Rdunae Field Watch RA02 Review: Military Watch DNA For Under $50

If you’ve spent any time reading TBWS over the years, you already know where my bias lives. British military watches have been a long-running problem for me. I’ve owned more than a few CWC pieces, lived with them, written about them, and kept circling back to the same design language over and over again. There’s something about those no-nonsense General Service watches, the ones that came out of real procurement needs rather than marketing exercises, that still gets under my skin.

The originals basically carried their “paperwork” right on the caseback. W10 for the British Army. 6BB for the RAF. 0552 for the Royal Navy. Each of them were built to a spec sheet that left no room for interpretation. Hamilton and CWC both played their part in that lineage, and for collectors today those references tend to live behind glass or four-figure price tags.

Somewhere inside that history sits the sterile 6BB Navigator, often called the “Lost” Navigator. It’s one of those watches that feels half real and half myth. Roughly two thousand examples were produced (maybe), all were issued to the RAF in the mid-1970s, and they then largely disappeared into collections. I’ve never had much interest in chasing one down at today’s prices.

So when I came across a modern recreation of that watch for well under $50 from Rdunae, I got curious. The visual execution gets close enough that I wanted to see how it held up. Especially knowing how similar it is, on paper at least, to pieces I’ve owned and worn, including the CWC Mellor-72 (see my review here). Let’s check it out.

Brand and Intent

Before getting into the watch itself, I have to address the name. Rdunae is a genuinely terrible brand name. It sounds awkward and slightly comical, and not in a way that inspires much confidence. I eventually learned it’s derived from a Latin phrase about Rome not being built in a day, which is fine as trivia, but it still feels like something you have to get past before taking the watch seriously.

Once I did, what stood out was how committed they seem to be to accuracy. Not reinterpretation, not modernized inspiration, but a very literal approach to recreating vintage military designs. This RA02 isn’t even my first watch from them, which probably tells you more than I’d like to admit given the price bracket. There’s a consistency to how they approach these pieces, and that consistency is what keeps pulling me back.

Case and Wrist Experience

The moment I handled it, the familiarity hit. The proportions are almost a dead ringer for my old Mellor-72. On paper, the case measures just under 35mm across with a compact lug-to-lug, but the numbers don’t really tell the story. On the wrist, the two wear almost interchangeably. There’s no pretending this is a modern-sized watch. It looks small by today’s standards. That never felt like a drawback to me. If anything, it reinforced why these designs worked so well in the first place.

The weight plays into that experience too. This thing is barely there, tipping the scale at a little over thirty-five grams. It wears more like a piece of issued kit than a modern accessory, and after a full day on the wrist it’s easy to forget it’s even on.

Dial, Build, and Movement

The dial is where Rdunae’s attention to detail really shows. Matte black, crisp white Arabic numerals, and a layout that prioritizes clarity above everything else. The triangle at twelve is fully lumed, just as it should be, and the small “T” marking makes an appearance as a historical reference rather than a functional claim. No tritium here, obviously, but the nod feels appropriate.

Down at six, the broad arrow is present as well. It’s not pretending to be an issued piece, but it understands what made the originals visually distinct. Surrounding everything is a clean railroad minute track, precisely printed and easy to read at a glance. The pencil-style hands are fully lumed and feel proportionally right for the dial, never crowding the numerals or disappearing against them.

What I appreciated most is what isn’t there. No branding. No water resistance text. No unnecessary filler. The dial stays sterile and functional, which suits the whole point of this watch. It feels designed rather than decorated.

The case follows the same philosophy. Sandblasted stainless steel throughout, with a uniform finish that avoids any unnecessary flair. There are no bevels to admire and no transitions meant to catch the light. It’s blunt, utilitarian, and very much in character for a military field watch. I actually think they nailed this part. It feels honest.

The crystal is a domed K1 mineral, hardened and sitting somewhere between acrylic and sapphire in terms of durability. At this price, that choice makes sense. What surprised me was the dome itself. It’s more pronounced than I remember on the Mellor-72, and that exaggerated curve leans hard into the vintage aesthetic. It gives the watch a bit more visual warmth without trying to pretend it’s something more expensive than it is.

Operation is handled through a simple push-pull crown, tucked neatly between the case sides. Functionally, it’s exactly what you’d expect. Easy to use, nothing fussy. The one misstep here is the finish. The crown is polished, which feels like an oversight given how strict military specs were about avoiding reflective surfaces. My guess is that this came down to cost and parts sharing rather than intent. At this level, it’s forgivable, but it’s worth calling out.

Around back, the screw-down caseback is densely etched with model information, water resistance, and even the battery reference. That last part is actually useful, especially for a watch that’s meant to be worn and forgotten rather than babied.

Inside, there are no surprises. A Miyota 2035 quartz movement handles timekeeping duties. It’s basic, reliable, and rated for a multi-year battery life. Some purists will always argue that a hand-wound or automatic movement would feel more authentic here. I get that argument. I just don’t agree with it in this context. This watch feels better as something you grab and go without thinking about wind state or service intervals.

The supplied nylon strap didn’t last long for me. It’s fine, but it didn’t add much. I ended up wearing the watch almost exclusively on slimmer nylon straps from BluShark and ADPT. The 19mm lug width is slightly awkward, but not enough to matter. The small gap from using an 18mm strap never bothered me, and the proportions still feel right on the wrist. Lume performance sits where you’d expect. It’s not exceptional, but it’s better than the price suggests. A clean green glow on the hands and markers that does what it needs to do when the lights drop.

Where It Stands

I’m not going to pretend this replaces a CWC, and that was never the point for me. The Mellor-72 I used to own is still the better watch in a lot of meaningful ways, and I don’t feel any need to argue otherwise. This wasn’t a purchase made to prove a point or find a shortcut around something better.

What surprised me is how far this Rdunae gets at a price that still feels slightly absurd to say out loud. For well under fifty dollars, it captures the visual and functional spirit of the so-called Lost Navigator more faithfully than I expected. That comes with compromises, of course. The quartz movement won’t work for everyone, and there are small details that remind you exactly what this is. I was fine with those trade-offs going in, and I’m still fine with them now.

In my collection, this sits firmly in the “fun” category as a watch currently priced at $42.90. It isn’t meant to stand out, and it doesn’t try to compete with watches that carry more history or emotional weight for me. It’s something I enjoy wearing, something I don’t overthink, and something that tends to spark conversations, especially with people who are just starting to get interested in watches and assume meaningful design always comes with a painful price tag.

For me, that’s enough. It scratches the curiosity without reopening the urge to chase an original, and it lets me enjoy a design I’ve always liked without turning it into a project. That’s why it stays.

Rdunae