Praesidus has been selling A-11 style watches for some time now but they have all been upsized compared to the Elgin, Waltham and Bulova originals. That changes with its latest version. At 32mm wide, the A-11 Combat not only has the dial design, but now shares its diameter with the watches worn by the U.S. Army in WW2.
Regularly browsing watches on social media has the tendency to compress people'spreferences into a narrow sliver of brands, size ranges, and styles. Sometimes a watch that is well outside your comfort zone will burrow its way into your brain, however. For me, that watch was the Gorilla Fastback. Ever since its release in 2016, I've had this watch on my mind.
When I declared its U1 big brotherthe best dive watch that money can buy, I did it with the caveat that I had not seen a U50 in the metal. As luck would have it, I was able to borrow that one to do a comparison. Can the U50 knock its big brother the U1 off its pedestal? Click the link to find out!