Testimonials - Vintage Watch Restoration

Major Eldon Joe Canady was recognized as of November, 2007 as the first aviator in the USAF to have flown 100 missions over North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  This watch was the property of then Capt. Canady. In the Vietnam era, base exchanges around the world sold quite a few Swiss watches.  One popular make among the military was the Zodiac. The watch advertised as "the watch of the Swiss Federal Railway" was popular among military aviators because you could "hack" the watch.  That is, when you pulled the stem of the watch out into the "setting position", the movement stopped, allowing you to set the hour, minute, and second hand and await a count down at mission briefing to synchronize watches on GMT.  Most watches did not allow this operation, but the Zodiac movements did, and for this reason were popular among flyers.  One model in particular called the "Jet Aeronaut", not only could be hacked, but also had a 24 hour dial, which was nice for flyers since we commonly used the 24 hour scheme instead of the 12 hour scheme.  The "Jet Aeronaut" above was worn by Joe canady.  The watch gave many years of service until being ran through the wash and having the crystal smashed by the washing machine.  

NAGI Jewelers of Stamford, CT volunteered to clean it up, get it running, and put on a new crystal, so now once again it functions after being used for the first time back in the 1960's.  Thanks to Nagi M. Osta for this restoration.  The watch and other personal items of the era have been sent to the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio for display honoring major Canady and others who flew 100 missions over North Vietnam.     

Sincerely,

Eldon J. Canady

Major USAF retired