AUTHENTIC VINTAGE ENGLISH SMITHS ACME LEVER H.SAMUEL MILITARY STYLE GENTS WRISTWATCH

AUTHENTIC VINTAGE ENGLISH SMITHS ACME LEVER H.SAMUEL MILITARY STYLE GENTS WRISTWATCH 

CIRCA 1940'S

SILVER COLOR DIAL WITH SUBSECOND AT 6:00

ACCRYLIC CRYSTAL IS CLEAN WITH NO CRACK OR SCRATCHES

ENGLISH MADE 15 JEWEL SMITHS CAL.12.15 MANUAL MOVEMENT

LUMINOUS BLACK COLOR METAL HANDS

RAISED ARABIC MARKERS

CHROME FINISH TOP AND  STAINLESS STEEL BACK CASE MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 35mm EXCLUDING THE CROWN AND 38 mm LUG TO LUG

SS UNSIGNED CROWN

18 mm LUG SIZE

NEW BLACK WITH BROWN TRIM LEATHER BAND FITS 7.5" WRIST

DISCONTINUED MODEL... RARE

EXCELLENT CONDITION, GOOD WORKING CONFITION

PRICE OFFER FOR USD220

The History of English Smiths Wristwatches

Smiths wristwatch history began in 1939 when Cheltenham factory was asked to produced watches for the war. By the end of 1939, Smiths produced 8,000 jewelled lever escapements every week. They were able to supply the military with a pocket watch and chronograph pocket within three years.

Within this period, Smiths managed to produce a cheap range of ‘pin-pallet’ watches marketed as Smiths Empire and also high quality wristwatches to compete with Swiss wristwatches. All Smith watches were produced at Bishops Cleeve factory in Cheltenham. One of the man behind the successful of Smith was Robert Lenoir, a Swiss trained watchmaker who lived in England after the First World War. Lenoir provided the impetus behind Smiths improvement in the design and finish of their work and which finally led to production of a high-grade wristwatch in 1945. Lenoir had been the person in charge of the Jaeger Instrument company in England. That's made many collectors/researchers believed that Jaeger-LeCoultre were involved in the design of Smiths which were not true.

In 1951 Smiths had changed their typically English looking movement with frosted and gilded plates to the new movement of ‘12.15’ calibre - 12 ligne in size (26 mm in diameter) and 15 jewels. This movement which fitted to their De Luxe model was a great success for The Smith Watches. Smiths gained very much needed publicity when Sir Edmund Hillary wore a De Luxe watch on his historic ascent of Everest in 1953, and became a major of Smith advertising campaigns.