
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Jlc www, dirty Dozen, British Military Issued Soldiers Watch, 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.
- vws3893
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3893)
- Catalogue title (original)
- JLC WWW Dirty Dozen - British Military Issued Soldiers Watch - c.1944 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3893), 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 Striking JLC WW2 Dirty Dozen British Military Issued Watch with an MoD Replacement Dial and Hands - Original Military Engravings - c.1944 Founded in 1833 in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, Jaeger-LeCoultre built its reputation on precision engineering and in-house innovation. Alongside its civilian watches, the manufacture played a key role during the Second World War, becoming one of the twelve brands selected to produce the British military’s famed “Dirty Dozen” watches. Built to exacting Ministry of Defence specifications, these robust timepieces cemented Jaeger-LeCoultre’s status as a maker of watches trusted in the most demanding conditions What's on Offer This Jaeger-LeCoultre Dirty Dozen is a beautifully preserved example of one of the most important military wristwatches of the Second World War. Issued around 1944, it retains its original British military case with clear, honest engravings to the caseback, including the Broad Arrow pheon marking it as property of the Ministry of Defence. These engravings firmly anchor the watch in its wartime service history and add significant collector appeal. The rich black dial is an official MoD service replacement, fitted at a later date with tritium luminous material in place of the original radium. This makes it ideal for those collectors who prefer the Tritium lume. Bold Arabic numerals, luminous hour plots and matching lumed hands ensure excellent legibility, staying true to the watch’s original purpose as a robust soldier’s tool watch. The Jaeger-LeCoultre signature and military arrow are also present on the dial. The manually wound movement runs reliably, reflecting the rugged dependability these watches were built for. Presented on a period-appropriate green NATO-style strap, this Dirty Dozen offers a compelling blend of originality, military provenance and wearable vintage character. With a strong overall condition rating, it stands as a highly collectible and historically important British-issued military watch.
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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