Can anyone give info on this Wristy......I was very suprised to se the near pristine condition inside after looking at the out side.

The Watch has Waltham 17 Jewels on the Dial,and is Marked 6/0-B Waltham USA 17 Jewels on the train bridge. Serial Number is 32214, and a possible grabe number of 787 on the barrel bridge.
US Ordence Dept on the Stainless back.

The crystal is so dicolored, a photo will show nothing but yellow scale. Is this a worth while restoration?

Thanks

Jeff

Flip Side

This is a WWII Waltham field watch, U.S. Army issue. It should have a white dial with luminous numbers and hands. The type of hands used on these watches varied from the catheral spade type hands to the pencil shaped luminous hands. If it is a stainless steel case and back, that makes it an especially nice one. The grade of the movement is actually a 10617 6/0-B. The 787 is just the continuation of the movement serial number, 32214787. Since it is stamped ORD DEPT, that tells you that it is pre-1945. If manufactured after 1945, it would have been stamped ORD CORP. It is definitely worth restoring. I have one like this only with ORD CORP markings in a Parkerized steel case. Still looking to add an ORD DEPT stamped stainless steel cased version to my collection someday. Fix it up and enjoy it.

Best,

James D.

To add a bit more information, the hour and minute hands and numerals on the dial are painted with radium, which is a possible reason the plastic crystal is so discolored. The second hand should be blued steel. Also, the case should not be stainless steel as these were made with either chrome plated cases or base metal cases. I agree that it is worth restoring but then I think all military watches are worth restoring. This not a rare wristwatch and you will not be able to retire on what you could sell it for. If you have a professional repair it for you at the going rate for this sort of work you may wind up paying more for the repair than it would be able to bring in an auction, but it is a nice piece of history and for that reason it is worth preserving. It should have a two-piece olive drab canvas strap, with white stitching around the edges, metal grommets down one side and a chrome-plated buckle with two keeper loops on the other. There is a write-up on these in Whitney, starting on page 550, and it includes photos and a parts list with illustrations of each part and their Waltham stock numbers.

From the pictures it looks as if the watch could have a stainless steel case. I have seen these late WWII issued field watches in a stainless steel case and in fact have a Hamilton version. Whether or not it is worth restoring is very subjective. It all depends on what your reason for the restoration is. For re-sale, probably not worth restoring. If it adds another peice to your collection, then I would say it would be worth restoring just based on the condition of the case back and also if it is indeed a stainless steel case, which are not common. Regarding the yellow discoloration of the crystal, it could very well be due to the radium that was used on the dial although I have an early white dialed Elgin Type A-11 that is definitely non-luminous with a very yellow crystal. Like I said, this is one watch that I would personally like to add to my collection (if it is indeed in a stainless steel case) restored or not.

Best,

James D.

As noted. A nice old watch.

Be sure to replace the crystal. Old plastic crystals often cause hands to rust.

Hi Tom. I am not sure I understand the comment that garrison watches had white dials and field watches had black dials. During WW II soldiers were regularly rotated around in various assignments. My father, for example, spent the first half of the war as a squadron commander in the field and the second half of the war in the Pentagon. He was not issued a new watch when he rotated out of the field. I also understood from him that all supplies were in constant shortages and they issued what they had to whomever needed it the most, or whomever had the most clever supply officer.

Also, Whitney does not mention any particular way these were issued other than a note where he thought most of them were issued by the Navy.

Do you have a reference I can read that makes the field/garrison differentiation?

Thanks!

Thanks to all for the info

Best

Jeff

First I have ever heard of garrison watches. That's a new one for me as I am aware of only field wristwatches and navigational wristwatches. I've seen a majority of field wristwatches with white dials but there have been black dialed as well. With respect to navigational wristwatches, originally, they had white dials and then moved on to black dials.

With respect to the Waltham field wristwatch as pictured above, you will only find it with a white dial, not black.

Best,

James D.

I have been around more than a few ex-military watchmakers and all of them refer to the sub-second dialed watches as field watches. I have been a dedicated (hardcore) collector of US issued military watches for more than 20 years and know quite a few of the old timers such as Joe Miller among others and they have never referred to the sub-second watches as garrison, tactical, or non-tactical watches. I know for a fact that some of the post WWII issued (ORD CORP) field watches (white faced, non-hacking) were issued in early Vietnam to front line soldiers serving in the field, not desk jockeys. This is just my experience. I am currently writing a book on US issued wristwatches and I will have chapters on field watches, navigational watches and dive watches. This is the first that I've heard that ground troops needed hack set watches. Navigators did need their wristwatches to be hack set due to the precise nature and speed of combat flying and maneuvers and that is why it was so critical and a requirement. Again, this is based my experiences with other military watch collectors and ex-military watchmakers over quite a few years.

I look forward to seeing your book.

It's not too scientific, but I have asked a number of WWII U.S. Army and U.S.M.C.vets if they were ever issued a watch?

Other than pilots and air crew, I only met one, a man who had been in a USMC special combat group, who had been issued a Govt. wrist watch. All the rest, officers included, used civilian watches.

I was informed that medical people were issued sweep second watches, of use to take a pulse. But I have not asked any WWII medical corps vets if this was true or not.

Best regards,
Greg