This Lemania Series 2 Monopusher Chronograph is a classic British military watch. Issued to the Royal Navy, it’s ‘0552’ caseback marking denotes that specifically, it was issued to the Fleet Air Arm Division.
There are a few variations of Lemania chronographs that were issued to the Royal Navy, with the most popular one being the asymmetric cased Series III. While they are the most well known, the example you see is a much rarer, earlier Series II variant that has a symmetric case.
Lemania has a rich history of producing pieces for the military and this Series 2 Monopusher is one of the more iconic ones. Beating inside this watch is the famous column wheel Lemania 15 CHT. Completely gilded with accents of blue steel, it is a very attractive movement and doesn’t take an expert to be able to tell it is pure quality.
At 38mm, the stepped case wears large on the wrist and has a big presence. This was important for the Fleet Air Arm, where legibility was one of the prerequisites and as a result, this Lemania is very wearable even by today's modern sizing standards.
