Hands-on with the Praesidus A-5 UDT

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Praesidus A-5 UDT

I have another throwback-style watch with the Praesidus A-5 UDT. Based on military watches for the Underwater Demolition Team for WW2, this modern version has a retro look. Still, like all of these vintage-style watches, it’s all modern materials and movements. A box sapphire instead of what would have been a plastic or acrylic crystal, a Soprod P024 automatic movement instead of a manual hand wind, tons of SuperLumiNova on an emobossed dial, and of course the large canteen crown cover. These watches are assembled in the USA, and 5% of the profits of all watches sold by Praesidus goes to their partner Veteran organizations. It is priced at $645 and is a relatively affordable trip down nostalgia lane.

Specifications

• 38mm stainless steel case

• 12.5mm thick (including crystal)

• 20mm lug Width

• 45mm Lug to lug

• 84 Grams in weight

• Box Sapphire Crystal 

• 200m Water Resistant

• Canteen Crown

• Embossed dial

• Sellita SW200-1 Movement

• Canvas strap (as reviewed)

$645

https://praesidus.com/collections/a-5-udt

Unlike many other canteen crown watches that tend to be massive watches at 45mm or larger, this Praesidus A-5 UDT is 38mm, which is what the military watches of the time would have been. With the crown measured in, you’re looking at 45mm across the wrist, but more on that in a bit.

This type of watch, a UDT or a BuShips USN watch, was designed as a way to keep water out. They essentially took a field watch but made the crown smaller, and attached this massive canteen crown, attached by links to the case, that screwed over the crown tightly. This was years before the first dive watches as we know them today were invented, so this was a good solution for the time.

These days (and throughout the past 50 years), we like to take things from the military or wars and repurpose them into fashion items. Why? I don’t have an answer for that, but it seems to work, and while this style of a water-resistant watch is outdated, we now consider it a fashion statement. It’s a unique-looking piece with the canteen crown, and for those unfamiliar, most likely a conversation piece. And even though these days we have watches with a lot more water resistance and crowns that just screw down into the case, there is something unique and quirky about these watches from the past.

If you are not familiar with the canteen crown, it’s fairly simple. It just unscrews off, and underneath is a smallish crown that you can just pull out and use to set the time. Notice there is a rubber O-ring on the end of the crown, at the base of thee case, so the canteen is just not screwing down and scratching the case walls. That O-ring also helps to keep out moisture.

It attaches via a cable link-style chain, which is somewhat on the stiff side, but looking up historical references, a lot of them looked like this as well, and I imagine they functioned similarly as well. The links can get bunched up, though, and you can see in pictures in this review (like above) as well as in the video that it can kink up and kind of make a big opening. I prefer it to be pushed in, if you will, where it almost creates steps.

As cool and as fun as the canteen crown is, though, for me, the highlight of the Praesidus A-5 UDT is undoubtedly the embossed dial. I believe this to be a metal dial, which is stamped from the inside. While this is not the first time I have seen a dial like this,  I just love how it looks. And in combination with the box sapphire crystal, the aesthetic is just very cool. There are two other dial colors, a sunray blue and an abyss blue, and both look great, but this one stays true to the military style and while you can see the brand and model name when you get close up, if you like the look of an unbranded watch, this is the next best thing.

The entire case, including the case back and crown, is all brushed stainless steel. The lugs of the Praesidus A-5 UDT are angled downward, and even though this canvas strap has quick-release pins, it does have drilled lugs for use with other straps. The case back is pretty simple, but it does have an engraving of the UDT Frog logo with the cigar in its mouth, which I thought was a cool touch for a UDT watch. The case back is pretty flat as well, which aids in wrist comfort. Inside is the Soprod P024 movement, a movement that is becoming the new SW200-1 or the equivalent to the Miyoa 9015, meaning it is being used in a lot of watches by a lot of watch brands. On this example, it has been working without issue and keeping time to -7  seconds per day.

There are quite a few strap options when it comes to the Praesidus A-5 UDT as you can get it with the stock green canvas like I have here, a tropic rubber, a Nato, and a beads of rice bracelet. I have always been a sucker for a canvas strap, and this one is lined with a soft leather on the inside, and is very plikablae and comfortable on the wrist. That said, it’s extremely long for a 38mm watch, at 140x80mm, and the only thing I can think of is it was made this long as an homage to the originals, so it could fit over a wetsuit? I’m not sure if that is the reason, but if you do have a large wrist and you prefer a sub-40mm watch, well, this should fit. On my 7 1/2 inch or 19.05cm wrist, I’ve had to switch between the second and third hole to get a tight fit.

One thing is for sure, though: you will not have a probably seeing this UDT in the dark. While it’s a smaller watch at 38mm, this dial is loaded up with C3 luminova, and man, it is bright. It looks great in the dark, but more importantly, it lasts long as well, as I was able to go to bed at 11 pm and wake up at 5 in the pitch black, and still see the time easily.

If I have a complaint, it’s a personal one, and that would be that I wish it was bigger. Yes, this Praesidus A-5 UDT is sized like the original from the era, and many love a 38mm watch these days, but for me, it does feel a little small. The canteen crown does make up for it a little, but this would be perfect for me at 40 or even 42mm.

I adore this embossed dial, though, as well as the box sapphire crystal, and in general, I do love the look of this watch. For photography and doing video, it can be annoying to unscrew the canteen constantly to reset the time, but for everyday wear, it’s not a problem at all, and I will admit I did enjoy wearing it, though after a day, I did put it on a better-sized tropic rubber. It’s a fun throwback and has a cool look, and if nothing else will probably spark some conversations, even with the non-watch crown. More importantly, it’s made well and assembled in the USA, so it gets a thumbs-up from me.

Praesidus