ABOUT THIS WATCH

While the early genesis of waterproof watches include historical designs such as the Rolex Oyster, Cartier Pasha & Omega Marine, this USN BuShips Canteen watch is notable for being the US Military’s first watch designed for heavy underwater duty.

Made for the US Navy’s Bureau of Ships, whose responsibilities included supervising the design, construction, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the Navy, this watch made by Elgin predated the first iterations of what we now know as modern style dive watches such as the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and Rolex Submariner and was useful during important tasks such as underwater demolition. As the crown of any watch has the highest potential for water ingress, the screw on canteen cap was a tactful albeit highly conspicuous way of completely enclosing the winding and setting crown.

At only 32mm, it’s definitely small by today’s watch size standards, but the gargantuan crown cap lends itself a nice presence on the wrist while also being very easy to read due to the large radium numerals and simple field watch layout. If you’ve ever seen other examples of this watch you’ll probably know that this one here is one the the most immaculate examples found which means it probably missed out on the life it was supposed to live, carrying out critical and dangerous tasks for the US Navy.

All the better for it. This watch will be the perfect accessory for a discerning collector to own and take Instagram wristshots of while pairing it with a vintage military jacket, half-tucked denim shirt, white jeans, and loafers. You know, standard vintage watch collector outfit.

WATCH SPECS

Brand: Elgin 
Model: USN BuShips Canteen
Reference: N/A 
Year: 1940s 
Material: Stainless Steel
Dimensions: 32mm diameter, 40mm w/crown, 12mm thickness w/ crystal
Crystal: Acrylic
Lume: Radium 
Caliber: Elgin 539 manual movement
Bracelet/Strap: Vintage style army green ZULU strap
Lug Width: 16mm 

Note: No guarantees of water resistance because of its age