Watches to wear with your flight jackets...

[coolhandluke]

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 ?

Some Bulova's had railroad track dials. Elgin and Waltham do not. Does the case look nickel plated like your Waltham or is it sterling?

There's an example of a sterling cased Bulova in the link below for reference.

SOLD - 1943 US Army Air Force Bulova A11 Sterling Silver Cased Pilot's Watch

Sold A hard to find Sterling Silver Cased Bulova 1943 US Army Air Force A 11 The A 11 is considered to be "the watch that won the war" Most A 11 WWII watches were cased in chrome + steel-this is a rarer version cased entirely in sterling silver Crown is also sterling silver Issued to Officer's-...

omegaforums.net

 

[mlong0519]

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

Wow, looks like a great repro, thanks for mentioning it! I'm ordering one myself. As others have said, cheap enough to not care if something happens to it (as opposed to a Bulova repro).

Shame that the original bands are just a bit too skinny to fit nicely on there. Wonder if there's some workaround, though bushings/spacers would probably look "off". The repro band seems nice enough though.

 

[coolhandluke]

1946 Bubbleback just arrived back from service.

 

[B-Man2]

1946 Bubbleback just arrived back from service.

View attachment 146539

View attachment 146541

That is beautiful Luke !
Never saw one like that before .
I need one …

 

[coolhandluke]

That is beautiful Luke !
Never saw one like that before .
I need one …

Thanks Burt. Mr. Leskela's daughter let me read through all of her father's correspondence from Germany after the war, so I wanted to get a shot of his watch with some of his effects before giving the letters back.

 

[Pilot]

For all D-Day fans.
An almost minty untouched A-11 Elgin Ord. watch. The case is still having its parkerized surface treatment.
Runs strong and keeps time like when new.
It will be listed

when back in Europe.
Greetings from Dubai.

 

[Pilot]

Another rare Bulova A-11 Sterling silver case..
Strap is a replacement.
A WWII original OD canva strap will be put on it on my return.

 

[coolhandluke]

Freshly serviced 1958 Bulova A-17A. One of the nicest A-17A's that I've encountered. Look at that minty dial!

 

[STEVE S.]

What are the A-11’s selling for nowadays? I’ve got someone bugging me about buying one of my bulovas, but not sure what a fair price to ask would be.

 

[Flightengineer]

Inexpensive watch quartz produced in small series, but I love it cause the dial imitates a Hurricane's indicators

 

[blackrat2]

Issued CWC on NOS Admiralty grey watch strap for doing the chores today

 

[mlong0519]

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.

For anyone who decides to pickup the Epicmilitaria A-11 repro, I found a workaround for getting a more original-looking band that fits properly (in 18mm width), since the true original bands appear to all be 5/8" width or smaller. I ordered the "M-1944C" and "M-1943C" from Haveston. The only downside is they're one-piece bands, but I think they look pretty good and are still much cheaper than getting a Bulova or Praesidus repro. In the attached photos, far left is Epicmilitaria band, center is the M-1943C, and right is the M-1944C.
-Mike

 

[coolhandluke]

For anyone who decides to pickup the Epicmilitaria A-11 repro, I found a workaround for getting a more original-looking band that fits properly (in 18mm width), since the true original bands appear to all be 5/8" width or smaller. I ordered the "M-1944C" and "M-1943C" from Haveston. The only downside is they're one-piece bands, but I think they look pretty good and are still much cheaper than getting a Bulova or Praesidus repro. In the attached photos, far left is Epicmilitaria band, center is the M-1943C, and right is the M-1944C.
-Mike

Nato G10 offers canvas straps that resemble originals in an 18mm size (see link below). Buyer beware if purchasing the one piece straps as the advertised lug to lug distance was incorrect on a 16mm strap that I recently purchased. Stick to the two piece straps and you'll be good to go.

NATO® Military Watch Straps

Browse our NATO® Military Watchbands section. Vintage WWII Canvas Straps and more - NATO G10® Free Shipping on all USA orders

www.natog10.com

 

[Pa12]

Nato G10 offers canvas straps that resemble originals in an 18mm size (see link below). Buyer beware if purchasing the one piece straps as the advertised lug to lug distance was incorrect on a 16mm strap that I recently purchased. Stick to the two piece straps and you'll be good to go.

NATO® Military Watch Straps

Browse our NATO® Military Watchbands section. Vintage WWII Canvas Straps and more - NATO G10® Free Shipping on all USA orders

www.natog10.com

Cool. Cheap too. Think I’ll order one.

 

[Pa12]

Bummer. Don’t ship to canada

 

[Pilot]

Here the originals ( for the WWII original A-11‘s)..the only legit ones..
Sellers ID on Crapbay: watch-dog.
For comparison…

 

[Pa12]

Here the originals ( for the WWII original A-11‘s)..the only legit ones..
Sellers ID on Crapbay: watch-dog.
For comparison…View attachment 147753View attachment 147755

That’s the one I have

 

[Enigma1938]

Great with 60's G1's for example

 

[Micawber]

Here the originals ( for the WWII original A-11‘s)..the only legit ones..
Sellers ID on Crapbay: watch-dog.
For comparison…View attachment 147753View attachment 147755

I have some of those in the same packaging.

 

[B-Man2]

Seiko Chronograph 10 Bar