Thought I would share a few pics of my new arrival seeing as I'm so thrilled with it. I've owned a few Smiths and Smiths Astrals over the years(including a Military W10 which I do miss) but this is my first ASTRAL. ASTRAL aren't typically viewed among the finer Smiths, with the dropping of Smiths Astral to just ASTRAL in the late 60's early 70's it was a period which pretty much became the decline for the brand. Many of the ASTRALs were made using cheap poor quality imported Swiss movements and the cases often left a bit to be desired. This particular watch is every bit a classic Smiths and amoung the last of their beautifully made dress watches. The solid 9ct gold case was actually made by Shakmans of London who also made cases for the likes of Omega and Rolex at that time. It's a wonderful case for this watch with a nice heavy screwed case back and a nice size at 34mm. As a nice bonus there is very little wear to this case given it's almost 50 years old(the Hallmarks with the little leopard and letter o date it to 1969) and zero signs of polishing. The movement is the classic English made 17 jewels slimline as used in the Military W10s and with that also hacks which is a nice bonus. Anyway for those that have stuck with my rambling thank you for reading, I hope you like this beautiful piece of English watchmaking the the pics I snapped of it this morning. This one is a definite keeper! ^Both of these cases were made in London by D Shakman & Sons.
Had forgotten I made this thread, thanks for the comments guys. Really enjoying this watch still and it has quite a modern look for a late sixties watch IMO.
Or maybe it’s a style that is just coming around again! Do love the unfussy, clean nature of these watches though, and the red tip on the c-secs hand is an elegant touch. Really like the diamond shape on yours.