Real Japanese Pilot Watch / Clock from WWII
Type: Chest Watch
Case: Brass in black paint, with lugs for mounting
Movement: Swiss lever type, 7 jewels
Country of Origin: Japan
Production years: Circa 1939
Caption: [in Japanese] “TIME”
Size: Diameter 54mm
This watch/clock is a ‘dashboard’ type with mounting lugs, but Japanese pilots wore it upside down on their chests so that they could conveniently check the watch while flying. The company SEIKOSHA, now Seiko, a watch model in the nomenclature of Japanese military equipment was marked as Type 93.
The position of the second hand is very atypical – it has no scale and is simply places there to indicate the working order of the watch. The crown is located at the bottom, and in the case, there is a mechanism for transferring the rotation of the crown to a pocket watch-type movement.
The case is in excellent condition, original – black paint on brass.
Japanese wore these watches from a string and hung them on their chests in an upside-down position. The group photo and accompanying note shows Japanese officers with samurai swords. Their white armbands indicate that they are Kamikaze.
The large hieroglyph on the dial translates to “TIME”; below reads “Flight hours” and “daily power reserve”. Numerals 3, 6, 9, 12 are painted with radium paint (yellow). In the picture, the radium coated numbers are exposed – it is dangerous to do this.
The movement is simple and reliable with 7 jewels. Everything is working fine – it just needs a clean.
Watches with a history such as this will occupy an important place in any military collection.
