At the outset of the 1940s, the British Ministry of Defence released a series of specifications for watches to be issued to their military personnel. Twelve brands were awarded contracts, manufacturing almost identical watches. The MoD referred to these as Mark 10 examples, and vintage collectors have come to nickname the 12 variants, "the Dirty Dozen." This set proved to be excellent for standard military use in the field but lacked practicality for pilots, as the accuracy was not strict enough.
Out of the need for an aviator's wristwatch, the Mark XI was born. In 1946, the MoD issued a new set of standards under the reference number 6B/346. Two manufacturers meet their requirement : IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Mark XI watches began to be issued in the late 1940s to military aviators across the British Empire.
As a very simple and classic militry style watch , Mark XI is must-have for military watch enthusiasts.
However ,the original Mark XI watch is not easy to be found in the market , or the price is quite expensive .
Militado learned this information from SILLIONS, a highly professional watch blogger and deep military watch enthusiast. Thus, we began a collaborative project with SILLIONS on the Mark XI reissue watch.
The Militado ML13 and ML14 were born.
ML13: Militado 36mm Retro Military Watch Super 2035 Movt ML13
ML14: Militado 36mm Retro Military Watch VH31/VH65 Sweeping Hand ML14
So, what design elements of the original did we retain in this tribute watch, and what changes did we make?
Aspects identical to the original:
-
Dial size: Still 36mm. Vintage military watches were mostly 36mm, which preserves their retro feel as much as possible.
-
Case shape and bezel lines: The client wanted a Mark XI as faithful to the original as possible. Therefore, Militado has 100% replicated the case design.
-
Dial: The limited-edition collaboration with SILLIONS retains almost all elements of the original dial. Only the original brand name was changed to "Militado Watch Co." for legal reasons.
Changes from the original:
-
Lug width: The lug width on Militado's Mark XI reissue military watch was changed from 18mm to 20mm. This was done to offer more strap choices on the market, as the 2mm difference doesn't disrupt the watch's proportions.
-
Lume color: Based on SILLIONS's suggestion for this collaboration, we changed all the lume to BGW9 and the dial markers to white. Sales data shows this change has been extremely popular with customers.
-
Tritium logo: The small "T" logo at 6 o'clock originally indicated the lume material. To preserve the vintage feel, our limited edition ML13 retains the "T" logo, though the actual material no longer contains Tritium. In the regular production model (ML14), we replaced the "T" with an arrow logo.
-
Movement: We selected two movements:
-
ML13 uses the Super 2035 Movt. Unlike the standard Miyota 2035, this movement has a lifespan of up to 4 years.
-
ML14 uses the Japan Mecha-Quartz movt, the VH31 Sweeping Hand Movt. Sweeping quartz movements are currently very popular as they mimic the motion of a mechanical watch but cost only a fraction of the price. Since VH31 sometimes will be in a shortage , so we will replace it with VH65 movt , but they are both sweeping hand
-
Due to the different movements, the case thickness also differs slightly: ML13 is 9.15mm thick, ML14 is 9.9mm thick.
-
-
Crystal: For the initial release of the ML13 and ML14 with black dials, only K1 mineral glass is currently offered. However, the gray dial version comes with a sapphire crystal. Sapphire crystal will also be offered on the classic black dial in the future.
In summary, in terms of design, Militado's Mark XI is currently the most faithful reissue of the original. To make it accessible for more military watch enthusiasts to own without financial pressure, the price of this watch is around 60 USD. It offers incredible value for money.
Therefore, if you are also looking for an affordable alternative to a Mark XI vintage military watch, choose the Militado ML13 or ML14. Their quality will definitely make you feel you've gotten excellent value.
