Military Watch Advertisements

[z_charger]

What did the troops wear? I have no idea, but I am uniquely positioned to access many original military source materials from the 1940s until today. I wanted to sidestep individual or unit purchases and focus on what was available to your average service member. I have set up an Instagram account to post what I have found. I think it's pretty cool, and I would really enjoy some feedback. Every advertisement is from a military or defense publication, journal, magazine, or volume.

A few interesting observations
1. Certain magazines, journals, and publications targeted enlisted men, while other publications targeted officers and government officials.

2. Watch advertisements were phased out of more traditional publications (think service-specific magazines) as they got into the late 1970s and 1980s.

3. Manufacturers traditionally known for watches troops wore (Seiko) didn't advertise in military publications as much as you'd think.

4. As early as the 1940, chronographs were recognized for their utility and advertised in publications along with consumables such as cigarettes, alcohol, and shaving products.

5. I have yet to find an advertisement designed for women, with the exception of a Rolex ad in a civ-mil publication.
5a. I have found more advertisements for women beyond simple jewelry.

6. As popular as dive watches are today in the military community, advertisements for them are scarce.

7 (UPDATE). Expensive watches were always expensive. Rolex, Omega, Breitling, etc. They are also the ones that have increased in value. Cool watches like O&W or Zodiac are just that cool. But they have not really appreciated in value. The old saying "to make money, you have to spend money" rings true.

8. (UPDATE) I've read Rolex spent a lot of money on advertising. I have found more Rolex ads than any other manufacturer at this point. A lot of duplicate ads that I won't post because I want to keep my IG page from being redundant.

I hope you guys find the advertisements interesting. Although my page isn't enormous, I have quite a few that I am cataloging and will add more over the coming weeks. Any feedback or comments are appreciated.

Instagram: z_allied_sphere

Attached is an example of an ad that I haven't posted.

 

[SeikoForum]

There’s really only 1 military watch for me.

 

[prajaofetra]

What did the troops wear? I have no idea, but I am uniquely positioned to access many original military source materials from the 1940s until today. I wanted to sidestep individual or unit purchases and focus on what was available to your average service member. I have set up an Instagram account to post what I have found. I think it's pretty cool, and I would really enjoy some feedback. Every advertisement is from a military or defense publication, journal, magazine, or volume.

A few interesting observations
1. Certain magazines, journals, and publications targeted at enlisted men, while other publications targeted officers and government officials.
2. Watch advertisements were phased out of more traditional publications (think service-specific magazines) as they got into the late 1970s and 1980s.
3. Manufacturers traditionally known for watches troops wore (Seiko) didn't advertise in military publications as much as you'd think.
4. As early as the 1940's chronographs were recognized for their utility and advertised in publications along with consumables such as cigarettes, alcohol, and shaving products.
5. I have yet to find an advertisement designed for women, with the exception of a Rolex ad in a civ-mil publication. UPDATED this as I have found more advertisements for women beyond simple jewelry.
6. As popular as dive watches are today in the military community, advertisements for them are scarce.

I hope you guys find the advertisements interesting. Although my page isn't enormous, I have quite a few that I am cataloging and will add more over the coming weeks. Any feedback or comments are appreciated.

Instagram: z_allied_sphere

Attached is an example of an ad that I haven't posted.

I like it. I am very interested in military watch. I have the Wolbrook skindiver, the Hamilton Khaki field mechanical and the Breguet type XX Transatlantique, all military pieces.

 

[z_charger]

I like it. I am very interested in military watch. I have the Wolbrook skindiver, the Hamilton Khaki field mechanical and the Breguet type XX Transatlantique, all military pieces.

Take a look at what I've found. I have ads from all over the world. What's really interesting is the watches people think were "military" watches weren't advertised. The Seiko Willard is a great example of word-of-mouth popularity.

Ollech & Wajs and Zodiac consistently advertised to the military. Decades worth of ads. ETA lots of chronographs as aviation really took off after WW2....see what I did there?

 

[z_charger]

There’s really only 1 military watch for me.

View attachment 17760

One of my all time favorite watches. I am not a fan of the new reinterpretations.

 

[Grindaur]

Some requirements for modern day wear of watches and jewelry from Army Code of Standards AR-670-1
“Soldiers may wear a wristwatch, a wrist religious or identification bracelet, and a total of two rings (a wedding set is considered one ring) with Army uniforms, unless prohibited by the commander for safety or health reasons. Soldiers may also wear one activity tracker, pedometer, or heart rate monitor. Any jewelry or monitors Soldiers wear while in uniform or civilian clothes on duty must be conservative. Bracelets are limited to medical alert bracelets, missing in action, prisoner of war, killed in action (black or silver color only), and religious bracelets similar in size and appearance to identification bracelets. Soldiers are authorized to wear only one item on each wrist while in uniform or in civilian clothes on duty. In addition to the one item (watch or identification bracelet) authorized to be worn on each wrist, Soldiers may wear an activity tracker, pedometer, or heart rate monitor”.

 

[Grindaur]

Interesting topic, one that I think needs clarification there are watches that were worn by military personal and there are watches that were produced by companies in compliance with the requirements set forth by the US government. These documents take the form of Army, Navy and Airforce specific requirements as well as early MIL-W specifications such as MIL-W-3818 (no revision, A and B). Later specification were labeled MIL-PRF such as ;MIL-PRF-46374 which evolved from MIL-W-46374. To my knowledge the only real way to check and affirm if a watch is in compliance is to check the QPL (qualified products list) The source of this nowdays is Assist (a government run site). I have requested an account (again, had one when I still worked and used it on a regular basis to confirm suppliers for electronic hardware). A quick check on a back door does lead to issues in that older specifications that are no longer active are only labeled as canceled. This makes sense since the site is for providing information on who is qualified to supply a product that is actively produced. But I will continue trying to find a resource for obsoleted specification suppliers.

 

[Grindaur]

What did the troops wear? I have no idea, but I am uniquely positioned to access many original military source materials from the 1940s until today. I wanted to sidestep individual or unit purchases and focus on what was available to your average service member. I have set up an Instagram account to post what I have found. I think it's pretty cool, and I would really enjoy some feedback. Every advertisement is from a military or defense publication, journal, magazine, or volume.

A few interesting observations
1. Certain magazines, journals, and publications targeted at enlisted men, while other publications targeted officers and government officials.
2. Watch advertisements were phased out of more traditional publications (think service-specific magazines) as they got into the late 1970s and 1980s.
3. Manufacturers traditionally known for watches troops wore (Seiko) didn't advertise in military publications as much as you'd think.
4. As early as the 1940's chronographs were recognized for their utility and advertised in publications along with consumables such as cigarettes, alcohol, and shaving products.
5. I have yet to find an advertisement designed for women, with the exception of a Rolex ad in a civ-mil publication. UPDATED this as I have found more advertisements for women beyond simple jewelry.
6. As popular as dive watches are today in the military community, advertisements for them are scarce.

I hope you guys find the advertisements interesting. Although my page isn't enormous, I have quite a few that I am cataloging and will add more over the coming weeks. Any feedback or comments are appreciated.

Instagram: z_allied_sphere

Attached is an example of an ad that I haven't posted.

So do you have an active Assist account? Or are you looking a CBD listings? I has been years since I reviewed CBD (Commerce Business Daily) publications (like 37 years) back then they were a pulp publication of request for quotes, and request for permission to quote.

 

[SeikoForum]

One of my all time favorite watches. I am not a fan of the new reinterpretations.

Same. Nothing beats an original Willard in nice condition. The proportions were perfect.

 

[z_charger]

So do you have an active Assist account? Or are you looking a CBD listings? I has been years since I reviewed CBD (Commerce Business Daily) publications (like 37 years) back then they were a pulp publication of request for quotes, and request for permission to quote.

No, and no. I have access to a treasure trove of documents. Some of the stuff I have gone through hasn't been opened since the 40s and 50s. Literally, the pages have not been turned. I have turned thousands of pages looking for ads. I set up my tripod like a dork, line up the volume and use my phone's camera. I do everything by hand, pictures, editing, cataloging and I am learning as I go. Even though my IG has only 50 some pictures, that is a fraction of what I have found. I don't take pics of dupe ads which reduces the total amount of advertisements.

I have something pretty cool lined up in the next couple of weeks. If it pans out, it will be a great find that I can share.

On a separate note, I have have also found a ton of pinups dating back to the 40s. There was even a magazine published by the US Army for women that had a male pinup. It only lasted for (4) issues.

 

[z_charger]

Some requirements for modern day wear of watches and jewelry from Army Code of Standards AR-670-1
“Soldiers may wear a wristwatch, a wrist religious or identification bracelet, and a total of two rings (a wedding set is considered one ring) with Army uniforms, unless prohibited by the commander for safety or health reasons. Soldiers may also wear one activity tracker, pedometer, or heart rate monitor. Any jewelry or monitors Soldiers wear while in uniform or civilian clothes on duty must be conservative. Bracelets are limited to medical alert bracelets, missing in action, prisoner of war, killed in action (black or silver color only), and religious bracelets similar in size and appearance to identification bracelets. Soldiers are authorized to wear only one item on each wrist while in uniform or in civilian clothes on duty. In addition to the one item (watch or identification bracelet) authorized to be worn on each wrist, Soldiers may wear an activity tracker, pedometer, or heart rate monitor”.

So that applies to the US Army. Not the rest of the services which have their own uniform regulations. I have a couple of time-piece pictures on my IG site worn by servicemembers, or DoD civilians. I try to get pictures of unique pieces that have some history. If you look at my page there is a Seiko from 1979 worn for 20 years by a father, passed on to a son who wore it for 20 years. Another is a Rolex worn by a Ph.D. I work with. His father owned it and the story I was told was the PhD's dad told his wife "you won't allow me a mistress so I am buying a Rolex!"

 

[SeikoForum]

No, and no. I have access to a treasure trove of documents. Some of the stuff I have gone through hasn't been opened since the 40s and 50s. Literally, the pages have not been turned. I have turned thousands of pages looking for ads. I set up my tripod like a dork, line up the volume and use my phone's camera. I do everything by hand, pictures, editing, cataloging and I am learning as I go. Even though my IG has only 50 some pictures, that is a fraction of what I have found. I don't take pics of dupe ads which reduces the total amount of advertisements.

I have something pretty cool lined up in the next couple of weeks. If it pans out, it will be a great find that I can share.

On a separate note, I have have also found a ton of pinups dating back to the 40s. There was even a magazine published by the US Army for women that had a male pinup. It only lasted for (4) issues.

Wow, I'm curious about the vintage military ads and the watches they feature. Care to show us a few?

 

[z_charger]

Wow, I'm curious about the vintage military ads and the watches they feature. Care to show us a few?

Sure, here are some that I can't fit onto IG due to the picture dimensions.

 

[z_charger]

Here's an example of what I go through. You can see the book shelves in the background. Its how I spend my lunch breaks.

 

[z_charger]

Male pin-up for fun. I had a coworker who didn't believe me.

 

[z_charger]

Another ad that won't fit on IG. I have several ads that I found online, but I haven't posted, and a few followers have DM'ed digital military watch ads. I give them credit when I post.

 

[z_charger]

Finally, I think this one lends perspective to those who think the military was flush with issued watches. Its from the European front during WW2. Take a look at the numbers in the last pic. I've underlined what the Exchange carried.

This whole project is extremely painstaking and I've only just begun. I hope to hit the National Archives II this summer (I've been there before on a separate project) to see if they have some archived material that I have wondered about for years. I will keep you guys posted if interested.

 

[SeikoForum]

Finally, I think this one lends perspective to those who think the military was flush with issued watches. Its from the European front during WW2. Take a look at the numbers in the last pic. I've underlined what the Exchange carried.

This whole project is extremely painstaking and I've only just begun. I hope to hit the National Archives II this summer (I've been there before on a separate project) to see if they have some archived material that I have wondered about for years. I will keep you guys posted if interested.

You’re sitting on a treasure trove of original source material. This is incredible. How did you get your hands on all these documents?

 

[Grindaur]

What a treasure trove of info!

 

[prajaofetra]

There’s really only 1 military watch for me.

View attachment 17760

nice variety of Nespresso. I am myself very limited in my choice of these cartridges. It's Ristretto or Roma.