ETERNA W.W.W. ‘Dirty Dozen’ Military watch

Year c.1945

This ETERNA ‘Dirty Dozen’ watch is in good condition for an 80 year old watch likely to have been used on a regular basis in exacting conditions, the case is in very good condition with nice sharp edges, the dial is also in good condition. The lumed sword hands and hour markers have developed a lovely patina, the dial features a circled letter ‘P’ which means it was lumed with Promethium 147. The crystal has some light surface scratches. The watch was recently serviced by the current owner, documentation will be supplied with the watch. It will be supplied in an aftermarket box and on a single pass black NATO strap. Some more information below:-

If you’re looking at this watch you may already know a little about the watches that became known as ‘The Dirty Dozen’ but for those that don’t……

In 1945, during World War II, Britain’s Ministry of Defence required watches to issue to army personnel. As Britain did not have the capacity to manufacture them they invited Swiss manufacturers who could build a watch to the specified standard, to do so.

Very strict specifications were set, for Watches, Wristlet, Waterproof, which was shortened to W.W.W. watches.

The dial needed to be black with Arabic numerals and sub-seconds in order to maximise legibility. The watches had to have a 15-jewel movement, luminous hour and minute hands, luminous hour markers, a railroad minute track, a shatterproof crystal, a stainless-steel case and fixed bars between lugs.

The case-back had to include the W.W.W designation and a arrow marking with the dial also displaying the arrow. Two serial numbers were required, one being the manufacturer’s number, and the other (with the letter) being the military store number.

Twelve companies were commissioned and produced watches in various quantities: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.

Each manufacturer delivered as many watches as their production capabilities would allow. Only IWC, JLC, and Omega kept a strict record of their order: respectively 6,000, 10,000, and 25,000. It is thought approximately 150,000 Dirty Dozen W.W.W. watches were produced.

Eterna produced only 5000 of these watches, making them the second rarest and consequently one of the most desirable. The case on this watch has a diameter of 36mm, the dial features a small seconds complication and is stamped ‘P’ which means the dial was lumed with Promethium 147. Inside the watch is the Eterna 520 movement, they were renowned for their movements and one of their biggest contributions to the watchmaking industry was the company they originated ‘ETA’ which has gone on to become arguably the most well known name in Swiss movement manufacture.