The Dirty Dozen – The watches that were to save Great Britain

Text: Filip Ericsson

In the raging war of the early 1940s the British ministry of defence realised that the country's soldiers needed new wristwatches for their service. That finally resulted in twelve Swiss manufacturers sending a total of 150 000 watches to Great Britain up until the end of the war and thereby creating the mythical “The dirty dozen”. Eqotime tells the exciting story.  

Watches in various forms have constituted essential equipment for the British military for hundreds of years. As early as the 18th century the British navy used chronometers of domestic manufacture while the army's troops during the First World War wore English-manufactured wristwatches.  

At the time of the outbreak of the Second World War, Switzerland was the only country with sufficient capacity for mass manufacture of watches, whereupon the British ministry of defence sent out enquiries with a particular requirement specification to a number of Swiss watch manufacturers.  

Already existing wristwatches were not considered fit for purpose and the new watches had to meet tougher requirements for precision, reliability, water resistance and shock resistance.  

The requirements were precise and covered a hand-wound movement with chronometer precision, a black dial with Arabic numerals and luminous hands for the best legibility under all conditions, a small seconds hand at six o'clock, shatterproof plexiglass and a large crown that could be handled with the gloves on.  

Twelve manufacturers met the requirements and were procured by the British: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. 

Every manufacturer sent as many watches as they could and the capacity varied greatly between them. Omega for example built around 25 000 watches while IWC got around 6000 out of the door, and in total around 150 000 wristwatches were delivered to the various British armed services during 1945. 

The official designation for all the watches was W.W.W. (Watch, Wrist, Waterproof) which was engraved on the back together with a military serial number as well as the stylistic tip of an arrow customary for British military property, which also adorned the dials. The arrow has incidentally been a hallmark of British state property ever since the 16th century. 

Despite the common specifications, case shapes and dimensions differed between the brands, with diameters of 35-38mm, as well as of course the movements which were inhouse-produced, even though they had similar constructions.  

Thanks to the large production volumes a genuine Dirty Dozen watch is actually not out of reach today. The prices for the least sought after, the ones manufactured in the most examples (e.g. Cyma and Record), can be found for under 20 000 kronor while the most sought after, the ones manufactured in few examples (Grana, IWC, Longines), can command over 100 000 kronor.  

The brands' current market status also affects how sought after they are, at least in part. IWC's version has a particularly strong following since it de facto constitutes the very predecessor of the brand's so legendary pilot's watches Mark XI and Mark XII.  

Longines is another favourite among collectors since it stands out with its beautiful, rounded shapes and cathedral hands, as well as since it measures 38mm, the largest of all the Dirty Dozen watches. One such in superb condition can at the time of writing be viewed in the brand's own vintage shop with a price tag of around 75 000 kronor. It is however registered as sold. 

In the still ongoing retro trend on the watch market it would be strange if the manufacturers had missed the opportunity to make use of the mystique around the Dirty Dozen watches. Remakes of them are however a surprisingly thinly sown phenomenon, even though they do exist. 

New Dirty Dozen watches from Timor and Vertex 

The only ones of the Dirty Dozen manufacturers that have capitalised on their W.W.W. watches and built an authentic tribute are Timor and Vertex, today all but forgotten brands.  

Vertex went to the grave during the quartz crisis but was resurrected in 2017 with a modern copy of its W.W.W. watch. It goes under the name Vertex M100 and has a clear kinship in shape with the original. It is however a modern watch with a case of 40mm in 316L steel, sapphire crystal and tightness to the equivalent of 100 metres.  

Inside sits a hand-wound unit from ETA (Caliber 7001) and the price is around 30 000 kronor. The supply was however highly limited at the introduction and it is unclear what the availability looks like today. 

Timor too was close to going under in the quartz crisis but got the wheels turning again by focusing on pocket watches around the turn of the millennium. In 2015 the focus was changed again in order to bet on retro watches with strong inspiration from its own history.  

In 2020 the Timor Heritage Field Watch WWW thus appeared, a remake in the same style as the Vertex, but at a lower price and with one important difference: the case diameter is exactly the same as on the original at a mere 36.5mm. Lovely! With a modest height of 11mm Timor has undeniably created an elegant little instrument watch.  

A blasted steel case, 50 metres of water resistance, a modern sapphire crystal as well as the possibility to choose between an orthodox, manual Sellita movement (SW216) or an automatic equivalent (SW260) complete the package. According to Timor's online shop the prices start at 10 317 kronor. 

For many it is however the genuine article that counts and then it is gratifying that real Dirty Dozen watches are available for such affordable prices. Surely one such would be a lovely addition to any collection whatsoever, regardless of which of the twelve crosses your path.