Timeworn was founded in 2019 with the original goal of researching and selling vintage watches. Our focus of interest is the Second World War, but our horological interests quickly spread and we began featuring wristwatches from most of the first half of the twentieth century.
Why these watches existed
When America entered the war, its forces needed timepieces they could rely on across air, sea, and land.
The Army's Ordnance Department and the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics responded by writing and enforcing specifications. Accuracy requirements. Durability testing. Provisions for field repair and maintenance. The result was a class of watch built to survive cold, heat, damp, and hard use while continuing to keep time.
Waltham, Elgin, Bulova, and Hamilton held the contracts. The watches went to pilots and navigators, but also to Seabees, nurses, motor pool mechanics, WACs, and infantrymen in foxholes. They were ordinary equipment, issued in the millions and worn until they broke.