In the early 1900s the English watch making industry was virtually destroyed by Swiss imports.
Since then we have all grown used to names such as Rolex, Omega, Longines and Jaeger-Le-Coultre.
However, once British manufacturer carried on producing watches right up until the 1970s. Smiths of Cheltenham.
Today we have a collection of 6x Smiths wrist watches from the 1950s, 60s and 70s that have been well looked after and loved.
The earliest is a Smiths De Luxe model. It has a manual wind, 17 jewel movement and is fitted into a 9ct gold case. The hallmark tells us it dates from 1957. This watch comes with its original box and papers.
Two 9ct gold cased Smiths watches, both from the early 1960s are an Astral model and a 19 jewel Imperial model with black face.
We also have two Smiths Everest models. These commemorate the Smiths world that was worn by Sir Edmund Hillary to the top of Mount Everest.
And finally a very tough Smiths military watch with Ordnance mark to back dating from 1970.
So if you are looking for something interesting in the vintage watch world...why not buy British!
