Skip to content
Timor WWW Dirty Dozen WW2, British Military Issued Soldiers Watch, circa 1944 — view 1 of 6
View 1 of 6 · Image: Vintage Watch Specialist · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Timor WWW Dirty Dozen WW2, British Military Issued Soldiers Watch, circa 1944

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Timor (maker)
Date
c. 1944
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
vws4091cs
Credit line
Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws4091cs)
Catalogue title (original)
Timor WWW 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 vws4091cs), 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 and Well Preserved Timor Dirty Dozen British Military WW2 Issued Soldiers Watch in Original Condition, c.1944 Timor was established in Switzerland in 1923 and built a reputation for sturdy, reliable wristwatches. That durability made it a natural choice when the British Ministry of Defence sought tough, accurate timepieces for soldiers during the Second World War. Timor was selected as one of the twelve manufacturers to produce the now-legendary “Dirty Dozen” military watches. These service watches met strict specifications for clarity, ruggedness and precision, firmly linking Timor to military horological history. What's on Offer A wonderfully honest example of a Timor WWW military issue, this piece captures everything collectors love about the famed “Dirty Dozen” watches. The rich black dial has aged beautifully, retaining strong contrast and superb legibility, while the original luminous hands display that coveted warm pumpkin tone that only decades of gentle ageing can produce. The crisp Arabic numerals, minute track and subsidiary seconds at six o’clock speak to the utilitarian clarity demanded by wartime service. The stainless steel case shows sympathetic wear consistent with age and use, adding character without detracting from its strong, purposeful lines. The military engravings to the caseback remain clear, grounding this watch firmly in its Second World War provenance. Paired with a classic brown leather strap, it wears comfortably and feels every bit the authentic military tool watch it was born to be – a highly collectible slice of British military horology with timeless appeal.

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