Praesidus Commemorates The 82nd Anniversary Of D-Day With The A-11 LMUV — Featuring Dials Made From Willys MB Jeeps

Every year, Praesidus commemorates D-Day with a string of special releases. This year, on June 6th, it will be 82 years since D-Day took place on the beaches of Normandy. On that day in 1944, a total of 156,000 Allied troops successfully stormed the French beaches during Operation Overlord. For this year’s releases, Preasidus releases its A-11 field watch with special dials made from the hoods of the legendary Willys MB jeeps. The brand is releasing five dial variations, and I had a chance to go hands-on with two of them. They are the perfect reminder of the day that eventually led to the end of World War II.

I have to start by giving Praesidus a big compliment for coming up with original releases time and again. We have seen wildly different versions of the brand’s watches, all inspired by or made with actual materials from WWII tools and machines. Two years ago, for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the brand created the C-47 A-11 D-Day with dials made of metal from the “Hamburger” doors of two D-Day veteran C-47 Skytrains. Two years before that, in commemoration of the 78th anniversary, Praesidus released the A-11 “Marston Mat.” The dial of that watch was made out of a D-Day Marston Mat found near Utah Beach, Normandy. For the five new A-11 LMUV models, the brand created a new series of special dials.

The story of the Praesidus A-11 LMUV series

To create this new series of Praesidus A-11 LMUV watches, the brand used hoods from the iconic Willys MB. This was the U.S. Army’s standard light military utility vehicle during WWII. The Willys MB was produced from 1940 until 1945 to strict specifications that demanded reliability, simplicity, and field repairability above all else. More than 362,000 units were built and deployed on fronts in North Africa, the Pacific, and Northwest Europe.

On June 6th, 1944, they also came ashore on the Normandy beaches as part of the largest amphibious operation in history. The folks at Praesidus got their hands on a Willys MB to use for the steel dials of the new A-11 LMUV. The paint layered on these dials — olive drab over red oxide over bare steel — is original.

By giving them a special blasting treatment, the colors and texture are revealed, and nothing is added. The result is a series of five dial variations in green, yellow, gray, red, and brown, each with a distinct look. As you can see in the pictures, we had the gray- and yellow-dial variations in the office for review.

Five dials with a distinct army look

All the dials feature an open minute track with luminous dot markers for every five minutes. Located on the outside of the track are numerals for every 10 minutes. On the inside of the minute track, you’ll find the large Arabic numerals in typical army style for the hours.

Hovering over the five dials are lume-filled sword-style hands. Located at 6 o’clock is the text “America’s Greatest Contribution To Modern Warfare,” referring to the words that U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall dedicated to the Willys MB.

The dials each sit inside a 38mm sandblasted stainless steel case that is water resistant to 100 meters. Including the double-domed sapphire crystal, the watch has a 12.5mm profile, and the 45mm lug-to-lug guarantees plenty of wrist presence. Lastly, you can choose between a brown leather or green canvas 20mm strap to finish the look. Both feature quick-release spring bars.

The Miyota 9039 inside

Hiding behind the commemorative case back of the A-11 LMUV is the Miyota caliber 9039. This automatic movement operates at 28,800 vph, has 24 jewels, and provides a 42-hour power reserve. After unscrewing the crown, operating the caliber is super simple. There is no play between the crown and the hands, making it easy to set the time precisely.

The case back features an engraving of the Willys MB and commemorative text. Additionally, each example will have an engraving of its unique number out of the 800 A-11 LMUV watches that Praesidus will produce. First, the brand will make 380 pieces available on June 6th for US$595, and the second batch of 420 pieces will be released at a later date.

The new Praesidus A-11 Utah Beach 82nd Anniversary with hand-painted dials

But that is not the only new commemorative D-Day release from Praesidus. On top of the A-11 LMUV, Praesidus also developed the new A-11 Utah Beach 82nd Anniversary series. I wrote about the Utah Beach collection two years ago in the same article as the C-47 A-11 D-Day models. The Utah Beach watches featured special dials integrating actual sand from the beach where the Allied forces landed. For the new 82nd-anniversary models, the concept is pushed even further.

The Utah Beach collection began with sand from the beach itself integrated into the dial. These dials consist of three parts to depict the Normandy coast. First, the lower part is created from sand from Utah Beach. After that, two other parts are laid on top and represent the Normandy coast, where all five D-Day Beaches were situated. The colored part was the sea, while the visible sand represents the actual beaches where 150,000 soldiers landed on June 6th, 1944. Lastly, the five beaches (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) are also marked directly onto the dial. As a result, the dials had a unique look that I adored.

Hand-painted dials for the 82nd anniversary

For the 82nd Anniversary, the concept is pushed further. The D-Day scene is hand-painted on the upper part of each dial, while the lower part is filled with sand, as in the previous iterations. As a result, the dials come to life even more, rather than creating an abstract depiction of the scene. The canvas is the same 38mm A-11 in stainless steel. The case features a mix of polished and brushed parts, and a knurled bezel adds extra character. Praesidus will produce 150 pieces of the Surf Blue edition with a special hand-painted blue dial. As you will understand, every dial is unique because it is painted individually.

But that’s not where it ends. Another 10 pieces will be created with an even more detailed hand-painted scene. This version, called the Steel Tide, features figures, landing craft, and the coastline painted directly onto the dial’s surface.

Lastly, Praesidus will release five pieces of the Dark Storm edition, portraying the same detailed scene as the Steel Tide but in black and gray tones. Additionally, the hour and minute hands on this model feature beige Super-LumiNova rather than white. Regardless of the dial, all versions contain the same Miyota 9039 as the other D-Day models. It lies hidden behind a commemorative case back, reminding the wearer of the watch’s special status. As I explained in my article from two years ago, I love the Utah Beach editions, and these new versions are even better. The creativity is inspiring, and the execution is super well done. The Praesidus A-11 Utah Beach 82nd Anniversary models will also go on sale on June 6th on the official Praesidus website.

Final thoughts on the new Praesidus D-Day 82nd Anniversary models

Overall, I love that Praesidus creates these special watches to commemorate D-Day. Since this was the day that marked the end of World War II, these are important storytellers. On top of that, I am impressed by how the brand tells that story through elements from D-Day. As a result, I do not doubt that all 800 available pieces of the A-11 LMUV and all 165 examples of the A-11 Utah Beach 82nd Anniversary will sell out in no time. The timepieces all come in special commemorative packaging, fitting the concepts of the two series.

Once again, Praesidus shows us why it is the leader in military-inspired watches. Not only does the brand have its design perfectly figured out, but the storytelling integrated into the different timepieces is rather striking. I have several favorites that the brand has released over time, but the commemorative D-Day models are most significant because they tell such an important story. Because of this, it will be interesting to see what the brand comes up with every year to commemorate this day.

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