1957 Lemania Tg 195 Swedish Military

Besides being a very handsome and well-executed military watch, this particular model by Lemania features a distinctive control: the button above the crown is depressed and immediately the movement stops, the seconds-hand is rotated back to 12 o'clock (flyback function), and the crown is extended for the setting of the watch. While many military watches will stop the hands when the crown is pulled (hacking), the flyback creates the optimum condition to set an exact time or to synchronize several watches precisely. In the 1950’s, Lemania began producing timer watches such as the Tg 195 for the Swedish Military bomb squad. These watches featured a pusher at the 2 o’clock position on the case above the crown, and when pushed the crown extends t and the seconds hand would jump to 12 o’clock. In this position, the wearer could set the time and when the crown is pushed in the second's hand begins to run to synchronize a number of watches before a military mission. Lemania continued to supply watches to the Swedish Military through the mid-1980’s.

The watches for the Swedish Military are recognizable by several traits – the “Tg195” designation on the dial and three crowns engraved on the case back, known as “tre kronor” which is the Swedish coat of arms. The earliest examples produced to the military did not have the “Tg” marking and had smaller crowns engraved. Later examples featured larger crowns engraved on the back and “Tg195” was added to the dial with a capital “T” and lowercase “g”, finally evolving to have all capital letters – “TG195”. Tg stands for “giving time”, or in Swedish, “Tid Givare”.

Close examination reveals that this is a very high-quality watch. The asymmetric case is heavy stainless steel, usefully and beautifully brushed, and 40mm across, exclusive of the crown. The right side's subtly wider shoulder below the bezel allows the crown to be partially recessed and provides some protection for the pusher. The dial is glossy black, with proper luminous Arabic numerals and hands, and some of the finest and crispest printing I have seen on a vintage watch. The whole package is simple and functional, and also attractive and pleasant to wear.