We are very excited to have a Dirty Dozen, Omega British Military watch! The black original dial has aged stunningly, with a smooth and even patina. The lumed, chrome hands also have some age to them, as you would expect from an 80+ year old watch, that may have seen some action! Full Arabic numerals sit inside a railway-style, outer minute tracking. The dial is signed at 12 o'clock with a painted Omega logo, 'Omega' and the Crow's Foot/Broad Arrow, indicating that the watch is property of the British government. At 6 o'clock sits the subsidiary seconds dial.
The stainless steel screw back unpolished case is engraved with "W.W.W. / Y879 / 10665078" and has fixed lugs. Measuring 35mm, it is a comfortable wear on the wrist. Inside is the famous, mechanical manual wind, Omega caliber 30T2, fully serviced by us and running strongly. We've paired this watch on a brown one piece vintage military style leather strap, but it looks great on a range of nylon military straps or plain black leather too.
The WWW British issue wristwatches are perhaps the most desired and collectible watches among all those issued to the British Army. This is perhaps because they were the first to be specially designed and custom contracted for the British Army.
'WWW' is said to stand for Watch, Wrist, Waterproof and was the descriptive code used by the British Army to identify it as a piece of equipment issued by the government.
These watches began being manufactured and issued to the British Forces in early 1945.
There were 12 Swiss manufacturers of the WWW contracted to the forces, and as such, the collection is commonly referred to by collectors and dealers alike as “The Dirty Dozen”. as below.
Buren Cyma Eterna Grana Jaeger-LeCoultre Lemania Longines IWC Omega Record Timor Vertex
What we think
We always get excited by military watches. They have such an iconic design, obviously utilitarian but somehow they always seem to have some character, too. True pieces of history, there is something amazing about wearing a military watch, never knowing what it may have seen or been through during its life. Great to be able to offer such a nice unpolished example and a perfect addition to Dirty Dozen enthusiast, or a first time military watch buyer.
Spec Stuff
Serial : 1030####
Reference : W.W.W. / Y879 / 10665078
Movement : Manual Wind 30t2 Age : 1941/1950 Specific Age : 1944 Case Size : 35 mm Case Thickness : 12mm Lug to Lug : 45mm Lugs :18mm Condition : Pre-Owned Box & Papers : No Case Material : Stainless Steel Service History : Our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
1944 WW2 Omega Rare and wonderful British Military Issue WWW Dirty Dozen Wristwatch
