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Blancpain. A massive and very rare stainless steel automatic diver’s wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, date, bakelite bezel and militarky markings, made for the German Army

Signed Blancpain, Fifthy Fathoms, Automatic, ref. 1322, circa 1975

Details

Blancpain. A massive and very rare stainless steel automatic diver’s wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, date, bakelite bezel and militarky markings, made for the German Army
Signed Blancpain, Fifthy Fathoms, Automatic, ref. 1322, circa 1975
Cal. CD2873 automatic movement, 25 jewels, black matte dial, red encircled 3H symbol indicating the military use, luminous baton and dagger numerals, luminous hands, sweep centre seconds, window for date, massive tonneau-shaped water-resistant-type case, bidirectional revolving black bakelite bezel, screw back engraved 6645-12-171-4182, Bund, screw down crown, case, dial and movement signed
41.5 mm. diam.

Special Notice

This lot is offered without reserve. On lots marked with an + in the catalogue, VAT will be charged at 8% on both the premium as well as the hammer price.

Sale Room Notice

The present watch was manufactured in circa 1975, not in ca. 1955 as stated on the print catalogue.

Lot Essay

The present timepiece is a very rare and attractive example of a military watch. Made for the technical and general dive service of the German Army, it was never available to the general public. It is a diver’s model, the revolving bezel, highly legible luminous dial and screw back all being telltale signs of this elected destination. In addition, the watch presents the customary military markings the connoisseur would be looking for in such a piece: the case back is engraved with the military issue number, and the dial presents the indication of the presence of tritium. Instead of the more commonly known encircled T (most often seen in the Rolex Milsub models made for the British Navy, see lot 100 in this auction), the German Army decided to use the more unambiguous encircled 3H symbol, being 3H in fact the chemical abbreviation for tritium.

The present model is prominently described and illustrated in Military Timepieces by Konrad Knirim, p. 550.

For a note on the "Fifthy Fathoms" model see the previous lot.

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