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Vintage Smiths Astral Diver - A Rare English Made Diving Watch from the 1960s - Caliber 60467e

Starting in London as Samuel Smith in 1851, progressing down the years to becoming S. Smith & Sons (Motor Accessories), receiving its first Royal Warrant in 1907 then becoming S. Smith & Sons (England) Ltd, which split into Smiths Motor Accessories Ltd, Smiths Aircraft Instruments Ltd, Smiths English Clocks Ltd, and Smiths Industrial Instruments Ltd. The factory in Cheltenham that eventually manufactured the high-quality timepieces featured here was built at the start of the Second World War. By the end of the Second World War, The Smiths Group comprised over 20 companies.

By the 1960s and the boom in popularity of dive watches, Smiths began to produce the Astral Dive watch. The case is very similar to many skin diver watches of the period due to the huge demand for such watches, manufacturers were able to produce large numbers of the same or similar cases to ship to a number of brands to mark their design within said cases. The dial is gloss black with oversized 6 and 12 indices, luminous dots, and outer minutes track. Another signature dive watch feature on the Smiths Astral is the crown. Big crown dive watches have gained quite the following and often command a premium as in the early days of dive watches, crown guards were uncommon.

What's on offer

Made in England, this Smiths diver benefits from the in-house, caliber 60467e with 17 jewels and still remains reliable after many enjoyable years on the wrist. The lume plots are intact as are the oversized Arabic numerals and the minute markers remain crisp along with the Smiths signature, the dial being very legible as you would expect from any tool watch! The date window at 3 o'clock gives a real contemporary aesthetic whilst the striking hands cement a truly exciting dive watch to both own and enjoy. This watch is a stunning example, running extremely well having recently been serviced by the watchmaker, John Senior. Considering its age the case size is also great at almost 38mm, so it wears more like a contempory piece. The popularity of dive watches is as strong as ever and the present watch provides a great opportunity to own a piece of English craftsmanship that will continue to stand the test of time and they continue to rise in price too!!

Additional information

Made from

Case: Stainless Steel

Dial: Black

Crystal: Plexiglass

Bracelet: NATO Style

Technical specifications

Winding: Manual

Movement type: Mechanical

Calibre: C60474E

Jewels: 17

Waterproof: 200 metres when new

Power reserve:

Purchase details

Condition: Excellent 9/10

Model Reference Number: Astral Diver

Date of issue: c.1960s

Guarantee: 12 months by VWS

Dimensions

Width: 37.5mm

Lug width: 19mm

Lug height: (lug to lug) 47mm

Wrist size: Adjustable