This is a Smiths W10 watch supplied to and issued by the British Army in 1968 (the caseback identifies it as watch 0232 from 1968). The watch was part of a contract that Smiths won to supply the army with a General Service watch, they supplied the watches for the years from 1967 - 1970. The watch has an all stainless steel case and the movement inside is protected from magnetic fields by an iron dial and an iron dust cover which sits inside the case back.

The movement of the watch is Smiths 27.CS which has been significantly improved over the standard Smiths offering. The movement also features a device to stop the mechanism when the winding crown is pulled out, this allows the movement to be accurately set to a reference time source and was part of the military specification.

The dial conforms to military specification - that is having a black base colour and large, legible numerals in white, along with a minute / seconds track. The watch dial and hands had a luminous compound to allow them to be read in the dark, although normally this is almost completely exhausted. The dial bears the pheon which is used to identify all British military property.

The time keeping on these military watches is far better than the majority of Smith’s production, showing that they could certainly match the best of the Swiss industry. It makes it all the sadder that the firm wound up the watch and clock making divisions only a few years later.

The stainless steel case is a good everyday size at 35mm and is in fair condition - this was after all a piece of equipment for soldiers to use in combat and they weren’t always terribly delicate! It has scratches from use, but nothing too bad. The case back, as is often the case, shows signs of mistreatment from someone using the wrong tool to unscrew it. This has resulted in a number of scratches, but I guess fortunate that it’s on the side of the watch that isn’t on show.

The movement has been fully serviced and the timekeeping is excellent. The case has been ultrasonically cleaned, but as with all out vintage watches we have left it unpolished. The crystal has been replaced and the watch has been fitted with a new nato military strap. The watch comes with our standard 12 month guarantee.

Case diameter: 35mm
Case material: stainless steel
Strap width: 17mm
time keeping: grade A