Reply With QuoteWell congrats , I have never known a watch designer and I,m so impressed !! The watch looks cool and I bet the feedback is good.
Rich
I have had a design for a watch going for some time, a watch design with my 25 years of experience in the military taken into account, lets face it the G10 is not realy that good for todays conflicts. I had help with the design from a couple of people here and Also TJ from Treadstone art, so thanks, unfortunatly i was never in the position to fund the build my self, Luckily my Regiment put faith in me and commisioned me to get a watch built for their comming tour in Afghanistan. So i would like to pressent the Joint Fires watch.
This has been built be H3 tactical watches in Switzerland and i would like to thank the CEO for his help in the build.
the Specs include sapphire glass 100m water resistance, Silicone and Textile G10 style strap, H3 Gtls lumination and luminover on the hands and bezel, non reflective PVD coating. And a pre and post event timer bezel in Our Tactical recognition flash colours.
What a pain trying to photo GTLS and luminova
I personaly think that i have created a watch that will see them through the tour and beyond, I have taken the time to personaly engrave names where it was asked for on the rear, i just hope that is never needed to for any other reasons but sentimental ones.
The feed back from the ones that have been issued so far is outstanding!
Oh and it is only available if you are going!
Thanks to the people who helped, For those who wonder i get nothing out of this but the pride that as i retire my regiment will be going with something i designed for them to serve them (and a good contact at a Swiss watch firm)
What do you all think
Well congrats , I have never known a watch designer and I,m so impressed !! The watch looks cool and I bet the feedback is good.
Rich
It's great to see a design not only being made as a one off but being produced for the intended purpose.
How many have been produced?
100 dials have been printed, 50 watches so far that all have names to them and names for the next 50 to be produced are being taken. I think the Regt will limit this to 100 maximum but then make one that is less focused on a particualar tour and can befome the default watch
Does each individual have to pay for their own or is it part of their kit ?
Excuse my ignorance !
Yep they have to pay for them, The RRP of this model from H3 with out custom work is £265.
Andy
Wow! I love the look of this and also being a military man this looks awesome and practical. Are you planning to push this out without the Herrick inscription?
Great work.
Cheers
Rob
It was always an idea Rob but i just never had the funds to do it, The only way i could have afforded it is with pre orders and looking at the way some firms go with preorders like MKII with people waiting a long time, i just could not bring my self to do it. May be when i get my gratutiy i will have some cash to invest in a series build. I am not sure there would be a market for civilians for a besoke military watch like this.
Great watch, but does it worry you that even as we speak there are chaps in HK and china making up copies to knock off on the Bay :) ?
Nice one Andy. Could you explain the bezel design? certainly different. Small world as well I have been to Larkhill, probably met some of your colleagues :thumbright: .
It will be for artillery fire planning. H is for H Hour and the plus and minus times are for pre and post H hour fires from the artillery. The blue and red on the bezel is the artillery flash colours that are worn on the sleeves of all artillery soldiers.
This is a a true tool watch for the artillery man.
Good job Andy.
Thanks Rob it is good to know that you know what i am talking about and that the design is understood just from the pictures
A proffessional job you have done there, I hope that you and your colleagues have a safe tour and you all return safely.
What movement have you used Andy?
Good luck and stay safe.
Terry
Careful Andy - it's looks as though "Terry" may be trying to find out secret info on this design!
Also I hope this design does not have a unidirectional bezel or it may be hard to delay H Hour (not that that ever happens)! However, the bezel could be handy for quickly establishing what time 5 mins before the 5 mins before the 5 mins before is (a specialist requirement for the RA). :lol:
I've only just seen this thread Andy, that looks very interesting. It's great to see a design made specifically for a purpose, well done.
I've never seen a watch with a mixture of H3 and Luminova, maybe there are others but I am not aware of them.
Can you tell me where the luminova is on the watch as I can't quite tell from the pic, is it on the end of the hands and on the bezel pip?
regards
siggy
Based on the relative brightness of the lume pic, I'd guess that you've got that right.
yep just to give it that bit extra when you go from light to dark
Looks like you did a good job on the design.What movement is in the watch?
It is a swiss quartz, to be honest as much as i love mechanicals a quartz is the only way to go for a watch that is destined where this is.
Andy
You are proberly right on a quartz movement they can take a beating and not loose any time by much were as mechanical will loose and you mite be in the middle of nowhere were you can't get the right time to correct the time on a mechanical.I used a Seiko quartz 7548 diver the 22 years I did in the US Navy got it in Guam in the 1980's still working great after all these years.And be careful in Afghanistan and thanks for your service.
Unfortunatly i wont be going with them as my time is shortly up after 25 years, but at least i will know they have something better the a G10
Andy congrats on your retirement.It will fill funny getting out of the service.I was forced to retire from the US Navy they are down sizing they called it high year tenure there are less bases and less ships since the end of the cold war our Navy was cut in half so less promotions you can only put in so many years in a pay rate 22 years in the one I was in.I did pass the test but they promoted by test score if you had 200 pass with only 20 spots Navy wide in my rate kind of sucks.I would of liked to retire from the military on my terms but I did get a retirement out of it.I took the test 4-5 times if I passed with a high enough score and been promoted to the next rate it would of been good for a extra two years so I could of did 24 years then I would have to pass another for two more years to get 26 years and so on.
I have actualy done longer than i should have, last july was my last day but i was extended to finish the job i am doing, but retirement is still retirement but then i will be able to biuld and design watches full time. I hope to get a small shop whew i can go to work every day and take in repair work.
Well hopefully i will get some pics of the first watch in Afganistan in a week or so. I amy even get a small amount made with the orginal dial design for a few people i like (and for the soldiers that dont want the regiments name on their watch)
Andy, thanks for sharing the story, it's a very well designed watch if I can say so - I love the mix of lume and the count-down/-up bezel is very well thought out too. I think you've put more thought into it than a lot of manufacturers do...
Hopefully all the lads will be timing their descent back into blighty in good health with it in a few months.
Kudos Andy, very well done.
Thank you Andy
Count me in on a non-26 Regt but generic Gunner one for sure!Originally Posted by Andy Schuhren
Great idea, great looking watch. Good luck with the new career. I'm very envious that you have the chance to get into something that you obv love an do it for a living. You deserve it after 25 years in the Arty.
D
Thanks Den, it does feel like i am coming to the end of a sentance.
Very nice looking watch
Well done Andy :) all the best for the future
Paul
Thanks Guys, Well it has been out and back to Afganistan for a short trip i just have to wait to catch the wearer and see if he got any photographs for us here. it gives me a nice feeling to finaly see this design doing what it was made for. I never thought i would be able to get this off the ground due to the cost of funding the build my self, so it is such a great feeling!
What a cracking idea! It certainly beats the wristbands we had on H10. In fact, it probably beats the WW2 issue Omega (WWW) that I took out with me on that tour only to discover it took more time off each day than the QM.
As for funding the project, could you not have approached the Regt 2IC and asked him for funds up front from the PRI, with a view to perhaps selling them on to the blokes at a very small profit margin, all profits going back into the PRI of course?
Best of luck on the tour, one of our Bty's is coming with you and, rumour (!) has it, not coming back to us at all. Of course, absolutely none of us believe this nor can think of any reason why this might be the case...
Love that coment about the QM mate LOL
Whatr you say about the funding is almost exactly what happend apart from the first order that we are issueing now were sold to the lads at cost, no profit any where, the second run will run over the PRI and generate some funds for the Regt.
I am looking in to the new cam straps for the second issue as well.
If you can source a good MTP NATO strap, count me in!
I know the manufaturer makes an MTP or similar leather and canvas strap, but not sean and MPT nato yet, i will keep my eyes open
Well the guy who went out forgot to take any photos for me but i am sure that latter in the year i will have a few, and all of the initial order are sold and i will have to order more, that makes me feel good, and very positive feed back from the wearers of the first batch. I am definatly going to have a small run made for the open market.
Also working on one for another unit now as well, and soldier magazine wants to do an article thanks to a member here, a big thank you there to Paul!
Also thinking about this but i am not sure a chrono is needed to be honest
Ha - for a chrono you should link up with Eddie and sort out the 17C mission timer I reckon! viewtopic.php?f=17&t=28578&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
Very glad it has been well received, I guess forgetting to take photos is understandable, probably more important things on their minds Andy...!
What a great design! Good luck on future projects.
Fantastic - as well as the real use they're seeing, that must be very satisfying.Also working on one for another unit now as well, and soldier magazine wants to do an article thanks to a member here, a big thank you there to Paul!
There is a bit of a story about me and this watch here and there will be an article coming in soldier mag soon
http://www.army.mod.uk/news/23933.aspx
Glad Soldier mag got their finger out and hope the story brings you many more customers. Just pleased I could help.
Soldier has been great from the first contact, Thanks mate) i think the slowness was down to getting a military photographer to do the shoot
Well the next 50 has arrived for the Regiment along with 10 special ones just for me
Even almost all of my ones have an owner so i am pretty happy how this project has worked out,
I will try to get a group shot of them all together later this afternoon, and one highlight of having a bad back is waking up in pain at 5 in the morning and comming down to the office and seeing 60 GTLS lumed watches glowing back at you.
An quick all together pic as promissed
and the best bit if all the people that asked for a non regimental one take them they are all sold
Wow, the collection looks fantastic. If you have a spare one for sale . . . . . :)
That is a very cool watch, i could see a market for it, if the bezel where optional to different styles, but it does look very nice, and i wouldn't drumble about wearing one on my wrist. :lol:
Let us know if you go ahead with anything more on this..
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