I have owned and sold examples of almost all of Eddies products over the last 10 years. The only one that i'm sure will stick is the PRS-29A; a perfect homage to a truly classic watch that really does stand comparison with anything at any price.
The one view of the watch that jars very slightly is seeing Great Britain on the dial and knowing that whilst there is a good argument for saying that is right, its wrong.
So I was wondering if, with the 50th anniversary of the W10 coming up, it would be possible to produce a short run of say 50 complete cases with a movement holder and handset designed to take a readily available English 60s Smiths movement? Leaving it to owners to source the movement and get it cased up.
I know there would be an element of sacrilege in sourcing a candidate for transplant but in most cases i'm sure the donor would be rescued from a dark place and enjoy its new Army life.
I agree with your comments on the 29a - its a magnificent watch
The only thing I would change would be having Made in England on the dial as opposed to Britain to take it a bit nearer to the original - a minor point however
I love the accuracy of the ETA2801-2 movement
Interesting suggestion re retrofitting an old British movement - not sure how many takers there would be though. If the price wasnt too high I would probably give it a go
Last edited by Velorum; 13th August 2016 at 10:41.
My preference for a PRS-29A special would be for the fitting of a hi-dome sapphire crystal, as with the original PRS-29B.
As a matter if interest I spotted this post on an old thread which I think sums up the appeal of the 29a really well - courtesy of forepetesake
"Without hesitation my Smiths Military PRS-29A provides me with the most enjoyment, which qualifies it as my favourite.
For me, it has clear and multiple utilitarian and aesthetic qualities. Oh, and the design has authenticity and heritage if that interests you.
I can go anywhere and do anything with this watch because it manages to avoid most of the knocks and never looks out of place and it's not too precious. For the price, I think you could be missing out if you've never tried one.
I have several other, finer handwinding watches with other attributes, but they are not as versatile, don't get worn as much and so don't mean as much to me."
Some other good threads
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...-of-Smiths-W10
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...l-Update/page2
Last edited by Velorum; 13th August 2016 at 11:47.
The PRS-29A pleases my eye, suits my lifestyle and has meaningful associations; it’s my signature watch. It is for me a better watch than my PRS-29B which has a more practical and pleasing crystal. This crystal would further improve the PRS-29A.
Can't see Eddie being tempted to tamper with the PRS-29A any time soon though.
I sold my 29a a while back and I do really miss it. Was one of those I was gutted to sell but times being tight meant that almost all of my watches had to go. I do still have my W10 though at least, that one is never leaving my side.
Not sure about the idea of using a Smiths movement though, they aren't cheap to come by now and you still couldn't class it as "Made in England" to put it on the dial as the rest of it wouldn't be. Maybe "English Movement" on the dial to replace the "Great Britain" would be a nice way of getting it closer to the original while being honest with it housing a Smiths movement.
Either way nice idea but highly unlikely to happen.
Last edited by Tetlee; 13th August 2016 at 15:40.
I think the 29 a and b are fine as they are. The only addition I would like to see is a bonklip style bracelet
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I agree but the must be hundreds of these movements about, lifted out of presentation watches as the gold price rose. It seems a waste.Originally Posted by seikopath
Personally wouldn't change anything about the 29a. It's perfect. Don't have any issue with the "Great Britain". No claim is being made. It can't say "made in England" because it's not. Leaving that space blank would be the only other appropriate option, and to my mind, that wouldn't look right on such a faithful homage to the original.
I wouldn't be interested in a build your own project to fit a vintage movement which would no more belong in the 29a than the ETA.
IMO, a fun idea could be a white-faced "Air Ministry" version of 29A to celebrate the jubilee?
For those unfamiliar with the style, there is a nice specimen shown in this video https://youtu.be/bsnVRamAai8
Gert
^^^ That seems a great idea. I have always said if the Radio Room had this dial and a lovely blue steel handset it would have flown out of the TF studios!
As an aside, I noticed the other day that the last of the 100 Radio Rooms has gone off into the wild to join the other 99.
A few years ago the Chinese Forum on WUS made a watch built around vintage Seagull ST5 movements. Someone invested the money to buy up a couple of hundred old watches which were knackered but had working movements. The movements were serviced, and then fitted into brand new watches, which were of a modern size, but had a couple of nice nods to typical Chinese seventies styling. The ST5 was an important movement in the history of China's home-grown watch industry, and was good looking enough to be worth putting behind a display back. The watches were nice, but the materials used were a bit on the cheap side. Bit of a labour of love.
I like to have a mock-up when we get into 'blue sky thinking'!
You're not the first person to have this dream: me tooI like to have a mock-up when we get into 'blue sky thinking'!
YES!
YES!I like to have a mock-up when we get into 'blue sky thinking'!
YES!
But please, it has to be the 36mm case.
Last edited by forpetesake; 18th August 2016 at 07:57.
Yum-yum; nice mock-up. Agree that it should be in the small 36 mm size :-)I like to have a mock-up when we get into 'blue sky thinking'!
Gert
Very nice pictures of a lovely watch type.
Gert
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