1915 round silver vintage WW1 ‘Officers/Trench’ calendar watch, retailed by Dobbies, Nairobi

Date:           1915

Case:           Silver, 33mm

Movement: Manual wind

Dial:            White enamel with black & red Arabic numerals

Lugs:           14mm

An incredibly rare ‘calendar’ wristwatch from WW1, retailed by Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi, in wonderful condition!

A 1915, round silver vintage ‘Officers/Trench’ watch, retailed by Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi. The case measures 33mm in diameter with 14mm lugs. The case is marked 0.800 (silver) and numbered. The manual wind, Swiss Made movement has 15 jewels. The white enamel dial has black Arabic numerals, with a red twelve and red Arabic numerals to outside calendar track, with fine blued steel ‘poires indes’ hands and gilt calendar indicate hand. The dial is signed Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi above the centre.

Early Officers or Trench wrist watches

The importance of watches during the Great War is emphasised by the extract reproduced here from the 1916 British War Office document:

“Instructions for the Training of Divisions for Offensive Action.” A delay of even 30 seconds in starting must be avoided, therefore watches must be synchronised. A later section of the same document gives instructions for this; “All officers must acquire the habit of checking their watches daily with the official time, which can be obtained from the Signal Service. Commanders must pay special attention to this point during training.”

Although wristwatches had been worn by civilian men before the Great War for special purposes, e.g. when bicycling or ballooning, at other times prior to the war a gentleman was expected to carry a pocket watch. During the war the army expanded dramatically and large numbers of new recruits were exposed to the sight of officers routinely wearing wristwatches. Officers were emboldened by their service at the front to continue wearing their wristwatches when they were home ‘on leave’, whereas before the war they might have hidden them away. The regular sight of officers ‘on leave’ from the fighting and wearing wristwatches soon created a fashion that spread through wider society in Britain.