Why This Watch Matters From the collection of Grahame Fowler – Lemania avoids the use of luminous material to be used onboard a Royal Navy nuclear submarine. The Full Story This Lemania Single Button Chronograph with a "non-lume" dial for use upon a Royal Navy nuclear submarine is a part of the Grahame Fowler collection. Among the most desirable and collectible vintage military chronographs, the Lemania we have here boasts a unique set of features due to the application it was built for and used in. Onboard Royal Navy nuclear submarines, radiation levels required constant monitoring. As a result, issued watches of the service members on the subs needed a specific design with no luminous material on the dial or hands. While safety is always a concern, the lack of lume was more so as not to affect the reading of the onboard radiation monitoring equipment. Lemania provided the United Kingdom's military with numerous single button chronographs over the years, none more desirable than this one with only 450 or so believed to have been produced. Over the course of the design, Lemania shaped the case to be asymmetrical in order to protect that ever-important single pusher. Without lume, the resulting design places a premium on legibility at every turn with a white dial that is particularly useful in the confines of a submarine and black painted hands, text, and indices. Besides the function aspect, this watch has a killer look you don't see too often. We paired this Lemania with our UTE Nato Style watch strap in black to stick with the stark contrasting theme. The Fine Print Maker: LemaniaModel: Single Button Nuclear Submarine ChronographReference: 0552/924-3312Year: Circa 1964Case No: 81201Movement No: 1574991Material: Stainless steelDimensions: 40mm diameter; 13mm thicknessCrystal: PlexiglassLume: NoneCaliber: Lemania, manually-wound, caliber 2220Bracelet/Strap: HODINKEE UTE Nylon Watch Strap in BlackLug Width: 20mmBox/Papers: No What We Love And What You Should Know Things We Love: - Non-lume white dial- Asymmetrical case- Single button chronograph function Things To Know: - Scratches on case- Register hands appear to be replacements The Lemania chronograph is overall a very nice, honest vintage condition. The case is strong with scratches and light nicks. The case also has some marks on the three o'clock side. The case has been previously polished. The caseback has some scratches and is crisply stamped with the military serial number "0552/924-3312 81201" a the MoD broad arrow. The back of the lugs have some scratches and marks. The dial is in great condition with a patina to the surface. The dial has a couple marks and scratches, but due to the nature of the stark white dial - this can be hard to notice.The "M" in Lemania has a small black mark towards the inner left side. The painted black hands have developed patina. Both sub registers on the dial have some wear and a slight drag mark around the edges. These small register hands are probably replacements, which was common because these issued watches routinely went in for service and would have necessary parts changed as needed. The hands all have developed patina and the base of the minutes has slight paint loss around the edges. The inside caseback is marked "35-64." The watch has retained its correct unsigned crown. The crystal has some scratches. The dial, case, and movement are signed by Lemania. This watch was photographed on a 175mm/6.9inch wrist.
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