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Longines - WWW Dirty Dozen - c.1945 World War II British Army Watch - Calibre 12.68z***NOW SOLD***

This item has now sold
£0.00GBP
vws2335

***SOLD***Longines WWW War Ministry issued WWII Soldier's watch c.1945. One of the 'Dirty Dozen'. Nicknamed the "Greenlander".

As the Western Battlefront showed signs of turning in the allies' favour in 1944, the Ministry of Defence decided to step up British efforts to outfit and supply the troops, battered by 5 years of attrition. It is believed that thirteen Swiss suppliers were contacted, one was found to be already supplying the enemy (Enicar), and so 12 were chosen to supply the British Army: Omega, Cyma, Buren, Longines, Lemania, Grana, Jaeger LeCoultre, Eterna, Record, Timor, Vertex and IWC. All twelve brands have gained a great following and the present example we have on offer is one of the most desirable variants of the famous “Dirty Dozen”. The Longines is loved by many a watch collector due to its striking stepped case which is a signature of many vintage Longines watches and at 38mm, the case represents a contemporary size even by today’s standards which further enhances the wonderful appeal of this watch.

Around 8000 of the circa 150,000 watches exported to Britain were from Longines and arrived in the UK in the second half of 1945, classified for “General Service” but issued to special units including radio operators and artillery staff members. The use of the Broad Arrow on the dial for Government goods goes back all the way to Sir Philip Sidney, Joint Master of the Ordnance in 1585 whose family used the Broad Arrow in its coat of arms. The calibre 12.68Z from Longines proved to be a very well-respected movement from the brand and can be seen in a variety of watches in the ’40s and 50’s such as coin edge cased, sector dial, time-only pieces, and eye-catching Calatrava cased wristwatches.

What’s on offer: 

A superb example of the Longines member of the Dirty Dozen family that we recently purchased from the son of the soldier it was issued to! We are hoping to receive some information and history of the soldier it was issued to, so we hope this will be available  for you when you make the purchase.

The watch has a fantastic rich black dial which boasts perfectly crisp Arabic numerals, with no loss of the paint. The same applies to the outer minute track and stepped subdial at 6 o'clock, the stepped subdial making this an original dial as opposed to an moD replacement dial. Of course, the dial also boasts the synonymous military arrow denoting it as the property of the crown and the Longines signature at 12 o'clock. The original lume is still intact on both the hour plots and on the elegant cathedral hands (a feature only the Longines and Jaeger Le Coultre enjoy, the rest of the DD watches sports sword or syringe hands) and this lume has aged nicely. The case is in remarkably good shape given this watch's age and you can clearly see the military markings on the caseback: 23088. 1945. WWW F 5669.

Watches in superb condition like this one are getting increasingly harder to find, and we are confident from the regular feedback we receive from clients that have bought watches from us, that you will not be disappointed with this watch either.

 

Additional information

Made from

Case: Stainless Steel

Case back: Screw-on

Dial: Black

Crystal: Shatter-proof plexiglass 

Bracelet: New leather NATO Style Strap

Technical specifications

Winding: Manual

Movement Type: Mechanical

Calibre: 12.68Z

Jewels: 17j

Waterproof: When new! 

Purchase details

Condition: Excellent

Model Reference: WWW

Date of issue: 1945 

Warranty: 12 Months by VWS

Dimensions

Width: 38mm

Lug width: 18mm

Wrist size: Adjustable