Today’s review features a new release from one of Time Bum’s favorite brands, Vario. The 1945 A-11S is the second watch in Vario’s collection to bear the 1945 model name. It is the brand’s first solar-powered watch, and at $198, it is also its greatest value.
You might be tempted to think the 1945 A-11S is a Vario 1945 D-12 automatic with a movement swap, but you would be wrong. While they may look similar at a casual glance, it is an entirely new watch.
The greatest carryover is the case design as the A-11S mirrors the automatic’s handsome, utilitarian lines, including its blunt drilled lugs, brushed surface, and the slivers of polishing on the bezel, crown, and the slim chamfers of the lugs. It’s significantly bigger than the 37mm D-12, measuring 40mm wide, 48mm long; however, at just 10mm, it is slightly slimmer and spreads that thickness over a broader surface area. As such, it is less chunky than its stablemate. A flat sapphire crystal (AR-coated, of course) also helps keep the profile low.
It is also less water resistant, only 50m as opposed to the D-12’s 100m. That’s more than sufficient for daily wear, but you might think twice before any prolonged submersion.
I found this mid-sized watch to be a nice fit on my 6.75″ wrist.
As you might have gathered from the name, Vario adapted this dial design from the A-11 watch issued to U.S. servicemen in and after World War Two. Typical of that style, it has large Arabic numbers, pilot-style sword hands, and a radial minutes index. A red navigator’s triangle offers a welcome pop of color against the black, white, or the pictured gray. In keeping with Vario’s other 1945 models, the dial has a rough texture and a discreetly embossed logo.
What it does not have is a second hand. That is not to say that you can’t track seconds, only that it lacks a hand. You see, the good folks at Vario share The Time Bum’s distaste for the big, jumpy tick of most quartz watches, and the Miyota 2170 in here is no exception. Since smooth-sweeping solar movements are not an option, Vario chose to reduce the second counter to a dot on a disk capping the pinion. While it takes a keen eye to spot it, I found I grew accustomed to it very quickly. It’s a delightful stylistic quirk.
At night, BGW9 Super-LumiNova lights up all the key components – even the dot. Vario lumed the signed crown, as well.
The watch ships on a 20mm tapered Cordura quick-release trap. Like all of Vario’s straps, it is attractive and well-made. Metal grommets combat fraying while lending an appropriately rugged appearance.
Just to mix things up a bit, they sent the review sample with one of the brand’s excellent leather straps in a vegetable-tanned Forest Green that complemented the soft gray dial.
On the caseback, you will find a cleanly engraved image of an origami crane, a symbol of peace and hope that takes a welcome step back from the watch’s martial origins.
The Vario 1945 A-11S is an excellent everyday watch at an impulse buy price. In these uncertain times, that value is a big deal. Here we are, more than halfway through 2025 and I have no idea what the tariff of the day may be, whether the polio vaccine has been replaced with raw milk, or if AI is preparing a Skynet attack, but I know that I can still buy a well-made, innovative watch from a respected microbrand for less than $200. There is some comfort in that.
For more information or to order your own, visit vario.sg.
