Reply With QuoteAren't many military watches having sterile dials, in order for the enemy not to be able to determine the nationality of the owner? This watch is a joke to me...
Serial number is visible on the pics (schoolboy error); 3J098980.
Does no-one here work for Rolex? I used to work at an AD and anything like this could be cleared up with a quick phonecall.
The Rolex Sales manager sent a signed letter addressed to the soldier this is issued to? Sounds rather fishy.
Aren't many military watches having sterile dials, in order for the enemy not to be able to determine the nationality of the owner? This watch is a joke to me...
Not even close. This is how such a watch should look like:Originally Posted by amcneill
http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showt...ary-Submariner
Can you possibly post some photos, for those of us who aren't members of that forum please?
Sure!
Many thanks Eddy C. that is much appreciated
There should clearly be plenty of evidence supporting the real thing.
If you're reading this Bigsymo/buntyhayes you might want to blur out the Service number too. It's pretty easy to find out who this watch belonged to using info freely available in the public domain.
IS it just me being really picky, but the engraving on that looks gash too
Yep, if anything it looks even worse than the other one.
Why anybody would want these things baffles me, bunch of walts I suppose.
Not even with a large bag of angry barge poles!
SGR
It is a £3k watch that needs a very heavy polish !
RIAC
Spoken by one of our recognised Rolex experts. Great to have some folks on here with a wealth of trustworthy knowledge.
There have been a few watches over the years that have basically been a normal watch, but with special engraving like the Navy Clearance Diver Team Deepsea model with only 50 produced, that now command £25k+. We have also seen on here the SAS model and the SRR which don't seem to be gaining much support on this thread.
There have also been watches with Cartier, Dominoes Pizza and Tiffany logos etc placed on the dial, which seem to let the sellers ask more than normal models without these add ons.
Comex is a step up, because of the history of the company and the engraving and Comex number on the watch case.
Taking it to the highest level are the Milsubs, with the gladiator hands and the full 60 min markers on the bezel insert and a Nato (or MoD) procured strap. They are something else and worthy of the high prices that they command.
^^^^ let's not forget the Rolex octopus, the Italian police divers watch. ^^^^^^^
Crikey the information keeps exploding on this subject, thanks to all who contributed some great facts and info
I have a Vostok Amphibia that I once wore whilst visiting the Skoda car plant in Czechoslovakia in 1987
Although I am not a Communist I did feel the spirit of Lenin whilst eating deep fried battered cheese in the restaurant
How about £650?
I have my 'issued' SMP, which I work when I was 'in' the SAS.
If you need cast-iron proof:
I always set my watch date eight days behind, for operational reasons.
And any similarity of the magnified photo to a post in the Friday thread must be purely coincidental.
Yours for a bargain £50,000.
When I was in the TA I got my front teeth smashed during a drinking game in the company bar, involving ten pints and a ladle.
Fortunately whilst this battle injury was sustained I happened to be wearing a wristwatch. It's a citizen diver that cost around £40 in the early 90!s.
I am willing to swap it for a retirement bungalow in Morecambe.
Dont be ridiculous !!! -you are making a mockery of this thread in order to flog a cheap watch.
Now if your teeth had been smashed in by the watch, that would be a quite different matter. A complete package of watch +supporting certificate from the Regimental Dentist would make it priceless.
Snort. Well done.
'kin brilliant! :)
I'd have thought a 2012 would have been blind cased? ie no spring bar holes?
mysterious.
- - - Updated - - -
I'd have thought a 2012 would have been blind cased? ie no spring bar holes?
mysterious.
The thing is, this sort of watch (if it was real) would not be issued these days. Someone would do a gash but of 'staff work' and arrange the order/bespoke bits. Then spend an age gathering the deposits from the 'I will deffo have one brigade'. At the end of it all you have something a bit different, hopefully to be used and maybe get some interesting history to it. Issued stuff will be far more bland, and nothing that draws attention, such as a Rolex sub(iconic piece) or the RAF favourite being an aerospace with a custom dial.
Playing "spoons" by any chance?
Yes! I was young and didn't know any better. Both blindfolded with a spoon in our teeth thinking we were hitting each other hard on the head when it was actually an NCO with a ladle!
Did they get you to go in the middle for the 'three man lift'?
Walt-ism. The only thing that adds more to the cost of a watch then Veblen. Surprised Petrus isnt spanking the monkey senseless on this thread!
these things are projects done by individuals (usually out for a quick buck) not the regt or rolex. The quality of the engraving is unassailable proof of that, should you be daft enough to doubt it!
The SRR watch above is a unit buy by the Regiment not an individual. The watch in the OP is a different matter IMHO.
I agree on the comment of Waltism, why anyone not in the specific unit would want one is beyond me, do they believe owning the watch will mean they have some of the (debatable) kudos of being in a specialised UK Regiment? The military watch collection thing is something that I don't really understand in general, why civilians want a watch because it was once issued or worn in a certain branch of the forces is not something I can relate to. Each to their own though and if that is what turns you on, enjoy.
Forget the watch, nice knee down
Totally agree with this.
Although it appears to open the door for a quick profit for some, based on trust or belief, often ill founded.
Last edited by andrewcregan; 30th August 2015 at 09:03.
Which begs the question, why do people wear apparel associating them to things or events at all? Why wear an England rugby shirt when you don't play rugby for England? Why wear a La Martina polo shirt proclaiming membership of such or such polo team when you have never been on a horse in your life? Why wear a Dunlop/Pirelli/Red Bull baseball cap when you are not sponsored by these companies or even, probably, using their products? Why to weekend cyclists wear replica team kit for a Sunday afternoon ride?
Isn't owning, wearing or collecting military timepieces the same thing? Should I feel bad about wearing an ATP watch because I wasn't a soldier in WW2?
I guess because on some level conciously/sub-conciously they hope, feel or believe a little of the cachet/ glamour/ ability rubs off on them. A delusion heavily promoted by the marketing and advertising industries as it helps to flog more stuff.
Not having a pop at anyone here of course.
^^^^ I certainly see your point Simon.
I would say the difference is wearing an England rugby top shows a number of different things...
You support England rugby, you are English, you want to show you are English, or perhaps you just like the top? Any official merchandise puts money back into the sport, team or federation.
A Pirelli cap could show you are in the motoring trade, you enjoy motor sports, you work for Pirelli, you buy other Pirelli products.
You would buy them as you either support or associate with the team or brand.
As for watches, feel free to wear what you wish.
However an 'issued' watch is like buying a football shirt, of any team in the UK. Why would I wear a Crawley Town FC shirt? I don't support or associate with them, never mind know where Crawley is (SE England at a guess?). Would my shirt have belonged to a player? Possibly, yet unlikely. About as likely as an issued watch ever saw any action. Was it ever issued at all, just been stamped?
Like I say, each to their own, we all enjoy different things, and what a dull world it would be if we didn't
A very good point very well made sir, no you should not feel bad about owning anything, you have your reasons to want to own them and they matter only to you. Could I just clarify that I was not criticising those who collect military watches? It's just that I don't understand the reasoning / compulsion.
As for rugby shirts and the like, I am Welsh, but don't own a Welsh rugby jersey, not because I don't support them but because I don't want to wear one. Whilst I love sport in nearly all it's guises, i am not a particular fan of any rugby, cricket, cycling, athletics, tennis team / individual and can't see me ever wanting to wear a jersey with a club / individual / team insignia on it. I may buy a jersey because I like the design, which prompted remarks when I once wore an Argentina rugby jersey at a UK Army social function in the early nineties... otherwise I am not that interested, sports good for me are for just that and I don't generally wear them as casual wear.
Isn't it brilliant that we are all a little different in our ways and wouldn't it be boring if we all liked / lusted after the same things.
The 14060 never lost the lug holes.
Oh that dialogue of Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction come flooding back.
Lol, oh yes. Now that had to chaff!Oh that dialogue of Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction come flooding back.
I think an issued watch is very different to a sqn or unit buy. An issued watch with history and provenance would be great to own, for the same reason as a Comex Sub. Not really an issue for me as I'll never afford a Milsub or Comex. Unit buys are for the unit and unless you have a connection do strike me as Waltism.
Scoolboy error that 😉😊
These watches are all commemorative watches 'supplied' to the guys in a number of different Regiments (whether or not that be clearance divers, SAS, SRR, Sea King pilots etc etc) as 'group buys' of a standard watch with an engraved case back of "varying quality"!
They are not 'issued' watches by the MOD.
The distiction should always be made.
The 23 Regiment Reservists (SAS Reserves - territorial civilian volunteers) watches have the soldiers name on the back which seems utterly ludicrous to me and it seems to all the guys in the actual SAS (22 Regiment) who wouldn't have their name on anything in a million years! In fact I'm certain they would not be permitted to!
As to the price being asked and the seller involved you can all make up your own minds I'm sure....
I hope you mean me (couldn't see any one else with one..)..Forget the watch, nice knee down
..if you do thanks very much, that was Donington 3 weeks ago...I almost need a new slider as it happens,didn't realise quite how much I'd ground off!
And don't find fireblade that easy to climb off TBH...
Was doing well and thought was going fairly quick till Leon Haslam and Alex Lowe's came howling past!
Last edited by lordloz; 30th August 2015 at 19:21.
I have seen a couple of watches done for the regiment as I live in the Shire! This is not one of them and is not a watch that Rolex would issue. I would say someone has purchased a basic Sub and had it poorly engraved! I just hope no poor sap buys it and who would it has someone elses name on it, and must say I am surprised a member of the regiment would sell a watch with their name on it considering the rather sensitive deployments they go on!
Good points.
I think often the sports wear is a tribal thing. I've got a couple of West Ham shirts myself.
Useful for spotting other tribe members too.
My son was wearing a WHU shirt up in Washington state where he lives, most people there have no idea what it is but one day a passing bloke shouted out, "come on you Irons" which led to a merry chat in a local pub for two expats.
Cheers,
Neil.
I think there's a difference. I don't wear the insignia of a military unit I haven't served with, out of respect for those who have. If I saw someone wearing a West Ham shirt, I wouldn't assume they played for West Ham. But if I saw someone wearing a Royal Marines green beret, I would assume they'd earned it. If they hadn't, it would be worse than wearing a fake watch, in my view. (They would also be extremely unpopular with any genuine Royal Marines they happened to meet.)I think often the sports wear is a tribal thing. I've got a couple of West Ham shirts myself.
Military timepieces not bearing the insignia or name of a unit are fine. I wear a Rolex GMT myself and I wasn't a pilot with Pan Am. So there's a line.
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Last edited by jambobbyb; 21st May 2019 at 19:31.
Most people on this thread seem to be in agreement, it is one thing to want to own something like a Milsub, or a Comex watch that was issued and used in the field rather than a "normal or standard" watch that appears to have been engraved by someone. Clearly the WW2 RN Divers watch falls into the earlier category.
Whilst watching Pawn Stars on Discovery, it made me think of this thread.
If the watch came with a story, or some physical proof that it had been to a war zone, or belonged to someone specific, it would be worth a lot more. I totally understand why people would be interested in these.
I suspect that an issued watch on its own would be of no interest ie tens of thousands were stamped, many sat in warehouses, or were never involved in any form of historical event.
I guess for those who choose to collect issued watches, you have your own idea of what issued means to you?
I think the phrase rhymes with 'Trollocks'...
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