A Beautiful and Enigmatic WW1 Military Issued Buren Housed in a Charming Silver Hunter Style Rolex Case, Hallmarked 1916.

Founded in 1898 in Switzerland, Buren became known for its innovative “micro-rotor” automatic movements and dependable tool watches. During World War II, Buren was one of the select manufacturers commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence to supply wristwatches to military personnel. These watches, often marked “ATP” (Army Trade Pattern), were built for durability, accuracy, and legibility in the field. Then, later during the Second World War, Buren again supplied watches for the war effort, but this time they were marked W.W.W. and are better known to military collectors as part of the "Dirty Dozen" collection. Today, Buren’s military-issued pieces are highly prized for their history and understated craftsmanship, and Buren clearly has a horological thread throughout both conflicts. 

What's on Offer

Whilst this watch is somewhat of an anomaly - it is certainly beautiful! A Buren Dial with original Buren hands and a Buren movement but housed in a signed Rolex front-opening Hunter-style case - gosh, I love it!

Crafted from silver and boasting a gilt dial makes me wonder if this was repurposed historically for a higher ranking officer - I cannot find another like it so it could well be a one-off and rather bespoke! Some possible explanations are:

Rolex (then Wilsdorf & Davis) did not make its own movements in the early 1900s. Instead, it bought movements from other manufacturers (most famously Aegler), and placed them into high-quality cases stamped with Rolex hallmarks.

Buren Watch Company, founded in Switzerland, was also producing high-quality wrist and pocket watch movements at this time. They were known suppliers of movements to various brands and military contracts during WW1 and WW2.

During WW1, the British War Office ordered trench watches from multiple Swiss manufacturers, and in some cases, watches were assembled using available parts:

• A case from Rolex (or Wilsdorf & Davis).

• A movement or dial from another Swiss maker, such as Buren.

• This was especially common when military contracts required rapid fulfilment, and suppliers used mixed components to meet demand.

However this watch came about, it is undeniably charming and a very worthy addition to any military (or vintage) collection.