Top 10 most iconic military watches of all time: Rolex, Zenith, Seiko Captain Willard, Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Omega, IWX Mark X, Hamilton, Longines, Panerai Radiomir, Lange & Söhne

Top 10 iconic military watches of all time

1. Rolex MilSub (Submariner Ref. 5513/5517)

• Country: Great Britain (Royal Navy, 1970s)
• Special feature: Standard Submariner with military modifications – permanently soldered spring bars, “Sword Hands”, engraved “T” marking for tritium.
• Status: Extremely rare; considered the benchmark for military diving watches.

2. Omega “Dirty Dozen” (WWW)

• Country: Great Britain (WW II)
• Special feature: One of twelve brands that supplied precision hand-wound watches (Wrist. Watch. Waterproof) to the British War Office in 1944.
• Design features: Black matte dials, Arabic numerals, small seconds, broad arrow.
• Iconic because: A total of 12 models (including Omega, IWC, Longines, Record) – the first systematically specified service watches.

3. Panerai Radiomir (Ref. 3646)

• Country: Italy / for the Navy (1940s)
• Special feature: Built by Rolex for Panerai; hand-painted Radiomir luminous dial, 47 mm case.
• Iconic because: First true military diver's watch – design almost unchanged to this day.

4. IWC Mark XI

• Country: Great Britain (RAF)
• Year of construction: 1948 onwards.
• Special feature: Chronometer-tested, anti-magnetic movement (Cal. 89), soft iron inner case.
• Iconic because: the original father of the modern pilot's watch – the design lives on in the IWC Mark XX.

5. Longines HS10 / Weems / Lindbergh

• Country: Great Britain (Marine Services) & USA
• Year of construction: 1930s–45
• Special feature: Rotatable seconds or time reference scales, designed for navigation and radio alignment.
• Iconic because: the basis of many navigation and observation watches.

6. Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (Milspec)

• Country: France / NATO naval forces (1950s)
• Special feature: Designed by combat divers (including Lieutenant Mallet), waterproof to > 90 meters, Luminova signal indicator.
• Iconic because: First professional diver's watch in the modern sense (1953 – before the Submariner).

7. Seiko Diver Ref. 6105 “Captain Willard”

• Country: Japan / Vietnam War (1960s – 70s)
• Special features: extremely robust, 150 m water resistance, characteristic crown protection.
• Iconic because: standard watch for many US soldiers in Vietnam, immortalized in pop culture in Apocalypse Now .

8. Hamilton GG‑W‑113 / MIL‑W‑46374

• Country: USA (Vietnam & Cold War)
• Special feature: Robust, hand-wound field watches according to US military specs, plastic or steel case.
• Iconic because: It defines the classic field watch design – versatile, absolutely functional.

9. A. Lange & Söhne Observation Watch (B-Uhr)

• Country: Germany (Air Force WWII)
• Type: Navigation and pilot's watch (55 mm)
• Special features: central seconds hand, ratchet winding mechanism, conical hands, luminous numerals, reference for all “Big Pilot” designs.
• Iconic because: precision & readability – still reproduced today by Laco, Stowa, etc.

10th Marathon GSAR (“General Purpose Search and Rescue”)

• Country: Canada / USA (modern, from the 1980s to the present)
• Special feature: Official NATO specification, tritium tubes, extremely durable.
• Iconic because: One of the last true “issued” military watches – wearable and still in active service today.

🧩 Bonus – Honorable Mentions

• CWC G10 & Royal Navy Diver (UK, 1970 – present)
• Tudor MilSub (US Navy)
• Bulova MIL‑W‑3818A & Accutron Astronaut (US Air Force era)
• Breguet Type XX (Armée de l'Air)

🧭 In summary