smiths PRS40 military watch design by giovanni moro

smiths PRS40 military watch design by giovanni moro
all images courtesy of giovanni moro

the ‘PRS-40’ was born as a concept redefining the traditional features of a tool watch in a contemporary and clean design. this later became the first collaboration between italian designer giovanni moro and the english historic brand smiths, now run by eddie platts.

textile strap is easily changed thanks to the pass-thru fixed lugs design 

the symmetric aesthetic features a thin case, machined from solid stainless steel, with sturdy integrated fixed lugs. the setting crown is placed at 12 hour mark to avoid any interference with the wrist and to ensure maximal protection for the stem. the 22mm gray ballistic nylon strap transfers through the lugs beneath the bead-blasted hardware caseback to keep the watch secure during every field scenario. the action of changing the wrist fabric is a quick sequence as users simply have to slide in a new replacement for battle or to match their outfit.

the carrure is very thin, stopping at 4.5 mm

the slim carrure of 4.5mm keeps the dimensions thin, stopping at 8.5mm. this allows the product to be comfortably worn on the wrist and to avoid unwanted bumps in everyday life. the matte black dial is easily readable in every weather condition and setting with contrasting white graphics and luminous superluminova dots. anti-reflective sapphire glass, 100m WR, and a swiss-made ISA movement with a five year battery lifespan complete the technical contents of the watch. once the design was finished, smiths asked the UK ministry of defense for a NATO stock number (NSN). the application was successful and it was allocated 6645-99-994-7232.

the watch has a regular NATO stock number for operative assignment

setting crown sits at 12h to avoid wrist contact and to ensure maximum protection. 

the carrure is very thin, stopping at 4.5 mm

it cames on a nato military strap with custom beadblasted stainless steel hardware

case, bezel and caseback are finished in anti-reflective beadblasting

the watch features clean and simple surfaces machined from solid stainless steel

the watch dial is executed in matte black with luminous superluminova hour markers

PRS40 is a tactical allround watch that looks good

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.