Smiths for Benson, Everest pattern

Name: Smiths for Benson, Everest pattern
Brand: VAT FREE
Price: 1,250.00 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

£ 1,250

This is an extremely rare Smiths watch which was retailed by the famous London jeweller J W Benson. What is particularly notable about this watch is that the design matches that used on the famous Edmund Hillary - Tenzing Norgay ascent of Everest in 1953. Edmund Hillary's original watch is part of the Worshipful Company of Clockmaker's collection and is on display in the Science Museum in London. The watch has a Dennison made Aquatite case, the body is chrome plated with some very small chips, the stainless steel back is in good order. The original dial is in fair condition - the varnish has started to discolour but the overall impression is still very handsome.

The movement has been fully serviced and the timekeeping is excellent. The case has been brushed clean, but as with all out vintage watches we have left it unpolished. The crystal has been replaced and the watch has a new pigskin strap. The watch comes with our standard 12 month guarantee.

A rare chance to acquire one of the iconic Smiths pieces, these really don't come on the market very often. There's a lot of excellent material about the watches the expedition used online, this forum post is a good place to start to learn about this fascinating moment in Smiths history:

NB you will need to register for a free account on the Military Watch Forum to view the above post

Case diameter: 33mm
Case material: chrome plated body and stainless steel back
Strap width: 18mm
time keeping: grade A

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Shipping guide for straps (unless purchased with a watch):

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Shipping guide for t-shirts:

All t-shirts on our website are now printed and shipped by an external supplier inside the UK. This means that if you place an order for both a watch and a t-shirt, they will be shipped separately.

Our supplier uses a Royal Mail tracked service for all shipments and this usually takes a little longer than our watches. You can see an estimated timescale when you input your address at the checkout.

Please note, during busy sale periods dispatch may take a little longer (this is quite rare). These delivery times are a guide based on the carriers terms of service, products may, in some unusual cases take longer to arrive. If this happens, please get in touch.