Vintage military watches - style on the wrist

Men have peculiarly acquisitive instincts: how many men do you know who are obsessed by collecting something? It may be cars, watches, clothes, cameras, books, golf clubs, rare birds, works of art or racing bikes. We're no doubt reflecting some ancient instinct which had us collecting weapons, vital tools or whatever was required for our survival and that of our genes.

One item that a man of style might collect is watches. A watch say as much about its owner - just as a what we wear reflects our tastes and personality. For those who like to focus on one type of watch, I'd suggest vintage military timepieces.

British military watches from the 40s to 60s

The last few years have seen a move towards smaller watches of plainer design - something I've discussed here before and will visit again soon. To many this is a welcome move away from the growth in watch sizes throughout the 90s and 00s when some watches soared to approaching 50mm in diameter. 

In the early to middle years of the last century a man's watch could measure anything from around 28mm in diameter; a watch of 36mm plus would have been large in comparison. Nowadays 40mm is considered average. However, watch companies are gradually reducing the size of men's watches again in response to the growth of the Asian market (where wrists are smaller), the popularity of men's watches for women and the increasing interest in smaller vintage watches. Small is becoming more sophisticated. A smaller minimalist watch works well with formal or informal wear. 

What better than vintage military watches to fill this niche and to appeal to man's collecting instincts? They are around 34mm to 36mm in diameter, but stand out on the wrist because they were designed to be instantly legible. The watches in these pictures were made for the British military between the forties and sixties, a vibrant period of military watchmaking, before electronics brought us rather soulless quartz watches. They are robustly designed with movements which are beautifully made and generally easy to maintain.

Many can be bought from around £1000 to £2000 currently (some types for even less), though collectible ones like the Omega 53 or Mk11 navigators' watches made by Jaeger LeCoultre and IWC for astro-navigation can cost many times that. One to look out for is a watch made by Smiths for the British Army - the 'Smiths W10'. Smiths watches represent the end of a longstanding tradition of British watchmaking and the W10 can be bought for a reasonable figure as it isn't particularly rare. To be able to wear a watch made entirely in the UK - movement, case, dial and hands, is now sadly unusual.

Military watches should hold their value and in many cases appreciate. The last year of lockdown saw vintage watch prices increase noticeably as those lucky buyers stuck at home with little to do found an interesting way to spend their money.

Inevitably, buying vintage military watches is a minefield - a lot of fakes are sold on eBay and even on watch fora and by dealers - get good advice before you take the plunge. Google 'Military Watches' and get to know the dealers, join a good military watch forum online and read and learn. The watches will need looking after, a service will be necessary every few years to keep the movement in top condition. The costs of this will soon eat into any investment value, but overall a well-chosen watch will give you years of pleasure and represent a fair investment.

This feature is an update of a piece I posted in February 2012.