This Waltham Pocket watch was sold to the Royal Navy during WW2, but never issued. Model reference 0552/520-8049.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the serial number on the movement we can accurately date this watch to being made in 1943.
CONDITION
With any military watch it is important to check for fakes – the military engraving is easily faked and adds value to the watch, so temptation is there for the naughty people. This Waltham pocket watch is unusual in that it has all the correct military markings, such as the part number and broad arrow or Pheon on the case back, but not an issue number and date. The 0552 part of the part number shows it was bought by the Royal Navy, but this one never left their stores until after the war, when it would have been sold off as war surplus. This wasn’t unique – the same watch in the British Military Watches book doesn’t have an issue number either. Also in that book there show a non lume version, whereas this one has tritium on the dial and hands (denoted by the T in a circle on the dial.). 1943 is early for this, and most lumed watches had radium, so the Navy may have swapped the dial for a Tritium one at a later date. The dial has been checked with our Geigercounter and doesn’t have any reading at all – correct for tritium lume from the period whereas radium is still radioactive. Most military Waltham pocket watch dials you will see will be lumed with radium (not stated on the dial BTW), so this tritium is both rarer and more desirable. Overall condition is excellent, and as good as you would ever hope to find from a 1943 watch. The front and rear case parts both screw off smoothly, and the 9 jewel Waltham 16s movement is beating strongly
This watch will be supplied with our basic branded presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any pictures, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 65.8 mm (excluding bow)
Width without crown 51.7 mm
Case Thickness 14.0 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 2 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon. By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.