What are some good quality commercial watches that would have been worn in WW1

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Since I saw the add for Passchandale where they synchronize their watches
I have been wanting to know about some of the watches that would have been available to servicemen for purchase at the time?

Both what the average grunt and a well off son of the aristocracy would have had. WW1 really made the wris####ch take over from the pocket watch.
 
Watch

Look at this old poscard taken at Moulins, in 1914, just before "The First Great Meat Grinder".
The guy with a cap and cigarette holder at the right of the first row wears a leather bracelet which encloses an onion watch, the kind that was usually worn secured with a small chain inside a pocket.

Cartepostale14.jpg


My grandfather is the one in the center at the rear. :)
PP.
 
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Great photo PP! I hope that your Grandfather survived the war.

Watch's, that is wrist watches, were very uncommon before WW1, it was the trench war that made them. The army needed them for the officers. I don't know how common they were in 1916 though.
 
Passchendaele was on hell of a fine movie, a little to much of a love story for me. I found this pic on Google.
The guy on the left has a wrist watch on and there are some site that have reproduction straps as well. Hey look at the snake belt buckles.
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This is my grandfather he was a member of the Fifth Canadian Mounted Rifle.
He joined in 1915 and came home in 1919.
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I have my grandfathers pocket watch. it is a 1886 Birks watch. I could see it being used in the time frame. they were popular in north america but maybe a little to expensive for the average person.
 
Almost all WW1 watches were converted pocket watches with soldered on wire loop lugs, and often a custom metal face grill to protect the glass crystal.

Common brands were Elgin, Omega, Rolex, Birks, etc.
 
Gibbs505 said:
Great photo PP! I hope that your Grandfather survived the war.
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Yes, he survived despite being involved in some of the hottest sectors of that war. He was lightly gassed with Yperite and later, sustained a glancing grenade shrapnel wound to the knee at the Chemin-Des-Dames battle. He died in his bed in 1947 from a kidney malfunction linked to that old combat-gas episode.
That picture is a close up of a postcard. Here is the original:

Ernest1914.jpg


PP.:)
 
Gibbs505 said:
That is some great history there PP. Did you ever know him?
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Nope, I was born in June 1951 :(
But I'm sure he would have been happy with my having a long affair with firearms and shooting: he was known as a crack shot in his native place and, upon returning from war, was put in charge of teaching shooting to the young ones before the usual "Service militaire".
My uncle Louis is 80 years old and he still got his 2 wild boars this year and the last. All the Lacoue-Labarthe family members are known as good shooters, even my uncle Pierre, the "intellectual" one (he's a teacher ;) )...
PP.:)
 
I have a R. Williamson Ltd. London pocklet watch with a BIG Broad Arrow on the back. They went out in the crash of 29, so it has to be WW1.
Then there is always ROLEX! Got one of those as well with the same broad arrow.
 
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PerversPépère said:
Nope, I was born in June 1951 :(
But I'm sure he would have been happy with my having a long affair with firearms and shooting: he was known as a crack shot in his native place and, upon returning from war, was put in charge of teaching shooting to the young ones before the usual "Service militaire".
My uncle Louis is 80 years old and he still got his 2 wild boars this year and the last. All the Lacoue-Labarthe family members are known as good shooters, even my uncle Pierre, the "intellectual" one (he's a teacher ;) )...
PP.:)
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That is wonderful family history there. Are you going to go hunting with your uncle?:D;);)
 
Rolxes are difficult to date to that era. They did not start using serial numbers until the mid '20s.

Omega watches with a serial number between 4 million and 5 million would be about right.

I collect watches, but don't have any that old. The ones I have seen are all converted pocket watches. Here is a German one with a "leder-armbandern ".

Elcowithleder-armbandern.jpg


And a more conventinal British wrist watch of the era.

WWIIngersoll.jpg
 
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Lederarmsbandern

Gibbs505 said:
That is wonderful family history there. Are you going to go hunting with your uncle?:D;);)
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Too bad for me: he lives in France's Pyrénées mountains, in the family's village.
Here's a link to that very nice place of my childhood: http://www.vathvielha.com/galerie/panorama/asson/vath-vielha-galeries-panorama-asson-pont-ete.htm
Maybe I'll take time and visit the place next year with my old mother. I think she wants to see them all one last time. :)
Speaking of watches, did you see the ones posted by Ganderite? the first one looks exactly like the one on the post card.
PP.
 
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Yes I did, that is a really interesting piece of history.

I do hope that you can go, I am planing to go back to New Zealand for my mums birthday in march 2009. She will be 90 then.
 
John Sukey said:
I have a R. Williamson Ltd. Lomdon pocklet watch with a BIG Broad Arrow on the back. They went out in the crash of 29, so it has to be WW1.
Then there is always ROLEX! Got one of those as well with the same broad arrow.
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Piiics, pleeease!!!:)
These surely weren't destined to the rank-and-file soldier.
Can their wearers be traced back? there should be some kind of paper trail somewhere, no?
One of my friends (Tristanium) showed me two WWII RCAF marked watches, that were supposedly the tailgunner's property on a bomber. He was wondering whether keep them or sell them on the boards.
I can't seem to find the pics but if I do, I'll post them here.
I think Canadian army files are still mostly intact; they weren't under bombardment so they still might be available.

I wish I could say the same for Europe's military regitry files, especially German: I have a full matching (even the wooden grips) 1917 unit marked Erfurt Luger that is linked to the commanding officer or second commanding officer in a german army corp (328th Landwehr Regiment, 8th Kompany). That regiment was decimated during the campaign at or following the Chemin-des-Dames battle, precisely that event where my grand-father was wounded and later decorated with the "Croix-de-Guerre" for his actions.
I wish I could trace back the family of that officer. :)

Unitmarkingsgripfrontstrap.jpg


PP.
 
pervers pierre,i was reading the posts and i was about to ask you to write about the amazing story concerning your luger.glad you did,it stills amazes me.
about the rcaf watches,i still have them.i'll try to put some pics later.they're walthams,i was told.if somebody can tell me more about them,it'll be very appreciated.
thanks!
t.
 
Waltham

tristanium said:
pervers pierre,i was reading the posts and i was about to ask you to write about the amazing story concerning your luger.glad you did,it stills amazes me.
about the rcaf watches,i still have them.i'll try to put some pics later.they're walthams,i was told.if somebody can tell me more about them,it'll be very appreciated.
thanks!
t.
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I showed the pics to my friend Daniel Barclay, asking him to ask his father about them.
Happens that his father was a tailgunner or something like that on Lancasters (Halifaxes) during the series of raids against Bremen, Hamburg and Nuremberg.
I've seen some pages of his logbook; he even reports sighting the then new Me 163 "Schwalbe", the small rocket-powered german interceptor. Great guy!
When presented with the pics, he identified your watches instantly.
I think you've got two winners there.
I would write to Waltham, asking if they still have data on these watches.
Who knows? maybe they could find you suitable replacement leather wristbands or offer you to clean and regulate them...:)
PP.
 
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