Horological Meandering

When AndrewD first submitted the post on pilots watches he contacted me to see if i had any pictures i could contribute from my recently dissolved collection. at first i was reluctant for two reasons, the first being that pics of 'watches you no longer own' is a bit like posting pics of the waste basket to show what we'd had for dinner the night before. the second and most important reason was that i had only a couple of weeks previously deleted the portfolio of pics from my laptop

miracles, however, can happen and yesterday i discovered the whole lot on some emails in my sent items box from nearly 9 months ago when i started to sell them privately.

i contacted Andrew again, still unsure about their relevance and he pointed out quite rightly that this forum is about watches, not just our latest aquisition or the amount we can spend on a watch. i myself have been guilty of posting new purchases with a wish to induce praise from others, as i'm sure have others.

i now fully agree with Andrew and will share with you some pictures of military and historic pilots watches that formed a part of my recently dissolved collection. some pics are a number of years old and the quality may not be great, but its too late to do anything about it now

they are in no particular order.

enjoy.

 

 Algerian airforce breitling from early '80's. i also had an Iranian issue identical piece, but perhaps no pic.

Breitling Cosmonaute 1966.

1930's Breitling Luftwaffe

1969 Chrono-matic

2001 Spatiographe. very unusual chrono display.

Bulova US issue reissued to RAF. WW2 period.

 

US airforce Navigators watch 1956

Cyma WW2 Luftwaffe

with swastika blanked to avoid causing offence

One of the earliest pilots watches around. a WW1 Doxa Royal Flying Corps 30 hour non luminous mkV designed for clamped in a bracket on the 'flight deck'.

 Eterna Czech airforce 1938. the rarest of the 3 brands used. hopefully i have pics of the Longines and Lemania as well.

1930's Luftwaffe issue. i believe that Mimo were produced by Girard perregaux.

Glycine Airman a favourite of US pilots in the '60's

Hamilton GCT P/watch. no caseback pic i'm afraid as this is a solid silver case. from research i've tried to do, Hamilton didnt have enough nickel cases to supply demand by the Military so used some of the solid silver civilian cases just to keep production going.

Helvetia 1030's Luftwaffe issue

NOS unissued Heuer Bundeswehr issue. this is the first model from 1967(?) with the red 3H logo.

WW2 RAF issue Le Coultre

this one deserves several pics as it probably one of the most famous Luftwaffe issue watches of all time. still with original strap so not one to wear. the 3 manufacturers of these pieces, lange & sohne, laco and wempe were of similar very high quality and the watches were so expensive that they were only issued to the observers when they went on a mission and had to be handed back upon return.

 2 Lemania 1 button chrono's. the first with white dial is a Fleet Air Arm HS9

the second is an RAF issue with black dial

here's the Longines Czech airforce 1938 issue

 

this one deserves special attention as it is in fact a Marine chronometer, but issued to the USAAC for use in their Long range bombers. note the very rare 24 hour movement and dial

 

omega FAA issue HS8

the famous 1953 RAF issue Omega. no caseback pic i'm afraid

 

another Omega RAF issue

interesting clock. bakelite case, seth thomas 24 hour movement probably sat on the wall of some USAAF officers ofice.

 

Royal naval Air Service WW1 pocketwatch.

 

Zenith RFC WW1 issue 30 hour non luminous

 

Zenith HS4 FAA observers pocket watch intended for putting in the flight control panel same as the WW1 RFC pieces.

thats all the pics folks. there were plenty more watches, but i was a bit lax in taking pictures for insurance purposes. this is about 1/2 of the pilots pieces and some important pieces are missing. i've learnt a valuable lesson. PHOTOGRAPH EVERYTHING!!!!!

i think what you've seen gives an insight into the last 10 years or more of my life. these are only the pilots pieces, if we ever do a post on marine chronometers or ordinary military watches i'll be able to add to it.

all the best

Graham

This is not a VCollection, this is a real Museum, you own...

Wow, some models caught my eyes, like the Laco, the Breitling Navitimer, ...Speechless, my friend, in front of such pieces of History!

Thanks for sharing this with us, Graham.

Nicolas

I like the Czech Longines, always wanted one but never found the right piece.

- SJX

an incredible collection, graham. chances are many of the pieces like the eterna will see reissues at some point in time. less ay be more, but its hard for me to imagine how your present timepieces can match your pilot collection in depth. would love to hear your thoughts on the evolution of your collection. thanks again.

to fully understand what i did and why i did it, but first thankyou for your appreciation of the post.

in essence though, i got bogged down by sheer volume with maintainance being an issue after my repairer had a heart attack. if i had kept the collection and not maintained them i would have ended up with over 200 watches that didnt work. i wanted watches i could and would wear especially the freak which has been on my mind since i first saw pics in 2001. i was also finding that the military watches i didnt have were flying up in price and justifying some of the prices for something i wouldnt wear was difficult so i had sort of reached a plateau with very little forward motion. also my tastes were changing and i was more and more taken with unusual designs. the military interest had run its course and i had found a used freak for sale in UK so i decided to have a clean break. Bonhams were more than happy to take the collection and advance me the money to buy the freak so i let them have it. it was a big wrench and i had a few 'issues' after they had gone especially as they took 6 months to sell them all.

i've come through all that now and out the other side. my collection consists mainly of unusual dials or movements, anything i like that i know i will wear and looks different. i'm not particularly interested in something like a PP with 3 hands despite their superb quality. price isnt an issue unless its too much. i have a freak and a seiko burger, both ends of the spectrum. i'm now down to about 20 watches with a similar total value to the previous collection if not more.

everyone changes over time and i've collected this lot for well over 10 years which is a very long time in which to change.

i'm enjoying the new buzz of modern pieces that stand out from the norm and i think that some of them, with time, may have a similar horological relevance to the militaries..

i think that covers it and hope you understand my reasons behind it

regards

Graham

200 pieces definitely takes some maintenance, not to mention storage space. i seem to recall gisbert brunner saying he had about 800 watches at the peak and the maintenance/enjoyment was just not  there with such numbers.  i do admire your breaking free as the attachment that comes with the effort needed to amass such a collection makes it all that much more difficult. perhaps this is the WIS version of apron strings!  thanks again for your response, graham.

. . . not about watches, nor about the industry, but about what makes us tick (pun intended!) . . . thanks so much for sharing your collection with us, and even greater thanks for sharing your thoughts . . . most cordially, Art

PS - love the Longines marine chronometer!

Thank you for sharing hope that Freak is worth all of them :0)

Best

Damian

I really enjoyed Laco B-Uhr. I really like the Durowe movement that they used. Also, if I may, there were two other manufacturers of the B-Uhr, Stowa and IWC. Stowa and IWC are more known for their B-Uhr Type A dials.

I was lurking and decided to post to say thank you for sharing the pics of some awesome historical timepieces.  They are all really sweet.

IWC, Stowa, Wempe, Lace and A. Lange & Sohne

The Lange:



The Laco:

Hi Graham,

 

While we have been sleeping down here in the Southern parts you have been very busy! What a great post to ‘wake up’ to. I am very pleased that you found the images and decided to share them with us on PuristSPro.

 

To understand where we are going, it is important to understand where we have come from (I am sure I just misquoted someone more famous than me) and your watches provide that important link. There is much evidence of design evolution in many of these watches/brands and I can now see the origins of many little design features in current Pilot’s watches.

 

Thanks

 

Andrew

I've learned quite a bit from the pics and your short comments alone! Very educational for me. Too bad you had to dispose of your collection.

Hi Graham,

Its me again.....From you pictures traced from your pc,still i would comment it as 'unbelievable'.

You have come along way,retained 200 pcs and disposed them.From the day one and till now,you have gone through more than gaining and selling.As i read your article there are emotional,passion,taste,thoughts,memories,and needless to say experince.You have acquired with you along the road all the sweet,sour,bitter and spice of the horology.And i am looking forward to have your  wisdom of advice in the time to come.

thank you for the "unbelievable" treats!!

BHK9

as i know nothing about movements and calibres like others do. its more of an addiction for me. from being a police motorcyclist and pursuit driver to being medically retired is a huge life change and watches have helped to fill that void.

the best advice i can give anyone is that 200+ vintage watches are far far too many to wind let along maintain 20+ more modern and unusual pieces are much easier to handle and actually a lot more fun as every piece is wearable.

most of my military watch knowledge came from Ziggy Wesolowski who as well as having wristten an excellent book is quite a good email friend, most of my omega knowledge came from Chuck and Bill S and all the books published. i used to think i knew a lot about Omegas and am actually the moderator on a knewish and struggling auction site WHICH NEEDS OUR SUPPORT! , but after being on this forum i realise how little i know.

the only advantage i have over some other collectors is the time to research the subject, but 90% of this forum members can make me look a right numpty in seconds

all the best

Graham