HOW TO COLLECT | THE STORY

Since the beginning of the 20^th century, the military has used specialized timepieces which have been required to stand up to the particular demands of the military services.

However, it was becoming obvious that the pocket watch was not perfectly suited to the needs of ‘modern’ warfare. Initially, this led to an abundance of specialised leather straps that could house a small pocket watch, successfully tied to the wrist.

It is said that Cartier have the honour of making the first actual military wristwatch, and indeed, that is probably the case. But this was not by any stretch of the imagination, a true military wristwatch.

During the First World War, purpose made military timepieces were contracted for use both by some elements of the army, and the navy. Towards the end of the First World War, the newly formed aviation units also needed a timepiece aboard the planes.

It was during the lead up to the Second World War that true sophistication of timepieces for the three services took place.

Neither the German, or indeed the British, watch-making houses could cope with the levels of contracts.  This led to the two major opposing countries sending contracts to Switzerland, to provide various types of timepieces for their respective services.

Indeed, leading Swiss watch-making houses, such as Longines, Zenith, International Watch Company, were making virtually identical timepieces for both the British and German military.

Today, the collecting of military clocks and watches is both buoyant and vast.

HOW TO COLLECT | LOOKING AFTER YOUR MILITARY WATCH COLLECTION

 Although military timepieces; by virtue of their use; have to be robust. Some will now be fifty or more years old.

Many would have been waterproof as a part of the contract, but the chances are they are no longer waterproof. As such they should be kept away from any form of adverse moisture, humidity or steam.

From a conservation stand point, military timepieces should be looked after in the same way as cameras or other instruments. Keep away from extremes of heat or cold, and ideally have silica gel sachets together with the timepieces. The Silica gel will remove any moisture (check how frequently they need to be replaced). Silica Gel sachets can be purchased from good camera equipment shops.    

 HOW TO COLLECT | MILITARY WATCHES FOR INVESTORS

 ULRIC of ENGLAND has one of the best reputations for supplying ‘investor’ grade military watches.

HOW TO COLLECT | MILITARY WATCHES FOR COLLECTORS

 ULRIC of ENGLAND has one of the best reputations for supplying an interesting range of original military watches to collectors. Irrespective of if you are a beginner or advanced collector, we will undoubtedly have a  timepiece relevant for your collection.

 HOW TO COLLECT | MILITARY WATCHES FOR MUSEUMS

 ULRIC of ENGLAND has supplied military watches to various museums worldwide. This maybe a new old stock military watch required for the original firms archive/museum, or indeed, it can be a timepiece of historical interest, relevant to a major military museum.

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