Vintage Watches: Smiths Deluxe - made in England & as worn on Mount Everest

I recently bought an old Smiths Deluxe. Approximately as old as I am, it too has the scars of age, but, like its new owner, still ticks away strongly. These watches have a fascinating history.

My Smiths Deluxe A404 from around 1955

Edmund Hillary wore a Smiths Deluxe watch when he climbed Everest in 1953. Later claims that he wore a Rolex originated from the fact that Rolex also sponsored the expedition, Hillary owned a Rolex and (and far as I can ascertain) a Rolex was worn by Tenzing Norgay, who stepped onto the summit before Hillary, so validating the claim that Rolex was first to the top.

Hillary's Smiths watch seems to have been a prototype model A409 which, as far as I know, wasn't put into production in exactly the same form. The advertisement below shows the models (including my A404) which were nearest to Hillary's watch in terms of construction and 15-jewel movement.

Image courtesy of Ollie Harrison

These watches were made near Cheltenham in England where all the parts were manufactured: there's nothing Swiss about this timepiece. Stylish and well-proportioned watches like this can be found for £150 to £300, depending on condition. I think that's good value for an example of British horological history.

They are, of course, vintage watches, so will show signs of their age and will need looking after. Prices are beginning to climb as people realise Smiths' part in British manufacturing history, but they will hold their value.

Hillary's original watch (bottom right), expedition watches invoice & later Smiths 'Everest' advertisement

The movement and all parts were made in England. Image courtesy of Ollie Harrison

The information in this post is a distillation of much conflicting evidence which I found online. Please check it before relying on it or repeating it; and if anything is inaccurate, let me know.

Buying a vintage watch

Whatever you wear, there are two items a man can own that add a touch of style to his appearance. Whether worn with formal, evening wear or weekend casual a good vintage watch and a pair of good quality shoes make up for many sartorial shortcomings.

Daniel Craig wears a vintage Rolex Daytona

Buying a new watch can, with a very few exceptions, be like buying a car - your purchase drops in value as soon as you've bought it. There are, of course, advantages to buying new - the seller's warranty and the sheer pleasure of owning a new, high quality, timepiece, but you may want to consider buying vintage.

A good collection of old Omega and Lemania watches (image Grey Fox)

If chosen with care, an older watch will reliably at least retain its value and is a pleasure to own. It will accumulate signs of its owner's character; the battered leather strap, the scratches on its case and glass and, in due course, the development of rich creams and browns to the luminous markers and dials of a watch older than 20 or so years.

Most older designs are simple and well-proportioned and, while there are many beautiful modern designs, new watches can be oversize, fussy and sometimes blingy in appearance - choose wisely.

Many makes have fascinating histories. This 1968 Omega Speedmaster is of the type worn by NASA's astronauts from the sixties through to the age of the International Space Station and was worn on the Moon. Omega still make this model, albeit with a different movement to that used in these early examples.

Omega Speedmaster Professional 1968 model - as worn on the Moon - image courtesy of Ming

The most beautiful part of an old mechanical watch is very rarely seen by the owner - the movement is a tiny glistening engine that's a marvel of micro-engineering, as this Omega movement from a simple military watch from 1953 shows -

Movement of an Omega '53 RAF pilot's watch - image courtesy of Ming

If you're knowledgeable, the best place to buy such watches on watch enthusiast fora and marketplaces - but even though you will deal with trustworthy and enthusiastic sellers, you may still make mistakes. For the newcomer, a generally safer option is to buy from a well-established and reputable dealer from whom you will obtain a warranty and reasonably reliable guarantee of authenticity.

What to buy as your first vintage watch depends on your taste and the depth of your pocket. You'll rarely go wrong with a Rolex Submariner or GMT Master or older Rolex Datejust. Some models of the Omega Speedmaster or Seamaster will also be a good buys. These will be ideal starters to a larger collection or will make ideal choices as watches to wear every day if properly looked after and serviced. Mechanical watches like these are capable of being accurate to within a second or two a day.

Finding a reputable vintage dealer isn't too hard. I see that Hackett has opened a vintage watch department in its Regent Street shop; they had a small but outstanding selection when I was in there last week. I'll give you more information about that in a future post.

Vintage Rolex Oyster - the ultimate classic wristwatch?

There's nothing quite like a beautifully-designed and minimalist classic wristwatch to add a touch of style to casual or formal wear. In an age when so many watches are over-large and over-designed with unnecessary dials, winders and crowns, it can be a relief to wear a watch that simply looks good and does the job of recording the time well and accurately.

My favourite is the older and vintage Rolex Oyster. I particularly like the mechanical simplicity and robustness of the older Rolex Explorer, a popular and historic version of the Oyster (see here for more information).

Rolex Oysters, with and without dates, are generally around 34 to 36mm in size and look good whether worn on a bracelet, leather or nylon NATO-style strap. Take care if you are looking for a vintage example, there are many around that have been redialled or badly restored. The right watch will represent an excellent investment, a good Rolex will at least hold its value, even in these days of austerity.

I'm grateful to Ashley Carr and to Ian for these shots of lovely Oyster Dates -

Photo Ashley Carr - with thanks

Photo Ashley Carr

Photo Ian (Chartman69)

There is an understated elegance about a Rolex Oyster on the wrist. It looks good on a steel bracelet, leather strap or NATO-style one-piece -

Rolex GMT Master - a watch for the travelling man

The clocks go forward tonight to start British Summer Time and it's an opportunity to look at a watch designed to be worn in multiple time zones. Designed originally for pilots in collaboration with Pan Am Airways in 1954, the Rolex GMT Master has since gone through several design changes, but remains essentially the same, despite Rolex's recent efforts to over-bling their products.

Several simultaneous times can be kept by using the red 24-hour hand and twisting the bezel. This avoids compromising the accuracy of the watch by moving the main hands to adjust to a new time zone.

Although a Rolex is not cheap, it will hold its value well, unlike lesser watch brands whose second-hand values plummet in a car-like fashion immediately after purchase.

A few famous wearers of the GMT Master -

Gene Cernan

Che Guevara

Chuck Yeager

Middle aged men and the pleasure of owning beautiful objects

Men of whatever age love well-made objects. Most of us with an interest in style will want to own something of beauty or an object into which care and craftsmanship has been invested - a watch with an in-house movement, a classic camera built to last, a custom-made bicycle, an original work of art, a bespoke suit/ shirt/ pair of shoes, a precious antique. With many of us this interest will become a drive to collect - I discussed this in passing in my last post about military watches.

Once you've handled a pre-digital Leica, for example, you're hooked by the solid metal body, the snick of the shutter which just exudes mechanical engineering quality and the pin sharp images - as a result you want to expand your collection of lenses. It's the same with other things - cars that have engines you can tinker with and don't have to be repaired by mechanics with degrees in computer science, steel-framed racing cycles with smooth shifting Italian gear systems, bespoke jackets with a flattering fit and details like hand-stitching and opening cuff buttons.

Photo Grey Fox

A common theme is that these items will last, the camera won't stop working after the first shower of rain, the buttons won't fall off the jacket after a few weeks' wear and the custom-made bike will feel as if it's doing the pedalling for you. These possession may cost more, but in the long run you save money and the Earth's dwindling resources - it's all about sustainability as well.

Photo courtesy of Ming

The welding on a custom-built titanium Seven Axiom
Photo Grey Fox

Vintage military watches - style on the wrist

Men have peculiarly acquisitive instincts - how many men do you know who are obsessed by collecting something? It may be cars, watches, clothes, cameras, books, golf clubs, rare birds, works of art or racing bikes. We're no doubt reflecting some ancient instinct which had us collecting weapons, women or whatever was required for our survival and that of our genes.

One item that a man of style might collect is watches - and why not vintage military timepieces?

Photo Grey Fox

There's a move towards smaller watches of plainer design - possibly in response to the proliferation of what I call footballers' watches - huge ugly timepieces, (often 44mm or more in diameter) covered with enough dials, pushers and winders to keep the most frustrated engine driver happy. Nowadays a sophisticated minimalist watch design can work well with formal or informal wear. What better than vintage military watches to fill this niche and to appeal to man's collecting instincts?

The watches in these pictures were made for the British military between the forties and sixties, a vibrant period of military watchmaking, before electronics brought rather soulless quartz watches. They are small by today's standards, around 34mm to 36mm in diameter, but they stand out on the wrist because they were designed to do just that - and to be instantly legible. They are robustly designed with movements which are beautifully made and generally easy to maintain.

Vintage military Hamilton watch - photo Asos

Most can be bought for under £500, though collectible ones like the Omega 53 or Mk11 navigators' watches made by Jaeger LeCoultre and IWC can cost in the thousands. Unlike modern watches, however, they should hold their value, and in many cases actually appreciate. Inevitably, buying vintage military watches is a minefield - a lot of fakes are sold on eBay and even on watch fora and by dealers - get good advice before you take the plunge. 

There is one watch in the picture below which is modern, can you spot it?

Photo Grey Fox

Military watches are often worn with one-piece nylon or "NATO" straps - these can be bought in a wide variety of colours so you can change the appearance of your watch to suit your mood.

Vintage watches 3 - Rolex Explorer - the original Bond watch?

The Rolex Explorer has a distinguished history and is generally reckoned to be the original James Bond Rolex, as described in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. See this link for more information.

In reality, the watch has been used widely by travellers and explorers, as its simple but robust mechanical movement made it ideal for the rough and tumble of adventure. The claim that one was worn by Edmund Hillary to the summit of Everest is probably untrue, although Rolex may have supported the expedition. It's thought that he actually wore a British-made Smiths for the climb, and that company subsequently made several Smiths Everest models to commemorate this (see picture below).

Its classic simplicity and design make the vintage Rolex Explorer a must for a man of style. The company still makes a later version, but it lacks the beauty of the original 1016 and other earlier models.

Grey Fox photo - Rolex Explorer 1016

This picture of Ian Fleming from the National Portrait Gallery in London, shows him wearing his own Rolex Explorer 1016 -

Ian Fleming's Explorer, found and much exhibited recently -

Smiths Everest - Grey Fox photo

Vintage watches 2 - military diving watches for men of style

There's something very satisfying wearing a watch with a history. Vintage military watches have been designed to be worn in demanding situations, where robustness and accuracy can be vital. Diving watches, in particular, need to be totally reliable in military use, as the accurate timing of a dive is a life-preserving necessity.

One of the most desirable military diving watches is the Rolex Submariner which was issued by the Royal Navy - but you're looking at a price of at least £30,000 and possibly twice that if you want an original example whose provenance has been established by Rolex UK.

Photo courtesy of The Old Watch Shop

A considerably cheaper alternative is the Tudor Submariner used by the French Navy, an example of which I was able to examine and photograph recently.  It came in different guises (pictured below) and is best bought with the decommissioning papers, as shown here.  The main difference between the Rolex and Tudor Submariners (both were made by the same company) was that the Tudor did not use an in-house Rolex movement.

French Navy Tudor Sub with "snowflake" hands. Forum a Montres.

Vintage wrist watches - Omega Speedmaster - history and technology

My love of watches was sparked in the early seventies when, as a schoolboy, I had a few weeks work experience at a lawyer's offices.  One of the people I worked with wore an Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph.  I recall his showing it to me and telling me how this model was worn by astronauts on the Apollo programme.

Grey Fox photo

An Omega Speedmaster played a vital role in timing the re-entry engine burn that enabled Apollo XIII to return safely to Earth after the near-fatal explosion on board.  The Speedmaster was also the only watch worn on the surface of the Moon.  It has been used in space from the mid-sixties through to the days of the Space Shuttle.

It was many years before I owned by own Speedmaster.  I have owned, worn and sold several , but my favourite is a 1968 model identical to that worn by the Apollo astronauts.  As with other aspects of my taste in clothes and possessions  (see for example my Nigel Cabourn Tenzing jacket), the history and tradition represented by an object plays a major part in my choosing it.  The Speedmaster is a lovely watch and is a genuine tool watch - robust and beautifully made.

Photo courtesy of Ming

Spot the Speedmasters in these photos below (courtesy of NASA and the Russian Space programme).

Neil Armstrong wears a Speedmaster during training

On the Moon