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Lemania boasts a rich history, providing Timepieces for the British Armed Forces, amongst other militaries around the World. These Lemania single pusher chronographs were issued to the Pilots of the RAF and Seamen of the Royal Navy and were produced for around 20 years, from the 50s to the early 70s, and in low quantities, they are now much sought after, however this particular guy is something extra special. Why? because it was sent to the bottom of the Ocean on a Royal Navy Nuclear Submarine.
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As mentioned above, this Lemania was issued to the Royal Navy, for use on the nuclear submarines. Onboard these Royal Navy nuclear submarines, radiation levels required constant monitoring, for this reason the dial and handset features no luminous compound, which would have been radium based and so could have interfered with the radiation sensors on-board. The results of this non-luminous design are striking and 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, arabic numerals and not forgetting the "fat arrow".
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These Nuclear Submarine Lemania's were produced in incredibly low numbers, with reports of around 450 pieces produced of the rare but more common Lemania Asymmetrical Series III. The Series II was produced in very small numbers (probably 200 max!) during a very short span before the Navy moved on to the Asymmetrical Series III. It is no surprise that these Subs are among the most desirable and collectible vintage military chronographs
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View this Nuclear Submariner in a video: here
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The Specs
Age: c.1962.
Movement: Manual Wind with 30 min Chronograph and Sub Seconds.
Calibre: 2220.
Service History: Full Service by John Senior March 2022.
Dial: Original Lemania Non Luminous Dial.
Crystal: Original Crystal.
Getting Acquainted
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Bits that stand out:
- It's been to the bottom of the sea on a nuclear submarine!!
Nitty Gritty:
Overall this Sub is in excellent condition.