The Uhrenfabrik Philipp Weber watch factory was founded in 1923 in Pforzheim, Germany, one of Germanys main watch making regions. The watch factory was to later re-brand under the name Arctos.  It was ranked amongst Pforzheim’s leading watch factories. Heinrich llg was one of the people with the creative powers to create these extraordinary watches.

After the outbreak of World War II, production changed to accommodate the demands of the German military. During this time output comprised of onboard timepieces for the Junkers JU87 – also known as the Junkers Stuka divebomber. They were also making clockworks for time delay fuses for anti aircraft artillery, dials and military watches for troop deployments in North Africa.

Landmarks include the 1956 Hannover trade fair where Arctos caused a sensation with its world time watch, the Arctos Horometer. It was available as a clock or wristwatch and was the only watch to show the correct time in any place in the world, no matter where you were in the world.

Another great landmark was in 1982, the German Department of Defence asked Arctos to produce and supply a chronograph for pilots and submarine commanders which was based on the need for a watch of highest reliability. Arctos answered this request with the Arctos Military, which today is highly prized by military watch collectors and in complete format comes with leather binder, instructions and an astronomical star chart for navigational purposes. The Arctos Military become the official standard equipment of the NATO and German Armed Forces under the NATO reference and supply number 6645-12-194-8642.

After a period of dormancy, Arctos have resumed production with financial, technological and creative input. And with these, the Arctos watches are back in demand again. They are made in the spirit of tradition of the Arctos manufacture. The watches have the finest Swiss automatic movements whose reliability is unsurpassed housed in cases of outstanding quality with the designs to match. Much of the new developments and creative input due to the fact that Hans llg has been recruited once again. He brings to the table his extensive experience, knowledge and skills.  

Arctos watches are covered by a two year manufacturers warranty

Arctos NATO Field Watch – Automatic Wristwatch

The Arctos NATO Field wristwatch are back in high demand in which the design and manufacturing process has taken on the task of making watches in the spirit of tradition of the Arctos manufacture. The watch uses the finest materials for the crystal, case and automatic movement to make reliability unsurpassed with a design to match. The watch is designed for the most extreme demands of the Special Forces as well as the demanding watch connoisseur. The dial is typically utility or military in style with bold primary numbers, large crown, large and substantial case, mat black dial with white Superluminova coated hands and number markings, with a date at the 6 position. The hands are the “Mercedes” type hands with central sweep second hand. The date wheel is black with white print so as to blend in well with the dial. It has got a scratch resistant convex sapphire crystal with hardness of 9 on Mohs scale of 1 to 10 meaning that it can only a diamond or material with diamond in it with a hardness of 10 is capable of damaging the synthetically manufactured sapphire crystal. In addition the crystal is treated with anti reflective coating so that the dial and hands are always clearly legible. The anti reflective coating is on the under side of the crystal so it does not flake off due to scratching the surface of the crystal. The watch has got a screw down crown. Only once the crown is unscrewed can the mechanism be manually wound and the hands adjusted. The screw in crown mechanism protects the watch from moisture and dust and enhances its shock resistance. The screw in crown in conjunction with the screw on back makes it withstand pressures up to 20 bars (approximately 200 metres) and surpass the waterproofing requirements of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN norm 8310). The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel. The material is anti magnetic 316L stainless steel which is an alloy that is widely used in surgical instruments and in space industries. The raw block undergoes numerous processing steps from which is emerges as a robust case, precision manufactured to within a hundredth of a millimetre, which protects the movement from moisture, dust and impacts. The watch uses the highly regarded and tried and trusted Swiss made twenty five jewelled automatic winding ETA 2824-2.  This movement has got a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The high frequency and additional adjustments at the Arctos factory ensure that the Arctos watches have an excellent degree of accuracy. The movement has got a Etachrono regulator system. It has got a stop mechanism for accurate time setting. The movement gives a power reserve of forty hours. The watch has got a solid screwed stainless steel bracelet. With butterfly deployant clasp.  The dimensions are as follows. Width is 42 mm excluding the crown, 45 mm including the crown, lug to lug is 47 mm, thickness is 14.5 mm. Ref. ARC 01. Price is £795

 

Arctos NATO Field Watch – Automatic Wristwatch

The Arctos NATO Field wristwatch are back in high demand in which the design and manufacturing process has taken on the task of making watches in the spirit of tradition of the Arctos manufacture. The watch uses the finest materials for the crystal, case and automatic movement to make reliability unsurpassed with a design to match. The watch is designed for the most extreme demands of the Special Forces as well as the demanding watch connoisseur. The dial is typically utility or military in style with bold primary numbers, large crown, large and substantial case, mat black dial with white Superluminova coated hands and number markings, with a date at the 6 position. The hands are the “Mercedes” type hands with central sweep second hand. The date wheel is black with white print so as to blend in well with the dial. It has got a scratch resistant convex sapphire crystal with hardness of 9 on Mohs scale of 1 to 10 meaning that it can only a diamond or material with diamond in it with a hardness of 10 is capable of damaging the synthetically manufactured sapphire crystal. In addition the crystal is treated with anti reflective coating so that the dial and hands are always clearly legible. The anti reflective coating is on the under side of the crystal so it does not flake off due to scratching the surface of the crystal. The watch has got a screw down crown. Only once the crown is unscrewed can the mechanism be manually wound and the hands adjusted. The screw in crown mechanism protects the watch from moisture and dust and enhances its shock resistance. The screw in crown in conjunction with the screw on back makes it withstand pressures up to 20 bars (approximately 200 metres) and surpass the waterproofing requirements of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN norm 8310). The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel. The material is anti magnetic 316L stainless steel which is an alloy that is widely used in surgical instruments and in space industries. The raw block undergoes numerous processing steps from which is emerges as a robust case, precision manufactured to within a hundredth of a millimetre, which protects the movement from moisture, dust and impacts. The watch uses the highly regarded and tried and trusted Swiss made twenty five jewelled automatic winding ETA 2824-2.  This movement has got a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The high frequency and additional adjustments at the Arctos factory ensure that the Arctos watches have an excellent degree of accuracy. The movement has got a Etachrono regulator system. It has got a stop mechanism for accurate time setting. The movement gives a power reserve of forty hours. The watch comes on black leather strap.  The dimensions are as follows. Width is 42 mm excluding the crown, 45 mm including the crown, lug to lug is 47 mm, thickness is 14.5 mm. Ref. ARC 02. Price is £675

 

Arctos Black-Wave – Automatic Wristwatch

The Arctos Black-Wave wristwatch is named after the 1953 NATO Black-Wave exercise in the Mediterranean and is the brother to the above NATO Field Watch. The Black-Wave case has a special black surface treatment called PVD, which is designed to hide the Special Forces exact locations by way of stray reflections from the case.  Just like the NATO field watch, the inner workings of the Black-Wave is a self winding movement of paramount reliability, housed in a case of outstanding quality. The watch uses the finest materials for the crystal, case and automatic movement to make reliability unsurpassed with a design to match. The watch is designed for the most extreme demands of the Special Forces as well as the demanding watch connoisseur. The dial is typically utility or military in style with bold primary numbers, large crown, large and substantial case, mat black dial with white Superluminova coated hands and number markings, with a date at the 6 position. The hands are the “Mercedes” type hands with central sweep second hand. The date wheel is black with white print so as to blend in well with the dial. It has got a scratch resistant convex sapphire crystal with hardness of 9 on Mohs scale of 1 to 10 meaning that it can only a diamond or material with diamond in it with a hardness of 10 is capable of damaging the synthetically manufactured sapphire crystal. In addition the crystal is treated with anti reflective coating so that the dial and hands are always clearly legible. The anti reflective coating is on the under side of the crystal so it does not flake off due to scratching the surface of the crystal. The watch has got a screw down crown. Only once the crown is unscrewed can the mechanism be manually wound and the hands adjusted. The screw in crown mechanism protects the watch from moisture and dust and enhances its shock resistance. The screw in crown in conjunction with the screw on back makes it withstand pressures up to 20 bars (approximately 200 metres) and surpass the waterproofing requirements of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN norm 8310). The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel. The material is anti magnetic 316L stainless steel which is an alloy that is widely used in surgical instruments and in space industries. The raw block undergoes numerous processing steps from which is emerges as a robust case, precision manufactured to within a hundredth of a millimetre, which protects the movement from moisture, dust and impacts. The final treatment is the PVD which blackens the case. The PVD is hard wearing. The watch uses the highly regarded and tried and trusted Swiss made twenty five jewelled automatic winding ETA 2824-2.  This movement has got a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The high frequency and additional adjustments at the Arctos factory ensure that the Arctos watches have an excellent degree of accuracy. The movement has got a Etachrono regulator system. It has got a stop mechanism for accurate time setting. The movement gives a power reserve of forty hours. The watch has got a solid screwed stainless steel bracelet. With butterfly deployant clasp.  The dimensions are as follows. Width is 42 mm excluding the crown, 45 mm including the crown, lug to lug is 47 mm, thickness is 14.5 mm. Ref. ARC 03. Price is £795

 

Arctos Black-Wave – Automatic Wristwatch

The Arctos Black-Wave wristwatch is named after the 1953 NATO Black-Wave exercise in the Mediterranean and is the brother to the above NATO Field Watch. The Black-Wave case has a special black surface treatment called PVD, which is designed to hide the Special Forces exact locations by way of stray reflections from the case.  Just like the NATO field watch, the inner workings of the Black-Wave is a self winding movement of paramount reliability, housed in a case of outstanding quality. The watch uses the finest materials for the crystal, case and automatic movement to make reliability unsurpassed with a design to match. The watch is designed for the most extreme demands of the Special Forces as well as the demanding watch connoisseur. The dial is typically utility or military in style with bold primary numbers, large crown, large and substantial case, mat black dial with white Superluminova coated hands and number markings, with a date at the 6 position. The hands are the “Mercedes” type hands with central sweep second hand. The date wheel is black with white print so as to blend in well with the dial. It has got a scratch resistant convex sapphire crystal with hardness of 9 on Mohs scale of 1 to 10 meaning that it can only a diamond or material with diamond in it with a hardness of 10 is capable of damaging the synthetically manufactured sapphire crystal. In addition the crystal is treated with anti reflective coating so that the dial and hands are always clearly legible. The anti reflective coating is on the under side of the crystal so it does not flake off due to scratching the surface of the crystal. The watch has got a screw down crown. Only once the crown is unscrewed can the mechanism be manually wound and the hands adjusted. The screw in crown mechanism protects the watch from moisture and dust and enhances its shock resistance. The screw in crown in conjunction with the screw on back makes it withstand pressures up to 20 bars (approximately 200 metres) and surpass the waterproofing requirements of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN norm 8310). The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel. The material is anti magnetic 316L stainless steel which is an alloy that is widely used in surgical instruments and in space industries. The raw block undergoes numerous processing steps from which is emerges as a robust case, precision manufactured to within a hundredth of a millimetre, which protects the movement from moisture, dust and impacts. The final treatment is the PVD which blackens the case. The PVD is hard wearing. The watch uses the highly regarded and tried and trusted Swiss made twenty five jewelled automatic winding ETA 2824-2.  This movement has got a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The high frequency and additional adjustments at the Arctos factory ensure that the Arctos watches have an excellent degree of accuracy. The movement has got a Etachrono regulator system. It has got a stop mechanism for accurate time setting. The movement gives a power reserve of forty hours. The watch comes on black silicone strap. The dimensions are as follows. Width is 42 mm excluding the crown, 45 mm including the crown, lug to lug is 47 mm, thickness is 14.5 mm. Ref. ARC 04. Price is £695

 

Arctos Marine Diver Automatic – Automatic Wristwatch

The hallmark of the Arctos Marine Diver Automatic is the unmistakable yellow minute hand, which together with the counter clockwise rotating bezel monitors dive time. This feature of the minute hand is a special requirement of the elite forces combat divers. Functionality takes centre stage with the Marine Diver Automatic as it does with the NATO Field Watch and the Black-Wave. The precision Swiss made movement is protected from moisture, dust and impact by the resilient case.  The watch uses the finest materials for the crystal, case and automatic movement to make reliability unsurpassed with a design to match. The watch is designed for the most extreme demands of the Special Forces as well as the demanding watch connoisseur. The dial is typically utility or military in style with bold primary numbers which are boxed off, large crown, large and substantial case, mat black dial with white Superluminova coated hands and number markings, with a date at the 6 position. The hands are very unique with a fat arrow hour hand and yellow minute hand with central sweep second hand which has a luminous block towards the end of the hand. The date wheel is black with white print so as to blend in well with the dial. It has got a uni directional sturdy ratcheted rotating bezel which is evenly iterated around the bezel for one hour independent timing. It has got a scratch resistant convex sapphire crystal with hardness of 9 on Mohs scale of 1 to 10 meaning that it can only a diamond or material with diamond in it with a hardness of 10 is capable of damaging the synthetically manufactured sapphire crystal. In addition the crystal is treated with anti reflective coating so that the dial and hands are always clearly legible. The anti reflective coating is on the under side of the crystal so it does not flake off due to scratching the surface of the crystal. The watch has got a screw down crown. Only once the crown is unscrewed can the mechanism be manually wound and the hands adjusted. The screw in crown mechanism protects the watch from moisture and dust and enhances its shock resistance. The screw in crown in conjunction with the screw on back makes it withstand pressures up to 20 bars (approximately 200 metres) and surpass the waterproofing requirements of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN norm 8310). The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel. The material is anti magnetic 316L stainless steel which is an alloy that is widely used in surgical instruments and in space industries. The raw block undergoes numerous processing steps from which is emerges as a robust case, precision manufactured to within a hundredth of a millimetre, which protects the movement from moisture, dust and impacts. The watch uses the highly regarded and tried and trusted Swiss made twenty five jewelled automatic winding ETA 2824-2.  This movement has got a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The high frequency and additional adjustments at the Arctos factory ensure that the Arctos watches have an excellent degree of accuracy. The movement has got a Etachrono regulator system. It has got a stop mechanism for accurate time setting. The movement gives a power reserve of forty hours. The watch has got a solid screwed stainless steel bracelet. With butterfly deployant clasp.  The dimensions are as follows. Width is 42 mm excluding the crown, 45 mm including the crown, lug to lug is 47 mm, thickness is 14.5 mm. Ref. ARC 05. Price is £795

 

Arctos Marine Diver Automatic – Automatic Wristwatch

The hallmark of the Arctos Marine Diver Automatic is the unmistakable yellow minute hand, which together with the counter clockwise rotating bezel monitors dive time. This feature of the minute hand is a special requirement of the elite forces combat divers. Functionality takes centre stage with the Marine Diver Automatic as it does with the NATO Field Watch and the Black-Wave. The precision Swiss made movement is protected from moisture, dust and impact by the resilient case.  The watch uses the finest materials for the crystal, case and automatic movement to make reliability unsurpassed with a design to match. The watch is designed for the most extreme demands of the Special Forces as well as the demanding watch connoisseur. The dial is typically utility or military in style with bold primary numbers which are boxed off, large crown, large and substantial case, mat black dial with white Superluminova coated hands and number markings, with a date at the 6 position. The hands are very unique with a fat arrow hour hand and yellow minute hand with central sweep second hand which has a luminous block towards the end of the hand. The date wheel is black with white print so as to blend in well with the dial. It has got a uni directional sturdy ratcheted rotating bezel which is evenly iterated around the bezel for one hour independent timing. It has got a scratch resistant convex sapphire crystal with hardness of 9 on Mohs scale of 1 to 10 meaning that it can only a diamond or material with diamond in it with a hardness of 10 is capable of damaging the synthetically manufactured sapphire crystal. In addition the crystal is treated with anti reflective coating so that the dial and hands are always clearly legible. The anti reflective coating is on the under side of the crystal so it does not flake off due to scratching the surface of the crystal. The watch has got a screw down crown. Only once the crown is unscrewed can the mechanism be manually wound and the hands adjusted. The screw in crown mechanism protects the watch from moisture and dust and enhances its shock resistance. The screw in crown in conjunction with the screw on back makes it withstand pressures up to 20 bars (approximately 200 metres) and surpass the waterproofing requirements of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN norm 8310). The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel. The material is anti magnetic 316L stainless steel which is an alloy that is widely used in surgical instruments and in space industries. The raw block undergoes numerous processing steps from which is emerges as a robust case, precision manufactured to within a hundredth of a millimetre, which protects the movement from moisture, dust and impacts. The watch uses the highly regarded and tried and trusted Swiss made twenty five jewelled automatic winding ETA 2824-2.  This movement has got a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The high frequency and additional adjustments at the Arctos factory ensure that the Arctos watches have an excellent degree of accuracy. The movement has got a Etachrono regulator system. It has got a stop mechanism for accurate time setting. The movement gives a power reserve of forty hours. The watch comes on black silicone strap.  The dimensions are as follows. Width is 42 mm excluding the crown, 45 mm including the crown, lug to lug is 47 mm, thickness is 14.5 mm. Ref. ARC 06. Price is £695

 

Arctos Elite GMT – Automatic Wristwatch

The Arctos Elite GMT has a distinctive look and feel to it, this is characterised by its functionality and distinctive large orange GMT hand and twenty four hour bezel. This makes the GMT function easily readable. To assure that there is not too much information on the dial, the twenty four hour markings are strategically placed on the outer fixed bezel and not the dial. The watch is designed for the most extreme demands of the Special Forces as well as the demanding watch connoisseur. The dial is typically utility or military in style with bold primary numbers, large crown, large and substantial case, mat black dial with white Superluminova coated hands and number markings, with a date at the 6 position. The hands are the “Mercedes” type hands with central sweep second hand. The date wheel is black with white print so as to blend in well with the dial. It has got a scratch resistant convex sapphire crystal with hardness of 9 on Mohs scale of 1 to 10 meaning that it can only a diamond or material with diamond in it with a hardness of 10 is capable of damaging the synthetically manufactured sapphire crystal. In addition the crystal is treated with anti reflective coating so that the dial and hands are always clearly legible. The anti reflective coating is on the under side of the crystal so it does not flake off due to scratching the surface of the crystal. The watch has got a screw down crown. Only once the crown is unscrewed can the mechanism be manually wound and the hands adjusted. The screw in crown mechanism protects the watch from moisture and dust and enhances its shock resistance. The screw in crown in conjunction with the screw on back makes it withstand pressures up to 20 bars (approximately 200 metres) and surpass the waterproofing requirements of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN norm 8310). The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel. The material is anti magnetic 316L stainless steel which is an alloy that is widely used in surgical instruments and in space industries. The raw block undergoes numerous processing steps from which is emerges as a robust case, precision manufactured to within a hundredth of a millimetre, which protects the movement from moisture, dust and impacts. The watch uses the highly regarded and tried and trusted Swiss made twenty five jewelled automatic winding ETA 2893-2 as a base which is modified to Arctos specifications.  This movement has got a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The high frequency and additional adjustments at the Arctos factory ensure that the Arctos watches have an excellent degree of accuracy. The movement has got a Etachrono regulator system. It has got a stop mechanism for accurate time setting. The movement gives a power reserve of forty hours. The watch has got a solid screwed stainless steel bracelet. With butterfly deployant clasp.  The dimensions are as follows. Width is 42 mm excluding the crown, 45 mm including the crown, lug to lug is 47 mm, thickness is 14.5 mm. Ref. ARC 07. Price is £975