This one was sent to me by my good friend Ivan who owns Vario as I do their warranty work here in the UK. Vario make some really cool watches often taking an old and much loved watch and adding a modern twist to it. He has done the same with the A11.
For those who don’t know the A11 was a watch produced during WW2 mainly for the US military, It had to be robust, accurate and hackable. I own an original you can see here. It is just 30mm in diameter! real men who went to battle wore small watches which was common in those times unlike todays 40-45mm monsters.
Bulova, Waltham and Elgin made these and there were a few design differences to the dial but all had to be legible. Here is Vario modern day take on it. This is the 40mm version however there is also a 35mm in keeping with the originals.
Vario have made this watch a solar powered movement which is all hidden under that dial. As you can see the hands, markers and minute track are the same and I love the way Vario is written on the dial. Very modest and unassuming.
They have a signed crown marked with a V and this is also lumed so will glow in the dark. A nice touch.
Case is well machined and in keeping with a rugged field watch. The originals were all chrome plated and are usually very worn like my own example is. That said they are 80 years old and are true survivors.
The key characteristic of an A11 was the ability to hack. Hacking means you pull the crown out and the second hand stops. Quartz to this as standard but for a mechanical watch this requires some kind of lever to stop the balance wheel or escape. Stopping the movement means you can set accurate time which was important during the war. Troops would all synchronize their watches before carrying out their missions. Last thing you want is someone turning up late to battle.
Ivan thought to remove the second hand. A very bold choice that had mixed impressions when it went to market. Why remove such a key feature of the watch?
I asked Ivan directly, he said we want a time of peace, we are no longer setting to go and kill so removing the feature is more symbolic which I actually appreciate.
That being said there is actually a second marker. The white dot you see above the hand stack. This is actually a second and that ticks its way around. It gives the wearer assurance its running although very discrete.
When we turn the watch over we see the caseback. This has an origami crane laser etched into the design. This is a symbol of peace. A touching recognition of de escalation and hope that we can one day all get along with each other.
I have done a full in depth review on this watch that you can watch here.
For more information on Vario watches please visit here: https://vario.sg/collections/1945-a-11s-field-solar-quartz
