The ‘D-Day watches’ made from WWII helmets — and beach sand from Normandy

CNN In an age when clocks are determined in bulk pockets and on every screen watchmaker Col MacArthur s selling point is not just time but history itself Known for using unconventional materials from Pearl Harbor seawater to meteorite moondust in the name of horological storytelling the brand is now commemorating the D-Day landings with a series of watches made from US soldiers helmets and haversacks as well as sand from the beaches of Normandy People are not buying this watch because it tells the time the company s CEO S bastien Colen revealed on a call from Belgium where the former force executive co-founded the company in It s because it is bringing them back somewhere in the past Colen had spent three years growing a prototype for his Normandie a luxury watch featuring metal from an M- the standard-issue helmet used by the US Army during World War II Sourced from a military memorabilia trader in Dallas Texas the helmet was flattened in a press rather than with a hammer to preserve its original markings and imperfections The resulting metal sheet was then cut into circles that can be incorporated into dials and inserted in the watches -millimeter cases at the brand s studio in Li ge Belgium The pieces are being produced to order meaning the number of helmets required depends on how a large number of are sold One M- contains enough metal for about watches Colen explained The watchmaker is right now accepting orders via a Kickstarter campaign which has raised over at the time of publication Elsewhere the design features a small capsule of Normandy sand and a strap made from an M- haversack the backpacks widely used by the US Army during World War II The dial displays a historical map of Omaha Beach a codename given to one of the five landing areas alongside Utah Gold Juno and Sword Beaches used by Allied troops on D-Day Operation Neptune as it is also known was the largest amphibious invasion in history marking a major turning point in the war The M- was worn by the vast majority of the US troops who landed in Normandy either on the beaches or as airborne troops on June The helmets one-size-fits-all design comprised a manganese steel outer shell and an adjustable inner lining that was attached to a leather chinstrap In the absence of markings identifying the wearer it is often impossible to trace individual helmets to specific soldiers or battles And although Col MacArthur cannot guarantee that each M- helmet it uses was worn during the D-Day landings certificates of authenticity from the dealer Gustafsons confirm that they were used during the wider liberation of Europe Col MacArthur will produce two versions of the watch the varying prices reflecting differences in their internal mechanisms The premium Legacy edition priced at and limited to a symbolic run of units features a Swiss-made movement while the standard version priced at uses a cheaper Japanese movement Ethical quandaries Colen came up with the idea while at Belgium s Ciney Militaria one of the world s largest military collectibles fairs He then visited Normandy to speak to locals and familiarize himself with the landings geographical context It s very critical that we go on site to feel it he explained Unlike the helmets and haversacks the sand presented a legal hurdle Taking sand from any French beach is prohibited by law Normandy s D-day sites are commonly targeted by souvenir-seekers France s Ministry of Way of life has meanwhile required UNESCO to afford them World Heritage status and although leadership tolerate people taking small amounts for personal use doing so at scale or for commercial purposes can attract fines of euros Colen instead sought permission from a local mayor whose office advised him to collect sand that had naturally blown from Sword Beach onto a neighboring road If we want to respect the memory it s very critical that we do these things properly Colen explained Other ethical considerations will arise as the watches go into production Among them is the question of whether to use stained parts of the haversacks possibly containing blood on the straps reverse side or to cut around them entirely It s tricky because selected people could be offended But on the other hand for me it s something that s very crucial to show Colen mentioned without offering a definitive answer to how he will approach this dilemma It s a question of authenticity Then there is the wider moral question of whether historical artifacts should ever be intentionally destroyed M- helmets were mass produced with over million made between and and they are relatively common on the collectors field where they typically fetch hundreds rather than thousands of dollars each But Colen understands why people might criticize his decision to recycle them into luxury items Every time we do a project we really question ourselves Is it is it respectful he explained before referencing Winston Churchill s quote that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it This is exactly what is happening the present day he argued So instead of having a helmet sitting in a warehouse it s on a watch it s providing emotion and it s reminding us every single day of events of the past Tangible memories Col MacArthur s short history is rooted in British rather than American military tradition Originally a collaboration between Colen and former British serviceman Iain Wood the company was founded years ago to produce watches for the country s Scots Guards the latter s erstwhile regiment The pair later designed pieces for various regiments of the Royal Guards the sentries protecting Buckingham Palace and St James s Palace in London In Col MacArthur began work on a line of watches marking the centenary of World War I one of which was presented to French president Emmanuel Macron The watch s success heralded a pivot towards timepieces centered on major historical figures and events Without knowing at the time I was already working on our first commemorative watches Colen declared In the years since the watchmaker has issued collections based on more than a dozen themes from Leonardo da Vinci to the Battle of Britain A great number of of them contain tangible artifacts including moon dust from a lunar meteorite used in watches dedicated to the Apollo mission and water from Pearl Harbor trapped between sapphire crystals in watches commemorating the Japanese attack on America s naval base there in If its latest crowdfunding campaign exceeds Col MacArthur will start putting money toward its next collection timepieces memorializing the Battle of the Bulge Nazi Germany s last campaign on the Western Front Colen plans to incorporate fragments of a shell dropped on the Belgian city of Bastogne into the watches design For every single watch we really try to integrate something unique he stated