Battle of Britain G&S Co Ltd Pilot's Wristwatch, c.1940

This excellent and rare early WW2 pilot's wristwatch was supplied to the RAF through the intercedence of the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths. During the war, G&S Co Ltd was one of the jewellers that continued to trade with the Swiss while maintaining that these watches were not destined for military service. To further that ruse, in the early years, the importation of Swiss timepieces to Britain was reduced to "movements only". As a consequence, the movements had to be housed in English-made cases. These were supplied by the Dennison watch case company.

Although the process of watch supply to belligerents during the war years appears to be convoluted, the pretext was necessary to convince neutral Swiss that trade could continue, seemingly under the nose of the nazis. No doubt the Axis powers were aware of what was occurring, but other than disrupting the supply by the sinking of supply ships or denying the export of timepieces via Berlin, the trade in watches continued simply because the nazis also wanted to keep the Swiss on side. Yet, the fear of nazi retribution persisted, especially at the beginning of the war.

Once cased, these Air Ministry watches, when time allowed, were marked with the RAF codes, and this one has all the information a collector desires - AM marks, G&S Co Ltd details, issue numbers and the year 1940.

With its good quality 15-jewel movement, this collector-grade pilot's watch is in full working order, having been serviced two years ago and then not used. It also features a superb original dial and hands, and the Dennison case is of steel construction. It is an ideal candidate for regular use and comes complete with a genuine military-issue strap of the pattern that would originally have been supplied with the watch.

Code: 51682