Joys of the Cheap American Military Watch

Coming from a family in which someone from each generation has served in the army, I've used and handled quite a bit of military equipment over the years, but the vintage, issued military watch holds a special place in my heart While prices on many issued military watches from the storied Swiss brands have crept into stratospheric territory recently, there is a small crop of distinctly wearable timepieces that have thus far managed for one reason or another to escape this upward trajectory: the 1950s-1990s American military watch Without delving too deeply down the rabbit hole, military requisitioning in the USA is done via a spec and a tender: the military comes up with a specification for a particular item that details what features it should have, at which point various manufacturers are invited to submit proposals and samples, and the military then decides which company will be chosen to produce the finished product.

From the MIL-W-6433A spec the A-17A watch was born, and from the MIL-W-3818B, several companies designed watches either in accordance with this specification As MIL-W-3818A and A-17A watches used many of the same parts, and the military supply chain's chief directive regarding these watches was to get non-functioning ones back into the field as soon as possible, many of these can be found on eBay with a hand or case back that is technically "Incorrect", but that was in fact affixed to the watch during its military service The DTU-2A/P and MIL-W-46374D.

Though there have been countless variations of the Vietnam-through-Gulf-era American military watch produced during a 40-year period, there are several specific references that stand out with regard to price and reliability, the first of which is the DTU-2A/P from Benrus At any given time, even a cursory search on eBay for MIL-W-3818A, A-17A, DTU-2A/P or MIL-W-46374D will yield myriad results of used American military watches from the Korean War era through the Gulf War era, many of which are in functional condition, and most of which sell or hammer for less than $300 Many of these watches feature mechanical movements, radium or tritium illumination, parkerized or brushed steel cases and plastic crystals - all the hallmarks of a Classic Tool Watch. Source