Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Lemania Royal Navy Series 1 HS9 Monopusher, 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Lemania (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 38 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 1321241313367
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 1321241313367)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Lemania Royal Navy Series 1 HS9 Monopusher (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 1321241313367), this is a wristwatch by Lemania, made in Switzerland, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 38 mm. 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 — S.Song Watches
This Lemania Series 1 Monopusher Chronograph is a classic British military watch. Issued to the Royal Navy, it’s cassock markings of ‘HS9’ shows that it was intended for ‘Hydrographic Services’. There are a few variations of Lemania chronographs that were issued to the Royal Navy, with the most popular one being the asymmetric cased Series III. While they are the most well known, the example you see is a much rarer, earlier Series I variant that has a symmetric case. Especially this example with an anonymous dial indicates that it is an early variant of the Series 1 Monopusher. Lemania has a rich history of producing pieces for the military and this Series 1 Monopusher with the anonymous dial is much lesser known but much rarer. Beating inside this watch is the famous column wheel Lemania 15 CHT. Completely gilded, it is a very attractive movement and doesn’t take an expert to be able to tell it is pure quality. At 38mm, the stepped case wears large on the wrist and has a big presence. This was important for the Royal Navy, where legibility was one of the prerequisites and as a result, this Lemania is very wearable even by today's modern sizing standards. With all of the technical details out of the way, let's talk aesthetics. This is as honest as it gets with a watch that is full of patina. I do find that the imperfections of this watch really make it and paired with the JPM X S.SONG Distressed Sand Brown NATO, this is one hell of a rugged piece. Try this on with a denim shirt or jacket and you’ll get the idea.
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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