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Rare 1976 'Lost Navigator' W10 6BB RAF issue

Rare watch in very nice condition - competitively priced

£1275.00

The 'W10' monocoque 'tonneau'-shaped watch was produced by Hamilton as the standard MoD field watch from 1971-1975. CWC took over the contract and continued to supply their version to MoD up to 1980. Stuck in the middle there, in 1976, was one contract of around 2000 W10 watches supplied to the RAF by a mysterious unknown manufacturer - or at least unknown until recently, when Waeccce Watches turned up an example of a 'Lost Navigator' with a 'Precista' dial signature. The watch was examined by the very well respected military watch specialist John Senior, and declared to be identical in all technical respects to other examples of the 'Lost Navigator'. It seems certain that the Precista signed watch was a prototype for supply to MoD by Southern Clock and Watch Company (owners of the Precista brand at that time). They were already an MoD sub-contractor for watch servicing and repair, and subsequently supplied a number of watches to MoD. So the 'Lost Navigator' is now the 'Found Navigator'.

Unlike the other W10s which all used the same ETA 2750, the Lost Navigator used the high beat AS 2160 with hacking seconds (apparently supplied by AS solely for this contract - if not it is certainly not a very common movement).

Like other W10s, the Lost Navigator has a solid stainless steel monocoque case, with no removable back. The movement, dial and hands are fitted and removed from the front (known as a 'front-loader'), facilitated by a two-piece stem arrangement. To remove the movement the crystal has to be lifted off and the outer stem and crown detached.

The dial is unsigned and the hand frames are painted white - also unique characteristics of the Lost navigator that distinguish it from the other W10s, and the lume is a minty green colour.

This example is in very good condition and recently serviced, as detailed in the condition report.

The watch is supplied on a heat bonded admiralty grey NATO strap.

The monocoque case is in good, clean cosmetic condition, retaining the original brushed finish with general light marks from use and handling, although the watch appears to be fairly lightly worn, with no evidence of strap marks on the case back. The dial and hands are in very good condition. The crystal is ta replacement and is in good condition. Please refer to the images to make your own judgement about the condition of the watch.

Mechanically the watch had a full stripdown, clean and service, including new mainspring, in October 2026. The case was ultrasonically cleaned. The original AS 2160 movement was fully stripped, with all parts cleaned and rinsed mechanically and ultrasonically in waterless solutions and hot air dried. The movement was reassembled, lubricated and regulated. The mainspring was replaced during service.

Amplitude is 300 degrees, beat error is 0.0ms and accuracy is within a few seconds per day (on the bench a stable +/-0.0 seconds per day is indicated, but this may differ when worn). The service was photo documented and images have been added to the listing, including an image of the watch on the timegrapher showing the readings. The watch hacks and adjusts correctly from the crown.

Please note that the design of this watch includes a split stem arrangement. If too much force is used when pulling the crown to hack or adjust the time it is possible to detach the outer stem and crown, so care should be taken. If the crown does detach it is not a major issue as it can easily be refitted.

The watch is absolutely suitable for everyday use, but it is vintage watch so is not recommended for sports or use in extreme conditions. The watch has not been pressure tested so water resistance is not guaranteed. This watch is covered by our non-waterproof 6 month guarantee.