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Posted 20 hours ago

MWC G10 LM Military Watch (Grey Strap) 50M

£9.9£99Clearance
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The watch pictured above is by far the closest marathon watch to what we would classify as a G10, the water resistance rating is however significantly less than the other watches shown here at 50 m it also uses a 16 mm strap which seems rather unusual because most at least 18mm and more commonly now 20 mm the watch is available in both automatic and quartz the quartz model can be seen here https://www.marathonwatch.com/collections/general-purpose-quartz-watches/products/stainless-general-purpose-quartz-gpq-us-markings Most squaddies will never be issued a watch. Just try it. Go in to stores and see what happens. Go on... I dare you. The only other alternative is to buy your own. This has several... erm make that one... advantage. When you smash it in a alcohol-soaked frenzy or leave it in the ablutions after a forgetful post-piss up shave, you won't be reamed a fresh hoop by the Q.

Marathon watches are similar in many ways to the Nite and MWC watches because they use the same tritium GTLS tubes. Marathon like MWC produce a very large range of slightly varying models with slightly different specifications but targeted at infantry and law-enforcement personnel.

MWC G10 100m Water resistant Military Watch in a Stainless Steel Case with Sandblasted Finish, Screw Down Crown and Ten Year Battery Life

The G10 story is quite interesting, many people are surprised that most serving military personal (referred to in the UK as squaddies) never get issued with a watch contrary to what many people think hence they often buy watches from manufacturers such as CWC, MWC, Nite or Marathon although Casio is also quite popular due to the fact it's virtually indestructible. The reason many serving military buy a watch even if they qualify to have one issued is that whilst they can sometimes draw a watch on a temporary issue and receipt voucher Form G1033 many of them prefer to own their own watch. The W10 is the most humble and common of the collectible British military watches, a plain field watch issued to British Army serviceman since WW2. There is some general confusion around the terms used for these watches, as “G10” was a reference to the form that serviceman were required to fill-out to receive the W10 watch. Even though the form was called “G10”, this term is colloquially used to reference almost any general service MoD issued military watch, and CWC actually has a model “G10” that references their quartz models post-1980. To make things even more confusing, the term “W10” is used specifically by collectors to reference the “tonneau” shaped case versions of the watch that were issued during the 1970’s. The last CWC G10 issued was around 2008 and is the same watch today, just as rugged, reliable, accurate and dependable as it has always been. (Super-luminova is now used instead of Tritium)

We were quite interested when someone bought a Precista to show us because even though it's a relatively small watch it feels quite solid and heavy and is clearly well built and nicely finished. I would say this is definitely one to consider but you are splitting hairs when you look at the actual appearance of the three watches because they are all very similar and it simply comes to the detail and personal preference. Clearly some sort of standardisation was required and the more familiar mechanical G10s (known technically as W10s) started to appear in the 1960s and '70s: Smiths, CWC and Hamilton. The early 1980s saw the gradual replacement of the windy-uppy mechanical W10s with good, solid quartz designs from both CWC and Precista. G10s are worn from the familiar nylon ' NATO' strap. Once plain grey, these straps are available in a vast array of colours, hues and regimental patterns, which the desperate can probably source at their local PRI Shop. For the truly radical, the ARRSE strap is an absolute must. Now available in desert DPM believe it or not. The definitive military field watch, supplied to MOD over many years for issue to British servicemen What I find particularly appealing about the Precista is the fact it closely resembles one of the early G10 watches whilst having the benefits of modern usability.The Nite MX-10 isn't really what would be classified as a standard G10 pattern watch but it is a contender and is targeted at the same type of military, law enforcement or government procurement buyers. We have included it because it's a nice watch generally and gives someone an alternative to the standard G10 models. There have been many manufacturers over the years, notably: Buren, Ebel, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger Le Coultre (JLC), Longines, Cortebert, Enicar, FHF, Limi, Moeris, Montillier, Reconvillier, Rotary, Unitas, Kurth, Thommen, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. These were not 'G10s' in the modern sense and are referred to either as ATPs (Army Type Pattern) or the WWWs: Wrist Watch Waterproof. Another high-quality option if you are looking for a G10 pattern watch is the Precista PRS10 this is another watch very much in the same type of design as some of the CWC and MWC watches. I particularly like this watch personally because the crystal whilst Sapphire that would be looks visually very close to the old original plexiglass G10 watches.

This watch like some MWC G10's uses tritium GTLS light sources for first-rate nighttime performance, all the leading manufacturers of military watches with GTLS tritium tubes namely Marathon, Nite and MWC would all be buying the tubes from the same Swiss manufacturer because there are no other high-quality sources of supply hence performance would be the same between all three brands.The WWWs had a surprisingly long shelf life and were in and out of storage on an as & when basis - usually when the shooting started. Though many items were deliberately destroyed after WW2 (under the insistance of the various manufacturers to avoid flooding the market with quality Swiss-made watches) some (notably Vertex) were still being stored (and signed out) right up until the Gulf War. Fixed bars, supplied with18mm grey CWC issue military strap. Please advise if you prefer a different colour Most service personnel opt for something robust and cheap, which is why Casios were the de facto 'issue' squaddy watch for so long. But squaddies - being the kit whores that they are - now have a much wider range of timepieces to choose from in the never ending pursuit of allyness. The CWC G10 is a classic, first issued in 1980 and still available, solid and robustly built they have gone through a variety of different case designs as the quartz movement technology evolved. The first pattern ar very collectable and known as the "fat boy" due to the chunky case.

Using the same components and Swiss suppliers as Hamilton, CWC began supplying an essentially identical watch to the Hamilton W10, except with CWC instead of Hamilton on the dial. CWC would go on to become one the most famous later producers of British military watches. By the late 1970s Hamilton itself was on the ropes due to the Quartz crisis engulfing the industry, and pulled out of the military watch supply business. However, an enterprising British employee of Hamilton, Mr Ray Mellor, their contracts director, recognised that there was still a significant demand for these watches from the Ministry of Defence. Accordingly, in the 1970s he established the Cabot Watch Company (CWC) to take over where Hamilton left off. There are those that would lament the cheapification of such a badge of godliness, but it is allyness on the cheap nevertheless, so no bad thing. Rumour has it that it was Argos's most popular timepiece. I wonder why? G10s' can be found both with and (generally) without date windows and whilst the earlier ATP & WWW issues were either mechanical or (in some cases) self-winding automatics, more modern watches are battery powered quartz. The glass - or 'crystal' - can also differ from contract to contract but G10s are generally acrylic.Of late, certain Sneaky-Beaky types have been issued Nite MX10s. Whilst they're an issue item, they're not really of the classic G10 format. Rumours also abound of all manner of Gucci high-end shiny stuff being trialed and tested. Today, dive watches are not quite the essential item they once were. These days, the chances are that it will be a dive computer rather than your trusty Omega Seamaster that will inform you that you're about to die horribly whilst spear fishing trout in a flooded quarry in Leicestershire.

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