Today I would like to give you a brief introduction to a very interesting watch made by the company MWC. MWC is a German watch company established back in 1974, and the name itself reveals what the company is focused on—MWC stands for Military Watch Company. Accordingly, all their watches are in some way inspired by iconic historical military timepieces. A good portion of their collection is not merely inspired by such watches but consists of direct “homages” or even replicas.
There are indeed some very nice replicas in their collection, covering the navy, infantry, and air force from various historical periods and different armies. I focused a bit more on their air force watches.
The main attraction here, of course, are the various replicas of the famous German Luftwaffe B-Uhr. During WWII, B-Uhren were produced by five companies—four German: A. Lange & Söhne, Wempe, Lacher & Company/Durowe (Laco), and Walter Storz (Stowa); and one Swiss: IWC. Lange and Laco used their own in-house movements (Lange cal. 48 and Laco Durowe cal. 5), Wempe used the Swiss Thommen 31, Stowa used the Swiss Unitas 2812, and IWC used its own movement (cal. 52T). Why am I telling you all this? Because even though the MWC B-Uhr replicas look quite nice, I personally can’t accept a B-Uhr with a Japanese movement inside.
However, within the air force-themed MWC collection, there is one watch where a Japanese—or even better, a Seiko—movement fits perfectly. I’m talking about the Kamikaze model, which is a replica of the Seikosha Tensoku watch used during WWII by Japanese pilots flying the Mitsubishi A6M Zero aircraft. Seikosha, of course, is nothing other than what we now know as Seiko. Therefore, a Seiko movement in a homage to the Seikosha Tensoku is a perfect match!
I am not an expert on Seikosha Tensoku watches, and I’ve never even had the chance to see one in person. It would therefore be unfair of me to try and write a detailed description of the watch based solely on information found online. What I can do is point you to a great article that covers several Japanese air force watches. You can also easily find other sources on this rare and interesting timepiece.
Before I continue, I must make another disclosure. As I do not own an original Tensoku watch, I had to use a few reference pictures from the internet for comparison purposes. The pictures were taken from here.
Let me give you some basic facts about the MWC Kamikaze aviator watch. It’s quite a large watch, with a diameter of 46 mm and a thickness of 15 mm. The lug width is 24 mm, and the lug-to-lug (L2L) measurement is 54 mm. This case platform is the same one used for all of MWC’s B-Uhren replicas as well. The choice to use such a large case is, in fact, a strong point for MWC, since the original watches were also very large (B-Uhren were 55 mm, and the Tensoku was 48 mm).
The case is made of 316L stainless steel. The watch features a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective (AR) coating. The caseback is made of steel and is engraved with Japanese text: 特別攻撃隊, which is said to translate as Special Attack Corps. Since I have absolutely no knowledge of the Japanese language or writing system, I have to take MWC’s word for it.
The watch offers solid water resistance of 100 meters and comes on a black leather strap with a plain, unsigned pin buckle.
So, from a technical standpoint, the watch appears to be quite a solid piece. Let me now focus on the visual comparison between the original and the homage. Below, you’ll find side-by-side pictures of both watches from the front.
The copy is remarkably good! The case design is very similar to the original, with only some minor differences in the shape of the lugs. The bezel is ribbed almost identically to the original, and the crown is also ribbed, although it is noticeably smaller.
The dial is an exceptionally faithful reproduction. The fonts used for the numerals are very close to the original, and the color combinations are excellent. All the tiny details have been well transferred from the original watch—minute markers, hour bullet markers, and the hour and minute numerals. Remarkably well done, indeed.
Another great detail is that, although the Seiko NH35 movement includes a date complication, there is no date window on this watch in order to preserve historical accuracy—just like the original, which had no date. As a result, the first position of the crown is a dummy, serving no function.
Unfortunately, the hands have not been reproduced nearly as well—or to put it bluntly, they are completely wrong. The hour hand comes the closest to the original. The minute hand shows at least some similarity, but the second hand is entirely incorrect. The rhombus-shaped pointer at the tip is missing, and the rhombus-shaped base has been replaced with a teardrop or arrowhead shape. Additionally, while the hour and minute hands are too long, the second hand is too short. From a purist’s perspective, the hands are a total failure.
The funny thing is that I actually like the replacement hands more than the original ones. I find the minute hand in particular to be an improvement. So I can't really blame the designers too much for this change.
Let’s now turn the watch over and take a look at the caseback.
As you can see, the design of the caseback is very different from the original. The shape of the plate is different, and the way it is attached to the case is completely unlike the original—it’s a snap-on rather than a screw-down. The only similarity lies in the engraved Japanese characters, but even those differ. Again, that’s the only aspect I can actually comment on when it comes to the text itself. Perhaps the meaning is similar or even identical, but if MWC went through the trouble of engraving something in Japanese, they should have done a proper replica.
The watch also has surprisingly good Luminova. All the yellow parts on the dial and hands are lumed, and the glow lasts a long time, which is a nice bonus. I’m afraid I can’t compare it to the original watch in this respect, though.
The watch comes in one of the simplest boxes I’ve ever seen—very small and very basic. The warranty card is just a piece of paper. What I truly appreciate, however, is that the only place where you can find the MWC branding is on the box itself. They didn’t spoil the watch’s appearance or its resemblance to the original by slapping a logo on the dial or case. It simply wouldn’t have fit—and for that, I offer sincere congratulations.
Let’s finish with the strap. It’s actually quite a good-quality strap, but I would have preferred something with a more vintage look. The one included is very classic and modern—nothing wrong with it, just not in the spirit of the original.
Below, you can see how the watch looks on my wrist. The fit is excellent—I have no complaints at all. The watch certainly has presence, and it didn’t go unnoticed. Several friends commented on it, and the feedback was entirely positive.
So, for €350—which is the official retail price—you get an interesting and surprisingly well-executed replica of one of the most iconic WWII pilot watches. The overall quality of the watch exceeds what one would typically expect in this price range. MWC clearly saved a few euros by using a very basic box, but in my opinion, that’s a perfectly reasonable trade-off.
At the time of writing, the entire MWC collection is on sale at orologichepassione.com webshop, so you can get any MWC model currently in stock—including the Kamikaze—even cheaper.
If you’re a fan of various Flieger replicas, this watch offers a lot of enjoyment for a very reasonable price.
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