
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Timor Dirty Dozen, WW2 British Military Issued Soldiers Watch, circa 1944
- Maker / attribution
- Timor (maker)
- Date
- c. 1944
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws3989ps
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3989ps)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Timor Dirty Dozen - WW2 British Military Issued Soldiers Watch - 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 vws3989ps), this is a wristwatch by Timor, 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 Timor Dirty Dozen WW2 Military Issued Soldiers Watch in Beautiful Original Condition, c.1944 The Dirty Dozen watches were commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence during World War II, built to meet strict standards of accuracy, legibility, and robustness for military use. Among the twelve manufacturers chosen, Timor earned its place for producing exceptionally reliable and precise timepieces. Powered by a sturdy manual-wind movement, Timor’s Dirty Dozen featured a matte black dial with luminous hands and Arabic numerals, offering dependable performance in the field — a true symbol of wartime craftsmanship. What's on Offer This wonderfully preserved Timor W.W.W Dirty Dozen is a remarkable example of wartime craftsmanship and durability. Issued around 1944, this piece remains in superb condition considering its age and intended purpose. The rich black dial features bold Arabic numerals, a recessed sub-dial at 6 o’clock, and an outer minute track, all beautifully framed beneath its original shatterproof Plexiglas crystal. The original lume remains present on both the hands and hour plots. The dial proudly bears the broad arrow (pheon), denoting its military issue, while the stainless-steel case retains strong definition with only light wear consistent with service use. The Calibre 6060 mechanical movement inside is robust and reliable — a testament to Timor’s precision engineering and the Ministry of Defence’s exacting standards. Complete with its original military engravings to the case back, this watch is a genuine piece of history and an excellent addition to any collection of vintage military timepieces.
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
Wristwatches · 1940s
Timor "Dirty Dozen" Military Watch Cal. 6060, 1940s
Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles
Wristwatches · c. 1945
Timor Dirty Dozen, WW2 British Military Issued Watch, MoD Dial, circa 1945
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · c. 1945
Timor WWW, Dirty Dozen, British WW2 Military Issued, Serviced April 2026, circa 1945
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · c. 1944
Timor WWW Dirty Dozen, MoD Tritium Dial, Condition, circa 1944
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Mercury, 1900–1999
Modemuseum Hasselt
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Nutrix, 1900–1999
Modemuseum Hasselt
Wristwatches · 1920
Wristwatch, 1920
Modemuseum Hasselt
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
