Attention! The 10 Most Collectible Military Watches of All Time

There’s a certain romanticism surrounding issued military watches, the origins of which are difficult to articulate. In our digital age, part of the romance must stem from the way that many of these watches were constructed—they were analog things with mechanical guts, and to use one required interfacing with it, either via the crown or from physical movement. Put it in a drawer and forget about such a watch, and it would, in turn, forget to do its job.

Another part of this romance concerns the nature of their conception: In certain cases, an arm of a particular country’s military would put forth a tender with requirements for a specific type of timepiece that would do a specific type of job. Multiple companies might answer such a tender with their own entrants, and the best would be chosen by the military and issued to its soldiers. Now this is a purpose-built tool — the type of thing that seems so rare in an era in which an Amazon search yields, quite literally, countless results for any and all products, many of which are of questionable quality. 

But the real draw of military watches—or mils spec watches—is one that’s harder for many collectors to own up to. Such a collector will hold an issued watch from the Second World War, or from the Six-Day War, or from Vietnam, and think two things: “What did you see?” and more importantly: “Will I ever do anything as important or as brave as the person who once wore this watch?” Of course, said soldier could very well have sat on their rear end “flying a desk,” but the lack of certainly is part of what makes a mil-spec watch purchase exciting. The only thing that makes one more exciting is confirmed provenance.

To be fair, there are myriad reasons for purchasing an issued military watch: Some people are drawn to their history; others simply like their aesthetics. And some do indeed engage in a kind of private cosplay, one in which they might mentally embody the person to whom the watch was issued, but without having to stick their head out of a foxhole and risk a first (and last) encounter with a 120mm mortar round. To each their own.

What is certain is that, for many collectors, mil-spec watches represent a highly compelling niche within a niche. There’s something about the pared-back, utilitarian aesthetic of a military timepiece that is accidentally beautiful. Even in the 2020s, as vintage watch collecting has reached a fever pitch, many such watches—especially rather small ones—are still eminently affordable. But the rare stuff, the more robust stuff, the stuff with recognizable names on it? Those things are museum pieces now—the type of fare that haunts the dreams of Indiana Jones. 

What follows are a few of the rarest, most sought-after, most expensive mil-spec watches in the world. And while it’s by no means an exhaustive list, it should whet your whistle for the big old world of military watches—a fascinating subset of horology and a rabbit hole from which few return without a newfound appreciation for purpose-built design.