Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Cyma Dirty Dozen Military Issued Watch, 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Cyma (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 38 mm
- Stock no.
- w-2779
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (w-2779)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Cyma Dirty Dozen Military Issued Watch (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number w-2779), this is a wristwatch by Cyma, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 38 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Bulang & Sons
The ‘Dirty Dozen’ watches, marked W.W.W. for "Watch Wristlet Waterproof," were produced in 1945 to meet the rigorous standards of the British Ministry of Defense. These watches, crafted by twelve companies including Cyma, Buren, Omega, and Longines, are iconic military timepieces. This Cyma example is a true gem, featuring the Broad Arrow symbol on the dial and the W.W.W. engraving on the case back. The watch boasts a 38mm steel case with a stepped bezel and screw-down case back marked with military engravings and a mill serial number. The black dial is a timeless design, featuring radium lume on a railroad track, Arabic numerals, and a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. It comes on the pictured NATO strap, combining style and function. The manual-wind caliber 234 movement has been fully serviced by our watchmaker, ensuring it’s ready for years of wear. Military watches carry a rich history, and this piece is a must-have for any collector. Contact us to make this special watch yours! Specifications: - Cyma Dirty Dozen - 38mm steel case - Dating to the 1940s - Case back with military engraving - Black dial with Arabic numerals and small seconds - Manual-wind caliber 234 movement, serial 371xxx - Comes on the pictured NATO strap - Fully serviced by our watchmaker
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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