Wristwatches · Wristwatch
J.W. Benson Watch Co., Trench Style, Sub Seconds, Square Case, Glasgow Import, circa 1934
- Maker / attribution
- J.W. Benson (maker)
- Date
- c. 1934
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Scotland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- VWS3220CS
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (VWS3220CS)
- Catalogue title (original)
- J.W. Benson Watch Co. - Trench Style - Sub Seconds - Square Case - Glasgow Import - c.1934 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number VWS3220CS), this is a wristwatch by J.W. Benson, made in Scotland, dated c. 1934. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) 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 Charming Vintage J.W. Benson Sub Seconds Dress Watch with Silver Square Case circa 1934 JW Benson was founded in 1847 by James William Benson and his brother Samuel Suckley Benson. The company initially operated from their shop in Ludgate Hill, London. The brand quickly gained a reputation for high-quality timepieces and became the official watchmaker to the Admiralty and the War Department. Many JW Benson watches from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are highly sought after by collectors. These watches often feature intricate designs and are crafted with precious metals. What's on Offer The hallmarks present on this watch tell us that it was originally imported to Glasgow around 1934-1935. We know this due to the FF import mark and K Date Hallmark on the inside caseback. The entire watch is encased in a nicely finished sterling silver but has minor age-related marks. Sitting underneath the shatterproof plexiglass is a clear white enamel dial outlined with track markings and easy-to-read black numerals. Finishing off with the beautiful pumpkin-coloured cathedral hands that have changed with time to give it that vintage look. The look of this watch is very much a trench-style design, common in that period although we are certain it was not used for military purposes.
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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