Hi All,

Not posted any pic's of my Mil pockets for a while!

Thought you may be interested in this little gem Thought I'd bring it out for some fresh air!

Spent most of its life in the outer protector, hence condition.
Perhaps the outer case being stuck firm repelled invaders!

John.

Outer caseback
JW.

Case Front
JW.

Case back.

G.S.T.P. under Broad Arrow, serial No T 12422

Flash has picked out hairline scratches, but the back is actually like a mirror and totally unmauled!!
Closes with the serials etc slightly askew.

JW.

Inside Case Back.

Cortebert Watch Co Mark over serial No 2060113.

JW.

Absolutely Pristine dial.
No damage of any description, Radium totally intact on All Numerals and Hollowfill Hands.
No fuzzing or staining present anywhere!

JW.

Cortebert Cal 526 Movement - AKA Rolex Cal 540.

Runs beautifully!

Cortebert supplied these movements to Rolex, which were then finished 'in house'.
If you look closely at the index lever on both the Cortebert and Rolex, they both have a slight curve - a dead giveaway!

They don't pass this way too often in this conditon!

John.

Really nice find John! Drool, drool.

I've always wondered about the various G.S.T.P. markings. In addition to the serial numbers many have letters as either part of the serial or stamped nearby. Some of the ones stamped nearby I know indicate Commonwealth country armies such as ones marked with an I are for India, but do you know of any good list that lays out all of the different letters and what they all mean?

Thanks Jim, but careful with the drool ..... wreaks havoc on keyboards

I've often wondered about the prefix numbers on casebacks, but I've never seen any definitive work on the subject that would give clues to what they actually represent.
Maybe one day, some info will pop up from somewhere to clear up the mystery!

John

Very neat! A wonderful find, especially considering how you acquired it.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thanks Clyde,

I must confess to suffering serious auction Twitch when that lot went under the hammer. I still feel it now every time I pick it up!

John

An exceptional G.S.T.P., John. Thank you for the images.


The construction of the outer case/watch protector looks interesting. Did it come with the watch? If so, does it have any maker's marks? The only other watch protector I have seen on a G.S.T.P. was an English made black rubber model.

Best regards,

Greg

Thanks for the comments Greg, thought you may like it

I've some more photo's to post yet, just need to edit them.

BTW, where the ends of the case top are bent up slightly, is where I sprained it so the darned thing could be got off and back onto the watch, I'll straighten it out at some point.

The case is in two parts, and appears to be pressed stainless steel or some such material.
There are no makers marks or anything on either of the case halves.

The back is shaped quite tightly to the watch case, with a slot for the pendant.
This has caused some fretting on the case band, which I hope will polish out.

The ends of the pendant slots have also nicked the case band either side of the pendant. Don't think they'll come out, but I may be able to burnish them out a little.

The front with the crystal (quite yellowed now)also has a slot for the pendant, and this part slots over the top of the back totally enclosing the watch.
It fitted so tightly, the join between the two halves (which overlap) barely showed.
The back has a piece of red felt lining it, so it protected the back of the watch beautifully.

Best regards

John

Thanks John,

I don't think I have seen a watch protector like yours. Thanks for the description.

The other stuff sounds interesting. Navigation is horologically related, so fair game to post images of such stuff. I know alot of us enjoy such items.


Best regards,
Greg

Hi,
Just reading through this post and few posts back there was a question as to the different miltary markings of British Commonwealth countries. In Canada the broad arrow was encompassed by a "C".
Thanks, John

Hi Greg,

Finally got a few more pic's of the protector for you to browse!
Also one of the damage caused by it to the watch case band!

I've a couple more of these protectors, but they're 'Pear shaped' and hinged, designed to enclose the whole watch including pendant etc.
Unable to find 'em at the moment, can't for the life of me remember where I put them!

John,
That's an interesting twist to the Crow's foot mark, never seen one like that yet.

BTW, I've also an un-named GSTP watch that has had the 'GSTP' struck through, and 'GPO' plus a serial number engraved below the original. (GPO = UK General Post Office).
Actually bought that a while back from a retired postman!

John

Protector Back.

Protector Case Front

Case Protector Front (Internal).
JW.

This shows the damage caused by the tight lip on the pendant relief, hopefully I'll be able to burnish some of it out!
The fretting on the case band isn't so apparent.
John

This shot shows how the relief dug the grooves in the band, the top outer cover pressed the edges so tight, it was almost impossible to remove.

John

Thank you John. I find watch protectors interesting.

As for British and Commonwealth markings, I recommend THE BROAD ARROW by Ian D. Skennerton. This book is a must for collectors of militaria and weapons. Australia, South Africa, Canada, India and the British Isles are covered in great detail. The unit markings found on swords and bayonets are covered rather well. The book does not have any markings specific to watches and clocks, and some of these markings are entirely absent. On the other hand, it was only through this book that I was able to learn that my South African military pocket watch had a "sold out of service" marking.

Another book with U.K. military markings is A CONCISE GUIDE TO MILITARY TIMEPIECES by Z.M. Wesolowski. While this book is not as comprehensive as we might like, it is a must-have for serious collectors.

Best regards,
Greg

Thanks Greg,
I've been digging around for the other cases today to no avail, but will post pic's of them when they finally come out of hiding!
My 'Shop' resembles such a bomb site at the moment, my wife has a hard time even finding Me in it!

I bought Weslowski's book a while back now, good read and very informative!
I'll check my local library for the other, see if it's listed.

Best regards

John