The Dirty Dozen are the twelve Swiss-made watches that the British Army received in 1945, each built to the same W.W.W. specification by a different maker. Collectors gave them the nickname decades later, and today the set ranges from the common Omega to the Grana, which Bonhams estimated at £15,000 to £20,000 in 2024.
The twelve makers were Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. Together they delivered about 145,000 watches, mainly between May and December 1945.
All twelve share a black dial, Arabic numerals, small seconds, a 15-jewel hand-wound movement and the broad arrow of British military property. The Grana is the rarest, with roughly 1,000 to 1,500 made, while the Omega and the Record turn up most easily.
Below we go through all twelve makers with their calibers and production numbers, and we explain what W.W.W. means and what the watches are worth today. The last sections cover the modern reissues and how to check an original before you buy.
We haven't had a W.W.W. in our shop yet, but we've sold watches from nine of the twelve makers, several of them from the war years. Holding them next to photos of the Dirty Dozen, you can see how close these companies already were to the British specification.
What Are the Dirty Dozen Watches?
During the Second World War, British soldiers wore a mix of watches, and the army wanted one standard wristwatch for general service. Britain didn't have the industry to make them in the numbers needed, so the order went to Switzerland.
Twelve companies won contracts. Each built its own watch to the same specification, and every one carried the code W.W.W. on the caseback. Deliveries ran mainly from May to December 1945, after the war in Europe had ended. According to Revolution's guide to the Dirty Dozen, the total came to around 140,000 to 150,000 watches.
The army never called them the Dirty Dozen. Collectors borrowed the name from the 1967 film about twelve soldiers, because there were twelve makers and collecting all of them became a challenge of its own.
Who Ordered the Watches?
The usual account says the British Ministry of Defence set the specification, and some sources name the Ministry of Supply. The present-day Ministry of Defence didn't exist in its current form in 1945, so the safest way to put it is that British military procurement placed the order.
The 12 Dirty Dozen Brands at a Glance
The table lists all twelve makers in alphabetical order. Production figures are estimates, because no complete delivery records survive for every maker, and sources disagree on some of them.
| Maker | Caliber | Case | Made (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buren | 462 | 36.5mm, chrome-topped | 11,000 |
| Cyma | 234 | 37mm, stainless steel | 20,000 |
| Eterna | 520 | 36mm | 5,000 |
| Grana | KF320 | 35mm, stainless steel | 1,000–1,500 |
| IWC | 83 | 35mm, snap-on back | 6,000 |
| Jaeger-LeCoultre | 479 | 35mm, 17mm lugs | 6,000 |
| Lemania | 27A | 36.5mm | 6,000–10,000 |
| Longines | 12.68Z | 38mm | 5,000–8,000 |
| Omega | 30T2 | 35mm, stainless steel | 25,000 |
| Record | 022 | 36.5mm | 25,000 |
| Timor | 6060 | 36.5mm | 13,000 |
| Vertex | 59 | 35mm, stainless steel | 15,000 |
The figures come from Revolution's guide, except one. The Jaeger-LeCoultre number of 6,000 comes from Konrad Knirim's book British Military Timepieces, as quoted by WatchPro, while Revolution gives a range of 6,000 to 10,000.
What W.W.W. Means and the Specification
W.W.W. stands for "Watch, Wristlet, Waterproof." You'll see it written as "Watch, Wrist, Waterproof" on some sites and in some quizzes, but the military wording was "wristlet," the period term for a wristwatch.
The specification asked for a black dial with luminous Arabic numerals and hands, small seconds at 6 o'clock and a railroad minute track. Inside, each watch needed a 15-jewel hand-wound movement regulated to a high standard. The case had to resist water, dust and shock, and a shatter-resistant plastic crystal replaced glass.
The Markings
Each watch carries the broad arrow, the mark of British government property, on the dial and the caseback. The back also shows "W.W.W." and a military serial number that starts with a capital letter. The maker's own serial number appears inside the caseback or on the movement.
The Twelve Makers One by One
All twelve look alike at first glance, and the differences show once you compare the movement and the case of each maker. Where we've had a watch from the same maker in our shop, we've added it below the maker's entry.
Buren
Buren, founded in Büren an der Aare in 1873, used its in-house caliber 462 in a 36.5mm chrome-topped case. The company later became known for the micro-rotor, which it patented in 1954. Hamilton bought Buren in 1966, and the factory closed in 1972.
Cyma
Cyma made about 20,000 watches with its own caliber 234. Its 37mm stainless steel case has no chrome top and a wider bezel than the others.
Eterna
Eterna used its in-house caliber 520 in a 36mm case, and it made about 5,000. Eterna also founded the movement maker that later became ETA, today the Swatch Group's movement supplier.
Grana
The Grana is the rarest of the twelve, with an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 made, and some sources go as high as 5,000. Kurth Frères made it with the caliber KF320. The same company registered the Certina name in 1939, so the Grana is a sister of Certina rather than its predecessor.
IWC
IWC made about 6,000 with its caliber 83, in a 35mm stainless steel case. It's the only one of the twelve with a snap-on caseback, and collectors know it as the Mark X.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
The Jaeger-LeCoultre uses the caliber 479 with a gilt finish and cathedral-style hands. Its 35mm case is the only one with 17mm lugs instead of 18mm, which matters when you look for a strap.
Lemania
Lemania used the caliber 27A, a gilt movement sourced from Tissot, in a 36.5mm case. Lemania later supplied the base of Omega's caliber 321, the movement inside the early Speedmaster.
Longines
The Longines is the largest of the twelve at 38mm, and it's the only one with shock protection. Inside is the in-house caliber 12.68Z, and Longines made between 5,000 and 8,000.
Omega
Omega made about 25,000, which puts it at the top with Record. It uses the hand-wound caliber 30T2 in a 35mm stainless steel case. Our article on the Omega 30T2 explains the movement and its versions.
Record
Record matched Omega's output of around 25,000, with the caliber 022 in a 36.5mm case. Longines bought Record in the early 1960s, and the Record brand closed in 1991.
Timor
Timor made about 13,000 with its caliber 6060, which it built on an A. Schild 1203 base and modified in-house. The 36.5mm case has an inner dust cover.
Vertex
Vertex was the only company in the group with British roots. Claude Lyons set up Vertex in London and La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1916, and its 15,000 watches used the caliber 59 made by Thommen. Europa Star's history of Vertex covers the family behind the brand.
Which Dirty Dozen Watch Is the Best?
No single watch wins here, and the answer depends on what you value. Collectors chase the Grana for its rarity, while the Longines appeals to people who want the largest case and the only one with shock protection. The IWC and the Jaeger-LeCoultre carry the strongest brand names, and we'd pick the Omega if you want the easiest one to own and service.
For a first Dirty Dozen watch, the Omega and the Record make sense, since their makers built about 25,000 of each. Completing the set means finding a Grana, which is the hardest of the twelve to track down and the most expensive to buy.
What Are Dirty Dozen Watches Worth?
Originality affects the price more than anything else, followed by the maker and the condition. Public sale figures are hard to find, so auction estimates give the best idea of the range.
In February 2024, Bonhams offered a Grana with an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000 and a Jaeger-LeCoultre at £2,000 to £3,000, according to WatchPro's preview of the sale. The gap between those two estimates shows how much rarity drives the price within the set. Revolution notes that the Omega stays relatively affordable because Omega made 25,000 of them.
We haven't sold a W.W.W. ourselves, so we can't give you shop prices for the military versions. For a sense of wartime watches from the same makers, our sold archive further down includes an Omega from 1944 with the caliber 30T2 at $2,847.
How to Check an Original Dirty Dozen Watch
After the war, army watchmakers serviced these watches and swapped parts between them freely. Monochrome notes that the British Army's REME workshops mixed components from different makers, so a part from another brand doesn't make a watch fake, although it does lower the value.
- The caseback. Look for the broad arrow, "W.W.W." and a military serial number that starts with a capital letter.
- The movement. The caliber should match the maker in the table above, such as a 30T2 in an Omega or a 12.68Z in a Longines.
- The dial. It should show the broad arrow, and the printing and lume should look as old as the hands.
- The case size. Check it against the table, because each maker used its own case.
Wearing and Servicing a Dirty Dozen Watch Today
At 35mm to 38mm, these watches suit a modern wrist well, and the black dial reads clearly in any light. The lume on an original dial no longer glows, and you should see it as part of the watch's age.
The movements are simple hand-wound calibers with small seconds, which keeps servicing straightforward for a good watchmaker. Parts for the Omega 30T2 and the Longines 12.68Z are easier to source than parts for the smaller makers, such as Grana or Timor. Wind the watch once a day, and keep it away from water whatever the caseback says.
Eleven of the twelve take an 18mm strap, and the Jaeger-LeCoultre needs 17mm. In service, the army issued them on calfskin straps or on the '44 pattern webbing strap, according to WatchGecko, so a plain leather or canvas strap keeps the look right.
Modern Dirty Dozen Reissues
Several makers have brought the design back. Don Cochrane, the founder's great-grandson, revived Vertex in 2016, and the M100 was the first watch of the new brand. Eterna released a 1939 Military model in 2016 that refers back to its wartime watches.
Other brands today sell field watches in the Dirty Dozen style, with a black dial, Arabic numerals and small seconds. They can look very close, and only the twelve originals from 1945 carry the W.W.W. marking and the broad arrow.
Is Hamilton a Dirty Dozen Watch?
No, Hamilton wasn't one of the twelve W.W.W. makers, even though it made military watches for the US forces and its Khaki field watches follow a similar style. The two names meet because Hamilton bought Buren in 1966.
Wartime Watches From the Same Makers
Each of these watches comes from one of the twelve makers and from the same decades, although none of them is a W.W.W. Together with the cards above, they show the kind of watch these companies built around the time of the British order.
Jaeger-LeCoultre · Cal. 463 WW2 Military, Black Dial, c. 1942 Sold · $2,218 
Omega · Cal. 30T2 Ref. 2179/5, 1944 Sold · $2,001 
Longines · Cal. 12.68N 12L Military Pilot's Watch, Radium Dial Sold · $2,058 
Lemania · Cal. 13CH Monopusher, Cushion Case, 1930s Sold · $7,431 
Buren · Gran Prix Salmon Patina Dial, 1940s Sold · $435
Our 1944 Omega ref. 2179/5 runs on the same caliber 30T2 that Omega put into its W.W.W. a year later. Seeing that movement in a wartime case helped us understand why the British chose these makers: they already had robust, simple calibers in production.
On every military watch we buy, we check that the movement serial and the case belong to the same period. On watches from the 1940s, a swapped dial or crown is the first thing we look for.
You can see the wartime and vintage Swiss watches we have now in our Swiss watch collection, with prices as of October 2026.
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