Hi everyone,
Long time-lurker, and I finally had a thought that might be worth sharing. Apologies ahead of time if this is the wrong forum. I recently purchased a gently pre-owned Steinhart Marine 38, which I have had my eye on for quite some time as a military/nautical-inspired watch of conservative size that I could wear as something a bit dressier than my current daily beater, but that wasn't properly "formal." It is an outstanding piece and I'm extremely pleased with it so far.
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(stock Steinhart image)
What I'd be interested in getting opinions on is simply my perception that although it is billed as a smaller version of Steinhart's Marine Chronometer 44, the Marine 38 doesn't quite "read" to me as that style of watch. I certainly see the resemblance to its larger cousin, and to several other modern watches that use the words "marine chronometer" to describe their styles and heritage, but in all honesty, the Marine 38 seems to have a lot more in common with some WWII-era watches, rather than a traditional marine chronometer. I first noticed this when I came across an article posted on wornandwound.com a couple of months ago, which itself sources some of its photos and content from a discussion on www.mwrforum.net from several years back. In my own humble opinion (take it for what it's worth), the white dialed watch shown in these links, which is identified as a non-branded Ebel, bears a striking resemblance to the modern Steinhart 38, and at first glance, I thought that's exactly what it was.
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And the Ebel seems to have a much greater resemblance to contemporary pilot and observation watches, such as the Weems-style watches made by Omega and Longines, and other pieces often referred to as having a 6B/234 issue code, as well as the more highly desirable wartime watches issued to British pilots, such as those with the 6B/159 issue code (as shown below).
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(also not mine)
The features that have the most resemblance are of course the uniquely shaped blued hour and minute hands, the extremely straight and long centrally-mounted seconds hand, the minute track that extends all the way around the dial, and military style printing (for the time), all of which were likely implemented to promote maximum legibility. But when I compare these types of watches with the Steinhart, the lineage seems very evident.
Having said all that, I understand that it may entirely be a moot point, because as has previously been discussed here, very few watch dials have a completely pure pedigree. Most manufacturers have simply built upon previous generations of successful designs, starting from the best features from previous models and companies and incorporating some of their own minor stylistic touches. It is also entirely possible that pilot watches of this era were themselves deliberately modeled on marine chronometers, for similar reasons: the largest customers for both marine chronometers and pilot watches were likely the armed forces, and so one design simply drove the next.
I am not suggesting that Steinhart is inaccurate in their branding of this model as a "Marine", nor am I suggesting that they change it, as it seems to be an extremely popular and successful item. Perhaps the whole reason for this post is simply for me to complain about how I wish there were more high-quality recreations of the A-11 and British pilot watches of WWII era available in a "reasonable" price range ("reasonable" being a very subjective word), considering their tremendous historical value and influence on modern wristwatch design.
My sincerest congratulations and appreciation if you have read this far down the page ?. Just curious if anyone has ever had any similar or related thoughts. Thanks!
Long time-lurker, and I finally had a thought that might be worth sharing. Apologies ahead of time if this is the wrong forum. I recently purchased a gently pre-owned Steinhart Marine 38, which I have had my eye on for quite some time as a military/nautical-inspired watch of conservative size that I could wear as something a bit dressier than my current daily beater, but that wasn't properly "formal." It is an outstanding piece and I'm extremely pleased with it so far.
(stock Steinhart image)
What I'd be interested in getting opinions on is simply my perception that although it is billed as a smaller version of Steinhart's Marine Chronometer 44, the Marine 38 doesn't quite "read" to me as that style of watch. I certainly see the resemblance to its larger cousin, and to several other modern watches that use the words "marine chronometer" to describe their styles and heritage, but in all honesty, the Marine 38 seems to have a lot more in common with some WWII-era watches, rather than a traditional marine chronometer. I first noticed this when I came across an article posted on wornandwound.com a couple of months ago, which itself sources some of its photos and content from a discussion on www.mwrforum.net from several years back. In my own humble opinion (take it for what it's worth), the white dialed watch shown in these links, which is identified as a non-branded Ebel, bears a striking resemblance to the modern Steinhart 38, and at first glance, I thought that's exactly what it was.
And the Ebel seems to have a much greater resemblance to contemporary pilot and observation watches, such as the Weems-style watches made by Omega and Longines, and other pieces often referred to as having a 6B/234 issue code, as well as the more highly desirable wartime watches issued to British pilots, such as those with the 6B/159 issue code (as shown below).
(also not mine)
The features that have the most resemblance are of course the uniquely shaped blued hour and minute hands, the extremely straight and long centrally-mounted seconds hand, the minute track that extends all the way around the dial, and military style printing (for the time), all of which were likely implemented to promote maximum legibility. But when I compare these types of watches with the Steinhart, the lineage seems very evident.
Having said all that, I understand that it may entirely be a moot point, because as has previously been discussed here, very few watch dials have a completely pure pedigree. Most manufacturers have simply built upon previous generations of successful designs, starting from the best features from previous models and companies and incorporating some of their own minor stylistic touches. It is also entirely possible that pilot watches of this era were themselves deliberately modeled on marine chronometers, for similar reasons: the largest customers for both marine chronometers and pilot watches were likely the armed forces, and so one design simply drove the next.
I am not suggesting that Steinhart is inaccurate in their branding of this model as a "Marine", nor am I suggesting that they change it, as it seems to be an extremely popular and successful item. Perhaps the whole reason for this post is simply for me to complain about how I wish there were more high-quality recreations of the A-11 and British pilot watches of WWII era available in a "reasonable" price range ("reasonable" being a very subjective word), considering their tremendous historical value and influence on modern wristwatch design.
My sincerest congratulations and appreciation if you have read this far down the page ?. Just curious if anyone has ever had any similar or related thoughts. Thanks!
