Islandus Dakota
Discover the Islandus Dakota Pilot style watch, available in a 44 mm steel case with with black or white dials, rhodium plated luminous hands and Italian Calf leather strap or Steel bracelet.
Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing!
Collection Islandus Dakota 44mm
The Islandus Dakota collection is available in a 44 mm steel case with with black or silver dial with luminous numerals,
Rhodium plated luminous hands and Italian Calf leather strap or Steel bracelet. Date display is located at 6 o'clock. Swiss Made Mechanical movement “Execution Top” with Automatic winding, 25 jewels, Custom decorations, Blue screws and Rhodium plated finish, which can be examined in detail through a sapphire crystal case back. All decorations and craftsmanship is of the highest quality.
Technical specifications
Movement
Swiss Made Mechanical movement “Execution Top”
Automatic winding
25 jewels, Custom decorations, Blue screws and Rhodium plated finish.
42-hour power reserve when fully wound.
Fine tuning: “Assortment Chronometer”.
Shock protection: Incabloc.
Adjusted to five positions.
Case
Material: Surgical grade German Stainless Steel "316L"
Diameter: 44mm, height 11.5mm.
Surface finish: Highly polished.
Curved Sapphire Crystal with multi anti reflective coating on the inside.
See-through Sapphire Crystal display back.
Lug width: 22mm
Lug to Lug length: 53mm
Dial
Black grain finish / Silver grain finish, with Arabic numerals in black or old radium Super-LumiNova
Date display at six o'clock.
Hands
Rhodium plated with black Super-LumiNova / Matt black with old radium Super-LumiNova.
Strap
Handmade 22mm black or brown Italian Calf with JS Watch co. Reykjavik buckle or optional deployant clasp.
Steel bracelet also available.
Inspiration
In our design, we draw inspiration from classic watches and the history connected to Iceland. So when we decided to introduce a new pilot watch to our collection, we looked closely at Icelandic aviation history. One story stood out at once. The U.S. Navy C 117D Dakota that came down on the black sands of Sólheimasandur on the south coast remains one of the most striking aircraft wrecks in the world.
On 21 November 1973, the day before Thanksgiving, a Navy Douglas C 117D from Naval Air Station Keflavík was flying a routine logistics mission to and from Höfn. Commander James D. Wicke was the aircraft commander. On the return leg, Lieutenant Gregory G. Fletcher was flying the airplane. In cloud and turbulence the aircraft encountered severe icing. Power on both engines decayed and the propellers windmilled as restart attempts were made. Over Mýrdalsjökull they turned south toward the sea. Breaking out near the coast, Fletcher aligned with the wind and landed on the firm black sand of Sólheimasandur. The airplane touched down at about seventy knots, slid roughly ninety feet, and came to rest across a shallow glacial stream. A port wing tank ruptured, but there was no fire.
A U.S. Air Force C 130, call sign King 81, heard the Mayday and located the site. About ninety minutes after touchdown an HH 3E Jolly Green Giant helicopter from Keflavík, call sign Jolly 38, airlifted the crew and passengers, with no serious injuries reported beyond a cut to Commander Wicke’s forehead. Navy investigators later found extensive ice in the induction and around the cylinders and concluded that extreme icing caused the dual loss of power. Major components were salvaged and the fuselage was left on the beach, where it still rests and has since become a magnet for visitors and photographers. Years later it even appeared in music videos and films.
This is the story that helped inspire our pilot watches and our Islandus Dakota C 117. It is a reminder of calm skill, good judgment, and a little luck on a long, dark day in November.
For a long time, the Dakota crash site was considered a hidden secret among photography enthusiasts and lay largely unnoticed in the sand. The documentary film 'Heima' by the Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós in 2007 raised public awareness, and then later, when Justin Bieber skateboarded on the roof in his music video for 'I’ll Show You' (2015), the plane wreck became known far beyond the country’s borders.
Fifty two years after the 1973 landing, Gregory G. Fletcher returned to Iceland to visit the Sólheimasandur C117 wreck and stopped by our workshop in Reykjavík. We marked the moment by gifting him an Islandus Dakota C117 watch as a reminder of the event. We are grateful for his visit and for the history that continues to inspire our watches.
