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Vertex WWW 'Dirty Dozen' - Issued - World War II military Soldier's Watch - circa. 1945

This item has now sold
£0.00GBP
vws1095

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A Vintage Vertex WWW 'Dirty Dozen' World War II Military Issued Soldier's Watch

Vertex military watches with Calibre 59 mechanical hand wound movements are getting harder to source, particularly in this kind of condition and even rarer to find one with matching case and lug numbers!

These particular watches were one of twelve brands, which were specifically designed especially for MoD personnel. Vertex was one of these twelve manufacturers that became known as the ‘dirty dozen’ by collectors.

This particular watch is in great overall condition and has all of the typical design features that were specified by the MoD. They all had to have black luminous dials, highly accurate 15 jewel movements housed in a rugged shock resistant waterproof cases with a screw in back and a shatterproof plastic, crystal. In fact the three W’s stood for wrist ­- watch - waterproof.

Watches were, as standard, capable of chronometer-accuracy and hand wound. The calibre 59 movements were based on the highly modified A. Schild 1203 movements. Each piece also had a large black dial with white Arabic characters, luminous hands and indices and a ‘railroad’ minute track with sub-seconds at 6 o’clock. 

The original and typically more substantial, mat finished, plated case with solid (integral) bezel and the original crown are all in overall excellent condition for an issued military watch, as you will no doubt agree from looking at our photographs!

The signed screw in case back has all the correct and crisply engraved markings, WWW and the arrow logo, depicting its MoD origin. The lug at the 7 o’clock position has the number 691, which matches the A691 number on the case back. This in itself is very rare to find when coming across these watches in this day and age. A lot of the cases were mixed up whilst being serviced by the MoD - R.E.M.E regiment, who were responsible for keeping these watches running. So very few survive today with matching numbers which is what a lot of collectors strive to find when collecting the dirty dozen sets.

The case is in excellent condition with only some small blemishes. Much of the minor markings, are what you would expect for a military issued watch that will likely have seen action in WW2 on the wrist of a serving soldier. We have seen and handled many of this type of watch over the years and can say this is in very good condition compared with others we have come across! Also bare in mind when looking at the photo’s of this watch that they are all taken very close up and some using a macro lens so everything is highly magnified.

The white Arabic numerals at the hour positions are smaller than some other WWW brands but are all still fresh in colour and are still all very crisp and legible. The dial has the sub seconds display at the 6 o’clock position. The outer minute “rail track” marker is in absolutely great condition.

This piece is sold with a 'tropic' style strap and can be changed to a new NATO fabric strap in your choice of grey, black or khaki, should you wish.

What’s on offer:

This piece is in excellent, unpolished condition with crisp edges. There are some signs of wear, however these are commensurate with age. The watch was recently serviced by the renowned military horologist John Senior.

Additional information

Made from

Case: Chrome Top

Case back: Screw on. 

Dial: Black

Crystal: Shatter-proof plexi. 

Bracelet: Tropic as pictured or a new NATO fabric strap in your choice of grey, black or khaki. 


Technical specifications

Winding: Manually wound. 

Movement type: mechanical.

Calibre: Calbre 59

Jewels: 15. 

Waterproof: when new!

Purchase details

Condition: Excellent unpolished condition with crisp case edges. The watch has some signs of wear in accordance with its age. 

Model Reference Number: WWW. 

Date of issue: 1944/45. 

Guarantee

Supplied with a 12-month Vintage Watch Specialist guarantee. 

Dimensions

Width: 35mm.

Lug width: 18mm.

Lug height (lug to lug): 47mm

Wrist size: Adjustable.