1940s Rolex with military provenance?

[Tritto]

A friend of mine has been given a box of watches to sell on behalf of an elderly lady. Amongst them is a vintage Rolex that belonged to her husband. The engraving dates it to around 1940 and the owner’s name includes his military rank (Sargent) and possibly a service number (NX60116). Given the date (during the period of WW2) it seems likely the watch was worn in active service.
He’s curious to know where to search for more information, either on the model or to establish whether NX60116 is a service number and which country or branch it may relate to.
No one in the family is interested in the watches and their history but he’d at least like to do his research to help get her a fair price.





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[77T]

Only the family might know his branch of service - clearly not Naval but could have been a home guard vs. an Army unit that served in a theater of war.

Without the military service records the provenance would be speculation.

In American ranks, certain achievements were recognized by an award watch. That may be so for the Australian forces as well.

The vintage Rolex history will be easier methinks.


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[Tritto]

Oh, to be clear, I was thinking that it was likely to be a personal watch (not issued) which he had chosen to engrave with his service number (if that's what it is) to ensure it got back to him if lost.


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[Dan S]

I don’t think that information will affect value. It’s just a personal engraving and most people don’t like them unless it’s a famous person.

[CTech]

The NX60116 number is an Australian Army service number where the N denotes New South Wales as the geographical enlistment area and the X denotes the enlistee was a member of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force.

Military records for that service number and name should be available from the National Archives of Australia.

The watch seems to be consistent with a manufacturing period from 1938 to the early 1940s so it all fits together with the 1940 inscription date.

There is very little interest in watches from this period and so the prices are relatively low. As Dan has said, the inscription isn't of any real value to anybody outside the family of the original owner.

[Ferrari308]

Originally Posted by CTech

The NX60116 number is an Australian Army service number where the N denotes New South Wales as the geographical enlistment area and the X denotes the enlistee was a member of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force.

Military records for that service number and name should be available from the National Archives of Australia.

The watch seems to be consistent with a manufacturing period from 1938 to the early 1940s so it all fits together with the 1940 inscription date.

There is very little interest in watches from this period and so the prices are relatively low. As Dan has said, the inscription isn't of any real value to anybody outside the family of the original owner.

Wow, what a brilliant and insightful answer. I had no idea how to answer this, but you are a perfect example of the depth of knowledge available on this forum.


PDG

[Tritto]

Originally Posted by CTech

The NX60116 number is an Australian Army service number where the N denotes New South Wales as the geographical enlistment area and the X denotes the enlistee was a member of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force.

Military records for that service number and name should be available from the National Archives of Australia.

The watch seems to be consistent with a manufacturing period from 1938 to the early 1940s so it all fits together with the 1940 inscription date.

There is very little interest in watches from this period and so the prices are relatively low. As Dan has said, the inscription isn't of any real value to anybody outside the family of the original owner.

Thank you @CTech. That’s brilliant. My mate is a watch nerd like the rest of us and the story is often as interesting as the watch.


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