Smiths Watch

I've come across an interesting "Smiths" watch that I think might have been intended as a dashboard clock. It is like a pocket watch, but with the crown located under the "6", and with a strong magnet on the back. It also came with a metal disk which fits over the magnet on the back and which looks as though it had adhesive on it at one time. The crown is spring loaded, and the time is set by pushing it in rather than pulling it out. It has a black dial with the "Smiths" name under the "12 and "Made in Britain" in fine print under the "6".

My theory is that this might have been intended as an aftermarket dashboard clock from the days when many cars didn't come with clocks as standard. The magnet could have been used to hold the watch directly to a metal dashboard, and the metal disk could have been glued to a wood dashboard to provide a place to stick the watch.

Has anybody run into a watch like this? Does anyone know how old this thing might be, or if it was in fact intended for automotive use? I figure it might be a cool "period accessory" for my 'B...

Way back in the day, cars had detachable clocks like this one.

You may be able to date is with some of the info here: http://www.smiths-clocks.co.uk/sm-quick%20guide.htm

The page above came from this site I Googled last year: http://www.smiths-clocks.co.uk/index.htm

Not Smiths, but I always thought these were kind of cool.

http://www.formotionproducts.com/AutoMarine1.htm

That is basically exactly what I want. Where can the rest of us get one?? =)

I would check to see if that is radioactive! No, I am not joking!

I think the position of the crown and the magnet show your suspicion to be correct. here's a link that shows Smiths and other brands that are reasonably similar to what you hae: http://www.cjbalm.com/auto-aero/m-sold-timepieces.htm

Another good option for the budget minded can be found at clock maker sites, such as Klock-Kit:

http://www.klockit.com/products/dept-27__sku-OOOOO.html

They have tons of styles, in various sizes. Most run around $6 - $10, and they do have some miniature weather gauges too!

Good company to deal with

Limey Wrote:

I am thinking about getting a chrome bezel one from Klockit and mounting it where my defrost switch is. Paul

Thanks for all the replies!

While the dial looks as though it was luminescent at one point, it no longer self illuminates so I doubt it is still very radioactive - unfortunately I don't have access to a geiger counter to check it...

I was surprised to see how old some of the similar clocks were, I don't think this one is that old but I don't have any good way to date it. The Smiths Clock pages are interesting, and might help me to date the clock if I ever pry the back off it.

So far the clock seems to run fine, but it loses a few minutes per day. It would be pretty easy to live with this, I could simply set it (using a GPS or Mobile Phone ;)) before each trip.