The passing of the old and greetings for the new year is not surprisingly associated with time and clocks. I thought it was but appropriate that my first post be about time and watches. More specifically, I am posting about a watch with a story that is also sentimental for me.
There are many collectible military watches. Perhaps among the most popular are (in no specific order) the Capt. Willard (worn by Martin Sheen in the movie "Apocalypse Now"), the Dirty Dozen watches issued in WW2 to Allied commandos and referring to 12 brands of watches, and watches worn by the German army (Wermacht) during the same war. The Type A17 watch is a US military issued watch that was provided for the US armed forces and their allies whom they provided logistics support to. These watches were manufactured by several companies including Bulova and Waltham. My interest in these watches comes from my closeness to an uncle who fought in the Korean War. Tay Puren (Florentino Llamas) was with the 10th Battalion Combat Team (10BCT) of the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK) that fought alongside the UN forces led by the US in the conflict from 1950-1951. They were issued US supplies including these type of watches. I have fond memories of my uncle who always had a lot of stories to tell about his deployment to Korea during the war.
 |
The Bulova Type A17A has a big crown and no day or date complications.
|
 |
Side view showing the big crown - this was practical for a field watch especially as these were manually wound.
|
 |
The other side view. The big crown is even more distinct as this watch only measures 32mm, which was common for these type of watches.
|
 |
The case back showing the details for this military watch
|
 |
Here's a better, closer look at what's inscribed on the watch back.
|
 |
Close-up of the dial. The lumes on the hour markers don't work but there's a faint lume for the hands.
|
 |
Wrist shot one time I used the watch on errands.
|
I managed to find two reasonably priced A17's - one from the US and another from Australia. I had problems acquiring the one from the US as the logistics backlog there apparently affected shipping costs so that ended up canceled. The second one is the one featured in this post and didn't have issues with shipping and I got it only a few days after I purchased it. The watch runs well though I need to have it checked. I think I broke the mainspring one time I wound the watch. It currently runs about 12 to 14 hours if I wound it enough (it does not lock). Still, the fact this watch is working means its a hardy one. Can't really argue about that for a 70 year old piece.
Happy New Year!
-
No comments:
Post a Comment