"1975" CWC W10 Military / Hamilton Case 35mm
Ref: W10-6645-99 523-8290
Specification
Lugs : 19mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and, therefore, comes with no original CWC box or paperwork. The watch comes paired with a well-suited 19mm NATO strap and pin buckle. The watch is from Circa. 1975, the case is a 1975 Hamilton W10 case with CWC signed ETA movement, hands and dial and is sold in worn vintage condition, but overall very fair for its age, as you can see. This is what you would consider a "franken-watch" or a "project watch", we have disclosed this clearly as you can see and it is priced as such. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wS4r13jE5LChyu_2WAusrmG9snhOYJ9s?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 20:06 - https://youtu.be/tqVVCHFINgQ
The Watch
Here we have the "1975" CWC W10 Military / Hamilton W10 Case from 1975. It is a 35mm tonneau Monocoque (monocoque in French means hull or single shell) stainless steel cushion case with a curve that ends with stubby flat-ended lugs and the characteristic fixed spring bars perfect for NATO straps, and a lug-to-lug length of 41mm and a case thickness of 10mm ensure a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side is a recessed coin-edged crown. A slim, smooth bezel holds a domed crystal and sits above a matte black dial. The outer minute track has Tritium lumed batons and pips at the hours, with Arabic numerals marking the hours. Long sword hands coated in lume are complemented by a tapered second hand. Text is minimal with “CWC” and a “T” in a circle, indicating the lume is Tritium. The Broad Arrow {pheon} has been used to mark the government's or Crown's property since the 17th century, sitting at the 6 o’clock position, signifying its Military DNA. On the reverse a case back with the reference codes: W10 British Army. The 13-digit number is the NATO Stock Number (NSN). 66 refers to Instruments and Laboratory equipment, and 45 refines that to Time Measuring Instruments. The following 9-digit number makes up the NATO Item Identification Number (NIIN). 523-8290 refers specifically to the manually wound-powered general service issue watch. The final two digits refer to the date of issue, this one was issued in 1975. Inside is a manually wound ETA 2750, 17 jewels, beating at 21,600 beats per hour. The watch comes paired with a well-suited 19mm NATO strap and pin buckle.
Personal Note
This is what you would consider a "franken-watch" or a "project watch", we have disclosed this clearly as you can see and it is priced as such. This watch features a 1975 Hamilton W10 case in lovely and honest condition and inside is a super clean CWC W10 dial, hands and CWC signed ETA 2750. This sort of thing has happened a lot over the years for a multitude of reasons, sometimes watchmakers would have lots of parts and put them together not knowing what we know today or not caring, the watch world was a different place back then. Rather than this watch sitting unloved, it can be enjoyed by someone who knows exactly what it is or buy it with the intention of finding a CWC case to replace the Hamilton case, the choice is yours!
The Brand
CWC (Cabot Watch Company) was founded by Mr. Ray Mellor in 1972. He was formerly the Contracts director of Hamilton Watch. He quickly secured contracts to supply the British MOD and has supplied them with many thousands of watches. In 1996, on Ray’s retirement, he sold the company to Silvermans Ltd, who sold CWC watches to the public; since that time and due to the increased costs of producing watches in Switzerland, the British MOD requirements of buying cheap have meant they have ceased using Silvermans. Inspired by the quartz version made for the Royal Marines SBS, formed at the height of WW2, The Special Boat Service is the maritime elite counter-terrorism unit of the Royal Navy.