Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Omega "Dirty Dozen" Military-Issued Watch, 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Omega (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 35 mm
- Stock no.
- W-2935
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-2935)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Omega "Dirty Dozen" Military-Issued Watch (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-2935), this is a wristwatch by Omega, made in Switzerland, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 35 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" refers to twelve legendary watch models commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) during World War II, crafted by select Swiss watchmakers to meet the demands of British soldiers. These timepieces had to be durable, waterproof, shockproof, and precise, meeting rigorous chronometer standards. Omega was one of the chosen manufacturers, alongside brands like IWC, Longines, and Jaeger-LeCoultre. This Omega example features a 35mm stainless steel case with military markings intact on the case back. The dial adheres to the MoD specifications with black Arabic numerals, luminous hour markers, and the distinctive Omega “sword” hands. These watches were designed for functionality and often saw updates, such as reluming, during post-war service by MoD watchmakers. Fully serviced by our watchmaker, this watch comes with the pictured single-pass strap and is ready for a new chapter of adventures. Specifications: - 35mm steel case with fixed lugs - Movement serial 102xxxxx dating to the 1940s - Screw-down case back with www /|\ 1067xxxx y372 military engraving - Black dial with Arabic numerals, relumed sword hands, small running second hand - Omega manual-wind movement cal. 30t2 - Comes with the pictured single-pass strap
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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