Mens Pulsar Military Style Chronograph Watch PM3129X1 - Formally and Enhanced PJN305X1

Product Information

The style is recognisable. This could be a Hamilton Khaki. It has the same 12/24 dial layout and the same distinctive hands. Of course, it's a fraction of the price of a Hamilton. Pulsar “Gen 1” RAF issue chronograph watch. Unusually for a chronograph the central seconds hand is not a chrono hand but the continuous seconds hand.

What I find particularly appealing about the Precista is the fact it closely resembles one of the early G10 watches whilst having the benefits of modern usability. The first commercially available quartz watch released to the public was the Seiko Astron in 1969, so why did it take so long for this technically superior movement to make its way to the military? With regard to the surplus watches specifically described as “in need of attention” we would not recommend that customers buy them unless they have basic horological skills or access to a friendly watchmaker who will carry out the work needed. This one is sly, and that’s why I love it. It’s a Breitling that doesn’t scream Breitling. In fact, it doesn’t even say Breitling anywhere on the outside of the watch; the only hit to the watch’s maker is the script “B” on the crown. These mono-pusher chronographs were issued to Royal Canadian Air Force pilots throughout the 1960s, along with watches from Omega, Wittnauer, and Rodania. They all feature white or off-white dials, single-button chronographs, and most, like this one, are unsigned on the dial.CWC G10 “fatboy” (left), the first ever Quartz watch issued to the British military, and reverse of 1982 issue G10 “fatboy” (right). 1980 was the last year that the non-circled CWC logo was used. Reflecting again on the “fantasy” element of military watch collecting, the 1982 “fatboys” tend to sell for a higher price as this was the year of the Falklands War, Britains last colonial war.

The company went on to release a calculator watch in the mid-1970s. They were then acquired by Japanese giants Seiko a few years later. We were sent a copy of an official MoD reply to an enquiry in 2014 regarding the current general service issue watch, oddly many people believe this to be a CWC but it doesn't actually appear anywhere on this document nor in documents from 2012 and 2014. The current watch for general service use is a Seiko PXD433 NSN 6645-99-605-2627 and we know that 293 were issued in the 4 years 2012-2016 this freedom of information request was Ref: FOI2016/06648 and can be seen here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/540450/DE_S_FOI_2016_06648___Information_of_British_Armed_Forces_Watches_and_suppliers_in__Annex_A_.pdf

We were quite interested when someone bought a Precista to show us because even though it's a relatively small watch it feels quite solid and heavy and is clearly well built and nicely finished. I would say this is definitely one to consider but you are splitting hairs when you look at the actual appearance of the three watches because they are all very similar and it simply comes to the detail and personal preference.

So what we have here is a tool watch. Or a field watch if you'd prefer. Either way, it's a practical piece that is designed to be legible and durable. The Solar movement enhances that durability. If a watch needs attention or is described as having a fault and is brand-new we might use library images but for any watch that is not new or not in mint/new condition we will take pictures of the actual watch being offered for sale. The watch pictured above is by far the closest marathon watch to what we would classify as a G10, the water resistance rating is however significantly less than the other watches shown here at 50 m it also uses a 16 mm strap which seems rather unusual because most at least 18mm and more commonly now 20 mm the watch is available in both automatic and quartz the quartz model can be seen here https://www.marathonwatch.com/collections/general-purpose-quartz-watches/products/stainless-general-purpose-quartz-gpq-us-markingsReverse of the three generations of CWC G10. From left to right; 1982 British Army issue (W10) “fatboy”; 1985 Royal Navy issue (0552) “medium fatboy”; 1995 Royal Marines issues (0555) the final G10 variant. Marathon watches are similar in many ways to the Nite and MWC watches because they use the same tritium GTLS tubes. Marathon like MWC produce a very large range of slightly varying models with slightly different specifications but targeted at infantry and law-enforcement personnel.