Published by on August 16, 2026 SKU Code: A-11 This recreation is based closely on the original World War Two design from 1943 but has the advantage that it is now equipped with a high-performance self-winding 24 jewel mechanical movement and has also been upgraded to a box sapphire crystal, which is both shatter and scratch resistant and identical in appearance to the original plexiglass crystals which would have been used during the second world war. The watches at the time were made in a variety of slightly different styles by Elgin, Bulova and Waltham but were all based on an original US government specification laid down at the time. This watch is closest in appearance to the Elgin 539 which used a 15 or 16 jewel movement and were made for the USAAF between 1940 and 1945. The original watch was made from plated base metal (to save steel) but this modern recreation is solid stainless steel so it should stand the test of time significantly better than the originals. Please Note: For comparison purposes the last image sent to us by a collector is an original WW2 USAAF watch so you can see just how accurate this remake is. This particular recreation came into being because in January 2009 MWC were approached by a US veterans association who asked them to examine the viability of making a watch which was identical in appearance to the original watches which were made by Hamilton, Bulova and Benrus during the Vietnam war. They were sent samples of watches to examine and also the original specification sheets and the result was a watch which was very close to the original and used a high grade fully jewelled hand-wound movement, this watch was the GG-W-113 which they still make. As a result of making that watch, they were contacted again with a view to recreating this even earlier model because these are now almost impossible to find in good sound condition. The reason that finding one is good order is difficult is primarily because as outlined above most were made from 1943 onwards when resources were limited and hence cheap metal was used. DIMENSIONS Width Inc Crown: 38mmWidth Exc Crown: 36mmThickness: 12.9mmLug Size: 18mmLug to lug is 43mmLug Type: SpringDial Colour: Black
Case Material: 316L stainless steelCaseback: Screw-down 316L stainless steel
Crown: 316L stainless steel
Water Resistance: 5 atm (50m/165ft)Movement: 24 Jewel Automatic
Crystal: Shatter and Scratch Resistant Box Sapphire *Luminous Material: LuminovaSerial number on casebackStrap: 18mmSupplied in a gift box24 Months Guarantee* A lot of people ask us what are the benefits of sapphire crystal over a standard mineral crystal? The answer is that synthetic sapphire is by far the best material for watch crystals because it is very strong and also shatter and scratch-resistant, these characteristics make it very appealing to military and security personnel, police officers and people who lead active outdoor lifestyles, these groups account for over 70% of our customers. To get things into perspective we find that when clients have accidents with watches resulting in a cracked crystal over 90% are usually watches with mineral glass crystals, even factoring in that we use hardened mineral crystals they still do not come close to sapphire for durability under adverse conditions. The reason that sapphire crystals are so strong is that after the sapphire glass is manufactured it is also heat-treated to remove its internal stresses—which can cause weakness—it is then made into the watch crystals and two layers of anti-reflective coating are applied, interestingly sapphire crystal is now used on the latest iPhone. Of course, sapphire crystal comes at a price hence you find that it's normally only fitted to higher-end watches.
