Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Elgin WWII U.S. Army Type A-11 Military Wristwatch Elgin 539 circa 1944 Stainless Steel
- Maker / attribution
- Elgin (maker)
- Date
- c. 1944
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Auction house
- LiveAuctioneers auction archive
- Lot
- Item 222761324
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 491, EXCLUSIVE WATCHES AND POCKET WATCHES 5, Sphere Auctions LLC (2026), via LiveAuctioneers
- Catalogue title (original)
- Elgin WWII U.S. Army Type A-11 Military Wristwatch Elgin 539 circa 1944 Stainless Steel (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 222761324), this is a wristwatch by Elgin, made in United States, dated c. 1944. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 4 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
Lot description — Sphere Auctions LLC
World War II–era Elgin U.S. Army Type A-11 military wristwatch, currently not running at the time of listing. Service recommended. This example features the correct black military dial with luminous Arabic numerals, outer minute track, and period-correct luminous hands. The crystal shows heavy scratching consistent with age and use.The stainless steel screw-back case is properly marked A.F. U.S. ARMY TYPE A-11, with specification, serial, and Elgin manufacturer markings. Inside is the correct Elgin Grade 539 mechanical hand-wind movement, made in the USA. Watch is fitted with a stainless steel coil-style expansion bracelet as shown.This watch shows honest wear, oxidation, and patina consistent with genuine wartime service. Offered as a complete, unrestored military timepiece.Itemized DetailsBrand: ElginModel: U.S. Army Type A-11Production Year: circa 1944Movement: Elgin Grade 539 mechanical hand-windJewels: 15 jewelsCase Material: Stainless steelCaseback Markings: A.F. U.S. ARMY TYPE A-11 with spec, serial, and Elgin markingsDial: Black military dial with luminous Arabic numerals and outer minute trackHands: Luminous military handsCrystal: Acrylic, heavily scratchedBracelet: Stainless steel coil expansion braceletCondition: Not running; service recommended; heavy wear and patina consistent with age and military use
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
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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