Well, I don't know what your style and budget, but I would give the movement a cleaning job, the plexi glass a polishing and buy a thin dark brown reptile strap and wear it like this. I am not a fan of a retouched dial and the case cannot be polished I guess as it looks (dunno the right term) chromed not stainless steel… But a nice classic watch!
Have the Moon watch apparently have a Mt Everest as well. (price looks a bit rich) http://www.smithswatches.com/produc...-a404-c-1953-made-in-england-fully-overhauled
Smiths have a great history in the UK - a lot of us of a certain age owned first cars with instruments made by them, so its kind of cool to have a matching watch. As a watch brand they basically died off almost overnight in the fifties Pricing is weird though - you can pick up the manual wind smiths empires for £2-3, some of the rarer manual winds for less than £100, but anything connected with Everest goes ballistic. I have three smiths mercurys in my watch box on peices- one day I need to get one built out of the best bits.....
I like 'em though they're never seen here in Texas. I have a friend in West Yorkshire though so just had to have one example. I'd like to acquire a couple more: A W10 military contract model and a De Luxe model with a solid gold case. The Smiths watches have interesting and appealing styling all their own and I get a kick out of the fact that they were made in England. Apparently, Smiths bowed out of watchmaking in 1970, another victim of the advent of of the electronic watch. Since Sir Edmund Hillary wore a Smiths De Luxe when he became the first person to ever conquer Mount Everest in 1953 ... http://www.timefactors.com/images/everestadvert.jpg ... I had to wear mine when we were climbing one of those rocky jumbles out in Joshua Tree National Park a while back. I'm a little concerned when my Smiths needs a service. It had just been serviced when I got it. All the watch makers here that I've asked about servicing the Smiths have said: "Sure I can do it," but the tone of their voices didn't have the ring of conviction about it to inspire confidence.
Some of the Empire models have the best styling in my view however the Empire models appear to be all trouble, having only 5-7 jewels. I think it's fun to see the "Made in England" at the bottom of the dial rather than the usual "Made in ____ (fill in the blank any of the usual places)." Thanks for the Smiths site link! I found the model like the one I have and it apparently dates to 1957. I date to 1957 too. http://www.smithswatches.com/products/smiths-deluxe-17j-gold-plated-wristwatch-c-1957-fully-serviced
Mine says hi! something very cool about having a quality watch that proudly showing "made in England" Love it that it's anti magnetic shielding too
Just found this thread... Some nice watches above. Picked this one up last week. Just some quick shots. Dial has some loose dirt on it but is quite attractive in hand. Needs a crystal and case could do with a little Autoglym chrome polish. Has anyone ever had the chrome plating on these redone? Appears to be a 10 years after Everest commemorative model. Similar to the one at the top of this page http://www.smithswatches.com/products/everest Movement is a bit dirty and has been knocked about a bit but runs well. Will service it before use as the jewels look like they have black moly grease in them. Unusual balance shock jewel - do the springs just rotate to remove @Geo! ? And I've had this one for years, nestling in the bottom of the rev counter. Will try and fix it later this year (they are notoriously unreliable). It's likely to be the same year as the watch (it's a '63). I quite like the idea of a watch with 'Made in England' on it as well. Especially if it goes with the clock on my car! Cheers, Chris
I have a W10 and it looks great and keeps excellent time. Always on the lookout for a 19 or 25j auto. which were, I think, the last they made. I don't believe they closed shop because of the quartz boom. I don't think anyone really knows why they shut. See attached dreadful picture
I do like that watch Chris. Regarding the balance jewels, I have yet to service mine so cannot comment on removal technique through experience. Like you, I think the springs have to be rotated for removal. I look forward to seeing your watch when you are finished servicing it.
I agree with Geo. Looks like a KIF Flexor (but not quite). The detent in the block should allow you to rotate and remove.
My local watchmaker is full of Smiths watches, unfortunately they have all seen better days. I will try and get some photos to post on this thread.