Product Details

SKU Code: A-17/100

This automatic self-winding A-17 pattern watch is a classic design based on the typical designs used in the Korean War during the 1950s, it has a glass crystal and the mechanical movement is a self-winding automatic with the option to hand-wind if desired. The watch offers the benefit of retaining the classic 1950s outward appearance whilst having the advantage of a few important updates to improve its suitability for use on a day to day basis, the main upgrades are an increase from 30m to 100m water resistance and a screw-down crown and caseback. The other watches in this family of watches are the A-11 based on the WW2 USAAF pilots watch and the GG-W-113 based on the Vietnam War issue model. 

All the original watches regardless of whether they were an A-11, A-17 or GG-W-113 used plexiglass which was fine for the time but does not come anywhere near meeting modern standards for either water resistance or scratch resistance. The updates mean that rather than just being splash-proof like the original models this watch is fine for swimming and other activities involving use in water, although the updates vastly improve the watch in terms of performance it still retains its historical retro appearance which was achieved by manufacturing a special curved sapphire glass crystal which closely mimics the original.

This watch has a heavy stainless steel satin finish case made from Military Grade 316L stainless steel, sweep second hand, hacking function, black dial and Luminova or the markings and hands for first-rate night-time performance.

The entire range of A-11, A-17, and GG-W-113 watches came into being because in January 2009 MWC was approached by a US veterans association who were keen to examine the viability of making a GG-W-113 watch which was identical in appearance to the original watches which were made by Hamilton, Bulova and Benrus during the Vietnam war. After receiving samples of watches to examine and also the original specification sheets the resulting watch was very close to the original and used a high-grade fully jeweled hand-wound movement, this watch was the GG-W-113 which is still made by MWC. As a result of making that watch another order was placed with a view to recreating the A-11 which is an even earlier model, the original A-11 is now virtually impossible to find in good sound condition, this is primarily because most originals were made from 1943 onwards when resources were very limited due to the war and hence cheap metal was used which meant they were not very durable and the wartime alloy watches could not get close to a watch like this model made in solid stainless steel. This 1950s pattern A-17 watch sits between the 1940s A-11 and the 1960s GG-W-113

This model was developed in 2019 to retain the appearance of the original watches but with multiple upgrades such as screw down crown, shatter and scratch resistant sapphire crystal, 100 m water resistance and screw caseback.

SPECIFICATION

• Width Inc Crown: 40 mm
• Width Exc Crown: 38 mm
• Sapphire Crystal*
• Thickness: 11.5 mm
• Weight: 61g
• Lug Size: 20 mm
• Lug to lug is 45mm
• 100 m Water Resistance
• Screw caseback and crown
• 24 jewel, mechanical self-winding automatic movement, with "Hacking"
• 20 mm Canvas Strap

* A lot of people ask us what are the benefits of sapphire crystal over a standard mineral crystal? The answer is that synthetic sapphire is by far the best material for watch crystals because it is very strong and also shatter and scratch-resistant, these characteristics make it very appealing to military and security personnel, police officers and people who lead active outdoor lifestyles, these groups account for over 70% of our customers. To get things into perspective we find that when clients have accidents with watches resulting in a cracked crystal over 90% usually watches with mineral glass crystals, even factoring in that we use hardened mineral crystals they still do not come close to sapphire for durability under adverse conditions. The reason that sapphire crystals are so strong is that after the sapphire glass is manufactured it is also heat-treated to remove its internal stresses—which can cause weakness—it is then made into the watch crystals and two layers of anti-reflective coating are applied, interestingly sapphire crystal is now used on the latest iPhone. Of course, sapphire crystal comes at a price hence you find that it's normally only fitted to higher-end watches.

• Delivery

  • Delivery charges are as follows:

    USA/CANADA	EUROPE	UK	REST OF THE WORLD
    Tracked Mail US$11.50	Tracked Mail €11.75 / £10.25 / US$11.50	Tracked Mail  £9.95	Tracked Mail US$11.50 / €11.75 / £10.25
    Express Courier UPS or FedEx  US$25.00	Express Courier UPS or FedEx  €27.50 / £24.00 / US$27.00	Express Courier  UPS £12.95	Express Courier UPS or FedEx  US$41.50 / €42.50 / £36.50

    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 after 13:00 European time on Fridays.

    The estimated delivery times in working days are set out below: *

    • USA Registered Mail: 4 to 12 days
    • USA UPS: 2 to 3 days
    • Europe UPS: 2 to 5 days
    • Europe Registered Mail: 7 to 14 days
    • UK DPD or UPS: 12 to 48 hours
    • UK Royal Mail: 1 to 3 days
    • Rest of World UPS: 3 to 10 days
    • Rest of World Registered Mail: 7 to 21 days

    All shipping estimates exclude Saturdays and Sundays when our packing and shipping centres are closed and also some countries postal services do not operate at the weekend.
    

    * 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 many 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 processing can also tend to be problematic. Regardless of the processing speed, all of our shipments are fully insured against Loss.

    Please Note: We recommend using UPS, DHL or Fedex, which we offer as an option, if the delivery is very time sensitive and you are aware that your local Postal Service he's not particularly reliable.

    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 to you by late delivery.

    Our delivery charges covers the cost of shipping the goods to you. However, this does not include import charges and administration fees to clear the goods when entering your country. Some countries are hassle free such as here in the US where up to $800 worth of goods can be imported free of duty/taxes, Australia is similar but some countries will try and collect every cent they can.

    It is the responsibility of the purchaser to understand that charges may apply 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.

    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.