This is a very rare Royal Navy issued single-button Lemania chronograph, what makes this especially rare is the HS9A designation - these were produced for a short time in the early 1960s and they are identified by the asymmetric case and the white dial. These watches were supplied by the Navy to pilots and navigators from the late 1940s until the early 1960s. The HS9A watches were issued in a very small batch (possibly just a few hundred pieces) of which only a handful are known to have survived. The single button operates the chronograph (stop-watch function) - the button in turn starts, stops and resets the chronograph. There is an elapsed minute counter, which allows for timing intervals up to 30 minutes.The condition of both the dial and movement is very good, the dial has been poorly handled at some point (not uncommon for with military issue pieces). The size at 40mm is large for a 1960s watch, but well suited to contemporary tastes. The case is all stainless steel and is in very good order - a few marks from wear but overall very tidy. The caseback has suffered some scratching from the use of the wrong tool to open it, although the issue marks are still very clear. As with all our vintage watches the case has been ultrasonically cleaned, but not polished.The markings on the inside of the case show the production batch (35) and the year of production 64 (i.e. 1964). The caseback has the original military markings: HS /|\ 9A stands for Hydrographic Service, so for Naval issue the /|\ is called the broad arrow or pheon and denotes crown property, 9A is the stores code for a chronograph wristwatch, white dial with asymmetric case. Lemania supplied many different armed forces around the world - their movements are very solidly constructed and keep excellent time, making them a good fit for a rugged life in the services. Lemania are something of a cult brand - no longer in existence today, but much cherished by aficionados. The company specialised in the production of chronographs (that is watches with a stop-watch function built in). Chronographs are inherently complicated things to manufacture and for this reason many watch companies brought-in movements from specialists like Lemania. They supplied amongst others Omega (the movement that powered the first watch on the moon was made by Lemania), and luxury brands Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe. Because Lemania often supplied movements to other brands (for which they were uncredited), watches which are signed by Lemania are especially prized.The watch has been fully serviced and regulated, the chronograph functions perfectly and the time keeping is of the highest order. It is supplied with a NATO fabric strap or we can fit another type of strap upon buyer’s request (the lugs use spring bars, I’m not sure if they’ve been modified from fixed which is more common for military watches). This is a great watch for everyday use and a certain conversation starter!Case diameter (excluding winding crown): 40mmCase material: stainless steelstrap width: 20mmtime keeping: grade A+
