#Rolex pocket watch cracked#
The enamel is cracked coming down from 12, and there is a brown stain near 10.
The bottom of the case has the number 12183, matching the case back. Also stamped is the Broad Arrow / Crows Foot (which is officially called a Pheon), which indicates this was issued by the military. The back of the case is marked B 12183 – B indicates Back Up Timepiece, so this was not a chronometer but was set and checked against a chronometer. Inside the case back is marked Rolex, 31 Records Universels, Geneve, Suisse. Both the front and back of the case are screw off. The case is made of gunmetal (steel was hard to come by during wartime) and the back is chromed. Inside this watch is a 15 jewel, Calibre 548 movement that is working beautifully. These were issued to the Royal Air Force, whereas the black dialed versions are usually marked GSTP on the back and these were issued to the Army. The two main dial patterns are black with lume and white, non lumed like this example. After researching the Rolex pocket watch models you will find that some have bows, like this one, and others never had a bow fitted – these were to use in instrument panels, whereas the ones with bows were for individual use and are easier to use today. There were a variety of different watches used during The War. Given that our watch has a serial number much higher that the caliber 526, circa 1940 is a likely production date. In Z.M Wesolowski’s book Military Timepieces 1880-1990 they show similar watches (with a Caliber 526) credited at circa 1939, and the same type of Rolex pocket watch also appears in the book Rolex – 3,621 wristwatches but without a production date quoted. There doesn’t seem to be a way to accurately date these watches, save for knowing they were used in WW2. A Rolex pocket watch that will appeal to Rolex collectors, military watch collectors and pocket watch collectors.
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