This watch, a SUB/MILSSAU/MY model, came from a military surplus clearance sale along with other watches previously owned by various military personnel. You can see how resilient the sapphire crystal is because it has clearly had quite a few scrapes and things to the bezel but the crystal itself remains in perfect condition.
We acquire these watches from defense auctions and other disposal sales. Often, there is nothing significantly wrong with the watch, but it is assumed to have some form of fault. Usually, these faults are minor. These watches are sold at low cost because our service staff, both in the UK and elsewhere, often perform only a quick check. While nothing may be immediately apparent, we assume either there is no real fault, or something minor will reveal itself over time, necessitating a simple service, repair, or battery exchange depending on the model.
Condition: Generally sound but shows signs of reasonable use.
Fault: The watch is running but needs a replacement crown.
FACTORY DESCRIPTION
SKU Code: SUB/MILSSAU/MY
These military divers' watches, manufactured by Military Industries, feature a robust solid stainless steel case, sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, and a high-performance Miyota 21 Jewel automatic movement.
This watch is based on a 1980 UK MOD specification for automatic divers' watches (DEF STAN 66-4 [Part 1] Issue 3), which specified a unidirectional bezel, a boldly marked dial with tritium paint, and a mineral glass crystal. MOD documents from 1980 are shown in the final images. While this watch follows the spirit of the 1980 watches, it includes design aspects from its predecessors and improvements over the 1980 specification, such as the sapphire crystal.
This particular watch is part of a range faithfully recreating a model we made many years ago, retaining the same cosmetic appearance as the older model. It has a typical retro 1970s/80s military divers' watch look and case back as mentioned in the MOD specification.
These watches will look even more authentic as they age, and even the luminous paint matches the color used 40 years ago.
Dimensions and Specification:
Water Resistance: 300m / 1000ft
Screw-down locking crown
Miyota Self Winding 21 Jewel Movement
Width Including Crown: 45mm (Excluding Crown: 41mm)
Thickness: 15mm
Crystal Diameter: 31mm
Sapphire Crystal*
Illumination: Super Luminova (with encircled T for historical accuracy)
Lug to Lug: 49mm
Weight: 89.5g
20mm NATO Webbing Strap
THE ADVANTAGES OF SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL:
Sapphire crystal is a very hard, transparent material made of crystallized pure aluminum oxide created at very high temperatures. Synthetic sapphire has the same hardness as natural sapphire but lacks the coloring agents that give actual sapphire its range of colors. The synthetic sapphire forms round masses when heated, which are then sliced into pieces with diamond-coated saws. These disks are ground and polished into the watch crystals used in higher-specification watches. Sapphire crystals are relatively expensive due to the costly tools required to cut and polish this extremely hard material. Sapphire (whether natural or synthetic) is one of the hardest substances on earth, rated 9 on the Mohs scale (diamond measures 10). Watch crystals made of synthetic sapphire are often marketed as "scratch resistant" or "virtually scratchproof" because they are very difficult—but not impossible—to scratch. While diamond or silicon carbide materials can scratch them, a sapphire crystal being scratched or shattered is very rare.
