The "Dirty Dozen" military watches are a collection of timepieces commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense during World War II. In 1945, recognizing the need for robust and reliable watches for its soldiers, the British government specified a rigorous set of criteria and tasked 12 Swiss manufacturers with producing these essential tools. The companies involved were Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.
    
Each watch had to meet stringent standards: they needed to be waterproof, accurate within 30 seconds per day, have luminous hands and indices for low-light visibility, and feature a stainless steel case with a shatterproof crystal. These watches became known as the "Dirty Dozen" due to their rugged durability and identical specifications.
    
Today, these timepieces are highly sought after by collectors for their historical significance and exemplary craftsmanship. They symbolize an era when precision in timekeeping was critical to military success.

What's on Offer

The Cyma is the largest of the Dirty Dozen watches at 38mm and as such it wears really well on the wrist. This example has been remarkably well preserved and boast all of the hallmarks one would expect to see including the black dial, which in this case has taken on some patina, bold Arabic numerals, a recessed sub-seconds dial at 6 o'clock and the military pheon, an arrow that denotes the watch as property of the MoD. 

This watch is in really nice condition, for those who appreciate the natural ageing process of vintage watches, it is a joy! The lume on the hour plots and hands has aged to a nice vanilla colour and the case and lugs are still sharp. It is still fully functional and keeping good time, which is rather incredible! A very collectable piece with real historical significance that is becoming more difficult to find as numbers dwindle, especially in such exemplary condition!