by J Field, and Ed Hart
In 2010 a 5513 was advertised on TRF with documented combat history. I was hesitant to buy it because it looked like the dial may have sustained some damage at some point. Even though the case with all its scratches and dings kept calling out to me, the dial was an area of concern. Well the watch was sold to someone else, and for quite a while I kept thinking about that watch and pulling up pictures to look at it. I also found a story on the internet the original owner had written about his circumnavigation of the globe in his sailboat while wearing the watch. My fate was sealed. Eventually I contacted the seller and he put me in touch with his buyer, and he accepted my offer to buy the watch. He told me that he had it serviced and polished. Were all those battle scars on the case polished away? Now I was really worried. Well when it arrived, I was not disappointed. Other than the 7 o'clock lume plot being disturbed, the watch appeared like the original photos. Accompanying the watch was the letter written to the gentleman that purchased the watch from the original owner. I have included below that letter as well as his correspondence with me regarding questions I had in that letter. That is my watch he is wearing in the picture in Hawaii on a metal bracelet. You can see the scars on the back of the case from years of wearing a Nato strap. I have replaced the bezel insert with a faded one. The pearl is original to the watch.








