
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Jaeger LeCoultre Dirty Dozen WW2, Australian Issued, circa 1944
- Maker / attribution
- Jaeger-LeCoultre (maker)
- Date
- c. 1944
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws4127cs
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws4127cs)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Jaeger LeCoultre Dirty Dozen WW2 - Very Rare Australian Issued - c.1944 (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws4127cs), this is a wristwatch by Jaeger-LeCoultre, 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 Very Collectable and Rare Australian Issued Jaeger LeCoultre Dirty Dozen in Good Condition with Military Markings, c.1944 Jaeger-LeCoultre played an important role in the supply of military timepieces during the Second World War, producing robust, highly legible watches for Allied forces. Most famously, JLC was one of the twelve manufacturers behind the British “Dirty Dozen” WWW watches, delivering reliable stainless steel field watches built to strict military specifications. These timepieces combined precise in-house movements with durable cases and clear Arabic dials, cementing Jaeger-LeCoultre’s reputation for technical excellence under the most demanding conditions. What's on Offer A true icon of military horology, this Jaeger-LeCoultre Dirty Dozen is a superb example of the watches supplied to Allied forces during the later years of WWII. This particular watch was Issued to Australia, it carries all the hallmarks collectors seek: a crisp black dial with luminous Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds at 6, and the distinctive military broad arrow. Unfortunately the hands on this particular example have been changed! Housed in a robust chrome plated case, the watch shows honest period wear that only adds to its authentic service character. Inside beats the beautifully made Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 479, a reliable 15-jewel manual-wind movement developed to meet demanding military specifications. Worn today on a green NATO-style strap, this is a rare opportunity to own a highly collectible, historically significant field watch with genuine wartime provenance – a cornerstone piece for any serious military watch collection.
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.
Related records
Clocks · 1937–1938
Skeleton clock by Jaeger-LeCoultre, Switzerland, 1937–1938
Science Museum Group, London
Movements & Components · 1953
Automatic watch movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre, 1953, Geneva, Switzerland, showing self-winding mechanism
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1953
Automatic Wrist-watch, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Geneva, Switzerland, with reserve power indicator complete in steel case, 1953. Back numbered 564556.
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1953
Wrist-watch, 'Memovox' alarm, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Geneva, Switzerland, complete in steel case, 1953.
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1931
Rolex 'Oyster Perpetual' rotor self-winding wrist-watch, lever escapement, in steel case with glass in back, Montres Rolex SA, Geneva, Switzerland, 1931
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Certina, Switzerland, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Omega, Västerås, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Universal, Switzerland, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation
