The Australian Haigh & Hastings has released a special edition Gallipoli Centenary timepiece

One of the major battles of the First World War was fought on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, forming the norther bank of the Dardanelles strait an crucial strategic location as it is connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The campaign was fought between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, where Allied forces were facing the Ottoman army.

The campaign is often considered as marking the birth of national consciousness in Australia and New Zealand and the date of the landing, 25 April, is known as “Anzac Day” which is the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in those two countries, surpassing Remembrance Day (Armistice Day).

To mark the centennial of the “Anzac Day”, Australian watchmaker Haigh & Hastings has launched a special edition Gallipoli Centenary timepiece that will help fund programs and services for The Returned & Services League (RSL). RSL is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force.

The unique partnership honours the significance of timepieces amongst the Australian Defence Force, with servicemen being among the first to routinely wear wrist watches before they became popular amongst the general public.

“Standard timepieces issued to military men were pocket watches but because of their impractical use in trenches, servicemen were one of the first to wear watches on their wrists,” said the National President of the RSL, Rear Admiral Ken Doolan.

“Timepieces have and still do play an important part of military history and the special edition Haigh & Hastings watch encapsulates the significance of the Gallipoli Centenary not only for servicemen, but for their families. It’s a keepsake and will have the same meaning when passed down to future generations,” he said.

Working with the RSL, Haigh & Hastings has designed 1,000 Gallipoli Centenary timepieces with the aim to raise a minimum of $148,000 for the RSL from sales of the watches. For every watch sold $148 will go toward funds supporting the RSL.

Featuring a sand bezel, the Gallipoli Centenary watch is based on Haigh & Hastings’ M2 Diver that we presented earlier. The watch comes with a sand coloured silicon strap and a khaki NATO strap. The wording ‘Lest we Forget’ is above the six numerical marker and a poppy is at the 12 numerical marker. The back of the watch features a silhouette of an ANZAC soldier with a bugle and was designed by well-known military artist, Ian Coate.

Each Haigh & Hastings Gallipoli Centenary timepiece comes in a special edition box and has its own numbered certificate of authenticity.

From 19 March 2015, Haigh & Hastings Gallipoli Centenary watches are available in men and women designs and can be purchased from www.haighandhastings.com for $648.00.