Hamilton first began supplying time keeping instruments to the US military around 1914. Originally, these were mainly “Railroad” pocket watches issued to troops under the command of General “Black Jack” Pershing. Used to track battalion movements, Hamilton’s watches were revered for their accuracy and dependability. It was this gained experience, and the appreciation of top brass that led to the wide spread issuance of Hamilton’s newly configured “wristwatches” at the beginning of World War II. By 1942, Hamilton stopped all consumer production in favor of meeting the enormous demand required to outfit servicemen until the end of the war in 1945. In just those three short years, Hamilton delivered more than a million watches for government issue. In addition, the navy relied almost solely on Hamilton to produce more than 10,000 marine chronometers to ensure accurate navigation for ships in all theaters, and these almost certainly deserve some of the credit for many allied naval victories. By the end of the Second World War, Hamilton was nearly synonymous with military watches, and along with other US watch manufacturers (Elgin, Bulova, and Waltham), continued to supply reliable wristwatches for this purpose through the 1980’s. Eventually, the US military stopped issuing specific watches, and instead allowed servicemen and women to choose their own wristwatches provided they met certain criteria. Military watches were designed to meet the needs of everyone from basic infantry to highly specialized diver and pilot models. Functions from basic timekeeping to precision chronographs ensure a wide range of options for collectors of military watches, and their utilitarian layouts and rugged construction make them a list topper for those hunting a robust “tool” watch. This Hamilton  MIL-W-46374B from May of 1983 is among the last of its kind. A design that saw little variance across multiple brands and decades, it’s housed in a sandblasted stainless steel case with fixed spring bars, and a large knurled crown at three. An integrated bezel surrounds a domed acrylic crystal, and the screw down case back bears all the information surrounding its purpose. A “General Purpose” watch, its NATO ID is 6645-00-952-3767. The DLA (Defense Logistics Agency) stock number is 400-82-C-4845. It also informs that the luminous material on the dial and hands is a radioactive isotope. The matte black dial is near perfect with clean Arabic numerals in both the 12 and 24 hour format, and the minute track is separated at each hour by a triangular luminous plot. The hands are painted a flat khaki, and are long with large luminous windows. The lume in the hour hand had begun to crack, so I applied a thin layer of binder to back side of both hands to ensure the original material stays secured in place. The arrow head sweep is topped with luminous as well. As the dial denotes through the “radioactive” and “H3” symbols, the luminous material used is Hydrogen 3, or as its more commonly known, Tritium. With a half-life of only about 12 years, it poses little danger on the wrist, and is safely encapsulated inside the case. The movement is a hand wound, seven jewel Du Rowe 7420, though in order to bring this one back to life, I had to install a jewel bushing in the main plate for the lower mainspring barrel arbor. Post service it’s accurate to within a few seconds per day, and the arbor jewel should ensure it continues keeping reliable time for years to come. We’ve paired it with a CNS single-pass, black “NAVY SEAL” strap for an authentic fit and finish that’s comfortable and secure on the wrist. An ever growing community of military watch collectors keeps demand high, and supplies dwindling, so add a piece of military and watch making history to your line up while you still can.

CNS Single-Pass Black “NAVY SEAL” Strap

Serviced- 9/23

Diameter- 34mm

Lugs- 18mm