CWC are one of the main suppliers of genuine British military watches and are awarded contracts based on quality, reliability and durability. However there are many unscrupulous companies who are passing off other brands as genuine military issue, passing off old CWC stock for new unissued watches, or selling copies. This help guide will make sure you only buy genuine brand new CWC watches.

For discussions on all topics relating to genuine military watches, please see an excellent genuine forum, at BroadArrow.net. We are sure you will find answers to many questions relating to the issues listed below.


Imitations and copies.
Cabot Watch Company is ISO 9000:2001 registered, which is a quality assurance required of all suppliers to H.M. government. Any company without this cannot supply watches to the government.
Counterfeit brands make claims that the acrylic glass that CWC G10 and GS 2000 watches use is inferior, but this remains a government requirement. G10 and GS 2000 watches with other types of glass are not genuine and are not superior, except for the Pulsar G10, which did not use acrylic glass but was subsequently discontinued for reasons unknown. All CWC divers watches use mineral glass as specified by the MOD.
Counterfeit brands make claims that the 'C' on the back of the GS 2000 is for 'civilian' when it actually denotes 'Cabot' and is issued.
Counterfeit brands make claims that the battery hatch has been discarded by CWC. The battery hatch is a requirement by the MOD for the CWC General Service G10; it was not specified by the RAF for the GS 2000. To state that CWC have dropped the battery hatch is incorrect as we still make thousands of these watches with the battery hatch for the government.
Counterfeit brands claim their watches are genuine issue. The distinct lack of ex-military surplus watches of other brands is an obvious sign that they are not genuine.
Counterfeit brands will do everything to confuse and mislead, including biased reviews and links. They will use fictitious overseas contact details and can only be reached by e-mail. CWC supply only from the UK and can be contacted at any time.

Fake CWC watches can be identified by their inferior build quality. This one, for example, has a winder that is not flush with the watch due to being too large to fit into the gap:


On the back of the watch, the engraved numbers are false. The two numbers at the end of the first line denote the NATO country. UK is 99; 86 is not recognised:


Removing the battery hatch to change the battery reveals no battery. The hatch has been put on in the wrong position, making the battery inaccessible:


This is another example of a fake CWC watch. The engraved numbers on the back are again incorrect, but also notice that it has no battery hatch; all genuine tritium watches (denoted by the 'T' on the face) have the battery hatch on the back. Don't be fooled by the CWC logo on this one, it is a poorly made fake.




Old stock. Beware of any old stock being passed off as new unissued CWCs, as these are nearly 18 years old and not current issue. The dials are faded and the cases show signs of being stored incorrectly for many years. The only way to obtain a brand new CWC watch is to buy from Silvermans ltd., as they are the sole retailer.
Any surplus military CWC watch can have its age identified by the last two numbers at the bottom, which refer to the date of manufacture. The watch below is from 1989, so it is not brand new and certainly not current issue.