Smiths "Deluxe" ref 6B/542 Military Watch for the British RAF, 1955

Dealer description — Bulang & Sons

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Smiths was commissioned to produce a General Service wristwatch for the British Armed Forces. The British government, concerned about dependence on foreign watch suppliers—something that had proven problematic during World War II—offered Smiths substantial contracts to encourage domestic watch production. However, for reasons unknown, the British Army ultimately chose not to move forward with the order. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that Smiths secured a military contract—this time for the W10 model. These watches were assigned the same 6B/542 stores reference as the Omega navigators’ watch, suggesting they were likely issued to RAF pilots and navigators. This is the rarest Smiths British military watch, and arguably one of the rarest British military watches of all. Approximately 300 of these watches were made and issued to the RAF in 1954, 1955, and 1956—presumably as a test order. This would make sense for a trial run, as the inside of an aircraft cockpit presented a challenging environment for mechanical wristwatches, mainly due to the presence of electromagnetic fields. To combat this, the watches were equipped with an iron dial and a metal dust cover, which together created an effective Faraday cage to shield the movement from electromagnetic interference. This particular Smiths was issued in 1955, as evidenced by its issue number on the case back. The case is in lovely condition, with fixed bars for fitting a single-pass strap—so military personnel had a slimmer chance of losing the watch during duties. This example has been fully serviced by our watchmaker and is ready for new adventures in the years to come. A fun fact about these Smiths Deluxe watches: there were also some non-issued, non-military-marked versions. This particular model, housed in a water-resistant case, was worn by Sir Edmund Hillary during his ascent of Everest (and you thought it was all about Rolex!). The Smiths De Luxe A454 and A460 models, known as the ‘Antarctic’ versions, were supplied to the 1957 British Antarctic expedition, in which Hillary also participated. These models feature a silver-colored dial and a finer outer minute track. These super RARE purpose-built watches hold real history and have a super cool wrist presence, we think. Get in touch! Specifications: - Smiths Deluxe military wristwatch 6B/542 - 35mm steel case with Faraday inner case back, military inventory numbers on case back, fixed bars - Black dial with painted Arabic hours, King’s cross on dial, sword-style hands - Issue number 6B/542 12xxx /55 dating to 1955 - Hand-wound movement - Comes on the pictured single-pass strap - Fully serviced by our watchmaker