The Astral range was introduced by Smith’s in 1965, and this is one of the later watches that didn’t have the Smith’s branding.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the London hallmark on the inside of the case back we can accurately date this watch to being assayed in 1975.
CONDITION
Smith’s had two factories making watches. In Cheltenham they made the nicer ones, marked MADE IN ENGLAND in the dial, and in Ystradgynlais in Wales the cheaper Empire range of pin pallet watches were produced with MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN. The Cheltenham factory stopped making watches in 1971, so they outsourced the nicer watch production to Switzerland, hence this watch has SWISS MADE on the dial. This Astral watch has a Swiss FHF ST 96 17 jewel movement with the jewelled escapement, which is manual wind and running well. It is fitted in a SCW (Smith’s Clock and Watch) case, so final assembly may have still be in the UK. The dial is exceptionally clean, and the second hand still has the red painted tip in place. The case back is slightly dished, but it has never been engraved and this dishing does not affect the watch at all. The strap is new, and can be swapped for a different colour if preferred.
This watch will be supplied with our 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 34.8 mm
Width without crown 33.1 mm
Between lugs 18 mm
Lug to lug length 38.8 mm
Case Thickness 8.9 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 3 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.
