Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Waltham 6BB/234, Military, WW2 British RAF, Navigators Wristwatch, circa 1942
- Maker / attribution
- Waltham (maker)
- Date
- c. 1942
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- VWS3216cs
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (VWS3216cs)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Waltham - 6BB/234 - Military - WW2 British RAF - Navigators Wristwatch - c.1942 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number VWS3216cs), this is a wristwatch by Waltham, made in United States, dated c. 1942. 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
A Well Preserved Waltham 6B/234 Royal Air Force Watch With Original Military Caseback Engravings The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Company, was a pioneering manufacturer of watches and clocks based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1850 by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, Edward Howard, and David Davis, the company is renowned for its role in the American Industrial Revolution, particularly for its advancements in precision manufacturing and mass production of timepieces. The company transitioned from pocket watches to wristwatches during World War I, adapting to changing consumer preferences and supplying multiple armed forces in both WWI and WWII. What's on Offer Here is a very well-preserved British Royal Airforce Navigator Issued Waltham 6B/234 in fantastic shape. The stark black dial looks well with sharp Arabic numerals which have transformed over the years to a beautiful buttery colour. A h and-wound, hacking movement with a central seconds function, an outer minute track with 10-minute demarcations, and minute and hour hands complete the dial which is encapsulated under the military-stipulated shatterproof Plexiglas and encased in chromium-plated brass. The brass is peeping through on some parts of the case, but at over 7 decades old, this is hardly a surprise and simply adds to its originality and charm of a watch that is in otherwise remarkable condition. A wonderful entry-level watch for any budding military or vintage enthusiast.
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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