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Record Dirty Dozen, Military Issued WW2 Watch, circa 1944

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Record (maker)
Date
c. 1944
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
vws3990ps
Credit line
Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3990ps)
Catalogue title (original)
Record Dirty Dozen - Military Issued WW2 Watch - c.1944 (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3990ps), this is a wristwatch by Record, 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 beautifully preserved Record W.W.W. Dirty Dozen watch — an authentic WWII military timepiece with beautiful lume, c.1944 The Dirty Dozen watches were a group of twelve military-issued timepieces commissioned by Britain’s Ministry of Defence during WWII. Among them, the Record stands out for its exceptional reliability and fine Swiss craftsmanship. Featuring the classic military configuration — matte black dial, bold Arabic numerals, and luminous hands — it was built to withstand the harshest conditions. Powered by Record’s precise mechanical movement, this watch remains a true collector’s favourite and an enduring symbol of wartime horology. What's on Offer This Record Dirty Dozen is a particularly fine example of one of the twelve legendary wristwatches commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence during World War II. Designed to meet strict military standards, it features a rich matte black dial with bold Arabic numerals, an outer minute track, and a recessed sub-dial at six o’clock. The lume has aged beautifully to a warm pumpkin hue, adding incredible character and vintage appeal. All the defining hallmarks of a true military-issued timepiece are present — from the broad arrow (pheon) denoting MoD ownership to the precise case-back engravings that identify its service history. The robust stainless-steel case remains in fantastic condition, with light wear consistent with age. A superbly preserved and highly collectible Record W.W.W. Dirty Dozen, representing the best of wartime engineering and Swiss 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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