
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
CWC G10 "Medium Fat Boy" Royal Army Field Watch W10/6645-99-541531, 1984
- Maker / attribution
- CWC (maker)
- Date
- 1984
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- CWCG10FW
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (CWCG10FW)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1984 CWC G10 "Medium Fat Boy" Royal Army Field Watch W10/6645-99-541531 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number CWCG10FW), this is a wristwatch by CWC, dated 1984. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Craft & Tailored
Founded in 1972, Cabot Watch Company (CWC) built its reputation supplying purpose-built timepieces to the British Ministry of Defence. With an emphasis on reliability, legibility, and practical design, the company became one of the MoD’s principal watch suppliers, producing rugged tools for service across the British armed forces. The year 1980 marked a significant milestone for CWC. Alongside securing the contract to replace the Rolex “MilSub” as the Royal Navy’s diving watch, the company introduced the G10—the first quartz wristwatch supplied to British forces. Succeeding CWC’s manually wound W10, the G10 brought the accuracy and convenience of quartz timekeeping to the brand’s general-service watches while preserving the straightforward functionality that defined its military designs. Taking its name from the military’s G1098 stores designation, the G10 would become CWC’s most widely issued watch, with approximately 165,000 examples supplied to the MoD between 1980 and 2006. Early versions earned the affectionate “Fat Boy” nickname for the deeper cases required to accommodate their quartz movements. This 1984 example belongs to the transitional generation commonly known as the “Medium Fat Boy,” featuring a slightly shallower case that bridges the original’s substantial proportions and the slimmer profile of later G10 models. Dating to 1984, this British Army-issued example represents an appealing chapter in the G10’s early evolution. Its utilitarian character and military provenance capture the enduring appeal of CWC: an honest, purpose-built wristwatch whose design was shaped by the demands of service. SPECS Stock # CWCG10FW Brand CWC Style G10 Field Watch Model W10/6645-99-5415317 Serial 28XXX Size Men's Material Stainless Steel Dial Matte Black Millimeters 35 Strap Original Deadstock Pale Grey Phoenix NATO Strap CASE & BRACELET The case remains in sharp, unpolished condition, exhibiting only very light, but honest wear consistent with military service. The original fixed strap bars remain fully intact. The caseback retains deep and crisp, fully legible military issue markings, including the original NSN and issuance numbers. The watch is fitted on an original deadstock pale grey Phoenix NATO strap. DIAL & HANDS The original matte black “Circle T” dial remains in good vintage condition, displaying scattered spots and marks consistent with its age and military use, most of which are imperceptible to the naked eye. The tritium lume plots have developed a deep orange-beige patina, apart from the 10 o’clock plot, which appears to have been repaired, possibly during servicing, while the watch was in active duty. The tritium lume in the hands has aged to a lighter eggshell tone, complementing the overall patina of the dial. ACCESSORIES None. The watch recently received a fresh battery and is keeping time perfectly.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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