Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Jaeger LeCoultre Mark 11, 6B/346 2747/48, Royal Air Force Issued Wristwatch, 1948
- Maker / attribution
- Jaeger-LeCoultre (maker)
- Date
- 1948
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws4002
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws4002)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Jaeger LeCoultre Mark 11 - 6B/346 2747/48 - Royal Air Force Issued Wristwatch - 1948 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws4002), this is a wristwatch by Jaeger-LeCoultre, made in Switzerland, dated 1948. 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 Jaeger-LeCoultre Mark XI - British Royal Air Force Issued Watch with Original Lume, Military Pheon, and Service Engravings, 1948 The Jaeger-LeCoultre Mark 11 (6B/346) was introduced in 1948 as a military-issued navigation watch for the British Royal Air Force. Built to exacting specifications, it featured a highly legible black dial, hacking seconds, and anti-magnetic protection—essentials for precise navigation. Alongside IWC, JLC supplied these legendary tool watches, which became benchmarks of military timekeeping. With rugged design and impeccable accuracy, the Mark 11 cemented Jaeger-LeCoultre’s reputation as a trusted supplier to the British military. What's on Offer This Jaeger-LeCoultre Mark 11 (6B/346) is one of the most iconic military-issued watches of the 20th century, built to RAF specifications in 1948. In superb condition, the matte black dial features crisp Arabic numerals, syringe hands, and original lume still present on both the hands and hour plots. The military pheon proudly sits beneath the JLC signature, while the caseback carries its original service engravings. We have pared the watch with a period correct New Old Stock (NOS), Gay Frères Ladder Bracket similar to the original Bonklip ones supplied to the RAF.
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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