Stocker & Yale Sandy P650 Type 6 Military Watch

Photos and review by H. Seung

This is a new old stock Sandy P650 Type 6 manufactured by a military watch contractor, Stocker and Yale. Some of you may have seen a civilian version of the watch made by Luminox with NAVY SEALS printed on the dial and sold with a cheap looking plastic band. Well, the particular watch I am reviewing here is the actual watch issued throughout the US Armed Forces.

The black watch comes packaged in a recycled white paper box along with what seems like a photo copied instruction sheet. Very utilitarian, I should say, characteristic of most military packages. A 20mm black nylon band was included in the box.

Here's what's written on front of the box:

The other side has a bar code with the following inscription:

From the codes, the watch was manufactured in 1995, which is believed to be the first batch of watches delivered by Stocker and Yale. There was a secondary batch delivered in 1999. Here's a photo of the 1999 issue Sandy P650:

1999 issue is identical to 1995's except for few markings on the box and 1999 stamp on the caseback. Everything else is identical. Here's a photo of the caseback on 1999 issue Sandy P650:

A friend of mine first spotted Sandy P650 worn by a guy who just got out of the Korean Army. He asked him where he got it. The guy replied that the watch was a farewell present from an American officer. Apparently he was stationed at a US military base in Korea because he was fluent in English. That was in late 1995.

Although the watch is described as a navigator's watch, and hence would make it a USAF issue, it was mostly issued to members of the US Army and Navy, specicifically the Rangers, SEALs, and Special Forces. This information comes from various ex-soldiers who were stationed in the US military bases within Korea.

The watch measures approximately 46mm lug to lug, 45mm in width, and 10mm in thickness. It takes a 22mm strap but the black nylon band that was issued with the watch is 20mm wide. The watch is water-resistant, shock-resistant, and is housed in a non-reflecting black nylon alloy case.

Dial has 24 hour markings, H3 and radioative propeller markings. Both the hands, the hour indexes on the dial, and the zero position on the unidirectional bezel are equipped with self luminating tritium vials. A soldier participating in night missions would probably have to cover the watch since the brightness of the tritium vials is simply unparalleled, making him a vulnerable target.

Interestingly, the caseback is made of stainless steel and mounted by four screws. The military specifications and serial numbers inscribed are as follows:

The instruction sheet states that the watch contains a quartz analog movement powered by batter no. 395. Stocker and Yale guarantees the watch for a period of two years from proven date of purchase (except for the battery of course) and can be returned for repair to the place of purchase or to the factory within that period. The guarantee is for normal careful wear and use. I doubt mine would need repair as I do not intend to wear this watch during military exercises.

Additional notes: Luminox/Traser (UK) pays Stocker and Yale a royalty for every case they make.  That was the deal struck that made a commercial version called the "Navy Seals Watch" possible.  Stocker and Yale for its part makes only 500 "surplus" watches yearly.  The rest go to the Government contract.  Those 500 cannot be sold in the USA due to licensing agreements and must be exported. In order to enhance the watch for the civilian market, Luminox added a date, made the bezel a 60 minute timer vs. GMT, and added a tritium vial to the seconds hand.  Of course they added the splashy "Navy Seals" name on the dial and omitted all the ordinance markings - Bob

Hyunsuk's US Military Watches

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