Lot 101

Military

Dirty Dozen

A complete set of the iconic 'Dirty Dozen' military watch collection

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At the end of World War II in Europe in 1945, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered military field watches for the British Army. Twelve renowned Swiss manufacturers were awarded contracts, including Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. The first batch was shipped in March 1945, with the final shipment taking place at the end of December.
The main identifying features are the 'broad arrow' on the dial and the marking 'W.W.W.', which stands for 'Watch Wrist Waterproof'. They have factory case numbers and military numbers. All have fixed bars and all except the IWC watch have screwed casebacks.
These watches were used in all British stations and in future conflicts such as the Suez crisis and colonial wars, up to the Falklands and Iraq conflicts. Some went to the Netherlands Indies (Indonesia), and some to the Kenyan or Rhodesian armies.
Complete collections are rare because the brands issued very different numbers. The Grana is the rarest ((in November 2022, a Grana was sold at Bonhams for £31,800); the Omega the most common; and the IWC, Longines and Jaeger-LeCoultre the most expensive.
This collection features items that were used in action. This means that they are not usually in the same condition as when they left the factory. The MoD workshops changed dials and hands from radium dotting to tritium and then to non-radioactive luminosity, and backs were often interchanged.
This collection represents the state in which the items were decommissioned: the IWC has an MoD dial with a NATO code; the Grana is unused and has no military markings. The watches are capable of running, but are heavily worn and have their old, used military straps.