The British military commissioned 12 watchmakers to create a robust, shock proof, waterproof and chronometer timing wristwatch for the armed forces. They had to have a black dial, broad hands and be between 32 and 38mm across. They also insisted they had a minimum of 15 jewels in the movement. Only a few manufacturers, IWC, Jaeger and Omega, kept accurate records of the numbers. Jaeger delivered only 10,000 – the 6th lowest. As an aside, they didn’t have a collective name until the 1960’s film, The Dirty Dozen, was released.
This particular example is one of the most desirable of the group, the Jaeger le Coultre. The stainless steel case is in excellent condition with the writing on the outside caseback being extremely well defined. The original and untouched Jaeger signed dial is again in excellent original condition – even the remnants of the lume plots are visible (there’s a hair on the lens by the ‘8’ and ‘9’ and this will be removed during the service). The original Jaeger signed manual wind movement is again in excellent condition and is currently being serviced. The watch sits on a black crocodile skin strap with non-Jaeger steel buckle.
It’s currently being serviced by our watchmaker and will be available around the 20th May.
