WWII 1940 Pattern American Army Ordnance / ORD Watch (Automatic)

Product Details

SKU: ORD1/AU

In WWII Ordnance watches were made for the US military by Waltham, Hamilton, Bulova and Elgin. The original watches were made of nickel-plated brass because wartime conditions and shortages of raw materials precluded the use of stainless steel, as a consequence the original watches were not very durable hence finding one in good and sound condition today can be very challenging. The original watches were very small and measured 33/34mm but we increased the size slightly to 36.5 mm excluding the crown and 39 mm including the crown.

The US Army Ordnance Department watches were intended for use by non-aviation personnel; the A-11 which is similar but with a black dial was the USAAF equivalent for aircrew.

The interesting thing about the designs for the U.S military is that the British War Office procured a very similar timepiece in 1938 which was two years before the ORD watches hence the reason the watches both look pretty much identical.

Before WWII and particularly during WWI soldiers adapted all sorts civilian pocket watches and trench watches to their needs, this situation also existed with American military personell. It was only just before WWII that the British War Office decided to procure watches designed specifically for military use and the U.S Army Ordnance Department went down exactly the same route two years later.

During WWII U.S Army personnel were issued with watches by the "ORD DEPT" In 1940, the Ordnance Department published the specific requirements and specifications for military watches hence ORD and ATP watches are very similar in basic specification and design in order to meet the key objective which was to standardise the timepieces in use by those serving in the military at the time.

The original watches were handwound, this particular watch is a self winding automatic although we also make a hand winding manual version for buyers who prefer this feature which makes it closer to the WWII originals.

For comparison the last two images were sent to us by a watch enthusiast and show original WWII watches made by Elgin which are ORD watches the third image is a Grana which is a British military ATP watch, as you can see they followed a very similar design with minimal differences.

Specification:

• Case Diameter: 36.5 mm exc crown, 39 mm incl crown
• Lug to Lug 43 mm
• Thickness 13.5 mm
• Lug Type: Spring Bars
• Dial Colour: Off White
• Case Material: 316L stainless steel
• Caseback: 316L stainless steel
• Crown: 316L stainless steel
• Water Resistance: 5 ATM (50 m)
• Movement: 21 Jewel Automatic
• Subsidiary second hand
• Glass: Plexiglass / Perspex
• Luminous Material: Luminova
• Serial number on caseback
• Strap: 18 mm Canvas
• 24 Months Guarantee

• Delivery

  • Europe	UK	Rest of World
    Tracked Mail €11.50 / £9.99 / US$12.75	Tracked Mail  £9.99	Tracked Mail US$22.25 / €20.00 / £17.50
    N/A	Small Item e.g 1 or 2 straps £5.99	N/A
    Express Courier UPS or FedEx  €23.00 / £19.99 / US$25.50	Express Courier  UPS/DPD  £12.95	Express Courier UPS or FedEx  US$44.50 / €40.00 / £34.95

    PLEASE NOTE: The exact shipping cost will vary slightly depending on the weight and dimensions but it will only differ by a very small amount and will be shown at checkout. The above is a very good guide and 85% of parcels will be exactly as shown above.

    You will generally receive two emails after placing an order, the first will be a confirmation of receipt of the order and payment, this will be followed by a notification of shipment  once the goods are dispatched. When an order and payment has been processed, goods will be shipped by the Post Office or Courier within 48 hours. Please note that our shipping centers are closed on Saturdays and Sundays therefore orders placed during this time may take up to 72 hours to be dispatched, this includes orders placed after 14:00 (CET)  European time on Fridays.

    The estimated delivery times in working day are as set out below:

    • Europe UPS: 2 to 5 days
    • Europe Registered Mail: 7-14 days
    • UK DPD or UPS: 24 Hours
    • UK Tracked Mail: 1 to 2 days
    • Rest of World UPS: 3 to 10 days
    • Rest of World Registered Mail: 7 to 21 days *

    * Some countries are prone to be notoriously slow to process goods on arrival among these countries are Israel, Hong Kong, Macau, Mexico, South Africa and some South American countries. We also tend to experience significant delays with other countries in Africa in addition to South Africa, you can always contact us for advice although we do not know with certainty exactly which countries will be slow, and which will be fast but the above estimates are a pretty good guide for most countries, keen in mind remote territories or those with slow customs can also tend to be problematic. We would recommend using UPS, DHL or Fedex, which we offer as an option if the delivery is very time sensitive. 

    All shipping estimates are working days and exclude Saturdays and Sundays when our packing and shipping centres are closed and many postal services do not operate, depending on the country.

    Whilst we make every effort to deliver your order within the above timeframes this is a guide and delivery cannot be guaranteed. We will not accept responsibility for delays caused by our Couriers or any National postal service. If the goods are not delivered within the time we have estimated, please feel free to contact us or email admin@mwc.watch and we will do everything possible to resolve the issue promptly. We will not be liable for any loss caused by late delivery.

    Our delivery charges cover the cost of shipping the goods to you. However, they do not include import charges and administration fees to clear the goods when entering your country if these apply. 

    It is the responsibility of the purchaser to understand that charges may be levied and pay all subsequent import tax and duty on goods shipped to their respective Country. In the instance that items are returned to MWC as a result of a rejected payment, subsequent charges incurred such as Import Duty and processing costs will be deducted from any refund issued. For further information on this please contact accounts@mwc-distribution.com 

    We do not accept any liability for goods that have been lost after delivery to a PO Box. We reserve the right to cancel orders where the delivery address is a PO Box. Furthermore, we also do not accept any liability for goods that have been lost after they are confirmed as delivered to APO or BFPO locations. 

    It is the Customer's responsibility to notify us if the goods have not been received within 21 days of the estimated delivery date or time of ordering. If no notification is made within this time period the buyer shall be deemed to have received the goods.

    Please Note: We also use a variety of other delivery companies in countries where we have distribution arrangements, please keep in mind that some of them will allow you to arrange for delivery of your parcel in a way that will not require a signature, normally the delivery company, for example DPD will agree with you that the item will be left in a shed, garage, porch or other location that you nominate this is what is often termed a "safe place" please note that if you decide to utilise one of these services it is at your own risk because we have initially sent it by a secure service which requires a signature or other proof of delivery and using what is termed "a safe place" is inherently more risky because someone might see it being left by the driver which creates obvious dangers of it being stolen. Our advice is to always have it delivered in a way where the driver obtains a signature or other proof of delivery to remove any element of risk and ensure you receive your parcel safely.

    Failed delivery of an item ordered due to non-acceptance of the delivery

    Please note that if you order an item and the delivery company inform us that the item was refused it would be returned back to us, in many cases especially with FedEx, UPS etc they will also charge a return fee to send it back. Because in these circumstances we have done everything that is required to get the item to you we would refund less both the outbound and Inbound shipping charges once the item was received back at our packing and shipping centre. Unfortunately sometimes if you are having the order delivered to a business location the people receiving inbound parcels are prone to refuse an item without checking with the individual concerned we would strongly recommend being very cautious in this situation and notifying the people who handle the incoming parcels that you are expecting a delivery to avoid this problem occurring. Usually, we would be notified there is a delivery issue and would email you for your instructions, normally these sorts of problems can be avoided if you contact the carrier and tell them there is an error but it's very important to act quickly to avoid the return and associated costs.