The Nite MX-10 isn't really what would be classified as a standard G10 pattern watch but it is a contender and is targeted at the same type of military, law enforcement or government procurement buyers. We have included it because it's a nice watch generally and gives someone an alternative to the standard G10 models. The CWC G10 is a classic, first issued in 1980 and still available, solid and robustly built they have gone through a variety of different case designs as the quartz movement technology evolved. The first pattern ar very collectable and known as the "fat boy" due to the chunky case. The first commercially available quartz watch released to the public was the Seiko Astron in 1969, so why did it take so long for this technically superior movement to make its way to the military?

Pulsar “Gen 1” RAF issue chronograph watch. Unusually for a chronograph the central seconds hand is not a chrono hand but the continuous seconds hand. Although it's a little bigger than my confort area at 40mm, the watch wears great due to the lugs being curved down. Speaking of lugs, you gotta love the attention to detail: you have drilled lugs to easibly change straps. Marathon watches are similar in many ways to the Nite and MWC watches because they use the same tritium GTLS tubes. Marathon like MWC produce a very large range of slightly varying models with slightly different specifications but targeted at infantry and law-enforcement personnel.

Journal

was a significant year for British military watches. For the first time in a quarter of a millennium, a British military issued watch was not powered by a mechanical wind up movement, but an entirely new electronic movement commonly known as Quartz. The specifications for this new type of British military watch were laid out in a Ministry of Defence document published in this year, called “Defence Standard 66-4”, the front cover of which is shown below. With regard to the surplus watches specifically described as “in need of attention” we would not recommend that customers buy them unless they have basic horological skills or access to a friendly watchmaker who will carry out the work needed. The Pulsar brand name was originally used by Hamilton when it announced the release of an LED watch. Their first Pulsar model was released in the early 1970s. We were sent a copy of an official MoD reply to an enquiry in 2014 regarding the current general service issue watch, oddly many people believe this to be a CWC but it doesn't actually appear anywhere on this document nor in documents from 2012 and 2014. The current watch for general service use is a Seiko PXD433 NSN 6645-99-605-2627 and we know that 293 were issued in the 4 years 2012-2016 this freedom of information request was Ref: FOI2016/06648 and can be seen here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/540450/DE_S_FOI_2016_06648___Information_of_British_Armed_Forces_Watches_and_suppliers_in__Annex_A_.pdf Pulsar watches are now a part of the Seiko stable and occupy a position at the most affordable end of their range. There is a focus on Solar and Kinetic models and less on mechanical pieces.

The watch pictured above is by far the closest marathon watch to what we would classify as a G10, the water resistance rating is however significantly less than the other watches shown here at 50 m it also uses a 16 mm strap which seems rather unusual because most at least 18mm and more commonly now 20 mm the watch is available in both automatic and quartz the quartz model can be seen here https://www.marathonwatch.com/collections/general-purpose-quartz-watches/products/stainless-general-purpose-quartz-gpq-us-markings The G10 story is quite interesting, many people are surprised that most serving military personal (referred to in the UK as squaddies) never get issued with a watch contrary to what many people think hence they often buy watches from manufacturers such as CWC, MWC, Nite or Marathon although Casio is also quite popular due to the fact it's virtually indestructible. The reason many serving military buy a watch even if they qualify to have one issued is that whilst they can sometimes draw a watch on a temporary issue and receipt voucher Form G1033 many of them prefer to own their own watch. If a watch needs attention or is described as having a fault and is brand-new we might use library images but for any watch that is not new or not in mint/new condition we will take pictures of the actual watch being offered for sale. Due to the vastly superior accuracy provided by quartz watches, they also met the higher accuracy requirement for pilots and navigators watches, and so were also issued to RAF flight crew. These watches tended to have also have a date window, and were marked “6B” to denote RAF issue, and are usually referred to as “navigators”. This contrasts with earlier years when the RAF were generally issued with watches with much higher quality movements than land forces, due to the greater need for accuracy in air operations, emphasising the technical superiority of quartz. I like this watch because it has some of that history. It's reminiscent of both the Khaki and the British G10. It's built to a template that oozes military charm.

But the comparison is a good one. Pulsar was originally a brand owned by Hamilton. Hamilton is now Swiss-owned and Pulsar is Japanese. This attractive military-style model would be my first choice for a Pulsar solar watch. It's similar to the G10 model that Pulsar supplied to the British army. It's also very affordable. As with most field watches, it's mid-sized and uncomplicated. In keeping with the military aesthetic, the top of the case is brushed to give an understated look.