Unique WW1 British Military Wrist Compass and Leather Strap by Muller & Vaucher - dated 1917

Here on offer is a possibly a unique example of a WW1 British military wrist compass by Muller & Vaucher.

I must offer my thanks to Jean-Patrick Donzey, the curator of COMPASSIPEDIA who helped identify the maker and confirm the possible unique nature of this particular compass. He runs an excellent reference website for identifying compasses, at www.compassmuseum.com and if you use it and like the site, please make a small donation to help him run it.

The compass itself has a plated metal case with a very thick bevelled edge clear glass top. The printed metal dial is beautifully marked with 360 degrees and eight cardinals points.

What makes this compass so unique is the fact that the NW point has been printed as WN, clearly a misprint that has manage to evaded the quality control inspection at the factory?

There is no maker’s name or logo on the dial just the words:

SWISS MADE

Printed below the S point.

The needle is the silver and blued version, and retains some early luminous paint to the tip of the blued section.

It has the “lever-actuated” needle transit lock on the side.

Both strap-retaining lugs are in place and on the bottom it has been stamped with the British military mark (crows foot) and the date 1917.

It comes with a brown leather wrist strap that is in excellent condition.

Muller & Vaucher was a former Swiss manufacturer located in Bienne (Biel in German) and Geneva and founder of RECTA in 1897.

The compass is in excellent working order and just shows signs of plating loss on the bottom where the strap has rubbed against it.

The compass measures 1.5” (3.8cm) diameter and the strap is 10” (25.4cm) long.

It weighs 30g.
Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Thank you for taking the time to look.

Code: 50733