RAF_Louvert 101 Posted May 21, 2010 . Greetings All, Just a quick drop in to show you what I found waiting for me in the mail box this morning: It's an original Royal Flying Corps Mark IVa that I purchased on eBay a few weeks back. It is tagged No. 4752AG on the face, and after popping open the back I discovered it is an Octava movement. Also, inside the back cover the following was engraved: "442.9". And on the face someone has added "N2", (or possibly "NZ"), to the left of the aviation "A" mark, and "8.8" to the right of it. Not sure what those markings indicated, but what a great puzzle to try and sort out. The numbers have a brownish cream tint to them indicating they once illuminated at night, (but due to the degradation in of the zinc in the old radium paint they no longer glow). The watch was advertised as not working, but after a very light cleaning on my part I set the time and gave a very slow couple of winds and it has been ticking away and keeping time for the last several hours! For those who might not know, the Mark IVa was used in the cockpits of the RFC planes at the beginning of the War until they were superseded by the Mark V midway through 1916. This is the selfsame watch that pilots were told to be sure and retrive when they crashed their kites, as failure to do so was grounds for charges and punishment, (as if the poor sod didn't have enough to worry about when he crashed in No Man's Land). Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Von Paulus 8 Posted May 21, 2010 Wow. That's a fantastic piece of history, Lou. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hasse Wind 46 Posted May 21, 2010 A very nice find, and seems to be in good condition. I wonder whether it has been in action during the war, and in whose aircraft? Speaking of cockpits, I wouldn't be surprised if Lou somehow manages to find all the instruments of a real WW1 aircraft on sale on eBay and then uses them to build his own cockpit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morris 2 Posted May 21, 2010 LOU , Great find. Even better is that you are still with us. Cheers Morris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pips 5 Posted May 21, 2010 Beautiful time piece. You lucky bigger!! I have a real thing for pocket watch's, 48 in my collection so far. You have a real gem there Lou. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duce Lewis 3 Posted May 22, 2010 Wow, the outside shows the some usage over time but the inside looks factory fresh! Nice find Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted May 22, 2010 . Yes, the case does show some wear, though not as much as the photos make it appear. There are some odd reflections on the case back and around the crystal that look like discoloration but in fact aren't. My apologies for the poor photo quality, I was having trouble holding the camera still I was so excited. Ten hours and it's still ticking away too. Cheers! Lou Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rickitycrate 10 Posted May 22, 2010 Great find by a good man. Thanks for popping-in and sharing Lou. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest British_eh Posted May 22, 2010 Hi there Mr.RAF L I have a "Hamilton" gold pocket watch, I believe is dated from the 1920's, a railway watch. What on earth would you pay for a historical piece like you have? Cheers, British_eh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted May 23, 2010 . British_eh, your gold Hamiliton is worth a pretty penny Sir, be sure and take good care of it. To answer your question about the value of the RFC watch: In near perfect original or restored condition the Mark IVa and Mark V models can fetch upwards of $1,200 to $1,500 US, depending on the manufacturer. In good running unrestored original condition, such as the one I found, the price can go as high as $600 to $700 US. I must admit I paid nowhere near that amount however, as the gentleman in England who was selling this timepiece had it grouped with a second old pocket watch and listed them both as "not working / for repair", and not in the proper military timepiece section of eBay. I ran across them purely by accident while doing a Google search for info on the RFC watches and when I discovered how few people had even noticed the listing I put in a maximum bid of $150 US for the pair and ended up claiming them for $142. I didn't quite believe it until they arrived in the post this last week, and was even more shocked and enthralled when I found that after a very minor clean up both watches ran beautifully. BTW, the second watch turned out to be an original Swiss made pocket alarm watch, and the alarm still works! I may relist that one on eBay to offset the cost of my RFC watch. Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
