Military Predictions for the future ?

[villarsphil]

I have been pndering the subject of which military watches will be the most sought after and valuable in the future. I am guessing that given the lack of military timepieces now being used ~(g-shocks etc) the oldies should continue to appreciate.
I would be really interested to know what you are pinning for the future!
I personally think the Smiths 1960's Military and the Lemania single button ww2.
The smiths as it is the last wholly english watch produced and the last english military watch produced.

[A.Pottinger]

I think you might be right on the Smiths.

Was looking over the 'Bay' and say a Smiths Chrono go for, given the movt, though a wonderful watch, a great, great deal of money.

I have a cherished Smiths 6b that I love, and is fortunately in great condition-it is apparrently rather rare, the W10 being much more available and of course the 6b is the pilot/nav. issue to the W10 General issue so the design matches the use more exactly. The case is sharper on the 6b, too, than on the W10. There is e previous post on this form about the latter point.

The Precista produced by Timefactors (by Eddie) is just like it and a great looking watch-the quality is very high, too I believe-a lower risk version to wear than the Smiths. Thinking about one...Have a look,too. A design classic.

The Smiths military watches are English, though the factory I beleive was in Glo-shire, with thse working there being from Wales and other parts of the Uk, so one may regard them as British.

The quality aspect is further demonstrated as the machinery was sold to Smiths, and was tooled by no less that Jaeger Le Coultre/Le Coultre the original no-nonse, quality-first with no compromise maker, to this day with an exceptional reputation for quality.

If one could find another 6b by Smiths, one would consider it, as it would be a nice one to have, but one must not be greedy, though an amazing gift later to give someone special at a very special occasion, for example.

Best Wishes,

Pottinger+ :)

[Mike K]

I'm not telling, otherwise the price of them will shoot through the roof just like the MoD SM300 did. :D

[davide]

I agree about the Smiths W10 - an English made military watch, it goes for ebay for sometimes surprisingly modest amounts.

It isn't yet scarce, but I've no doubt that its quality, English manufacture and military origins will soon make it very desirable. Now is the time to snap them up :)

[Foggy]

The Smiths do seem to be a little undervalued at the moment, so I agree their time will come again. There's a nice pair (6B & W10) currently on Ebay for a reasonable £495 BIN.

A couple of years back, W10's were hitting £400+ each on Ebay. That was an odd blip, I'm sure (for now, anyway :wink: ).

Cheers

Foggy

[villarsphil]

I saw those smiths tasty pair. I would bet those to "beat the base rate" (dont hold me to it however !)

[A.Pottinger]

That set of Smiths has flown away!

As in posession of a 6b- did not snap it, but was considering it! A friend for the W10, too...

A good price was paid, but I rekon, too, that they wil increase invalue.

May go on the hunt for a nice W10.

Best Wishes,

Pottinger+ :)

[Don Aldo]

I certainly agree, the Smiths is currently undervalued. I sold mine off less than a year ago on the Military Watch Resource and it sort of floundered about a bit until someone picked it up for my asking price of about $400. A few years ago (2001/2002?) this would have been picked up in a matter of minutes at that price. Here's an image:





Now how could I get rid of such a great example? I needed the money for other watch purchases, first of all, but the reason why I sold it is because I was always wearing my Hamilton GS which.... at the risk of getting tempers flared... I think is a 'better' watch. I think the Smiths knocks 'em dead in photos and is overall a real looker, I mean take another look at her in this pose:



But there's something about the aesthetics of the case and the dial that made me decide to keep my GS. Now I know it's not a matter of one or the other but as I had to clean house, so to speak, with my collection; keeping the GS instead of the Smiths was a no-brainer. I had wanted to sell my Smiths much earlier but I kept holding on to it for so long for sentimental reasons... it was the last British made military issue wristwatch.

Here are some quick and dirty pics of a GS I picked up last autumn:




And if you want to talk about undervalued... the Hamilton GS and its RAF counterpart, the 6B are extremely undervalued at the moment. They can barely fetch over $200 on Fleabay (a little more for the 6B) while a few years ago they were hovering around the $500 range... which I think is a price range more commensurate with the quality.

And to get back to the original subject of this thread - what pieces will keep or rise in value - anything Longines and anything Omega (though the 6B/159 pieces from these makers have suffered a bit lately- likely due to the case diameter), anything JLC, anything IWC, the Heuer bunds... the Lemania chronos should rise in value (quite underpriced at the moment IMHO)... and those original issue Panerais keep flying off further and further into the stratosphere of insanity (but the market has spoken for these)... the US issue wriswatches are now selling for peanuts as compared to the prices they used to get a few years ago and Chinese fakes of these pieces are, more and more, flooding the market... that's my two cents (or pence).

Donald

[abraxas]

.............

The quality aspect is further demonstrated as the machinery was sold to Smiths, and was tooled by no less that Jaeger Le Coultre/Le Coultre the original no-nonse, quality-first with no compromise maker, to this day with an exceptional reputation for quality.

.......................

Pottinger+ :)

I learn something every day ... thanks. :D

john

[swanbourne]

And in 1961, Smiths employed the former technical director with JLC as their technical director, no doubt a major influence. :wink:

Eddie

[davide]

Fascinating stuff Donald - I agree about the Smiths - I love my W10 for many reasons, but find the 17mm lug width irritating as it's not quite in proportion to the watch and it's very difficult to find straps - mine looks odd squeezed onto an 18mm NATO strap :(

Watch size is relevant to this discussion. Every day vintage military watches made by big Swiss names with attractive dials, military markings and elegant hands sell on fleabay for less than £100. Their problem is that, at 30 - 35mm, they are too small for today's tastes. If and when tastes change these watches will soar in value - Anyone taking a longterm view with investment in mind might consider these Bulovas, Ebels, Omegas, Longines, Cymas, Timors etc.

What's interesting is that small watches are so much more comfortable to wear than 40mm plus hulks, so maybe this change will happen in due course.

[A.Pottinger]

Thanks for the pic's of the Hamilton!

I really like it and will now try to acquire a 6b-any ideas or offers?

I have been looking at them for a while, but deferred-becoming caught up with HS8 types and Km and DH German watches, that I like for their technical features.

On the matter of size, I keep returning to a Longines 12.68z which is a relatively small mvt and in a small, snug-fitting dennison case-I in fact love the size, as it fits so confortably on the wrist-it looks like a dress watch, without too much dress-white re-dial for FAA (WWII) black arabics and 1/5 incriments on the tracks. It feels so right! It is an 'adventuring watch', too-but who would wish to use it for rugged pursuits rather than daily wear-it is not that kind of watch and never was-it is good for most daily tasks and one would not wish to damage what is really an irrepaceable watch... One ore raeson to have a stable of watches! :lol:

The large watches are great, though I feel the understatement of the smaller aforementioned watch, with its technical attributes and the history-though not a sentamentalist; most pleased by the accuracy this watch was ordered to achieve and can achieve, if well regulated.

The smaller high-quality mechanicals, as the examples given above, I believe will do very well in a few years, perhps 2 years, but who can tell?

They are difficult to surpass in value.

Smiths are special, and I beleive they will go up-even if to correct the blip, but they shall become scarcer. As case sizes reduce to the inevitable change in taste of the public, they will rise again, I beleive.

Best Wishes,

Pottinger+ :)