Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Smiths W10 "British Army Issued", 1968
- Maker / attribution
- Smiths (maker)
- Date
- 1968
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- England
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- SMTHW10RAF
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (SMTHW10RAF)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1968 Smiths W10 "British Army Issued" (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number SMTHW10RAF), this is a wristwatch by Smiths, made in England, dated 1968. 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 — Craft & Tailored
The W10 checks every military timepiece box; fixed spring bars, military and contract engravings on the case back, and most importantly the classic matte black dial with contrasting white Arabic numerals, and the signature circled T to signify the use of tritium as a luminous material. Stock # SMTHW10 Brand Smiths Style Military Model 961-4045 Serial 4XXX Size Men's Material Stainless Steel Dial Matte Black Millimeters 36 Strap Black NATO Strap CASE & BRACELET The excellent case is believed to remain unpolished, showing original factory finishing and honest wear from use. The case retains its original unsigned crown. The fixed spring bars remain fully intact and sturdy. The case back clearly displays its original engravings for its military classification, and the watch retains its original dust cover. The watch will come supplied on a black NATO strap. DIAL & HANDS The beautiful dial remains in excellent original condition. The tritium lume plots have achieved a vivid yellow coloration and show no degradation when inspected under U.V. light. The original tritium hands match the dial perfectly and exhibit no degradation under U.V. light inspection. ACCESSORIES None. Watch is functioning and keeping time perfectly, previous service history is unknown.
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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