A good ol’ fashioned military watch is one thing. A double-signed military watch is quite another, altogether!
Feast your eyes on the Gallet ‘Navigator’ watch. Issued to Canadian and U.S. service members in the late 1980s and early 1990s, these tough, mil-spec timepieces pick up the story of the asymmetric Benrus Type I and Type II watches from the 1970s. A joint venture between Gallet and Marathon Watch Company, they feature the best of both dive and field watch attributes.
However, this is a special Navigator. Much in the way that Marathon field watches were later retailed via American outdoor companies such as Orvis and others, this particular Navigator from the 1990s was similarly sold by L.L. Bean, whose signature graces its dial. It features a 42mm, brushed stainless steel asymmetrical case with an acrylic crystal, fixed spring bars, a stainless steel bezel with a 12-hour insert, a battery hatch, and a screw-down crown, it features a matte black "L.L. Bean" signed dial with applied Tritium gas tubes, a matching syringe handset, and a robust quartz movement powering it within.
Though modern, plastic Marathon Navigator watches provide a welcome mil-spec timepiece at just a few hundred dollars, these tougher, stainless steel versions provide a historical link to watches used in Vietnam and the Gulf War. Add in a dial signed by one of the country’s most beloved outdoor retailers, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for one hell of a mil-watch.
Don’t let this one slip through your fingers!