5016 x 3252 px | 42,5 x 27,5 cm | 16,7 x 10,8 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
28 luglio 2022
Ubicazione:
Bishops Cleave, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Altre informazioni:
Smiths experienced a varied career as a watchmaker. The first watches were produced in a factory built in Cheltenham, built at the start of the Second World War for aircraft instrumentation. This factory produced the highest grade of Smiths watches, these are the ones which typically are more collectable. These include the Smiths De Luxe, Imperial, English Imperial, Everest, Astral and W10. Previously Smiths and the Ingersoll Watch Company founded the Anglo-Celtic Watch Co Ltd in 1946, producing watches in Wales up until 1980. This joint venture became one of the largest producers of watches in Europe. The same factory produced the cheaper Smiths Empire watches. These watches are quite common and can be purchased for under £20. These are the lowest quality watches produced by Smiths and for amateur watch repairers are great watches to practice with due to the surplus of watches available. The dials of these watches are often marked with Made In Gt. Britain. The Astral range was introduced in 1959, using a 17-jewel centre second movement. In 1964 the slimline movement was used in the Astral manufactured up until 1970. The most common variants of the Slimline movement are the 60466E or the 60465E.
