The 1918 U.S. Army MIL SPEC Waterproof Wristwatches Created by Charles Depollier
March 10, 2025
by Stan Czubernat
Exciting news in the world of Depollier, the world's first waterproof wristwatch! A 3rd Depollier "Field & Marine"
Waterproof Wristwatch case back disk has been discovered! As many of you already know Depollier put case back
disks on his Field & Marine Waterproof wristwatches, that featured a screw down crown. Within these disks were a
mounting bracket, an asbestos heat insulating disk and the outer disk that was either 14k solid gold or sterling
silver. The civilian versions featured 14k disks with the 5 horological technology patent date stamps that made the
waterproof wristwatch possible. The highly coveted military versions featured a sterling silver case back disk with
a "USA" stamp (United States Army) with the watch case serial number. The United States War Department, today
the Department of Defense, purchased 10,000 waterproof wristwatches from Charles Depollier on December 4, 1918.
The contract number between Depollier (the Dubois Watch Case Company) and the War Department was 160615.
However, there is in FACT a 3rd and final Depollier case back disk and it has finally been discovered!
On page 91 of my book "The Inconvenient Truth about the World's First Waterproof Watch, the Story of Charles Depollier
and his Waterproof Trench Watches of the Great War" I published a U.S. Army document dated November 7, 1918 that
I found in the National Archives in Washington D.C..
In this document written by U.S Army Signal Corps Major R.A. Klock he writes: "In applying these cases to movements now in production it is proposed that the movements be supplied to the maker of the case (Depollier) who will install them and will mark the serial number of the movement on the exterior of the case". Now, during the latter part of 1918 the U.S. Army Engineering & Research Division, lead by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Mauborgne, was requesting rapid fire changes to the final design of Depollier's "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch to suit their needs. Changes were being made weekly to the design at one point. So, during this period some waterproof wristwatch cases were made differently than the final mass production models that many of you are familiar with. The U.S. Army had spare size 3/0s movements that they had already purchased from Waltham, Elgin and Illinois so it is 100% correct to see these movements inside a Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch case.
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I am very delighted to report that one of the watches Major Klock wrote about has been discovered! The serial
number of the Elgin movement, 21241728, has been stamped onto the case back disk of the U.S. Army version of the
Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch. It is EXACTLY as described in the world's first waterproof wristwatch
MIL SPEC from 1918! The Assistant Secretary of War, Director of Munitions, Mr. Benedict Crowell, published a report
named "America's Munitions 1917-1918. On page 579 of this official United States government report Mr. Crowell wrote
"A waterproof case was adopted, bearing the serial number of the movement on the outside, the case being so
constructed as to require a "special tool" to gain access to the movement. He is in fact describing the 1918 Depollier
"Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch case. There was no other wristwatch case in the world in 1918 that required a
special tool, a case key, to open and close the threaded bezel and threaded case back other than the 1918 Depollier
"Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch case. Amazing! The disk is made of brass, which in itself is an oddity as they
were usually silver. But, as I said before they were making rapid fire changes to the final design and features of the watch
case leading up to signing the purchase contract on December 4, 1918.
In the 1919 report written by Two Star Major General George Owen Squire, Chief Signal Officer of the United States
Army, to Newton D. Baker, the United States Secretary of War titled "Report of the Chief Signal Officer to the Secretary
of War" groundbreaking waterproof wristwatch technology is discussed on page 242. It states "After Examining many designs the engineers of this section finally adopted a design of waterproof case in which a watch could actually run
for several weeks under water. The bezel in this case is tightly screwed against an oil-filled washer, thus making an impervious seal. The pendant is provided with a locking cap which seals all openings at this point. Many thousands of these cases were ordered". The above documents absolutely destroy Rolex and their false claim of being the world's first waterproof wristwatch in 1927! Even further evidence is found in the sworn court testimony transcript that was contested in federal court, Southern District of New York in 1919. The transcript gives an incredibly detailed account of how Charles Depollier developed the waterproof wristwatch working with the United States Army Engineering & Research Division in 1918. The complete transcript can be read in my book "The Inconvenient Truth about the World's First Waterproof Watch, the Story of Charles Depollier and his Waterproof Trench Watches of the Great War".
Pictured above is the 1919 Elgin Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch. This watch is exactly as described in the U.S. Army documents written by Major R.A. Klock and by the Assistant Secretary of War Mr. Benedict Crowell. The serial number of the Elgin movement is stamped onto the case back disk. This is the ONLY numbers matching Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch currently known. There are 6 date stamps on this timepiece. 5 on the inside of
the case back for the 5 patent dates that made Depollier's waterproof wristwatch possible. There is also a date stamp of
"6 - 18" underneath the black Elgin military dial for June of 1918.
Charles Depollier made the military versions of his "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch cases in nickel, this was
at the request of the United States Army, the original beta test versions were sterling silver. The standard civilian
versions of the "Field & Marine" were also made of nickel. But, Depollier also made a high end civilian version of his
waterproof wristwatch case, also featuring a screw down crown, it was named the "Thermo" Waterproof Wristwatch, pictured below. The "Thermo" was advertised as being available in .800 silver and solid gold. Only one .800 silver
Thermo Waterproof Wristwatch has been found so far, case serial number 289. A solid gold "Thermo" Waterproof
Wristwatch has not yet been discovered. But when one finally does surface expect it to be in the record setting price
range for an American made wristwatch.
Above are the Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatches that featured screw down crowns. Charles Depollier installed Illinois, Elgin and Waltham movements into his waterproof wristwatch cases at the request of the United States Army. As per purchase contract 160615.
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Above are just two of the many advertisements for the late 1918 model design of the Waltham Depollier
"Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatches, featuring screw down crowns.
Above is an incredible photograph of five Depollier Waterproof Wristwatches, with screw down crowns.
Top left, the only known Thermo Waterproof Wristwatch. Top right, Waltham Depollier Field & Marine missing case back disk. Center, the only known numbers matching Field & Marine that has the movement serial number stamped onto the case back , as per the 1918 MIL SPEC documents. Bottom left, U.S. Army issued Elgin Field & Marine featuring a sterling silver case back disk #1106. Bottom right, the civilian version of the Waltham Field & Marine featuring a 14k solid gold case back disk #1950.
Now that this extremely rare 1919 Elgin Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch has been found, documented and authenticated it's nothing but further shame and humiliation for Rolex and their founder's legacy, Hans Wilsdorf. On November 24, 1927 Wilsdorf claimed "The Greatest Triumph in Watchmaking", on the front cover of London's Daily Mail newspaper when Mercedes Gleitze failed in her attempt to swim across the English Channel. Later, he would add "The Official Birthday Announcement" of the waterproof wristwatch to this November 24, 1927 advertisement. Sorry Rolex but Charles Depollier and the U.S. Army Engineer & Research Division BEAT you to the waterproof wristwatch, that featured a screw down crown, by 3,277 days! Almost 9 full years! Depollier's waterproof wristwatch was independently tested by the United States government before Hans Wilsdorf even moved Rolex from England to Switzerland in 1919!
Depollier's watch passed the 500 hour water submersion tests with flying colors in late 1918. If I remember
correctly didn't the Rolex Oyster Submariner 6538 FAIL the official U.S. Navy waterproof testing in July of 1958?
Funny because 40 YEARS EARLIER Charles Depollier didn't have that problem!
Yeah, I bet you'd like for everybody to forget about that one Rolex!
By the way, the Blancpain and the Enicar PASSED the U.S. Navy tests that Rolex failed in this 1958 report. OUCH!
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Numerous major horological journalism entities in the past 6 months have now credited Charles Depollier
for the invention of the waterproof wristwatch, they include articles published by the New York Times, Perezcope, Hodinkee and Time & Tide. The official Rolex Wikipedia page now credits Charles Depollier for this incredible horological innovation instead of Rolex, even sighting my Depollier book as reference. Rolex, you tried to steal American history for yourself, you tried to erase Charles Depollier's accomplishments, you copied Depollier's ingenious advertising, you tried to falsely claim horological innovation upon numerous occasions. And, you have insulted the groundbreaking work of several high ranking United States Army officers by disavowing the creation of the world's first waterproof wristwatch MIL SPEC in 1918. These U.S. Army officers were men of honor, something you knew very little about Mr. Wilsdorf.
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Rolex built their entire Oyster waterproof wristwatch platform upon the fabrication of being the world's first waterproof wristwatch. Rolex, you were well aware of Depollier's successful waterproof wristwatch accomplishment, you mentioned technology that can ONLY be found on the Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch case within your own Oyster advertising in the early 1930s. No other wristwatch ever manufactured featured a heat insulating asbestos case back disk.
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Above, it seems that Rolex is attempting to falsely take credit for inventing case key technology in 1926. They claim
to have invented a "special tool" to gain access to the waterproof wristwatch case movement. Well isn't that odd?
Because the term "special tool" was the EXACT term used by Mr. Benedict Crowell, the United States Assistant
Secretary of War, in his report titled "America's Munitions 1917 - 1918" when describing Charles Depollier's 1918
"Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch case. Charles Depollier developed case key technology eight years before Rolex. Date stamped official United States government documents slam dunked Rolex on this one!
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Above, are two Waltham Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch advertisements that were published in
1919 & 1920. These advertisements tell the story of two incredibly brave American pilots that set new altitude world
records whilst wearing the Waltham Depollier "Field & marine Waterproof Wristwatches. Daredevil test pilot Roland Rohlfs set a world record on September 19, 1919 of 34,610 feet. Major Rudolph Schroeder of the U.S. Army beat Roland Rohlfs' world record on February 26, 1920 when he flew up to 36,130 feet. General Pershing of the U.S. Army pictured above with Major Schroeder congratulated him after his death defying feat of American air superiority. In 1922, years later, Rolex launched the completely antiquated "Submarine" wristwatch. This was a Gruen case where you had to un-screw the outer case to get to the inner case so you could wind the watch and set the time. The 1922 Rolex "Submarine" did NOT have a screw down crown. It was a timepiece that was YEARS behind when it comes to horological technology. But, Rolex still wants you to believe that they invented the world's first waterproof wristwatch in 1927? It's laughable! As of March 11, 2025 the Rolex webpage states that they created the "first" waterproof wristwatch AND that they gave "birth" to the wristwatch testimony concept in 1927. That's rather odd because in the above advertisements there are two American pilots literally giving testimonials about the Waltham Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch after setting aviation world records in 1919 & 1920, at least 7 years earlier then the Rolex claim!
From left to right. Pictured above are Charles Depollier who invented the world's first waterproof wristwatch featuring a screw down crown, Major R.A. Clock of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Division and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Mauborgne who was the commanding officer of the U.S. Army Engineering & Research Division. These are the American gentlemen that are responsible for making the 1918 Depollier "Field & Marine" Waterproof Wristwatch available for military and
civilian use. Rolex and their founder Hans Wilsdorf had nothing to do with it whatsoever.
It's time for Rolex to come clean and issue a formal posthumous public apology to Charles Depollier for 98 years of of
theft, lies and deception. It's okay, you can come out and say it because everybody already knows. Charles Depollier,
Major R.A. Klock and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Mauborgne are the true heroes when it comes to the origins of the
waterproof wristwatch saga. Charles Depollier, who was a Swiss immigrant, worked closely with the United States Army
Engineering & Research Division to give America an advantage on the field of battle, ensuring our freedoms. Thank
you Mr. Depollier, the truth of the matter, your contributions to horology and American military superiority will never been
forgotten, no matter how hard Rolex tries! Rolex is without a doubt the most valuable watch brand in the world, but they
are morally bankrupt for attempted theft of horological history. Rolex CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour should publicly revise his statement that was published in Rolex magazine, issue #10. The very first sentence in his statement on page 3 is simply not how history actually happened. If your position is that strong Mr. Dufour perhaps you'd like to publicly debate me on this topic? I'm sure there would be great interest in such an event.