A very rare Precista 0552 dive watch with "Snakehead" Minute Hand - The Watch that Replaced the Sought After MilSub!

Precista is a British watch brand that was known for producing reliable and durable watches for the British Military, including dive watches during the 20th century. They were originally a brand label for Southern Watch & Clock Supplies Ltd. This watch, the "Snakehead", was only made and issued in the year 1982, as they had a contract to make it for the British Ministry of Defence that year only. The MoD then quickly moved to more cost-effective quartz watches. It is speculated that there were not very many produced, and certainly not many have ever surfaced and sold to the collector market, so very rare indeed!

What's on offer

As the name implies, the "Snakehead" has a snake-head-shaped minute hand; these hands use tritium to glow. The watch also has a black dial under a plexiglass crystal with a black rotatable bezel.

The watch is powered by an automatic 25 jewel ETA 2783 calibre movement and is contained within a stainless steel case with a mechanical crown, the case is connected to a NATO style grey textile strap using fixed lug bars which were the norm with military issued watches, which complements the overall aesthetic of the watch.

On the caseback, it is engraved with 0552/923-7697/|\ 1360/82, the "0552" tells you that it is a British Military Royal Navy Issued watch. "923-7697" tells you that it is a divers' watch. "1360" is the unique serial number of the watch and "82" tells you that it is a 1982 watch, which proves its authenticity as an original 1982 "snakehead" watch. 

The overall condition of the watch is excellent, apart from a few scratches on the glass, but due to it being plexiglass can be removed. There are also some almost insignificant marks and blemishes on the case which don't really affect the quality of the watch, and most would say add character and show that it had a life!