LIP Watch - T18 Churchill

The Lip T18 watch, originally called the Type 18, is undoubtedly the brand’s best-known model. Let’s take a look back at its history, the origin of its name, its watchmaking innovations, and its compact dimensions—all of which have made it a benchmark wristwatch known and appreciated by Winston Churchill and hundreds of collectors around the world.

This classic rectangular Type 18 watch owes its name to its exceptional mechanical movement:“T” for its barrel shape and “18” for its 18-millimeter width. A true technical feat for its time, this mechanical movement was developed in 1933 by André Donat, then an engineer at the Lipmann Frères watchmaking company. The Lip T18 watch succeeded and supplanted the Type 20 movement (for 20 mm), launched in 1931, which already featured an off-center seconds hand (also known as the small seconds hand) positioned at the 6 o’clock mark. Despite being 2 mm narrower, the T18 movement was flatter and considered more reliable.

Reliability and Advanced Watchmaking Technology

Produced as early as 1935 under the leadership of Fred Lip, its production experienced setbacks with the outbreak of World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, the company moved to central France, then to the south, eventually settling in Valence for its final years. Lip did not return to Besançon, his hometown, until the end of the war, when he rebuilt his factory and resumed production on a larger scale.

Its technical advances and extreme reliability have made this Type 18 mechanical movement a benchmark, which explains why it served as a model for students at watchmaking schools in the 1940s and 1950s.

The T18 in Soviet Territory

While Lip was facing financial difficulties, like many other companies in the wake of the 1929 financial crisis, Frédéric Lipmann, then technical director, breathed new economic life into the company through an unprecedented Franco-Russian watchmaking partnership in 1936.

This commercial contract centered on major export agreements and the establishment of a watch manufacturing facility in Russia under the supervision of engineers from the Lip company. At the time, Russia was not known for the precision or refinement of its domestic watchmaking. This partnership would lead to models such as the Russian T18, the Swesda / Zvezda (“star”) from the Chaïka brand (among others), and later the “Probeda/Victoire” (a Lip 26 caliber), which powered Yuri Gagarin’s Sturmanskie watch in 1961 during the first human flight into space.

Lip T18, as well-known as Sir Winston Churchill

Its elegance and numerous technical improvements were quickly adopted by other watchmakers, who did not enjoy the same international commercial success as the Lip T18 wristwatch.

The allure of this wristwatch is also linked to its history, as the two-tone Gold model was presented by the French government to Sir Winston Churchill in 1948 in recognition of his many services rendered during the war.

A T18 in every watch collector's collection

Originally produced until 1950, there were numerous variations of the Lip T18, with case shapes that were most often rectangular or barrel-shaped. Some models were named after their distinctive shapes, such as the T18 Képi and the T18 Carrosse…

Lip T18 watches are highly sought after by watch collectors; its Type 18 mechanical movement is a must-have for any watch collection, thanks to its history, exceptional quality, and outstanding accuracy, which have built its reputation.

Purchasing a reissue for men or women

You can purchase reissues of the original Type 18 models, except that the movement is now a Ronda Slimtech 1064. While the four models in the catalog are, by today’s standards, primarily intended for women, they are nonetheless unisex watches given their size.

The T18 Churchill Chrome and T18 Churchill Gold feature an Art Deco design faithful to the 1930s, giving them a classic vintage charm. The T18 Classic Chrome and T18 Classic Gold, on the other hand, are more understated, combining elegance with simplicity.

Do you own one or more T18s? Will this watch be the next one on your wrist? Let us know what you think of this legend.