Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Eterna Dirty Dozen WW2 Military Issued Soldier's Watch, circa 1944
- Maker / attribution
- Eterna (maker)
- Date
- c. 1944
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws3980
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3980)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Eterna Dirty Dozen WW2 Military Issued Soldier's Watch - c.1944 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3980), this is a wristwatch by Eterna, made in Switzerland, 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 Beautiful Eterna Dirty Dozen WW2 Military Issued Soldier's Watch in Original Condition with Stunning Pumpkin Coloured Lume, c.1944 Founded in 1856 in Grenchen, Switzerland, Eterna built a reputation for innovation and precision, later giving rise to ETA, one of the most important movement suppliers in the industry. During the mid-20th century, Eterna produced robust wristwatches for military forces, including waterproof models and chronometers valued for their reliability under demanding conditions. Their rugged construction and practical design made them a trusted choice for service use. Today, vintage Eterna military pieces remain highly collectable for their quality and history. What's on Offer We are delighted to offer this Eterna Dirty Dozen in beautifully original condition. It features a rich black dial with bold Arabic numerals, a recessed sub-seconds dial at 6 o’clock, and the synonymous military pheon marking, denoting its Military issue. The highlight, however, is the original lume, which has aged to an utterly gorgeous pumpkin hue — the holy grail for many collectors. A well-preserved and striking piece, it’s sure to pique the interest of any military enthusiast.
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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