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Thread: Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

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    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    Back in February I saw a TV advert for one of those part-work magazines, usually my brain switches off when I see these but this caught my attention.
    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    A collection of 80, Military style watches from the 20th century, Land, Sea and Air, from all over the world, just £10 each fortnight, delivered to your door.

    If you like you can skip to the next post now, which is a brief look at issue 1, the American Infantry Watch, or read on for why I’m doing this thread.

    Please note this thread is intended for reviews and pictures only.

    Ever since I can remember I’ve always had a watch, never been great at punctuality, but I’ve always known how late I was. I also have a tendency to collecting and look after things I own so over the years had acumulated a few watches, mainly cheap fashion watches, but a few budget brands, a couple of good quartz chronographs, and a very nice quality automatic.
    The Eaglemoss collection seemed to me a good way to introduce myself to vintage military watches, learn a bit of their history and maybe one day to dig into my pocket and buy myself a real piece of history to cherish. So I subscribed.
    A few weeks later I signed up to a watch forum and found a few likeminded UK based watch enthusiast who where also interested in the Eaglemoss MWC, we started chatting and because of the fortnights gap between watches the topic of conversation started to drift to other types of affordable watches, and beyond, way-way beyond. we started a bit of a mutual interest thread that went off topic more than it stayed on.
    Because of this the information about the watches got lost in the abundance, it wasn’t unusual to get 200 posts a day that had nothing to do with watches, let alone the Eaglemoss Watches.
    To counter this we set up a separate review thread to keep all the pictures and technical info about the collection in a single linear thread, just in case anybody was interested in the collection, but not our off topic ramblings, because I was still subscribing I assumed the task of posting the latest watches to the thread.
    Then a few of the posters lost interest a little and started cherry picking, but the thread carried on, and on, and on…
    Then one day it got spammed by some random idiot. Briefly and without to much detail, what happened next was this:
    We got noticed by the moderators, who had trouble even viewing what was now well over 25,000 posts. They decided to relaunch us as a version 2 of ourselves, and keep an eye on us. a close eye. Posts started to be removed for being off topic, and we got bullied out of our little home.
    No fear, because we quickly set up shop here on this friendly new forum. Most of the old gang are now here and posting far and wide on IWL. We thought we’d like to bring the review thread over to IWL, and hopefully encourage some more visitors.
    The chat part of the thread and the lovely bunch of people can be found here, http://www.intlwatchleague.com/showt...-the-afterlife
    I can assure you there is no such thing as an irrelevant question, and we won’t be blasting you for not owning a Rolex, or even not owning a Seiko, or for owning a ‘Hello Kitty' watch and not knowing what a chapter ring is.
    Please come and join us, be prepared to answer questions about biscuits.
    Seriously, you will be asked about the biscuits.
    Dave.
    So onto the thread, I’m aiming to bring up maybe one a day for now, please PM me if you want more or less information, we’d rather just keep this as a pictures and info thread so please any question on the afterlife forum please. I’m not an expert horologist but I hope that you find the following posts Informative.


    Which watch today Churchy?

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    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    Issue 1 - 1970s American Infantry





    On an affordable Brushed steel bracelet

    And a 20mm NATO

    In Detail.
    Case
    40mm Brushed steel, 42.5mm including crown, 46.8mm lug to lug, 9.2mm deep. 32.7mm interior aperture.
    5mm grooved crown. 33.3mm flat glass.
    As with all early casebacks, embossed with Eaglemoss logo only.
    Dial
    32.5mm black painted dial with white printed minute scale at outer edge, small triangles at 5 minute intervals.
    Roman Numerals at 1-12 hour marks with smaller 13-24 hours on a secondary scale.
    All Numbers and the 5 minute marks have good luminous effect.
    Straight style hours and minutes hand with triangle tip and thin straight seconds hand.
    Lume on Hours and minutes hands
    Standard EM Epson AL55a movement.
    Strap
    20mm beige nylon fabric, brushed 20mm buckle, aprox 175-215mm fitting.

    Excellent lume on the dial.

    According to the magazine this watch is based on Vietnam Era US military spec watches produced by various companies such as Timex and Bradley.
    Numerous companies still manufacture watches with similar specification with both quartz and mechanical movements.


    Which watch today Churchy?

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    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    Issue 2 - 1940s Germany, Luftwaffe Aviator






    Case
    48mm plated and polished finish. Grooved texture finish around bezel. 50.8mm including crown, 54.3mm lug to lug, 9.2mm deep. 43.5mm interior aperture.
    6mm grooved crown. 41.5mm flat glass.
    As with all early casebacks, embossed with Eaglemoss logo only.
    Dial
    B-Uhr, flieger type-B style dial,
    42.5mm black painted dial with green printed minute scale at outer edge, large green triangle at 00 roman numerals at at 5 minute intervals.
    On a smaller secondary scale printed in white, Hours indicated with roman numerals with triangles at 12-3-6-9.
    All Numbers and marks have good luminous effect.
    Sword shaped hours and minutes hand and thin straight seconds hand.Green lume on hours and minutes hands.
    NB: It’s my opinion that the hour hand is over long on this face, and perhaps the hour scale too small, ideally the hand wouldn’t reach past the scale.
    Standard EM Epson AL55a movement.
    Strap
    24mm Brown leather, secured at lugs by two rivets, tapers slightly to a 22mm polished buckle, aprox 170-210mm fitting.
    NB: in spite of the large case size, the strap is short and i wear this on the third hole on my 195mm wrist. Originally these watches were made to be worn over a thick flight suit and came on a leather strap that could wrap around a bare wrist twice over.

    All marks have a good luminous effect

    This picture illustrates my point about the hour hand and the scale being out of proportion on the EM watch, though this Moscow Time watch has more of a hybrid type-A dial.

    The magazine states that the original versions were made by a number of companies including:
    A. Lange & Sohne, Stowa, IWC, Wempe, and Laco.
    There have been a number of reproductions made and many B-Uhr style watches are manufactured today, the dial is very easy to read quickly, and is still popular.


    Which watch today Churchy?

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    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    Issue 3 - 1970s British SBS Commando

    This watch is based on the Rolex Submariner model 5517:
    Rolex Submariners are possibly the most copied and certainly one of the most faked watches in the world, dozens of companies make similar watches, at a whole range of prices and quality of finish, in both quartz and mechanical versions.
    One of the original 1950s Rolex MilSub watches, even in a very well used condition, can sell for tens of thousands of pounds. Fakes are easily obtained, but these days not so easily spotted, and many can fool even an experienced buyer.






    Case
    Asymmetric 40.4mm steel, brushed finish. 42mm including crown guard, 47.3mm lug to lug, 11mm deep. 33.3mm interior aperture.
    5mm grooved crown. 30mm flat glass. Ridged finish around fixed non rotating bezel, Dark blue insert with silver coloured Index Marks at 10 minute intervals.
    Caseback embossed with Eaglemoss logo only.
    Dial
    29.1mm blue painted dial with white printed minute scale at outer edge. Hours indicated with embossed green hour markers, a triangle at 12, rectangles at 3-6-9, circles at other marks. All marks have good luminous effect.
    Sword shaped hours hand and straight minutes hand with pointed tip, thin straight seconds hand. Green lume on hours and minutes hands.
    Standard EM Epson AL55a movement.
    Strap
    20mm blue nylon, brushed finish buckle, aprox 160-205mm fitting.
    NB: Early straps were very short, this one especially so.



    If you like the idea of modifying watches, using the Eaglemoss collection can be a cheap way of taking your first steps into the practice, most of the movements are identical so hands can be swapped around though I warn you this is not simple and requires some basic watchmakers tools and a very steady hand.
    I broke the glass while tinkering with my first SBS, and decided to use a domed acrylic to replace the glass, I also had a 20mm stainless steel bracelet and this is the result.


    Lume is good on this dial.

    There are many companies making homage versions of the Rolex Submariner, this is my Invicta, Pro Diver, model 8926ob, It has a Seiko NH35a Automatic Mechanical movement.



    Which watch today Churchy?

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    Issue 4 - 1980s Russian Military

    The Vostock Watch Company in Chistopol Supplied the Soviet era military from the 1960s and with “Komanderskie” watches through military suply stores through the 80s. After the break-up of the soviet union factories expanded production outside of normal military use and new Vostock watches are easily purchased today.




    Case
    48mm plated polished finish. 50.7mm including crown, 51.6mm lug to lug, 11mm deep. 41.6mm interior aperture.
    6mm grooved crown at 2 o’clock position. 38.6mm flat glass. Fixed non rotating bezel, Black and red infilled index marks at 5 minute intervals.
    Caseback embossed with Eaglemoss logo only.
    Dial
    38.8mm black painted dial with white printed minute scale at outer edge. Luminous green dot markers at 5 minute intervals, and Roman Hour numerals.
    Large straight hours and minutes hands with pointed tips, thin straight seconds hand. Green lume on hours and minutes hands.
    Standard EM Epson AL55a movement.
    Strap
    22mm black nylon, polished finish buckle, aprox 180-225mm fitting.


    The Strap ends are folded over vinyl and are a possible weak point.

    However due to the short Lug length there is only a small amount of clearance to the spring bars and fitting a stronger Nato or Zulu type strap is tricky.

    Genuine Vostocks are actually much smaller than the EM version would suggest at around 40mm.

    One is never enough. Even soviet era vintage watches in good working order can be had for a reasonable cost, there are hundreds of case and dial variations, and collecting them can be very addictive.

    There is a dedicated Russian watch forum on IWL where you can get good advice on buying.


    Which watch today Churchy?

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    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    Issue 5 - 1940s Italian Naval Diver

    This watch is is a representation of a 1940 Panerai 6152, Marina Militare: It was produced for the Italian Navy, and would have had a Rolex 618 movement. Not many survive, actual numbers aren’t known for sure but its probably less than 100. If you see an ‘original' for sale anywhere but a very expensive auction house you can be certain its a fake.





    Case
    “Cushion”style 44mm polished finish. 46.6mm including crown, 52.6mm lug to lug, 11.7mm deep. 37.5mm interior aperture.
    6mm grooved crown. 37mm flat glass.
    Caseback embossed with Eaglemoss logo only.
    Dial
    36.2mm black painted dial. Hours indicated with green printed markers, Roman Numerals at 3-6-9-12, all marks have good luminous effect.
    pencil shaped hours hand and straight minutes hand with pointed tip, thin straight seconds hand. Green lume on hours and minutes hands.
    Standard EM Epson AL55a movement.
    Strap
    24mm tan leather, tapers to 22mm polished buckle, aprox 175-220mm fitting.


    Please Note, For authenticity I removed the centre second hand from this watch, Real 1940s MMs didn’t have one.

    If Rolex Submariners are the most often faked watch then The Panerai Luminor and Radiomir can’t be far behind. Many companies make replica parts and its tricky to know where the Fake stops and the homages begin.
    This would generally be classed as a homage.It is based on a 368 Luminor Destro (Left-hand).

    Nowhere on it does it say Panerai there is no branding as such at all, although I think Panerai do have rights to the Marina Militare logo, it basically translate as Marine Army. Quality, although lower than a genuine article, is generally very good as is after sales care. The manufacturer want you to come back and buy again.

    This on the other hand is an outright fake!
    It has logos saying its a Panerai everywhere, even on the movement inside, despite having a solid back, it is really trying to convince you that it is something it wasn’t, in this case a 339 Radiomir, a Panerai expert would spot it as a fake from across a room, and little bit of hunting on the internet and you can tell for yourself.

    (Picture permitted for educational purposes)
    The Case colour is wrong for this model, or the dial is wrong for this style case, either way they don’t belong on the same watch. The printing on the dial is the wrong size, and a little fuzzy and faded close up. The seconds hand is too big for its scale, and the hands are the wrong colour, they should match the case. The quality of finish just too poor to be real. worse than the above homage in many respects, but they are after one thing, profit.
    inside it was even more obvious, small bits of waste metal literally fell out of it.
    But somebody with little knowledge could be duped. Cost? £20, but I knew it was a fake, a con man might try for £500 or more, an egg timer would have kept better time. Avoid these.


    Which watch today Churchy?

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    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    Issue 6 - 1960s French Navy Seaman

    This watch is probably based on a 1960s Omega Seamaster 300. Some sections of the french Navy used a watch bought "off the shelf”, the Tudor ‘Oyster Prince’, however one section, SHOM; Service Hydrographique et Océanonographique de la Marine, was supplied by Omega, the role of the department is to document and map the worlds oceans both for military and public service.




    Case
    40mm polished finish. 41.5mm including partially recessed crown, smoothly curves to lugs 45.2mm lug to lug, 11mm deep.
    33.7mm interior aperture. 5mm grooved crown. 31.2mm flat glass.
    New Style Case back, stamped with, 'Eaglemoss Collections’. ‘1960’s’ 'French Navy' in English, and below that, in a smaller font size, French and Portuguese translations. 'Japanese Quartz Movement’
    39.8mm grooved finish non rotating bezel with a 3mm wide black insert, green minute indices, a triangle marker at 12 with roman numerals a 10 minute intervals.
    Dial
    32.4mm black painted dial. white printed minute scale at outer edge. Hours indicated with white baguettes which have applied chrome coloured surrounds and white infill.
    Gladius shaped hours and minutes hands, thin straight seconds hand with arrow pointed tip. all hands have white infill.
    All hour marks and hands have good, green luminous effect.
    Standard EM Epson AL55a movement.
    Strap
    20mm black nylon, polished buckle, aprox 180-225mm fitting.



    This is an Asian made homage to another Omega watch, the Planet Ocean, it has similar Baguette hour markers and the distinctive Omega style curved case.

    You could easily argue that, along with many other manufacturers, Citizen have also been influenced by the Omega Seamaster stye.




    Which watch today Churchy?

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    So what's the deal? Buy the magazine get a watch?. Their website isn't clear on that.

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    Quote Originally Posted by oak1971 View Post
    So what's the deal? Buy the magazine get a watch?. Their website isn't clear on that.
    Pretty much the opposite, the collection is for the 80+ watches, one every two weeks, and a special edition every three months or so, the magazines just cover basic info on the watch plus a bit of horological history.
    http://military-watches-collection.com/index.asp


    Which watch today Churchy?

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    Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

    Special subscribers Issue - 1950s British RAF, multifunction watch.

    This watch was released as a subscriber only edition, there was no magazine accompanying the watch and so details of its origins are speculative.
    Similar watches were produced by CWC, the Cabot Watch Company, a long time suplier to the British military. However for the time period attributed to the watch many RAF chronographs were supplied by Lemania.

    Please not the differences between the suplied watch and the one detailed in the above literature.



    Case
    Polished 40mm case, 43mm with crown, 48.3mm lug to lug, 8.6mm deep.
    Case back engraved with description of the watch. 33.3mm flat glass.
    The two protrusions above and below the crown, at 2 and 4 o'clock, are solid and have no function.
    Dial
    Black dial with white minute markers on the outside ring and Sand Hour marks with Arabic numerals at 12 and 6, other hour numerals in white in a smaller typeface.
    Day indicator dial at 9 o'clock with date indicator at 3 o'clock.
    Chrome and White straight hour and minute hands with sharply tapered points. Day and date hands chrome. Lume on minute and hour hands only.
    Please note there is No seconds hand on the watch as standard. The movement has the mechanism for a seconds hand and the watch pictured has had one custom fitted.
    Strap
    20mm, Imitation snake/lizard (not marked as leather), polished Buckle, aprox 175-215mm fitting.

    There was a high level of controversy over this watch, initially advertising information describes this watch as being a 'specially commissioned chronograph watch' later, emails and the Eaglemoss website changed this description to be a 'multifunction watch with day and date'. Along with the lack of a seconds hand and the non functioning push buttons there was a lot of derision on the internet, though there were also a lot of positive reviews.
    Here fitted with a NATO strap.

    This is the CWC that the Eaglemoss is very similar to.

    And this is the Lemania that would have been more likely issued during the early post WW2 period, note the single pusher for the chronograph.



    Which watch today Churchy?

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