Today, the TR-900 is one of the rarest and most sought-after military watches for collectors. Delivered in two batches, one in late 1964 and the other in mid-1966, a total of about 1,000 watches conforming to U.S. military specification MIL-W-22176A were provided by Blancpain through their American subsidiary, Tornek-Rayville. Due to the 1933 "Buy American Act", the U.S. Navy could not directly purchase Swiss Blancpain watches. Allen V. Tornek, of the Allen V. Tornek Co. based in New York City, was the importer of Blancpain and won a bid to be the American supplier of Blancpain for the U.S. Navy.
A few years later, Alan Tornek proposed a new offer of a “Tornek Rayville”-branded batch of Blancpain-supplied watches to the US Navy. The first batch of watches delivered were given to underwater explosive specialists and naval divers, which would have included Marines, and the next batch was exclusively for the Navy. Cautiously, Tornek Rayville only delivered a very small amount, around 1,000, which proved to be a safe bet as the US Navy rejected the project in the long term due to its cost and their growing focus on the conflict in Vietnam.
Phillips is honored to be entrusted with the sale of another absolutely exceptional TR-900, with impeccable military provenance. The watch was originally sold to a prominent collector of military wristwatches in 2012 by the original owner, a retired U.S. Marine with twenty-one years of service. He had been issued the TR-900 and a Bulova wristwatch during his time in the Marines, the former which he documents as having served him faithfully with no problems during his time in the service. Photographs taken by the original owner accompany the watch, and show him on active duty in Da Nang and Chu Lai, among other places. All photos were taken between 1968 and 1971, when the war in Vietnam was at its highest point, and offer a window into life on the ground as a soldier during the Vietnam War. The original owner moved to the American South after his retirement from the Marines and worked in IT management until he passed away in 2020. During his service, he also purchased a Zodiac Sea Wolf in 1962, included with this lot, which still retains the original box and price tag of $110.
Such watches are not just collectible for their own sake, but for the sake of the history which binds them inexorably with an important moment in time. It is just, therefore, that this watch with all of its documentation and provenance, should be offered to the public to learn from, enjoy, and if possible, add to a monumental collection of military wristwatches.