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British Military Smith's W10 Army/Navy/RAF/MOD 1967 Vintage Hack Watch Serviced

Estimated price for orientation: 1 145 $

Category: 1
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Description
Brand: Smiths Lug Width: 17mm
Gender: Unisex Style: military
Features: Easy To Read Age Group: Adult
Movement: Mechanical (Hand-winding) Model: Smith's W10
Display: Analog Year of Manufacture: 1966-1970
Watch Shape: Round Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
Case Material: Stainless Steel Display Type: Analogue
Case Finish: Brushed Functions & Features: Water Resistant
Face Colour: Black Age: Vintage (1920-1970)
Case Size: 36mm


British Military Smith's W-10 17 Jewel Mechanical Hack Watch Mint condition with many New-Old-Stock parts. Serviced + Water-resistant + 6 Month Warranty.Hello and welcome to my auction .. All the watches for sale here are from the estate of a retired watchmaker who bought them at a Government auction in the early 1980's. Sold off after the Falklands war as the MOD converted to quartz watches. They were kept in storage since around 1983, all are low use & fresh to the market, last worn (by a soldier) 34+ years ago. Very rare chance to pick up a near New Old Stock Smith's W10.****PLEASE NOTE ONLY ONE WATCH (3609/67) AVAILABLE AT PRESENT****
This batch have been extensively revamped with 100% original Smith's military unused New Old Stock (NOS) parts + all new servicing parts.Each watch is fitted with-NOS Dial & Hand-setNOS Crown & stemNOS Hack lever & Set bridge NOS Centre seconds wheel & centre seconds pinionNOS Third wheel & Hour wheelNOS Canon pinionNOS Dial, set lever & crown wheel screws & springsNEW Mainspring, Plexi & Case-back gasketAll have passed a water resistance test, all have had the hand & dial lume stabilized, case-backs re-finished where needed.Superb condition NOS dials & hands, stored properly there is no paint loss bubbling or damage, no lume rot or flaking although the lume has long since lost its glow.Sorry for the price increase over my usual Smith's these watches cost me around £400 ea. to buy NOS parts for, service & water-proof. They will be cheap to service in the future & should last another 50 years!!If there is a specific watch you would like send me the time set on the watch, serial number of the case-back (look top left on the service reports) or year of issue to see if still available
Each watch for sale is pictured with it's own service report - & where the watches are pictured all together they are in the same position just turned over/around.
There is no corrosion to the movement, tube/crown or case, only ever MOD / professionally serviced, they keep great time and will surely save money on future service bills.  Please be aware these watches are 45-50 years old & have been military issued, there maybe slight marks to the case.  
Smith's have a grand history in the UK. Pocket watch, aircraft clock & instrument maker in WW2. Watches worn by Hillary Tensing & other members of the first Mount Everest summit in 1953. Supplier of wrist-watches to the MOD from 1945/6 to 1970.   This style of watch was the last Smith's made for the MOD & is also the last fully British made watch ever issued to the UK military. Their design was based on the famous Jaeger LeCoutre JLC MK11Slim-line 11mm case (including plexi) with a frosted gold gilded movement, incorporating a anti-magnetic Faraday cage. The dial font is based on the Johnston font as used on London underground maps. Very collectible watches with good examples only ever going up in value.
  As you would expect with a military watch they are designed purely for function, very robust with a thick stainless steel case, good quality accurate 17 jewelled movement, shock-proof, anti-magnetic, time hacking function, fixed strap bars & a thick tough plexi.   Smith's watches were issued to all 3 branches of the MOD Army Navy & RAF. All the watches I have for sale were Army issue indicated by the W10 code on the case-back, they are identical to the Navy (code 0552) & RAF (code 6BB) Smith's watches.   
Issue years usually available 1967 1968 1969 & (1970 sold out). If you are looking for a particular issue year & I have non pictured you can contact me to arrange for one to be serviced for you.    This auction is for one watch per bid + individual serial numbered service receipt & warranty. No strap included, please see below about strap choices.  
Smith's W10 Watch Details-  Movement- Smith's slim line CS27 caliber 60466E mechanical wind 17-Jewel with Hack feature. Hacking means when the crown is pulled to the time setting position the second hand stops allowing you to set the time to the exact second or synchronize it with other watches. Movement finished in gold, shock proof with unbreakable stainless steel mainspring & anti-magnetic protected. Dial- Fully original (un-restored), made of Mu-metal and is marked- SMITHS, Circled "T" (indicates the luminous material is Tritium), Broad arrow /| (Pheon) = Crown property, Made In England.  Dust Cover- Original, made of Mu-metal & along with the dial forms a protective anti-magnetic Farady cage around the movement. Hands- Original, military baton type, original lume. Case- Original low use, dennison shape, stainless steel, fixed strap-bars, case size excluding crown is 36 mm. including crown 38.5 mm, from top-bottom 46 mm, thickness 11mm (including lens) & the lug /strap size 17.2 mm. Case-Back- Stainless steel, "aquatight" screw-on with rubber O-ring. Crown- Original Smith's military, stainless steel with rubber O-ring.
Lens- Made from a very tough thick plastic composite, light scratches can be easily polished out with fine Wet & Dry paper + a polish like Brasso, saving you having to replace the lens!  
Case-back markings explained- W10 indicates Army issue.  6645 NATO code for Timepiece.  99 country code for UK. 961-4045 = General purpose wristwatch.  /| Arrow = MOD property, and the last set of numbers (e.g.) 1234 / 70 are the serial number & year of issue.    Strap's- Military watches have solid fixed bars welded into place, making them very secure & not easily lost. Straps needed are slightly different to a normal spring-bar watch strap - there were 4 types of strap originally issued with the Smith's "NATO grey nylon" "PERLON Tropical (black)" "BONKLIP" & "LEATHER OPEN ENDED (traditional type, 2-piece leather strap with fold-over tabs)". They are all very easy & quick to fit/remove - just pull through or clip onto the fixed bars. There is a huge choice of military straps on eBay in various materials colours length etc. Width needed = 17 to 18 mm.     I do have some suitable straps for sale- Vintage 1960/70's NOS original M.O.D issue leather (black) open-ended straps £25NATO Original MOD issue (not Phoenix civvy issue) admiralty grey in colour, 18mm heat welded seams & holes, stainless steel hardware with fixed pin buckles £(sold out at present)Please contact me if you would like to buy any of these. 
  Smith's stopped making watches 45 years ago, as-so over the years many other watches will have been serviced/repaired with incorrect movements/parts, also MOD watch repairers had a habit of swapping over parts from various makes of watch. I have a large selection of original parts that have been used to service these watches, as so guaranty my watches are 100% correct military Smith's W10's.   
Service & Warranty -
The watches have just been fully serviced - Work carried out by John Sr. of Obsoletewatchandclockparts.com who is widely regarded as the best military watch horologist in the UK.   Each watch had a full strip down with every component part individually inspected cleaned & oiled, machine timed, multi position adjusted, regulated and bench tested for a full week. This level of work takes is very labour intensive & the movement often has to be disassembled many times to get the positional timings just right. Definitely not a quick service where the movement is cleaned & oiled without being fully disassembled (swish & dunk).Here even the jewels have been removed & the pivots individually cleaned. Only the latest types of oils & greases specifically matched to the movement calibre & needs of various parts have been used. The cases have been ultrasonically cleaned & some have been lapped which is a light process where a scotch-pad or buffing wheel has been used to remove embedded grime & light surface scratches - please refer to service reports to check case finish.Only correct milspec replacement parts have been used where needed. The crystals are brand new correct profile good quality Sterncruez lenses. Hack levers replaced with genuine (v.rare) NOS where needed. Case-back O-rings replaced with new. The lume on vintage watches especially the hands has a tendency to become brittle as so where needed the lume has been stabilized with a tinted varnish. The case-back has been tightened to a specified tension, if you remove it to look at the movement or self-regulate mark it's position first.   All keep very good time & start as they should with the minimum of winding & the springs have a long power reserve.   Due to just being serviced these watches require a "run-in for a few weeks weeks whilst being worn" to all-position distribute the oils. In this run-in period wind the watch until fully wound & let the watch fully wind down each time. If the watch sticks in this time just give it a gentle tap/shake. After this break-in wind the watch normally as described below for its most accurate timekeeping.   *******Each watch supplied with 6 month Warranty********   You have a full 6 month warranty from the day you receive your watch, it covers everything apart from parts failure & user damage & water resistance guaranty (as standard with any non screw down crown watch)    If it's your first mechanical watch please be careful not to over wind the watch, with the crown pushed in wind the crown (clockwise as viewed from the crown side) until you feel a firm resistance.Be careful not to pull the crown out too far when time setting/hacking - prize the crown out gently with thumb nail using forefinger as a stopper!    These watches are accurate time keepers, although as with all vintage mechanical watches do not expect the same "to the second" accuracy of quartz.  
The Smith's CS27 movement is a close to COSC specification movement (+ - 15 seconds per 24 hours) due to temperature or your activity the watch will vary slightly either fast/slow in its daily timekeeping.   In this modern world or quartz the art of regulating a mechanical watch by the way you leave it overnight has mostly been forgotten - leaving your watch face up, face down, on either side or on end causes it to run at slightly different levels of slow or fast, with a little practice you can have your watch set for the exact correct time in the morning, this also has the added benefit of saving wear to the time setting components.
Please note using a vintage watch on a regular basis as a waterproof watch it will need to undergo a regular/yearly re-seal & water-pressure-test. The original MOD specification for the Smith's was Water Resistant Test to CH2 (around 3 meters) 
Upgrade's- If you like the look of vintage but want your watch to perform like a modern watch I can offer the following upgrade- Re-luming with Super-Luminova-The problem with vintage watches retaining their glow of the dial indices & hands is the compound used (Tritium) only stays active for around 12 years, replacement new dials are no longer made & new Tritium to re-apply to the dial & hands is impossible to buy. Most modern watches now use Luminova instead of Tritium but it is usually bright white & if applied to a vintage watch would spoil the look. My watch-maker has sourced some Tritec orange lume which is a very good match to the aged Tritium presently on the dials. The dial & hands can also be re-lumed with Green C5 (very bright glow) super-luminova which is a good match to the lume colour most often used by the MOD when they re-lumed watches. The old inactive Tritium will be carefully removed from dial & hands & fresh tinted Super-Luminova neatly applied allowing you to once again use the watch at night. Cost's-For re-luming dial & hands with Super-Luminova in a colour of your choice £65 The processes will add one - two weeks to the delivery time. A watch already at my watchmakers will be selected to save on postage costs (I supply pictures for your verification before the watch is shipped) You will also have issue year (if available) & case finish choices.You can add the payment at check-out & leave me a note about your Super-luminova colour choice etc, or contact me for a new invoice.
  Maintenance tips-
It is best to wind your watch gently slowly & when off the wrist. Wind it fully each day.Accuracy is best when full - half wound. Let the watch fully wind down once a month. Try to wind the watch weekly if not being used. When setting time always do it clockwise. Remember to push the crown fully back in after time setting. Wipe down with fresh water (with crown pushed in) after use around salt water, chemicals or soaps etc. If it does ever become water-logged place it in a airtight bag (crown pulled out) with some uncooked rice & take it to a jewelers ASAP & get it put in the watch dryer. Clean around the crown occasionally to maintain a good seal. Do not touch the movement.Recommended service interval for a daily use watch is 5-7 years. 
 Trade's & Buying-
I buy & collect military watches, so if you would like to trade in your old military watch for one of mine or if you just want to sell your watch (or collection) please get in touch with a brief description / picture or two. My Interests include anything vintage/retro (WW2-1990's) any condition considered, also interested in military watch parts/straps/boxes & military inspired pilots or divers watches from the 1950's-1980's. I can help with authentication & valuations if you need advice on a military watch.
Payment- I accept Paypal. Bank transfer sent in £'s & fees paid. Postal orders UK only. Cheque only from a UK bank. Cash on pick-up 
If you want the watch posting to an address other than your registered eBay address or to a PO box payment must be by a method other than Paypal  
Postage- I offer Free UK postage & EU + World-Wide post reduced by the same amount as the free UK postage. UK - FREE Special Delivery next day signed for & insured EU & Europe - Reduced postage only £6.50 1st class Royal-mail Airmail signed for + online tracking & insured World-wide (zone 1 & 2) - Reduced postage o nly £7.50 1st class Royal-mail Airmail signed for + on-line tracking (where available) & insured   Most European countries delivery takes 3-6 working days. World wide 5-9 working days. World wide (zone-2) Australia NZ Far-East & remote places 7-12 working days.   The package will be declared as "Used Watch" & "No Strap" or exactly what the strap is made from if you purchase one from me, which should stop it getting caught up at customs who often check what watch straps are made from due to CITES import regulations. It will be declared at full value otherwise you will not be covered for postal claims. Import duties are your responsibility, please check your countries import laws before bidding if you are unsure about import fees.      I have never had a problem with lost items, but if a item does go missing in the postal system I will do my very best to help. How postal insurance claims work in the UK is that purchase cost "needs" to be proved, as so to get the full amount of compensation it is always "you" the buyer who makes the claim. How I can help is by getting the claim form from the Post office & fill in my "seller" portion of the form & then send you the claim form complete with a copy of the original postal receipt. You then fill in the "buyer" part of the form & submit it to Royalmail.com along with a copy of your ebay receipt.   Due to well known postal problems/frauds "I DO NOT POST TO" CHINA (HK is OK), ITALY, NIGERIA, ROMANIA or RUSSIA although if you have good recent feedback for buying watches please contact me & I'm sure we can work something out!     Feedback- Please leave me feedback when you receive the watch, if you have any reason for not leaving Good & 5 star's please contact me & we will work out any problems you might have!   Be aware of the stated delivery times to your location from the UK .. also "working days" means not including weekends or holidays. You will see I post the same or next day, & the postage cost to you was a lot lower than the actual cost for a secure postal method. Please do not leave me low star ratings if this is correct.   I leave feedback as soon as payment is received.    Thank's for taking time to look at my auction. Please check out my other auctions for more military watches + I will be listing more types of military watches all in "superb condition" when they return from service, you can click on the link below my username to add me to your "follow this seller" list for email updates.  Regards Ken.