Watches to wear with your flight jackets...

[coolhandluke]

Not wearing it with a flight jacket today (it's nearly 80° F), but I wanted to share another recent acquisition...a 1955 Tissot Visodate Camping model. A friend that hosts the watch repair channel below was kind enough to part ways with the watch after I expressed interest in it.

 

[Jeronimo Watchmaker]

Hey guys, glad to see some genuine enthusiasm for the watch. You are a great community.

 

[Jeronimo Watchmaker]

Flieger IWC Mark XVI They are popular watches.

 

[B-Man2]

So as most of you know I picked up a nice original Waltham A-11 at the Show of Shows .
After wearing it for a while I fell into my same habit of trying to preserve the watch, since it was an original in nice shape . After talking to Pete ( PA12) he told me about a repro that looked really good. So I search it out and found a company in the UK that sells them and here it is . The price is reasonable at $60.00 . So it anyone is interested PM me and I’ll give you the website . Better yet I’ll post it here

"The G.I." US WW2 A-11 Pattern Military Service Watch in Presentation Box | eBay

These are high-quality reproductions of the WW2 A-11 Military service watch. Early in the conflict, it was recognised that Allied personnel would need a wristwatch that could stand up to the rigors of combat.

www.ebay.com

 

[Pa12]

So as most of you know I picked up a nice original Waltham A-11 at the Show of Shows .
After wearing it for a while I fell into my same habit of trying to preserve the watch, since it was an original in nice shape . After talking to Pete ( PA12) he told me about a repro that looked really good. So I search it out and found a company in the UK that sells them and here it is . View attachment 141721

View attachment 141723

I’m liking mine. Just hard to get used to the size for me. I forget I’m even wearing one. I’m no expert but the only visual difference I see is the train tracks outer dial, although I did see one like that which is supposed to be original. The buleva model I think.

 

[Saint-ex]

I just received this lovely 1955 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms WMT "Seawolf" (Yeah ok... it's written on it).
It's a well-made tribute to the famous diver produced by Blancpain in the 50s.

Seawolf – Classic II / Special Edition / Rubber + Leather Strap Set / Pre Order / Shipping date – End of Feb 2024 – WMTWatch

www.wmtwatches.com

A photo of my WMT :


View attachment 140671

Real Blancpain Fifty Fathoms :

View attachment 140675

View attachment 140673

Nice, here is mine:

 

[Kermit3D]

Nice, here is mine:
View attachment 141861

Man, this is an incredible coincidence !
Not many people know about the WMT brand.
The model you have is superb. I hesitated between the two for a long time.

I'm very pleasantly surprised by the quality of WMT watches, even if the movement isn't prestigious, details are incredible.

Now I have to admit that I'm very, very keen to order a "Sea Diver" (homage to the Submariner 5508) :

 

[MauldinFan]

Just got my A11 clone watch from Epic militaria.

 

[atlasfields]

Looks great!

 

[B-Man2]

Just got my A11 clone watch from Epic militaria.
View attachment 143457
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The watch looks great as is … however if you check on eBay there are several people selling original WWII watch bands . If you put one of those on this watch it will look even better. The watch on the right is the A-11 repro with an original band . The watch on the left in an original A-11.

 

[MauldinFan]

The watch looks great as is … however if you check on eBay there are several people selling original WWII watch bands . If you put one of those on this watch it will look even better. The watch on the right is the A-11 repro with an original band . The watch on the left in an original A-11. View attachment 143465

I have a decent repro, but it and an original are too narrow for this watch. A friend who knows watches VERY well told me you can't place a band too narrow for a watch as the spring loaded pieces at each end will pop out eventually if the band allows room to wiggle. So, the band that came with it stays on.

 

[Pa12]

Me too. Hard to beat for the price. And I’m not worried about beating the shit out of it.

 

[B-Man2]

Got this about 30 years ago … First time out of the box wearing it .

 

[B-Man2]

I’m pretty sure that this is not a military watch but a commercially made one that were exported in quantities from Russia back in the 1980s .
If anyone has any additional info on it please let me know .
Thanks

 

[Pilot]

Vostok Armbanduhr Russland Militär Fallschirm-J. Boctok Komandirskie Handaufzug | eBay

Vostok Komandirskie CCCP UDSSR Russische Luftwaffe-Armbanduhr (Fallschirmjäger) ohne Armband (vermutlich mit Schweizer Uhrwerk). Wurde vor vielen Jahren neu gekauft und nie benutzt, nur in der Uhrenvitrine aufbewahrt. Die Uhr funktioniert mit Handaufzug und ist scheinbar einwandfrei...

www.ebay.de

 

[B-Man2]

Thanks Brice got the translation . Appreciate your help

 

[Kermit3D]

Summer is approaching... two homages to well-known 1950s divers :

 

[B-Man2]

Went to a military show today and got a great deal on three wartime watches . The Racine watch is a 1940’s private purchase wartime watch . The middle one is an A-11 that was found in a the pocket of an “Ike” jacket, but the original owner buffed out the military designation inscriptions on the back . The gold “Lord Elgin” is a 1940’s era watch as well. The Lord Elgin will need some work .
The other two keep reasonable time.

 

[coolhandluke]

Went to a military show today and got a great deal on three wartime watches . The Racine watch is a 1940’s private purchase wartime watch . The middle one is an A-11 that was found in a the pocket of an “Ike” jacket, but the original owner buffed out the military designation inscriptions on the back . The gold “Lord Elgin” is a 1940’s era watch as well. The Lord Elgin will need some work .
The other two keep reasonable time. View attachment 145153

Very nice Burt. The A-11 is a Bulova. I can't quite tell, but it looks like it may even be one of their sterling cases.

 

[B-Man2]

Very nice Burt. The A-11 is a Bulova. I can't quite tell, but it looks like it may even be one of their sterling cases.

Lucas
Thanks for that info. As you can see from the photos there’s nothing that tells that it was an A-11 as the wartime owner must have had all the info buffed off . How did you know that this is a Bulova ?