Modern Era Military Watches

[E91 Gaz]

Is anyone else on here a fan of modern Era Military Watches, I'm sure there will be a lot of fans of the dirty dozen etc.

Here's my modest collection

Cwc G10



Seiko Generation 1 1989



Pulsar Gen 2



Pulsar Gen 1 (civi unfortunately ) Pulsar Gen 2



Currently trying to track down a Seiko gen 2 issue, so if anyone knows of one !!

Anyone else a fan

[Foliage]

I have a traser black storm pro

Edit to add, you may find this of interest.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/108746/resp...

[soi6]

You mean to say the divers don't have "Rolex" watches......? that will piss a few people off !!!!!!!

[AlexC1981]

Only this one.



I have been after a pilot chronograph of some sort like the Pulsar for ages.

[Viperzs]

I am ignorant and intrigued so please excuse me if this is a silly question. When you say military watches, are these issued to the forces or just made for use by people in the forces?

[Madness60]

This is the current issue watch to military aircrew, comes with a worse strap!

[Foliage]

Viperzs said:

I am ignorant and intrigued so please excuse me if this is a silly question. When you say military watches, are these issued to the forces or just made for use by people in the forces?

Issued

[andy_s]

Plus a Benrus and Sturmanskie.

[Pip1968]

soi6 said:

You mean to say the divers don't have "Rolex" watches......? that will piss a few people off !!!!!!!

I think that will find SB and Boat Troop did get Rolex watches in the early days. Finding an original may be more difficult/expensive.

Pip

[E91 Gaz]

Madness60 nice to see another, as they only became issue in 2011 they are in relatively few numbers.

Have a Seiko gen 2 on route to me now, finally found one for a reasonable price I was prepared to pay

[sneijder]

There was a tall story once about special yellow issued 7A38s to Vulcan crews :

http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showthread.php?2107...

The Iraqi Air Force Breitlings often come up at the bottom of the price band on Chrono24 etc..

[Ginge R]

E91 Gaz said:

Is anyone else on here a fan of modern Era Military Watches, I'm sure there will be a lot of fans of the dirty dozen etc.

When I left my previous job, it was only a little later that I discovered I had somehow neglected to remove it from my wrist and offer to return it. I was utterly, utterly flabbergasted that I could have been so forgetful. Here then, my issued aircrew (I was issued it for a FAC role - I wasn't aircrew) watch, which was later damaged in an incident - I decided that it should retain its patina, because, like me, some things are more endearing when they reflect the st that life throws at you. Non original strap mind (posting and uploading from the Blackberry Passport is a breeze!).

[andy_s]

^ The Seiko movement is spot on, incidentally it was the first analogue quartz chronograph, or at least the civvie version was...which incidentally was issued to the South African AF pilots in the mid-eighties, replacing the watch I posted above.
I used a Seiko Sports 100 (the civvie version of the above) during my service, it did well and as above, carries a few bar scars

[ecain63]

I was at a reunion last week and quite a few of the lads had mil issue / mil design watches. 2 of us had the latest Bremont Royal Marines. A few more had the Mk1 and Mk2 Breitling Royal Marines watches and one lad had a Seamaster with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force case back, another with an SBS Seamaster, and another lad with an SRR Submariner that had already been offered privately at £40k.

The SBS are getting a Rolex issue soon. I think the Seamaster batch is nearly all used up and other than the uber rare SRR Subs no other unit currently gets a Rolex issue. When my old unit gets it's arse in gear and orders some Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron badged Subs or Seamasters i'll get in there asap.

[E91 Gaz]

There's currently a BRF Seamaster on ebay, buy it now of £5750. I keep watching it too see if it sells, their numbered to 500 and I can't imagine the QM'S will let many go missing, don't think many will appear on sale to civvies.

[Foliage]

ecain63 said:

The SBS are getting a Rolex issue soon. I think the Seamaster batch is nearly all used up and other than the uber rare SRR Subs no other unit currently gets a Rolex issue. When my old unit gets it's arse in gear and orders some Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron badged Subs or Seamasters i'll get in there asap.

This is completely contrary to my knowledge of the current issue watches to UKSF.. (unless your talking about 'NAAFI merchandise' of course) I'll give you the benefit of the doubt though..

As far as im aware SBS are issued the same watch as divers ie the citizen eco drive, and the rest get either the standard issue watch or Traser dependant on role and need,

Most use either the cheap casio/g-shocks or suunto's etc

Edited by Foliage on Tuesday 2nd December 12:32

[cirian75]

most squaddies I know wear G-Shocks, usually a 6900 of some kind.

[cirian75]

Foliage said:

ecain63 said:

The SBS are getting a Rolex issue soon. I think the Seamaster batch is nearly all used up and other than the uber rare SRR Subs no other unit currently gets a Rolex issue. When my old unit gets it's arse in gear and orders some Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron badged Subs or Seamasters i'll get in there asap.

This is completely contrary to my knowledge of the current issue watches to UKSF.. (unless your talking about 'NAAFI merchandise' of course) I'll give you the benefit of the doubt though..

As far as im aware SBS are issued the same watch as divers ie the citizen eco drive, and the rest get either the standard issue watch or Traser dependant on role and need,

Most use either the cheap casio/g-shocks or suunto's etc

Edited by Foliage on Tuesday 2nd December 12:32

I used an early Timex Ironman indigo

[mel]

Foliage said:

ecain63 said:

The SBS are getting a Rolex issue soon. I think the Seamaster batch is nearly all used up and other than the uber rare SRR Subs no other unit currently gets a Rolex issue. When my old unit gets it's arse in gear and orders some Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron badged Subs or Seamasters i'll get in there asap.

This is completely contrary to my knowledge of the current issue watches to UKSF.. (unless your talking about 'NAAFI merchandise' of course) I'll give you the benefit of the doubt though..

As far as im aware SBS are issued the same watch as divers ie the citizen eco drive, and the rest get either the standard issue watch or Traser dependant on role and need,

Most use either the cheap casio/g-shocks or suunto's etc

Edited by Foliage on Tuesday 2nd December 12:32

I would guess he is almost certainly talking NAAFI Merchandise, lots of units place bespoke orders and I've seen Omega blinged up ones which personally I think look a bit chad valley.

The days of the "issue rolex" are long gone, I completed my divers course early nineties and got a Citizen Automatic which was alright, functional and I've still got (still going strong keeps better time than my own Seamaster and has never even had the back off in 25 years!). I did have a couple of Rolex's on my PLR as Ship Divers loan kit on board before they did away with SD's and they all got sent back with the rest of the kit. I know that just under a hundred of these came back to the stores at Gunwharf shortly before we moved to Horsea Island. At the time it was only the old and bold S/R CD's that generally had them and the rest of us weren't actually that bothered as it was "just a watch" I know as a fact that the SA's had hundreds of the bloody things in the stores and if you really wanted a watch on your PLR (none of us bothered as we used our own) they were easier to get hold of than socks!

At the time it just wasn't important and if I'm honest a battered Rolex held little interest when you were signing for hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of Kirby Morgan gear and couple RCMDS submersibles. (oh how I kick myself now!)

The whole folklore that Bootneck SC's used to get some mythical SF superdooper Rolex as an operational working watch is frankly bks, at that time the Casio G shock was the weapon of choice, now superseded by the various offerings from Suunto. The Rolex didn't even tell the day or date FFS and lets face it in that line of work you often don't have clue what day of the week it is so it's a pretty important function.

[andy_s]

I did both army and navy divers (French) and the only watch you got was on a swim board - can't even remember what it was, although they use G-Shocks at the mo. I seem to recall the instructors at St Mandrier wore the Citizen Aqualand model with the integrated depth gauge but no idea if issued. The French had Tudors while the brits had Rolex if you go back another ten years, in fact the French had some really good issued diver watches; Blancpain/LIP 50 fathoms, ZRC Etanche Grands Fonds, Rolex, Tudor (blue & black), Auricoste/ScubaPro, Beuchat and now the MN G-Shocks.

ETA: Haha - Kirby Morgan? We still used Cousteau Gagnans!

Edited by andy_s on Tuesday 2nd December 18:20