Omega - Dirty Dozen - W.W.W. - World War II Military Soldiers Wrist Watch - c.1944

Another Great find here at Vintage Watch Specialist, the most popular of the Dozen, The Omega W.W.W. "Dirty Dozen" World War II Issued Soldier’s Wrist Watch c.1944 in Fantastic Original Condition.

At the end of the Second World War, many members of the British armed forces were issued with a basic but carefully specified watch, commissioned from 12 Swiss manufacturers by the British Ministry of Defence. These were made to replace the issued, "ATP" watches, from earlier in the war, but have gone on to become far more collectable and sought after due to their higher quality form and function.

During 1944 and 1945, twelve watchmakers (Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, JLC, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex) produced a total of approximately 150,000 of these almost identical timepieces. As these watches became highly sought after by collectors over the ensuing decades, they became known as "The Dirty Dozen" - earning this nickname from the 1964 war film of the same moniker. Members of this exclusive club are now in constant demand as few remain in good and original condition, and as production volumes differed widely across the 12 wartime manufacturers. 

Each watch was commissioned and manufactured with similar specifications and, as military issues, was and still is, hard-wearing, highly legible, and water-resistant with stainless steel or nickel-plated cases, shatterproof crystal, and fixed lug bars. Watches were, as standard, capable of chronometer accuracy, and their movements were precision-adjusted to several different positions and temperatures. Each piece also had a large black dial with white Arabic characters, luminous hands, indices, and a ‘railroad’ minute track with sub-seconds at 6 o’clock. 

What’s on offer:

An original example of the Omega Dirty Dozen with a nicely preserved black dial boasting syringe hands, a recessed small seconds dial at 6 o'clock, an outer minute rail track and bold Arabic numerals. The lume across both the hands and the hour plots remains intact for the most part and has aged nicely.

There are traces of the military pheon, however, it appears to have been painted over historically - we do see this on occasion as the watches were the property of the MoD and were supposed to be returned by the soldiers after service, so some cheeky servicemen would try and disguise the military markings in order to keep them, however, the watch is in otherwise great shape and does bear the original military markings on the case back including the military pheon, denoting it as the property of the crown. It's a really nice bit of British Military history, worthy of any collection, and our asking price does reflect the lack of a Pheon on the dial! 

Additional Information

Made From

Case: Stainless steel

Case Back: Screw-on

Dial: Original black 

Crystal: Shatter-proof plexiglass

Bracelet: NATO Style

Technical Specifications

Winding: Manually wound

Movement Type: Mechanical

Calibre: Omega 30T2

Jewels: 15j

Waterproof: When new!

Purchase Details

Condition: Excellent 

Model Reference Number: WWW (Dirty Dozen)

Date of issue: c.1944

Warranty: 12 Months by VWS

Dimensions

Width: 35mm

Lug width: 18mm

Lug height (lug to lug): 45mm