
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Leonidas British Military Issued ATP, circa 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Leonidas (maker)
- Date
- c. 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws4274
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws4274)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Leonidas - British Military Issued ATP - c.1940s (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws4274), this is a wristwatch by Leonidas, dated c. 1940s. 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
Vintage 1940s Leonidas ATP military watch with silver dial, broad arrow engravings and classic wartime styling, c.1940s Founded in Switzerland in the late 19th century, Leonidas built a strong reputation for producing reliable chronographs and military timepieces, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s. The brand became especially respected for its precision stopwatch and aviation instruments before merging with Heuer in 1964 to form Heuer-Leonidas. Vintage Leonidas watches are now increasingly sought after by collectors for their military heritage, robust Swiss engineering and classic mid-century styling that captures the golden age of tool-watch design. What's on Offer Presented in a nickel-plated military-style case with classic wartime proportions, this Leonidas ATP is a superb example of an early 1940s military-issued wristwatch. The clean silver dial features bold Arabic numerals, original hands with aged lume and a subsidiary seconds register at 6 o’clock, all combining to create the unmistakable look of an authentic wartime timepiece. The case back retains its military ATP engravings, including the broad arrow marking alongside issue number 119873 and internal reference 296717. The watch remains in very good vintage condition overall, showing honest wear throughout the case consistent with military use and age. The silver dial has developed a soft patina that suits the watch beautifully, while the blued steel hands and surviving lume add further character. Fitted to a black leather strap, this is a highly wearable and historically significant military watch from one of Switzerland’s most respected mid-century manufacturers.
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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