For sale we have a WW2 British Military issue ATP watch. This is a beautiful and very original example of the Ebel ATP from WW2. It has a 32mm Stainless Steel case, with fixed bar lugs. It wears larger than its strict dimension as it has a 41mm lug-to-lug width with tapered lugs to hug the wrist. It has a neat and light patination to the dial, highlighting the passage of time and the things this watch may have seen in its service. It has beautiful cathedral style hands, with clear Arabic numerals and radium lume pips on the hour markers. It has a clear and simple sub-second dial allowing for accurate time keeping. To the reverse is the screw case back with ATP engraving and F02549 serial number. The cal 99 Ebel manual wind movement is running well and keeping time to within +40 seconds a day. The watch is presented on a new NATO style strap in Khaki Green tone.
 
Ebel had two ATP models, one with a push through back and the later one, with the 6 slot screw back. It is known amongst the ATPs for its Cathedral hands, a distinguishing feature.
This example has 3 dots at 6, with sub-seconds that have clear 10 second Arabic graduations. The serial number is good, with the F0 denomination before. 
 
ATP stands for ‘Army Trade Pattern,’ which set the rules of design to create these watches for British armed force. They were introduced in 1939 and saw significant use in the field, whereas the more desirable WWW watches only played a part towards the tail end of the war. The ATP watches proved so popular that they remained in service until 1957, often with new engravings to the rear for their new purposes.
 
In total, 17 Swiss manufacturers provided ATP watches for the British, all with subtle differences, but broadly of the following specification. 
 
They needed to be roughly 30-34mm in size, with a white or silver dial and black numerals for legibility, and a sub-second register for precision. The cases had fixed bar lugs to ensure no spring bar failures. They featured reliable movements with 15 jewel movements or higher and were manual wound. To further aid legibility at night, the hands were to have luminous lume, along with the hour markers.
 
This example is nice and original, a real collectors piece and a piece of military history.
 
*Credit to the Af0210strap website for helping to supplement information for this listing.
 
Full condition report below. Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
 
Dial: 
The dial is original and is in good condition for the age. The dial was originally a silver tone and has aged to a darker tone. It has a satin finish. All signing is clear and the hour markers have original lume plots.
 
Hands: 
The hands are original, with thermally blued finish and radium lume in-fill. They are in good condition with little corrosion to the thermally blued finish. The lume is a later replacement. The sub-second hand is also original.
 
Glass: 
The acrylic crystal is original and is in good condition having been polished.
 
Crown: 
The crown is original and is in good condition.  
 
Case:
The case is made of Stainless Steel and is in good condition. It has a polished finish to the bezel, with a lightly brushed finish to the sides. It has some light surface scratching associated with wear but no major marking.
 
Caseback:
The screw back is in good condition with a circular brushed finish. This finish has worn due to being on a single piece strap for some years. It has some light surface scratching associated with ageing. The ATP engraving is clear and original with serial number.
 
Strap: 
The watch is on a new Nato style strap in Khaki Green. It will fit any wrist size.
 
Movement:
The movement is a Ebel cal 99 (base movement Aurore-Villeret 232). It is a manual wind movement, with a jewel count of 15 and has a frequency of 18,000 BPH.
 
The service history is unknown, but the movement is in good condition and is keeping good time. It’s keeping time to within +40 seconds a day with an amplitude of 303 degrees and a beat error of 0.6m/s.
 
Case dimensions:
Case width: 32mm
Case width with crown: 34.5mm 
Case length: 32.25mm
Case length lug to lug: 41mm
Case Depth: 11mm
Lug width: 17mm