When a military watch is vintage and luxury
The Cabot Watch Company holds an important – and historical – place in the world of military watches. The company, founded in 1972 by Ray Mellor – a World War II veteran, was named after the explorer, John Cabot, and, soon after its foundation, clinched contracts with the Ministry of Defence.
In 1996, Mellor sold the company to Silvermans Ltd, a renowned London supplier of military kits and surplus: nowadays, however, many CWC watches are still “in service” and the company continues to produce for the civil market.
One of the items most loved by military watch enthusiasts is the Military Stopwatch, a 1970s model also use in television by the United Kingdom’s two main channels, BBC and ITV, which have bought several hundred of them over the years and are still used to time 60-second and 60-minute television segments. The same model was also used by Tom Cruise in the film “Mission Impossible: Fallout”.
In fact, it is also the stopwatch with 60-second and 30-minute timer issued to the Department of Health and Social Security, although this version is now no longer in production.
The Original CWC Royal Navy Diver is a re-proposal of a highly rare watch issued to the Special Boat Service from 1980 to 1981, just before the company opted for quartz. This CWC version is therefore extremely rare.
Lastly, the company’s goodies also include the 1981 G10 “Fat Boy”, which sported a battery movement and a tritium dial. The watch was waterproof to a depth of 50 metres, 38 mm wide and had 18 mm fixed bars for the strap. Over 20,000 watches were issued to the Royal Navy in 1981 alone. Today, modern G10s sell for about $245.
