The Type 44 was developed progressively as our attempt a really bringing the authentic feel of a field watch from WW2 into your hands. Unlike the Tom Rice A-11, instead of going for a modernized look, we decided that Praesidus Watch Co was to be the brand with the irreproachably authentic A-11 Re-edition. This started our project originally nicknamed internally the "A-11 Bonklip" (because of the Bonklip bracelet) or, Design #96068_38mm_1. As you can see by the design numbers, we originally did not plan for a 32mm version!
Discover our A-11 watches.
In the meantime, we bought an original Waltham A-11 from 1944 on eBay. We used it as our reference, getting as close as we could to its design and feel. That meant a 32mm case, an acrylic crystal and a manual-wind movement small enough to fit.
Back then, we had already sourced Swiss-made Soprod P024 automatic movements for our A-11 Marston Mat, and it turned out they could fit inside a 32mm case. We asked Soprod to remove the automatic winding mechanism for the original Type 44. That version retained the automatic movement's slipping bridle. Today's Type 44 uses a Swiss-made Landeron L21 manual-wind movement instead.
After having successfully developed both the 38mm and 32mm sized and managing to find a solution to our manual wind issue, I then worked on packaging. The Type 44 Packaging is actually inspired by the "BREAKFAST TYPE K" US Army WW2 ration box.
Finally, the name - obviously, we had to drop the internal nickname "A-11 Bonklip". I brainstormed and landed on Type 44. Why?
Well "Type" I felt worked well to define the strong & authentic military origins of the design (e.g the Type 20 French Military Chronographs). "44" was a reference to the original design year of the A-11 Waltham that had inspired the design. Simple yet effective. ;)
Well "Type" I felt worked well to define the strong & authentic military origins of the design (e.g the Type 20 French Military Chronographs). "44" was a reference to the original design year of the A-11 Waltham that had inspired the design. Simple yet effective. ;)
A-11 Type 44 White
A-11 Type 44 Patina
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