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"Military Watch"?

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tr Offline ddogu

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #30 on: January 30, 2019, 08:39:20 AM
AFAIK special wrist watches with dials on the left side have been made for WW2 pilots. They wore thick and bulky jackets and equipment, and the regular dial (which is on the right side of the watch) would catch on the sleeve or equipment while putting on. To prevent this some brands switched the location of the dial.


Offline Ray S

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #31 on: January 31, 2019, 12:24:09 AM
AFAIK special wrist watches with dials on the left side have been made for WW2 pilots. They wore thick and bulky jackets and equipment, and the regular dial (which is on the right side of the watch) would catch on the sleeve or equipment while putting on. To prevent this some brands switched the location of the dial.

While I am not sure that was the reason for locating the crown at the 9 o'clock position rather than the more common 3 o'clock spot, I do know that it is more comfortable(and practical)for us left handed people who wear their watches on their right wrists. My Breitling Chrono-Matic has the crown at 9 o'clock and that is a pilot's watch although I don't know how many pilots were primarily left handed.It is a truly left handed watch as my jeweler can attest to because when he was repairing it he found that itall the components were mirror image to a conventional right handed watch whereas the Invicta and the H-D watch they merely flipped the case and installed a new dial.The Invicta chronograph buttons are exactly opposite a standard one.My Breitling Navitimer is also a pilot's watch and it has the crown at 3 o'clock. I also have an Invicta chronograph and a Harley-Davidson watch that are left handed.
  I have a couple of other watches that have the crown at 4 o'clock(a Wyler and a Seiko)that are not chronographs.This would seem a better solution than moving the crown 180 degrees.
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us Offline William

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #32 on: February 01, 2019, 04:11:38 PM
CWC RN Diver;


scotland Offline Sea Monster

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #33 on: February 01, 2019, 07:29:09 PM
Quote
precise military operational timing


I'm no expert, but it seems to me that can't possibly be a thing.

I know how hard it is to even get one child to cooperate and do what you want them to do, when you want them to do it. I can't imagine the difficulties of trying to get hundreds, maybe thousands of children to do the right thing at the right time. A good watch is probably the least of their problems.


ANYWAY - Arguably any watch (or any thing) could be issued as a military item - Aside from olive drab stuff supplied under bulk contract/specification, most government agencies will have a procurement wing that can buy whatever they need (want?, looks cools? is desired by a corrupt person in a decision making position, but it looks suss to just buy 1 for themselves, so they buy 5,000, keep the one they wanted, and who cares what happens to the rest?) so if it comes to pass that someone needs a watch (the military, the ambos, the ticket inspectors, anyone who works for a department that has the funding and resources to procure...stuff) could be issued this that or the other thing, (including watches, if you like)

Obviously this is known to every manufacturer and supplier ever, so they constantly vie for attention with their "mil spec" or "mil grade" or whatever items, hoping to catch the eye of someone who has the influence to approve a contract (of whatever size) to buy their crap.

It can also happen in reverse (such as what happened with the Shrade tool mentioned by Def) an agency can decide they need a "thing", but no one in the department knows what that thing is, and asking around is hard, so they write up a description and offer a contract - then it is up to a supplier (who may not have existed before the contract was offered....) to try to convince the agency that the item they have meets their description.

(specifically, the Australian Army wanted a multitool, that was black, and had some other features - Rather than looking at successful known commercial items (MP600, or LM Wave spring to mind) they put the offer up, a company came to them and said "Yep, we can do that" and the contract was signed....

I'm sure all countries have their own systems - but this method is more or less the same across all Government organisations in Australia (slightly different for state and council, because they have their own discretionary funds, but large expenditures by commonwealth agencies must comply) - which means you see some truly wild stuff being supplied/bought.

ALL THAT ASIDE - My Seiko has the knob at the 4 oclock position, which I quite like. I remember looking into why they did that, but I don't remember what I learned.

I would imagine a "miltary" watch would be easy to read, be relatively durable/designed to avoid smashing the glass, and potentially have markers for 24 hr time.

« Last Edit: February 01, 2019, 08:00:16 PM by Sea Monster »


us Offline William

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #34 on: February 07, 2019, 09:30:15 PM
Just picked up this Newmark Chrono Reissue (or whatever they call it)
Put a few customs straps on it an looks pretty good.




za Offline Max Stone

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #35 on: February 07, 2019, 10:11:55 PM
There are so many types of Military watches, but today it’s really commercialized and down to personal preference (both for military and civvie applications).

I have a few military-orientated watches in my collection that show a good variety. There’s the Seagull 1963 re-issue column-wheel chrono, supplier to the Chinese Air Force, the Limonox which features H2 gas tubes that glow all night good for night ops, the IWC Doppelchronograph based on a military design when IWC was a supplier to some armed forces, the Destro (left) Marina Militare with the crown on the left that’s less likely to catch on things, the Valjoux Type 21 military chrono used by the French Air Force in the 1960s, Panerai Radiomir (yes, actually radioactive, hence the faded dial) Italian diving watch from the 1940s, and Casio’s original G-Shock GW-5000, which is what I wear the most (go figure...)  :pok:
Education is a journey that starts when you realize that knowing a little about something opens the door to the universe.


us Offline KBM3

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #36 on: February 07, 2019, 10:15:17 PM
I spent 10 years in the Navy and five in the Army, was never issued a watch. I always used a Timex Ironman with a stopwatch function. It helped me pace myself during runs. Also, the watches were incredibly durable, they were knocked around, bumped, scraped, and hit so many times. The downside is battery life was about 3-4 years. At first, I would swap the battery but soon realized that it was easier to just buy a new watch, they were also inexpensive and could be found in any Walmart or base exchange. I believe I still have four of the lying around somewhere.
Back in 2012, I found a Citizen military style watch with the eco-drive feature. Basically a rechargeable battery that only needs light to charge. Seven years later and this watch is still going strong. I have replaced the band but not the batteries.

From what I remember, the only guidance we were given about watches in the military was that we could wear whatever we wanted as long as it was not flashy, i. e. no crazy colors. I got out of the service before smart watches were a thing so I am unsure if there are any regulations regarding them.

Ken


us Offline KBM3

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Re: "Military Watch"?
Reply #37 on: February 07, 2019, 11:00:46 PM
Here is the Citizen.




Ken


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