The four horsemen of apocalypse (part 2)

Australian Department of Defence - Pierce

The Pierce Watch Company was founded in 1883 in Biel (Switzerland) by Leon Levy and his brothers under the name Léon Lévy Frères Manufactures des Montres et Chronographes Pierce SA. As it usually was the case, the brothers started in watch assembly, buying parts and complete movements from other Swiss suppliers. However, for a reason unknown to us, Levy was cut out of the supply chain. Interestingly, according to my research, this happened at the time when he was already 40 years in the business. Levy geared up production, setting up their own watch factory in Biel and employing 1,500 people. They started manufacturing their own in house calibre in the 1930's and were awarded the contract for development and construction of the pilot's watch flight calendar for the Royal Air Force. Their watches quickly became known for their reliability and robustness.

Recent acquisition: eight Pierce pocket watches dating back to the 1930's, all issued by the Department of Defence and all in rather sad condition. They have been heavily neglected, but still in ‘restorable’ condition.

Set in a nickel case and fitted with a porcelain dial, Pierce DD is powered by in-house movement Calibre 170. This lovely fine grade mechanism is a 15 jewel straight lever escapement in German sliver with individual bridges in the train. With bit of luck there is enough parts to get two or possibly three watches  restored to good working order.

How does Aussie Pierce compare with Japanese, German and British military pocket watches? Quite frankly- it certainly would not be my first choice of a timepiece to win a war with. While the time keeping could be on par with Seikosha and Moeris, the case itself clearly lacks robustness and refinement of German Grana (Certina). The lack of luminous hour markers on the dial and rather ‘skinny’ hands render the watch useless at night time. Overall, Pierce looks more like your grandpa’s retirement pocket watch than a lethal combat weapon. No doubt, Aussie Department of Defence had it’s reasons why Pierce was selected as their brand of choice, something we can only speculate about. Here is an excerpt from Australian Army Dress Manual, Paragraph 2.53 titled 'Watches': "2.53 Watches or watch bands are not to be worn when they may create a safety hazard. Brightly coloured watches or watch bands are not permitted. Pocket watches with visible chains are not to be worn with the Australian Army uniform. On a ceremonial parade a watch is not to be worn by any member, except the senior soldier controlling the sequence of a parade; normally the RSM or CSM (E) who may wear an inconspicuous timepiece."   (To be continued… if you’ve missed part 1: https://mailchi.mp/c92e2a241a6f/20192255765-2377337?e=2d4f3023d8)

The four horsemen of the apocalypse

It is not often that we have four military watches in our workshop at the same time. While the intention is to introduce them individually next week, here is a lovely group photo of four of them: German Grana Wehrmacht, Australian Department of Defence Pierce, Japanese Imperial Army Seikosha and a British Moeris. While the watches vary in size, the quality of workmanship and the style, the question we are trying to answer is which one was the best of the lot. Let’s start with the German Grana. Grana is a Swiss-made watch manufacture established in 1888 as Gebrüder Kurth by Adolf and Alfred Kurth. They started manufacturing movements and supplies for the watchmaking industry with just three employees. In 1906 the brand Grana was introduced for watches and immediately won awards for its high quality. However, the Swiss Law for Protection and Regulation of the Watch Market of 1934 (Uhrenstatut) prohibited the supply of watches and ebauches simultaneously. As a consequence, Kurth Frères concentrated on the watch manufacturing. In 1939, the brand Certina was registered for cheaper volume models, while Grana was used for top models. However after the WW2 Grana production was discontinued and after the 1949 Certina remains the only KF brand name. Clearly, the Wehrmacht was interested in Grana and not the cheaper Certina. Grana manufactured wrist watches as well as pocket watches. The Wehrmacht requested watches with a black dial with Arabic figures, luminous hands and figures, sub second on the "6", water resistance and a screw back. Such watches were produced for the officers of German Army during WW2. The watches were signed with the letters D and H as well as a number. While H clearly stands for Heer (army), it is the letter D that divides horological historians. It either stands for Deutsches (German) or Dienstuhr which means service watch. We are still waiting for an official clarification on this matter. Apart from the robust nickel case and stunning black glowing dial, it is was the water resistance that made Grana so very special: a screw lock case back with a Dichtung! To be continued...