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Old 26 June 2020, 04:33 PM   #1
ttee
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Question about military watch

I heard some people said that the Patek Philippe 5524 looks like a military watch and I started to look at some military watch like Rolex milsub, Audemars Piguet 14790 military dial, Hamilton Khaki, Omega with military dial (I don’t know the name of it)....

I found out that all of them have a same hour hand shape. Does anyone know why this hour hand’s shape is equal to military watch?

Also, some of them come with a letter “T” on it. What is the meaning of the letter “T”? Is it related to military?

Thanks a lot!
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Old 26 June 2020, 07:27 PM   #2
glamorama
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Question about military watch

There is a category of military watches called field watches that were used in the trenches during WWs I tend to like. They have simple time only with numerals. I had a 37mm VCO gen 1 that was the ultimate luxury military watch hadn’t it been for the non factory option of strap.

I think most people like the pilot style military watches. Large lumed numerals on leather etc.

The T should be for tritium lume that will eventually patina into a nice colour.

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Old 27 June 2020, 12:51 AM   #3
ttee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glamorama View Post
There is a category of military watches called field watches that were used in the trenches during WWs I tend to like. They have simple time only with numerals. I had a 37mm VCO gen 1 that was the ultimate luxury military watch hadn’t it been for the non factory option of strap.

I think most people like the pilot style military watches. Large lumed numerals on leather etc.

The T should be for tritium lume that will eventually patina into a nice colour.

Thank you. I like the AP 14790 (36mm) military so much, but don’t know why the luxury military sport watch always in a small size. Maybe the 36mm royal oak would be too small for my 7” wrist.
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Old 27 June 2020, 06:29 AM   #4
stevedssd
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Not the same as an AP but here is a CWC 36mm W10 with Tritium dial on my 7.25 inch wrist. I have a mix of smaller and larger diameter watches and quite happily wear them all so don't be put off by the size.
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Old 27 June 2020, 09:53 AM   #5
ttee
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Originally Posted by stevedssd View Post
Not the same as an AP but here is a CWC 36mm W10 with Tritium dial on my 7.25 inch wrist. I have a mix of smaller and larger diameter watches and quite happily wear them all so don't be put off by the size.
Oh, it looks nice. Is there a special meaning of the arrow? This is not the first time that I see an arrow on a military watch.
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Old 27 June 2020, 07:02 PM   #6
stevedssd
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Oh, it looks nice. Is there a special meaning of the arrow? This is not the first time that I see an arrow on a military watch.
The arrow is a Pheon, it is used to denote that the watch is (or was!) property of Her Majesty's Government. It has been used more recently on watches that haven't actually been military issue such as the latest Omega James Bond 2020 issue.....
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Old 29 June 2020, 09:59 AM   #7
Dave455
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Most military watches have, or had, quite detailed specifications setting out what was required. Most of these requirements were quite sensible, and still pretty much set out what I want from a watch today. Moderate size, matte cases, white hands and numerals on a black dial are all common. If a manufacturer follows that style, they will get something looking like a military watch (though many try but get it wrong).

British military watches incorporated a letter code to indicate the type of luminous compound used. As glamorama said, T is for Tritium. In my experience the Tritium used on CWC watches doesn’t fade that quickly. I have a CWC G10 nearly 30 years old that’s still pretty much the original colour. Suits me.

Other letters you might see are “L” for Luminova or “3H” for, well, 3H.

The “Pheon” has been used for a long time on British Government property. It was originally chosen because it could be quickly cut into stone, metal or wood with 3 strikes of a chisel!
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Old 30 June 2020, 05:16 AM   #8
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Field watches are a great addition to a collection, as they are unlike what most have. You won't mistake a field watch for a diver or chrono. Plus they can be had for a few hundred in Hamilton all the way up to IWC and beyond. Have fun and try one.
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