Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Hamilton RAF 6BB Military Watch, 1975
- Maker / attribution
- Hamilton (maker)
- Date
- 1975
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws2570
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws2570)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Hamilton RAF 6BB Military Watch - 1975 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws2570), this is a wristwatch by Hamilton, made in Switzerland, dated 1975. 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 — Vintage Watch Specialist
A Superb Hamilton RAF 6BB Military Watch With Original Military Markings and Attractive Lume, 1975 Hamilton produced watches for the RAF under the 6BB mark between 1973 and 1976. The watch succeeded the earlier Smiths production piece and preceded the CWC production pieces. The ‘T’ marking on the dial stands for tritium, the original 1960s and 1970s material used to make dials luminescent, a mark that guarantees the originality of the dial. What’s On Offer This is a remarkably well-preserved watch given its age of over 45 years old! The black dial is rich and blemish free and the brilliant white Arabic numerals are crisp and bold. The original sword hands boast their original Tritium lume as denoted by the T circle below the Hamilton signature, and it has aged beautifully to a nice pale yellow which corresponds with the lumed hour plots. The dial is encapsulated underneath shatterproof Plexiglas which is encased in stainless steel. The case and lugs are in excellent shape with only very minor signs of wear. The caseback boasts its original military engravings which read: 6BB-6645-99 523-8290 /|\ 7477/75, so we can date the watch to 1975 from this. These watches are very robust and look as good today as they did 4 decades ago, they also wear very comfortably on the wrist. A great addition to any vintage or military collection.
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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