Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Cyma WW2, Dirty Dozen, Military Issued Soldiers Watch, circa 1944
- Maker / attribution
- Cyma (maker)
- Date
- c. 1944
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws4010
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws4010)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Cyma - WW2 - Dirty Dozen - Military Issued Soldiers Watch - c.1944 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws4010), this is a wristwatch by Cyma, dated c. 1944. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. 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 — Vintage Watch Specialist
A superb Cyma “Dirty Dozen” military wristwatch — the largest of the MoD-issued twelve, with a beautifully preserved black dial and authentic engravings, c.1940s. Cyma holds a proud place in British military watch history, supplying robust and reliable timepieces to the armed forces during World War II. As one of the twelve manufacturers chosen to produce the legendary “Dirty Dozen” watches for the Ministry of Defence, Cyma earned a reputation for precision and durability under pressure. Their military-issued watches featured shock-resistant movements, luminous dials, and waterproof cases—perfectly suited to the rigours of wartime use. Today, Cyma’s service watches are highly prized by collectors worldwide. What's on Offer This Cyma Dirty Dozen is a superb example of one of the most iconic British military watches ever issued. The rich black dial remains wonderfully preserved, featuring bold Arabic numerals, a recessed sub-seconds dial, and original pencil hands which boast original lume. The MoD’s military pheon sits proudly at the centre, confirming its service heritage. As the largest of the twelve “Dirty Dozen” watches, the Cyma offers impressive wrist presence and solid construction, with its stainless steel case showing authentic wear consistent with use. The original military engravings to the case back add historical integrity. Reliable, well-balanced, and full of character, this piece is a remarkable collector’s watch — a tangible link to wartime horological craftsmanship.
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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