Post pics of your watches ***Please NO QUOTING PHOTOS***

Nice one H! That's a bloody beauty! :eek::) Can't go wrong with a black enamel dialled Trench watch in a Borgel case. Looks right on your wrist too. The Bonklip bracelet really works with it and I didn't think it would but it does and I reckon because it's a slightly wider band fitted down to the 12mm lugs(nicely done too). They're worth a few quid on their own.

scotchy wrote: »

Had a look at Trench Watches on Ebay after reading Wibbs post. Some interesting pieces there.

There are S and with all that history behind them and the very start of the wristwatch for men story too. So long as you don't go swimming with them they're remarkably robust and a well serviced and timed good condition movement one can be remarkably accurate timekeepers too. They had to be considering their intended purpose. So ignore the ebay dealers and their "runs fast by two minutes a day, which is to be expected..".

Go for names like Zenith, Longines, Omega if they have a name on the dial, the vast majority of British sold examples didn't. Instead they had the retailer's name printed above the enamel, which is fragile and usually gets worn away in the interim years. You can take it as a given that any UK sold one with a maker's name on the dial is a later addition*.

Avoid any Rolex examples as a) their quality outside of very rare Extra Prima examples was meh back then and b) nearly all have Rolex printed later on the dial, or c) are complete fakes. Rolex owned a few trademarks back then with inferior cases and movements and these are usually marketed as Rolex and they're not.


If no name is present go for 15(or above) jewel movements, not 7. Avoid Cylinder escapements as they're cheap and nasty and wear out quickly.

Go for silver cases in general as they can be accurately dated(same for gold).

Make sure the hands match the dial. Luminous dials had luminous "cathedral" hands like Hitemfrank's above. They didn't have solid "stick hands".

Of the case designs screw front and back are better sealed than hinged backs and fronts, Borgels seal the best, which means the movements are usually in better condition and they were fitted with better movements in the first place. You won't see a Borgel case with a Cylinder escapement, or 7 jewels.

Size wise, avoid anything under 30mm, they're women's watches. Ditto for anything with flowery cases and dials. Again women's watches. These are often described as trench watches but there weren't any women in the trenches. 34-36mm is the sweet spot in size. Anything above that beware as they're nearly always recased pocket watches. Avoid Polish and Ukrainian sellers like the plague, unless you really know your stuff. 99% are fakes or recased pocket watch movements. These usually have the sub second dials at the 9 position.

Some current on sale examples to avoid...

Women's watch

Wrong hands

And a couple from the same seller:

"Rolex officers WW1 trench watch", only it's not WW1, the hallmark being a clue(he can't even make up his mind between 1917/18), not a trench watch, more likely a woman's watch and with a "restored" dial done up on an inkjet printer.

Zenith pocketwatch with lugs later attached, I'd be betting in this century... The serial number on the movement is post WW1. The "Zenith" on the dial is most certainly added later.

From another seller, one of our eastern european friends...

Not a Rolex, not a wristwatch and the dial printing is a fantasy.

As always it's buyer beware guys, but if any of you do see one you like FWIW drop me a PM and I'll try to help.





*My 1916 London hallmarked Longines is very unusual as it does have longines on the dial and it's in the enamel, not printed later. Maybe a later dial, though I got it back in the early 90's before they were worth anything beyond silver scrap value and it was as black as your boot from tarnish.