Patrolling the Seas and Rolex GMT’s - A Moment Of Your Time: Rich Liddle
We sat down with Rich Liddle to hear about his collection, 21 years military service and some extra special Rolex GMTs.
CWC, Luminox, YEMA, Casio - all are modern examples of brands that are tasked by countries the world over to create military issue timepieces to be presented to soldiers for passing rigorous selection processes. Mementos for making the grade and gaining induction into various departments of their respective Armed Forces. Military history and horology go hand in hand, it is after all the evolution of brutal trench warfare in World War 1 that began a widespread epidemic amongst pocket watch manufacturers to begin diversifying and designing timepieces that were more accessible, readable and most importantly rugged. Though losing design aspects like front and back hinge covers, the early trench watches designed by Omega, Elgin and Longines set the blueprint for everything that wristwatches are today. It’s no surprise then that a lot of those with military backgrounds end up with a passion for watches that lasts a lifetime and for Rich Liddle that is no exception. In our latest edition of ‘A Moment of Your Time’ Tom sat down with Rich to find out more about the man, his extraordinary collection and his extra special one-of-one Rolex GMT.
Rich’s fascinating collection including, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philipe, Omega and more.
With 21 years military service, including time serving in both the British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy as a helicopter and fast jet pilot, Rich played an active part in conflicts in Libya, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, but his passion for watches originates from a much earlier time in his life. It was in the 1970’s that his father was working in Bahrain and Rich remembers being bounced on his father’s knee and keeping an observant eye on the gold Rolex Day Date on his wrist. But it wasn’t just his father, he also recalls gold Rolex watches being commonplace on many of those around him as was the fashion in Bahrain at the time. This is when he caught the bug. So it was only fitting that in 1998 upon receiving his first military paycheck the only thing that Rich was going to spend his money on was a watch. An Omega Seamaster that perfectly matched the value of his first paycheck. Merely the start of his journey, Rich went on to purchase other pieces such as a gold Rolex Daytona among which you can find out about in the video down below. But the true stand-out pieces are two commemorative Rolex GMTs, one of which cannot be found anywhere else.
Rich spent thousands of hours flying the revered Sea King helicopter as pictured above.
A large proportion of Rich’s time in the forces was spent piloting the Sea King helicopter right up to it going out of service in 2017. A key part of military operations around the world for a number of countries' militaries since 1969, the Sea King was instrumental in the Falklands, Gulf, Bosnian, Iraq and Afghanistan wars for everything from troop transport to anti-submarine warfare missions and most commonly, search and rescue. When the time came for decommission, Rich and his colleagues decided they wanted to try and create a commemoration to the workhorse that was the Sea King. A few brands were considered with both Bremont and Breitling discussed due to their deep histories with the military, but for Rich there was only going to be one brand to try and reach out to; Rolex.
‘Fear God Honour the King’ was engraved into the limited edition run of Sea King commemorative Rolex GMTs.
The only time Rolex had done a limited edition was in 2012 when they designed a watch for the SAS, a run of around what’s thought to be between 100-150 pieces for members of the elite British Special Forces unit. A highly sought after piece in the world of watch collecting. With this in mind Rich set about reaching out to Rolex, telling them of the storied and global history of the Sea King and soon after a letter led to a meeting, a meeting led to a project meeting and then finally with Rolex, Rich had designed a special limited edition run of 123 GMT Masters. 123 watches to commemorate the 123 aircraft that had been manufactured for use that would only be available to those who were currently serving, or had served on the aircraft. Distributed by Rich, numbers 2-123 were stainless steel and featured a special caseback starring an engraving of the phrase “Fear God Honour the King, Sea King Since 1969 ”, an engraving of the Sea King helicopter and the number of the piece up to 123. Rich had purchased 3 himself, number 2 for his father, and numbers 001 and 069 to keep himself. But he had a surprise in store on the day he went to collect number 001.
When collecting the watch at the Rolex Boutique on Bond Street in London to his surprise 001 wasn’t just the stainless steel limited edition like the other 122, but it was in fact solid gold. A one-of-a-kind watch that will never be made again, Rich has tried to ascertain it’s value taking it to Sothebys who said due to the nature of it’s rareness, it is nigh on impossible to put a value on. This just might be one of the rarest Rolex models in the world, that will never be reproduced and never resold, truly priceless. A fitting tribute to the Sea King that transcended its singular purpose and became a huge part of the lives of people just like Rich. Commemorative watches become more than just about the watch, but remind people of a poignant time in their lives and a constant reminder of what you have been through, it is with this in mind that Rich and the company he co-owns, Pagoda Watches, design their own pieces. Military watches designed by veterans, with an authentic understanding for what makes the perfect memento for time spent in the military. As Pagoda say themselves through their meticulous research of Swiss movements and veteran know-how “The outcome is a range of watches that are robust enough to take the rigours of combat, accurate and reliable at all times, and which look great on the wrist.”. If you want to check out Rich’s watch company Pagoda Watches, you can check them out here.
To see Rich’s full collection and his chat with Tom, go and watch the video down below. If you liked this article, check out one of our other blogs, or even browse our shop to find your next timepiece.
Written by Piers Mansell for Watts On Watches.
