The British W.W.W. “Dirty Dozen” Watches

Collectors use “Dirty Dozen” for a group of British military wristwatches made by twelve Swiss manufacturers during the closing period of the Second World War.

The official marking found on the watches is W.W.W., generally expanded as “Watch, Wrist, Waterproof”. The nickname came later and is a collecting term rather than a wartime designation.

The twelve manufacturers were Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, International Watch Company, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex.

They share a recognisable military specification, but they are not identical watches.

What the specification produced

The W.W.W. watches were designed as robust, legible service timepieces.

Surviving examples characteristically have black dials, Arabic numerals, luminous hands and hour markings, a subsidiary seconds register at six, military broad-arrow markings and manually wound Swiss movements. Cases were designed for demanding service conditions and military identification was applied to the caseback.

Auction records from Bonhams, Sotheby’s and Noonans show the same basic pattern across manufacturers while also making clear that case size, calibre and serial formats vary by maker.

That variation is important. A collector should learn the correct configuration for the individual manufacturer rather than applying a generic Dirty Dozen checklist to all twelve.

Rarity is uneven across the twelve

The manufacturers did not deliver equal quantities.

Published production estimates vary by source, so exact totals should be treated as estimates rather than factory-certified facts. Bonhams has cited roughly 145,000 to 150,000 watches across the group and around 25,000 examples from Omega. Sotheby’s has cited around 25,000 from Record and up to 5,000 from Grana. Bonhams describes Grana as the rarest member to encounter.

Those figures are useful as an indication of relative scarcity, not as exact surviving populations.

That difference has a large effect on the cost of completing a twelve-watch set.

It also creates an authentication problem. When one maker commands a large premium, the incentive to create a watch that looks superficially correct becomes stronger.

Start with the caseback

Military markings are central to a W.W.W. watch.

A correct caseback should show the military format appropriate to the maker, including W.W.W., the broad arrow and military and maker-related numbers. The exact arrangement varies.

Those numbers should not be assessed in isolation. They should be compared with known examples from the same manufacturer and checked against the movement and case construction.

A plausible engraving on the wrong case is still the wrong watch.

Inside caseback markings matter too. On a serious example, we want clear photographs of the exterior and interior of the back, the movement and the movement number.

Original dials are where much of the value sits

A freshly repainted black dial can look more immediately attractive than a faded original. For many collectors it is less desirable.

The original printing, lume plots, hand finish and ageing should make sense together. A perfect dial in a heavily worn case deserves scrutiny. So does bright modern luminous material on a watch that otherwise shows eighty years of use.

None of this means every relumed or restored Dirty Dozen watch should be rejected. These were working military objects and many were serviced repeatedly.

The important point is disclosure. A restored dial, later hands or replacement crown should be described as such rather than folded into the word “original”.

Movement condition matters more than cosmetic sharpness

The movements are conventional mechanical watches and can be serviced, but parts availability is not identical across the twelve makers.

A watch that has been cosmetically preserved but mechanically neglected may require more work than the buyer expects.

Service history should therefore be considered alongside originality. Good servicing does not reduce historical integrity when it is sympathetic and documented. Aggressive polishing, refinishing or replacement of visible period parts can.

For a collector who intends to wear the watch, water resistance should not be assumed from the W.W.W. designation. A seventy or eighty year old case should be treated according to its present tested condition, not its original specification.

A complete set is not the only sensible way to collect them

The twelve-watch set has obvious appeal because the group is finite.

It can also push collectors into compromises. A weak example may be purchased simply because it fills the missing manufacturer.

A more selective collection can be stronger. One exceptionally original watch, a pair showing different approaches to the same specification, or a small group with unusually good military and ownership documentation may tell the story more convincingly than a complete set assembled at any cost.

The best examples still feel like what they were. They are compact, purposeful pieces of military equipment rather than luxury watches designed to imitate military style.

See the Timepieces collection for the condition and documentation standards we apply to historic watches.