Here we have an interesting and uncommon WW1 period British Military issued trench watch. It has the 34mm base metal case with the snap-on bezel and hinged case back. It has the classic fixed bar lugs with the onion shaped crown to the right. The dial a bright white enamel with the railroad minute track and large luminous Arabic numerals, with red 12. It has the sub-second register at 6 o’clock. The hands are of luminous Squelette style in the thermally blued tone. The case back is marked with the broad arrow and the number ‘20042’, the last digit is rubbed and is either a ‘C’ or a ‘0’. The inside of the case is unmarked. The movement is a 7-jewel manual wind calibre by A.Michel S.A. It is jewelled to the bridge side. It has been recently serviced and is keeping reliable time.

The following information comes from David Boettcher and the excellent resources on his Vintage watch straps website;

Timepieces that were officially issued to British military personnel carry the stamped broad arrow to the rear. British officers were expected to supply much of their own kit (including watches, for which they received an allowance of around £50.

Wristwatches were officially issued to “other ranks” who wouldn’t be expected to purchase their own. These included signallers and telegraphers/telephonists, who would put the time on received messages.

In his book “A concise guide to Military Timepieces 1880-1990” Ziggy Wesolowski remarks that: The War Department procured a variety of wristlets for evaluation and issue, circa 1917. All the wristlets that were made available have a number of different unsigned Swiss 15 jewel lever movements, while the case designs came in two types. Some had snap back cases, which could not form an adequate hermetic seal and consequently were judged unsuitable for field conditions; many of these were sold off in the 1920s and bear the broad arrow cancellation mark. Other wristlets came with screw-back cases which offered better protection. All wristlets had black enamel dials and radium numerals and hands”.

David Boettcher posits that Ziggys date of 1917 is not correct as he has seen examples of earlier dated watches. These would have been needed for issue to signallers and others in forward positions who needed ready access to the time for noting on dispatches etc from early in the war.

He also states, which chimes with our experience, that many watches from this era were not officially decommissioned and have just a single mark, showing that they were unofficially liberated from Army service.

The watch:

The dial is enamel and is a white tone. This is not usual of WW1 issued wristwatches as the screw back and snap back examples mentioned above had black dials. However, there is nothing to indicate that it is not original to the watch. It is a bright white tone with the classic railroad minute track to the exterior with the broad dashes on the hour markers and Diamond markers to the quarters. The hour markers are bold Arabic numerals, with the standout red 12. They have the luminous in-fill which has aged. The sub-second register sits at 6 o’clock with the railroad track to the exterior. The hour and minute hands are the bright thermally blued tone, of Squelette style. They have the luminous in-fill which matches the tone of the hour markers. The sub-second hand is also a blued tone with the lollipop counterbalance.

The case is well proportioned measuring 34mm x 34mm. It has a total lug-to-lug measurement of 41.4mm, which a case depth of just under 12mm. The lug width is 12mm which is standard for the era.

The case would appear to be silver plated on base metal. It has the snap-on bezel with the polished finish. The central section of the case has the fixed bar lugs to each end, which are good and sturdy. To the right-hand side is the onion style crown. The case back is marked with the broad arrow and the engraved number ‘20042’, the last digit is rubbed and is either a ‘C’ or a ‘0’. The case back is hinged and snaps tightly in place. Inside it is unmarked.

The movement is a manual wind 7 jewel calibre by A.Michel S.A. It is jewelled to the bridge side. It has been recently serviced and is keeping reliable time to within a couple of minutes variation per day.

The watch is modelled on a 7” wrist circumference.
Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
A further condition report is below.

Dial:
The dial is enamel and is original. It is in original condition. It has hairline fractures at 12 and 2 o’clock to the edges. It also has hairline fractures stemming from 3 o’clock to 4 o’clock and from 4 o’clock towards the sub-second track. There is a chip to the edge of the dial at 5 o’clock which crosses the minute track. The luminous to the markers is original and is lacking in places.

Hands:
The hands are original in the thermally blued tone. They are in good condition with some light ageing. The luminous in-fill is original.

Glass:
The acrylic crystal is a modern replacement in perfect condition.

Crown:
The crown appears original and is in good condition, functioning well.

Case:
The bezel snaps on tightly and the case back closes tightly. The fixed lugs are good and strong. The plated finish is good and has oxidisation and scratching associated with age.
The military engraving to the rear is visible but the number has rubbed to the edge.

Strap:
The watch comes on a new genuine leather strap which is in perfect condition.

Movement:
The movement is a manual wind 7 jewel calibre by A.Michel S.A.
The movement has been recently serviced by our watchmaker. It is keeping time to within a couple of minutes per day, with an amplitude of 285 degrees and a beat error of 3.0m/s.

Case dimensions
Case width: 34mm
Case width with crown: 36.4mm
Case length: 34mm
Case length lug to lug: 41.4mm
Case depth: 11.8mm
Lug width: 12mm