Rolex Rolex WWII British Military Wireless Radio Set Watch NWW 2298
Rolex WWII British Military Wireless Radio Set Watch
Rolex Radio Set WS 19 watch. Produced in house by Rolex from 1939 through 1945.
Comes in non original Deck Watch box
Wireless Radio Set No. 19 during WW2. It was used by British and Canadian forces. The watch was held in a Bakelite screw on housing attached to the radio, hence no use of the bow. The WS No 19 is famous and well known to collectors looking for an original watch for their systems. It comes in a deck watch box that were used to house marine or deck watches. The watch does not fit snugly into the recess as the box is not original to the watch but makes a nice display.
Chrome plated base metal case, crisp white enamel dial, beautiful blued steel hands and hand winding calibre 548 movement. Since it is not a G.S.T.P or a field watch that was intended for general service, battlefield use, it was protected in the housing so the dial was enamel and not printed such as the G.S.T.P, and the hands not luminous as this was not needed. With these qualities, the watch altogether has a better, higher quality manufacture and appearance.
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Rolex SA was founded in 1905 by the German Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis. Contrary to popular belief, Hans Wilsdorf was neither Swiss, nor a watchmaker. Wilsdorf & Davis was the original name of what later became the Rolex Watch Company. They originally imported Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and placed them in quality cases made by Dennison and others. These early wristwatches were then sold to jewellers, who then put their own names on the dial. The earliest watches from the firm of Wilsdorf and Davis are usually marked "W&D" – inside the caseback only. Hans Wilsdorf registered the trademark name "Rolex" in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland during 1908. The word was made up, but its origin is obscure. One story, which was never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the word "Rolex" came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning exquisite watch industry. The Wilsdorf & Davis company moved out of Great Britain in 1912. Wilsdorf wanted his watches to be affordable, but taxes and export duties on the case metals (silver and gold) were driving costs up. From that time to the present, Rolex has been headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, though the company owns facilities in other cities (Bienne, etc) and continents (North America, Asia, Australia, etc). The company name Rolex was officially registered on 15 November 1915. It is thought this change was part of a drive to popularize wristwatches, which at the time were still considered a novelty largely for women (pocket watches were more common). Wilsdorf was said to desire his watch brand's name to be easily pronounceable in any language. The company name was officially changed to the Rolex Watch Company during 1919. It was later changed to Montres Rolex, SA and finally Rolex, SA. Rolex SA is a foundation initiated and originally funded by Hans Wilsdorf and the Aegler family. According to foundation documentation, the Rolex SA company can never be sold, nor traded on any stock market.