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PRS-29 (W-10)
PRS-48 (Mk 11)
PRS-59 (WWW)
This is a poll will compare based on hands, dial and case, not colour; so your preference will be based on the black watches so that we can focus on design not colour preference.
Last edited by grizzlymambo; 22nd June 2024 at 22:24.
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No contest - the WWW is based on a superb design, and has been flawlessly executed by Eddie. I have no idea how someone who has had so much else on his plate can even pull something like this off: cap doffed!
I'd love to have one of the new ones, but I voted for the Navi.
I have all three of the originals. I voted for the W10
Last edited by trident-7; 28th June 2024 at 17:43.
My vote used the "4"s as the tie-breaker
The W10 is the only one of the three that was actually a Smiths
My vote is mainly based on the circled “L” a small detail I know, but I think it unbalances the symmetry of the dial.
Having said that I always felt that the original PRS-29A was Eddie’s best watch as it felt like a true vintage NOS watch with the fixed bars and plexi crystal.
Then the Air Ministry arrived and on a leather strap (and modded with a plexi crystal) was even better, for me.
The navigator felt a real step up in quality, it could easily have IWC on the dial and sell for 10 times the price.
But the Dirty Dozen brings it all together for me - it feels excellent but has that authentic look and feel. Well done Eddie - you have surpassed yourself yet again and that is no mean feat given your existing designs and watches!
I'm conflicted because I think the original 29a is a perfect homage but I don't actually like the Smiths W10. I prefer the Navigator because I like the iWC Mark XI.
Always love to see your WWW’s trident-7, the Grana is gorgeous!
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Sub-seconds vs Centre-seconds
from 7.39
The History of Vertex Watches and The Dirty Dozen Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33idp96Fr2w
I haven't seen this anywhere else. Are sub-secs easier to read? And was that official?"...there is an argument that sub-seconds are easier to read, that is certainly what the British believed..." (during WWII)
A watch is never just a watch. ~ WOE
So, i just received my PRS-59 white, and I am very very impressed. I didn't realize just how much of a difference having a sub-dial seconds would make on a small simple field watch. The other big difference between the PRS-59 white and the PRS-29AM is of course the lume, but the lume really makes a huge difference to being able to enjoy the watch in darkness.
However, after having the PRS-59 and the PRS-29AM side by side, I must have to say the PRS-29AM is the more beautiful watch in looks and dimensions. That said, just because something looks better, doesn't mean that the PRS-29AM is the better watch: the PRS-59 has such a striking design, I'm still blown away by its appearance.
The only sub-seconds three hander that I have owned prior to the PRS-59 is the rather stunning Dornbluth & Sohne 99.1, but I eventually sold that watch because the dimensions were just too off. I feel a simple watch has to have smaller diameter and be much thinner, and that's what this PRS-59 delivers. The PRS-59 is the watch the 99.1 should have been. The 99.1 does have that beautiful movement peering through the display back, but I didn't love it enough to keep it. My engineering brain admires the function over the form. A movement ultimately is about accuracy, durability, reliability and size and the Unitas movement that the 99.1 is based on, just does not deliver on the size department.
The wrong dimensions of the 99.1 stopped me from enjoying the beauty and romantic aesthetic of the sub-dial seconds. This is not a problem with the PRS-59 however, and now I can enjoy a design that for the last 30 years was mainly featured on dress watches: the sub-dial seconds (also featured on large clunky 7750 based watches like Panerai or Unitas based sports watches, but very rarely featured on small sports watches). Having a sub-dial seconds on a field watch is a novelty that was very rare until recently: from the 80s to 2010s, the sub-dial seconds disappeared from watches except for dress watches (and large clunky sports watches), and only now is coming back on small sports watches due to micro-brands trying to revive the look of the WWW watch.
Sometimes I put on one of my chronographs, not because I want to use the chronograph, but because I like the interesting aspect of having sub-dials. I feel the same thing with the PRS-59: I want to put it on, just for the novelty of having the sub-dial seconds. To reiterate: it's not like I haven't experienced sub-dial seconds before, because I had the 99.1 and I have many chronographs that all have them; but I've never had a small 3 hander watch with one, and that combination of a small watch with sub-dial seconds is a wonderful aesthetic to have.
If you really love watches, and you love the romanticism of 20th century exploration and adventure, then you must own a PRS-59 and PRS-29. I did think there was overlap, and there is, but they are just different and wonderful in their own way. It's like owning a nice pair of Oxfords, and a nice service boot - you can enjoy both, even for the same purposes.
Last edited by grizzlymambo; 1st July 2024 at 16:26.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts - I have the black dial version and very much agree with your comments. The Air Ministry is more elegant, less of a tool watch, but the tool watch aesthetic of PRS-59 has its own charm.
To my eyes, the small seconds of the PRS-59 makes for a better balanced dial.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I think Eddie, you have the rare opportunity to produce a watch with features that clearly people love, but put it all in one single watch:
1. Small diameter
2. Small seconds
3. Handwind (no screw-lock - not needed)
4. No date
5. Bidirectional rotating ratcheted bezel (I love the watches that have bidirectional, and this is quite rare, and if you think about it, unidirectional isn't really needed 99% of the time)
6. antimagnetic
A watch like the PRS-59, but at 38mm and with a bidirectional ratcheted bezel (38mm to accommodate the bezel) would be the perfect sports watch, and this is from over 30 years of collecting some of the best sports watches in the world. I feel many of the Smiths watches skirt near perfection for me.
PRS 59 by a hair as all lovely in their own way
I’ve seen my fair share of military watches, but the PRS-59 (WWW) stands out as the best-looking by far. Its design captures the essence of what a military watch should be—reliable, tough, and easy to read. The classic black dial and luminous hands are not just for show; they’re essential for low-light conditions. The build quality is top-notch, able to withstand the rigors of daily use.
I don't own one, unfortunately, but I'm thinking of giving one to my nephew when he comes back from the army
Agreed I hadn’t purchased a timefactors watch in years tbh it the prs-59 just whips the competition lol
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My understanding is that they were cheaper (as you don't have to bring the full gear train back to the centre; cheapest of all would be a watch with a hand / dial for every wheel, i.e. a regulator but to me they alway look like old gas or electric meters -- and work on the same principle)Originally Posted by abraxas
Smiths managed to make a few sub-seconds wristwatch in circa 1944 (of which about a dozen are known to exist) but there are couple (three, iirc) of examples of that watch with centre seconds (probably the rarest of all Smiths; one of which is on display in the Science Museum). Interestingly the subseconds version has been drilled to take the tensioning spring for the fourth wheel but it seems Smiths couldn't get that to work so they removed it and reverted or converted the movement to subseconds. I believe the MoD (actually MoS / AM) spec required centre seconds for RAF watches; the Army could (and did) get cheaper subseconds timepieces, first the ATP and later the WWW. The "6B" RAF watches are always higher grade centre seconds, although the WWW watches from makers such as JLC, IWC, and Omega are hardly poor quality.
HTH
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