Silva Huntsman Compass/Sunwatch

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Full Description: A very small (can be hidden in a closed hand) and  lightweight vintage compass, approaching it's 40th birthday. The compass consists of two aluminum plates, colored gold, hinged on the south end. The capsule is attached to the lower plate, and retained on the reverse side with a brass wire spring. The upper plate rotates on its hinge opening to a maximum of 270  degrees, exposing the hinge which is a safety-pin. This facilitates attaching the compass to the outside of clothing enabling hands-free use. The needle is a standard white/red, with a phosphorus point on the red north end.  The base of the capsule also has two phosphorus points flanking the 'box' markings.

At first glance, this compass appears unused, however, closer examination  reveals some particles of dirt trapped between the retaining spring and the capsule.

Compass is in it's original package, a plastic box, red on the bottom, clear on the top. A folded cardboard filler holds the compass in place within the box. Under the left side of the cardboard filler, the original instructions which give the 1966 date are enclosed.

One rather unique feature of this compass is that it incorporates a 'sunwatch',  allowing the user to approximate the time of day from the position of the sun.  According to the instructions, this is accomplished by holding the compass in it's closed position, lining up the red end of the needle with the "North" cardinal point on the upper plate. Then while holding the compass so that the magnetic needle stays  on "North", turning the bezel so that the embossed arrow on the bottom of the  capsule points at the sun. The approximate time is then read off of the upper plate.

Specifications:

• Acquisition Date: 10 Mar 2004
• Manufacturer: Silva, Sweden
• Date of Manufacture: 1966+
• Materials:
• Body: Gold anodized aluminum
• Crystal: Plastic
• Bezel: Plastic
• Size: 4 1/16 long (open) x 1 1/2 wide. 2 3/32 long (closed)
• Needle: Steel needle, round center painted red on the north end, white on  the south end, with a luminous (phosphorus) point on the north end.
• Damping: Liquid
• Pivot: Jewelled
• Graduations: Degrees, 0-360 by 30 degrees, tick marks every 5 degrees.
• Weight: 0.6 oz
• Stop: None
• Marks: Upper face embossed as follows "Red End Points North", cardinal points "North", "NE", "E" "6 A.M.", "SE" "9 A.M.", "South" "12", "SW" 3 P.M.",  "W" "6 P.M.", "NW". Along hinge side also embossed "Sun Watch" on left and "Made in Sweden" on right.

 Lower Face embossed as follows: Along hinge side, "Start", "Silva" "®"  "MOD. HUNTSMAN". Along left side a series of four arrows are embossed moving from "Start" at lower left to "END" at upper left corner.

Along top edge, a embossed inch scale graduated to 1/16, marked at 1/2 inch  and 1 inch.

Reverse of capsule has embossed map alignment lines and cardinal points  marked "N", "E", "S", and "W". map alignment lines are colored red. Embossed uncolored lettering on the base of the capsule "MN" and "77"

• Serial Number: None
• Other: Condition is excellent. There are no serious defects. There is a  small amount of brass oxidiation (verdigris) around the retaining spring on  the reverse side, and the coloration on the map lines has worn a bit along the north edge of the capsule. There are no major scratches and the safety-pin  hinge turns freely. The capsule also turns freely, and the needle swings free and true to N, settling within a few seconds.

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