# Hmt Jawan



## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

hi all

later today,i should be purchasing a watch with the above on the dial (black)

aparrantly,it has issue numbers on the back,but knowing sod all about mil pieces,i'm hoping all you milwis's can shed some light?

the piccies of the watch are actually worse than the piccies that i take(and mine are crap







) but i may be able to post some later along with the numbers on the back.

the seller says that it gains a little and will need regulating,i've no problem with that (i'm not an accuracy freak!!) and the asking price is under Â£30-this sounds ok also, any thoughts?

i think i recall reading somewhere that 'jawan' was something to do with india?,so possibly 'hmt'was the company that made the watch,

thanks for any replies in advance

john.


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

As far as I know these are Indian issue watches, there has been a shed load go through ebay and other forums in the past year or so but I think 30 quid is probably a good price...As long as its in sound condition, is the seller a dealer in watches? The only reason I ask is if he is then he would regulate it himself and get a better price for it, if that is if it regulatable, if not it may have more 'issues' and hes just saying that.....


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

thanks jase

i think he's a collector ratherb than a dealer(but may be wrong)it was listed on the bay,but it ended with no bids,possibly because of the bad pics,anyhow,he said he would email me,just before relisting it with 'buy it now'

i think he would have offered it by not going through ebay had he been a wideboy.

thanks again

john.


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

I have one and like it, it seems quite a well made little watch to me - stainless steel construction, screw on back, acrylic crystal etc. Mine keeps reasonable, if not outstanding, time now. The first few times I wore it it used to stop occasionally, but a light tap would set it going again. However the last few times I've worn it it's been fine, so maybe it just needed to be used a bit









Â£30 or under sounds about right as far as price goes - I think I paid something like that for mine and it needed repairing (which only cost a tenner).


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Hi John I know it`s confusing but the name could actually be`Sowar`meaning "warlike" in Hindustani, West End have used the same name for a number of years and due to the way it is written people always list it as Jowan









HMT are an Indian watch maker and have used for many years a 17 jewel manual wind movment made under license from Citizen.

They still make a version of your watch now called the `Pilot`


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

hi mac

it could be like you said as the sellers picture was rubbish,if the one in your pic is actually owned by you-i envy you it looks superb condition









paul i recall you mentioning it now,the stopping occasionally bit,btw did you get the pics i mailed you?as i'm not certain i did it correctly









thanks,john.


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Hi John - yep got the pics and have replied


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

johnbaz said:


> hi mac
> 
> it could be like you said as the sellers picture was rubbish,if the one in your pic is actually owned by you-i envy you it looks superb condition
> 
> ...










I should have said I nicked the pic from HMT`s site









I keep meaning to order one from HMT, I did contact them for a price & if I remember correctly and allowing for exchange rates the price of the new`Pilot` is roughly around Â£10


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## petetherig (Nov 11, 2005)

Hi there, my name's Peter. I was searching around on Google for info on the HMT Jawan watch and I came across this thread. Wikepedia says that although the word jawan means young, when it is used as a noun it means soldier,so I assume that's what it means on the watch. I read somewhere that these watches were issued to Gurkha troops during the campaign in Borneo, but whether that's true or not I don't know.

Mine has a British Army W10 code and a NSN of 6645-000035 but I can't find any reference to it.

Regards,

Pete


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Good to see you here Pete









Hope you hang around and join in the fun.....


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

hi pete

(welcome to the forum),the jawan (deffo 'jawan' mac) arrived at my house,and to say the least,it runs faster than linford christie,after i'd 'bought it now',the seller mailed me and told me that it gains 'a little' and will need 'regulating'--understatement of the year







.

i can't recall now how much it gained over the 24 hour period,but it was loads-but that aside it's actually quiet a nice watch with a half decent movement.

all ,plates,gears etc seem to be cut from solid steel rather than the pressed ultra thin brass that used to be used in the cheaper end watches of yesteryear, one day i'll strip it down and get it into my cleaning machine.

regards,john.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

I admit I was wrong about HMT but it does look very similar to West End`s `Sowar`, I`m wearing this one now and I have to agree it does look like it says `Jowan`....










Ebay sellers photo

However see this taken from West End web site about the company`s history...



> 1934Â
> 
> Mr. George Braunschweig of the Lime-of-Bottoms presents in front of the leaders of West End his invention: Incabloc (shock absorber which since refers in the clock industry). Thus will be born the SOWAR PRIMA, first watch carrying this system.
> 
> During years, Sowar - meaning "warlike" in Hindustani will become the model-headlight of West End, emblÃ¨me of the mark.


It is still used today









Most West End`s listed on Ebay are erroneously called `Jowan` so you can see how I thought the same applied to HMT









If I ever get round to ordering a new `Pilot` watch from HMT I`ll ask them about it:wink2:


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

aahhh,i see what you mean mac,although i'd wager the west end watch would be better quality than the jawan that i've got.

btw, i looked at the site with the pilot watch,there seems to be some nice watches in there,i wouldn't mind getting hold of one of those pilot watches myself-very nice indeedy.

they actually sell cnc lathes,tooling and all sorts of stuff-an excellent place just to look through,cheers.

regards,john.

ps, thanks for the info


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

johnbaz said:


> aahhh,i see what you mean mac,although i'd wager the west end watch would be better quality than the jawan that i've got.
> 
> btw, i looked at the site with the pilot watch,there seems to be some nice watches in there,i wouldn't mind getting hold of one of those pilot watches myself-very nice indeedy.
> 
> ...


You`re welcome









The HMT Pilot does look nice especially at approx Â£10


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

I`ve just nicked this from the bay as it shows more clearly how West End`s `Sowar` could easily be mistaken for `Jowan`










BTW the details for the one I won had it listed as `Fowan` and there`s one on ebay described as `Lowar`


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