sound choice, given its reliability and low profile. It runs behind a solid case back that identifies the watch and commemorates the D-Day landing.
All of that is well and good, but you can find those same features on other Praesidus watches. The real attraction is that scruffy-looking dial. It is a preserved piece of a C-47 Skytrain, a model used during the war for transport and paratrooper service. Praesidus obtained what was known as the “hamburger” door. There were two means of egress on the C-47: a large hatch in the rear of the fuselage and a small one in the front. That front door was just ahead of one of the props, so if you jumped out of it, you’d be hamburger.
Praesidus has offered D-Day watches before and employed historical materials like Marston Mat, so they understand how to preserve the metal without destroying the time-worn quality that makes it unique. As such, each C-47 dial will be unique, bearing its own collection of scratches and scars. It gives the watch a wonderful character.
The visibility of those marks will vary greatly depending on the particular dial and the quality of the light, as you can see in my photos. The raw surface also produces wide color variation, from bright silver to blue-gray.
My press sample displays “Light Wear and Tear.” Buyers who want more than a few scratches can shop in the “Heavy Wear and Tear” section and get something more like the dial pictured below.
The other design elements are similarly grizzled. There is no polishing here; the handset is brushed, and the markers are embossed. The layout is similar to that of other A-11s, but with an angular, clipped-corner typeface more likely to be painted on a wartime aircraft than the face of the government-issued watch
On this model, thick and creamy Super-LumiNova numbers outlined in black enhance the antique vibe while providing a very modern glow when the lights get low. It’s got the right color to replicate old radium without the pesky radioactivity. A combination of gray numbers and cream markers is also available.
A distressed, quick-release leather strap completes the picture. My only quibble is that the buckle is the standard brushed and polished Praesidus offering. There is nothing wrong with it; it just looks too new when compared to every other element of the C-47. I would have loved to have seen it sandblasted to match the case. Yes, I know I’m nitpicking. The first 250 orders will also get a free nylon pass-through strap.
The Praesidus C-47 A-11 D-Day will be available for order on June 6, 2024, 80 years after American C-47s flew over Normandy Beach. It is $550 and available in Aluminum Patina (shown here), Aluminum Gray (gray numbers), and Olive Green (white lume).
If you are up for something completely different, Praesidus is launching the Type 44 Sand on the same day. That watch has a dial filled with sand from Utah Beach. I did not sample that one, but color me curious.
Visit the Praesidus C-47 page to sign up for alerts before June 6, or to make your purchase after.
