A Beautifully Preserved and Very Rare Military (RAF) Issued Smiths De Luxe Watch in Original Condition with Tritium Lume, 1956

In the 1950s, before the production of the W10 watch, Smiths were asked by the MoD to produce a watch for general military service to be used by all of the forces which would be built to their particular specifications.

300 of these 6B/542 designation watches were ordered and issued first to the RAF in the mid-1950s. After this, no more were ordered until 1961 when 600 were produced and sold to the Royal Australian Air Force.

Given the small numbers in which this watch was manufactured, they proved particularly expensive to Smiths and subsequently production was ceased meaning this watch is a rarity indeed.

What’s on Offer

Unbelievably this is the second of these watches we have acquired this year – they are so rare to come across that we don’t expect to find them often and certainly not in this condition!

Just look at that super rich and blemish-free black dial boasting ultra crisp and brilliant white Arabic numerals, lumed hour plots and corresponding hands. The tritiumlume (denoted by the circled T) has aged to a beautiful light yellow across the dial – a detail we love to see on vintage watches. Of course, the pheon is also present – the arrow on the dial that denotes the watch as a property of the MoD.

Encapsulated underneath shatterproof plexiglass, the dial is a delight, however, the steel case and lugs are also in superb condition and to the case back you will note the original military markings are all present and correct.

This really is a significant piece of horological and military history and we don’t expect it to be around for long. Don’t sleep on this one. Serviced recently for us by the revered horological marvel, John Senior, so expect it to run extremely well and we have you covered with our 12 month guarantee!