Wristwatches · Wristwatch
IWC Mark XI, 6B/346, 1042/52, British Royal Air Force Issued Watch, 1952
- Maker / attribution
- IWC (maker)
- Date
- 1952
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws4004
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws4004)
- Catalogue title (original)
- IWC Mark XI - 6B/346 - 1042/52 - British Royal Air Force Issued Watch - 1952 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws4004), this is a wristwatch by IWC, made in Switzerland, dated 1952. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) 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 1952 IWC Mark 11 RAF-Issued Pilot’s Watch with Rich Black Dial and Beautifully Aged Vanilla Lume The IWC Mark 11, reference 6B/346, is one of the most iconic military pilot’s watches ever produced. Commissioned in 1948 by the British Ministry of Defence for RAF navigators, it was designed to meet the most rigorous standards of precision and durability. Equipped with the robust Calibre 89 and hacking seconds for accurate time setting, the IWC Mark 11 became a trusted companion in the skies. Today, it stands as a cornerstone of military watch collecting. What's on Offer This IWC Mark 11, reference 6B/346 from 1952, is a superbly preserved piece of RAF history. The dial is particularly striking — a rich matte black with crisp Arabic numerals, evenly aged tritium lume across the hour plots and hands, now a beautiful vanilla tone. The military pheon is present as is the circled 'T' denoting the lume as Tritium. Protected by a shatterproof Plexiglass crystal and housed in stainless steel, this Mark 11 remains in excellent condition. A rare and historically significant tool watch, we have pared this watch to a New Old Stock (NOS) Gay Frères, ladder style bracelet this is like the Bonklips which were supplied originally to the RAF with these watches, and so an absolute prize for any military collector, but with the added bonus of the bracelet!
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
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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