Smiths oversized 18 jewel (1960)

This is the largest size gold watch that Smiths made at 35mm, making it a more contemporary size than many vintage pieces. The case is made in three pieces and is in super condition with the facets on the lugs clear and sharp. The dial is in super condition and it has applied gold markers, giving a wonderfully smart and elegant appearance. I find this model to be amongst the most wearable of the Smiths dress watches and indeed often wear the same model for special occasions.

The movement is significantly enhanced from the standard model - there are an additional three jewels (two cap jewels on the escape wheel, plus jewelling to the centre wheel on the top plate). These jewels are all designed to minimising friction within the movement and so ensuring more accurate time keeping. Additionally the hairspring has a Breguet overcoil, which gives enhanced accuracy in different positions and there is shock protection on the balance pivots.

The performance of the movement is significantly better than a regular Smiths movement, indeed I believe their 18 jewel movement bears comparison with the top Swiss brands.

There is a 25 year long service dedication engraved on the case back from Littlewoods Mail Order. The case is hallmarked for Edinburgh 1960 (date letter ‘C’) and the case was made by Smiths in-house (SCW stands for Smiths Clocks and Watches). The watch is paired with a new old stock pigskin strap, which I think harmonises with the tone of the gold wonderfully.

The movement has been fully serviced and the timekeeping is excellent. The case has been cleaned, but as with all out vintage watches we have left it unpolished. The watch comes with our standard 12 month guarantee.

Specifications:
Case diameter (excluding winding crown): 35mm
Case material: 9 carat gold
strap width: 17mm
time keeping: grade A