Military watches - focus of collection

[meoramri]

Recently I did a poll http://www.malaysiawatchforum.com/index.php?topic=17123.0 where I asked forum members to pick their favourite genre for collecting watches. Out of 44 respondents, not one chose "Military Watches" as a primary focus. This is interesting as the result is unlike other surveys done in other forums.

It then struck me that the choice for military watches is limited in Malaysia. Hence the lack of interest.

Is this a fair assessment? Any comments, views or opinions?

[Cocas]

I actually don't know what is the exact definition of military watch.

[hidden830726]

Recently I did a poll http://www.malaysiawatchforum.com/index.php?topic=17123.0 where I asked forum members to pick their favourite genre for collecting watches. Out of 44 respondents, not one chose "Military Watches" as a primary focus. This is interesting as the result is unlike other surveys done in other forums.

It then struck me that the choice for military watches is limited in Malaysia. Hence the lack of interest.

Is this a fair assessment? Any comments, views or opinions?

hmm, i think i miss out your survey, but even if i do, i would have pick pilot since i do have a lot of flieger.

Still, Pilot and most of Aviation variance is consider military.

[cklim]

Are those modern field watches consider military? If yes then Seiko SNZG17 is in my bucket list 

[asimo]

divers and pilot also a type of military watches... 

[Cocas]

Good water resistance, shock resistance, lume, durable  casing, anti-magnetic, and solid link bracelet or thick leather strap.

[meoramri]

Generally speaking a military watch are watches that have subdued finishes, 24 hour indicators, tritium or other lume, water resistance, shock resistance, etc..

Pilot and diver watches can also be classified under the general term -military- although due to unique features of the watches they are known more as pilot or diver.

Having said that, I would think a military watch is more of a generalist watch.

For example the snzg17 can be considered a military watch.


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[hidden830726]

Just saying, Pilot & Military is consider as one category at WUS, whereas dive watch have its own section.

My view is, back in the days, flieger is mainly commission for war, but dive watch are not.

Anyhow, this answer why there's bias in the poll result.

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[asimo]

most of the Divers are originally designed for military usage (created to fulfil military spec) ... e.g. frogmen/divers (panerai for Italian navy frogmen , the grand father of modern dive watch ...Blancpain FF for French elite divers unit called "nageurs de combat.",
early version of rolex submariner for the Royal British Navy/ US Army,  IWC Ocean bund 2000 for German navy , etc)...

http://www.timezone.com/2012/07/07/the-military-divers-watch-a-revisionist-view-by-james-dowling/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_watch

[meoramri]

Thanks guys for the feedback. The nomenclature 'military' can be refined further. I believe an 'infantry' watch would be more apt for the general purpose design such as the snzg17


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[hidden830726]

most of the Divers are originally designed for military usage (created to fulfil military spec) ... e.g. frogmen/divers (panerai for Italian navy frogmen , the grand father of modern dive watch ...Blancpain FF for French elite divers unit called "nageurs de combat.",
early version of rolex submariner for the Royal British Navy/ US Army,  IWC Ocean bund 2000 for German navy , etc)...

http://www.timezone.com/2012/07/07/the-military-divers-watch-a-revisionist-view-by-james-dowling/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_watch

#thumbsup. Very true.

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[meoramri]

Here's my generalist infantry military watches:

Seiko 5 Sport 100M SNZG09K1

Seiko 5 SRP145K1 Military

Hamilton khaki Field Officer Auto H70615733

Laco 1925 Squad Atacama Ninja

GPW Titanium Automatic (by Arctos Elite)

Hamilton Khaki Field King Ref: H64455133

[asimo]

Wow nice military collection u have , since young I grow up watching combat movies n huge fans of military inspired theme ... So far , I think most brand focused mainly on air & sea...
Probably is more glamour n manly..

Maybe is time they should come up with "land" military inspired pieces.. Like mentioned by Meor.. Come with features such as good legibility, lasting lume, shock resistant, maybe Mud resistant , break resistance glass, scratch proof casing, 24 hour dial , dual time, and the vigorous activity on land should not damage the machine inside... What else ?? 


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[hidden830726]

@meor

The Hamilton khaki field officer  is B dial tho. It's a flieger.

The Laco is very flieger inspired too.

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[meoramri]

@meor

The Hamilton khaki field officer  is B dial tho. It's a flieger.

The Laco is very flieger inspired too.

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Based on this article on the FL23883 Flieger standard http://www.justwatchme.net/history-of-the-german-b-uhr-watch-observation-watch-LACO-Stowa-IWC/ what you see on the Hamilton khaki field officer is not the B (or even A) dial standard for flieger watches.

Excerpt:
"The A dial is a much cleaner design with large 1 to 11 numerical, all numerical markers were also filled with luminous material. The B dial was a bit more complicated as it showed 5 to 55 minutes markers on the outer rim and a downsize inner circle with the typical 1 to 12 numerical hour marks similar to the A dial. Compared to the A dial, the B dial had a much shorter hour hand that moved in the inner circle of the dial.

B-Dials also featured a unique triangle mark at the 12 o’clock position designed for the upward orientation of the dial of the watch during flight."

It is easily confused due to the Arabic numerals but a dead giveaway why it is not a flieger is the lack of the triangle mark at 12.

Similarly, the Laco is also an infantry watch. Note the minute marker on the bezel. It is printed counter-clockwise - this is a countdown timer reference used by artillery troops (or any other troop for that matter).

[hidden830726]

Wow meor. Nowdays watch brand don't replicate faithfully to the original requirement. You can't take the requirement and claim it's not a flieger if it doesn't fulfill. Whatever it is, I congrats you for having a nice collections there, but I have to disagree with your view point. Enjoy your watch.

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[meoramri]

Wow meor. Nowdays watch brand don't replicate faithfully to the original requirement. You can't take the requirement and claim it's not a flieger if it doesn't fulfill. Whatever it is, I congrats you for having a nice collections there, but I have to disagree with your view point. Enjoy your watch.

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I agree that most watch brands don't replicate the original requirements. Actually it is not me that is make the claim that the Hamilton and Laco are not a flieger; it is actually the brands themselves that says that these designs are not fliegers (please do the research on the respective brand websites and you see what I mean).

I think it is you that is making an assumption that they are fliegers based on your own opinion.

[hidden830726]

Wow meor. Nowdays watch brand don't replicate faithfully to the original requirement. You can't take the requirement and claim it's not a flieger if it doesn't fulfill. Whatever it is, I congrats you for having a nice collections there, but I have to disagree with your view point. Enjoy your watch.

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I agree that most watch brands don't replicate the original requirements. Actually it is not me that is make the claim that the Hamilton and Laco are not a flieger; it is actually the brands themselves that says that these designs are not fliegers (please do the research on the respective brand websites and you see what I mean).

I think it is you that is making an assumption that they are fliegers based on your own opinion.

Well. Maybe you are right. Off course my  opinion matters to myself.

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[meoramri]

Wow meor. Nowdays watch brand don't replicate faithfully to the original requirement. You can't take the requirement and claim it's not a flieger if it doesn't fulfill. Whatever it is, I congrats you for having a nice collections there, but I have to disagree with your view point. Enjoy your watch.

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I agree that most watch brands don't replicate the original requirements. Actually it is not me that is make the claim that the Hamilton and Laco are not a flieger; it is actually the brands themselves that says that these designs are not fliegers (please do the research on the respective brand websites and you see what I mean).

I think it is you that is making an assumption that they are fliegers based on your own opinion.

Well. Maybe you are right. Off course my  opinion matters to myself.

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This is what MWF is all about. A place where we can share our opinions on watches. Everyone is entitled to their views. We should all respect that.

This is what interesting about the result of my survey - an individual collection cannot be easily classified based on simple common standard. I have to thank @hidden830726 for that clarity.

A hobby is very personal and in reality done to fulfil a person's own needs. We cannot dictate a 'norm' and expect everyone to follow.

By all means follow what feels right. All of us are here to share our views and learn about horology and not to pass judgement.





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[Jedirat]

I found it is difficult to clearly defined a "military" watch as seems that some of the diver, pilot, etc are qualified to be categorised as military match. To me, a military watch must be a watch model that was created for military purpose and hold the history of being used by an army of a country. Anyway, this is only my 2cent.

[meoramri]

Yes..it is difficult to define a 'military' watch as there are a lot of interpretations.

This chaos does open up opportunities for us WIS to investigate further 

[jeffco]

Victorinox Watches, a brand synonymous for its mastery of superior craftsmanship, precision and functionality since 1884, continues its legacy with its Swiss Army watch collections. Victorinox designs men and women watches that incorporate modern, sleek, and chic styling for those whose optimum lifestyles convey professional, active or classical refinement. Victorinox watches are Swiss-made with automatic, chronograph or analog quartz movement. Victorinox constructs its watches with only the highest quality titanium or stainless steel metals, sapphire scratch resistant crystals, with wrist straps available in stainless steel, leather or rubber materials. Victorinox watches offer an impressive international presentation of functionality, quality and prestige. Whatever images your lifestyle portrays Victorinox watches ensure you arrive in sophisticated time.

[meoramri]

Victorinox Watches, a brand synonymous for its mastery of superior craftsmanship, precision and functionality since 1884, continues its legacy with its Swiss Army watch collections. Victorinox designs men and women watches that incorporate modern, sleek, and chic styling for those whose optimum lifestyles convey professional, active or classical refinement. Victorinox watches are Swiss-made with automatic, chronograph or analog quartz movement. Victorinox constructs its watches with only the highest quality titanium or stainless steel metals, sapphire scratch resistant crystals, with wrist straps available in stainless steel, leather or rubber materials. Victorinox watches offer an impressive international presentation of functionality, quality and prestige. Whatever images your lifestyle portrays Victorinox watches ensure you arrive in sophisticated time.

Please stop plagiarising. (http://www.watchesonnet.com/watches/victorinox-swiss-army.html)

[Cocas]

Victorinox Watches, a brand synonymous for its mastery of superior craftsmanship, precision and functionality since 1884, continues its legacy with its Swiss Army watch collections. Victorinox designs men and women watches that incorporate modern, sleek, and chic styling for those whose optimum lifestyles convey professional, active or classical refinement. Victorinox watches are Swiss-made with automatic, chronograph or analog quartz movement. Victorinox constructs its watches with only the highest quality titanium or stainless steel metals, sapphire scratch resistant crystals, with wrist straps available in stainless steel, leather or rubber materials. Victorinox watches offer an impressive international presentation of functionality, quality and prestige. Whatever images your lifestyle portrays Victorinox watches ensure you arrive in sophisticated time.

Please stop plagiarising. (http://www.watchesonnet.com/watches/victorinox-swiss-army.html)

Fully support bro @meoramri  !

Really hate these guys just wasted MWF resources and take up the space that MWF member to look for valuable opinion post.

[mykita]

I missed the post like hidden830726.

On military watches, I have actually started to recently focus on acquiring some military issued watches. Albeit affordable they are hard to get and require lots of time from my experience.

You need knowledge and access to NOS parts. You'll also have to spend months doing research and hunting online auctions to find the piece you want.

I only have two military watches. I exchanged one with a forum member. The other took me 8 months of hunting to get it. I was also just lucky too.

Personally I find it more rewarding because it needs a lot of research and hunting to acquire military pieces. You feel like you've earned it.

It also makes this hobby IMO more accessible to anyone. Anyone can get a good, quality timepiece with a history without paying more than 1K. Just my $0.02.