Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Vertex WWW Dirty Dozen, Matching Case and Lug Numbers, circa 1944
- Maker / attribution
- Vertex (maker)
- Date
- c. 1944
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws3725
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3725)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Vertex WWW Dirty Dozen - Original Condition - Matching Case and Lug Numbers - c.1944 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3725), this is a wristwatch by Vertex, 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 Superb Vertex Dirty Dozen Military Issued British Soldiers Watch with Original Military Markings and Matching Case and Lug Numbers - c.1944 Founded in 1916 by Claude Lyons, Vertex quickly gained a reputation for reliability and precision. During World War II, the British Ministry of Defence selected Vertex as one of the twelve makers of the now-famous “Dirty Dozen” military wristwatches, built to strict WWW specifications for frontline troops. Known for their rugged durability and legibility, Vertex Dirty Dozen watches remain among the most iconic military timepieces ever made and are highly sought after by collectors today. What's on Offer We are delighted to present this superb example of the Vertex Dirty Dozen, one of the most iconic British military watches of WWII. The dial remains a deep, rich black with crisp white Arabic numerals, a clear outer minute track, and the recessed sub-seconds dial at 6. The military Broad Arrow sits proudly at 12, while the lume on the hands and hour plots has aged to a beautiful pale yellow. Encased in a chrome-topped case, beneath shatterproof Plexiglas, the case is in excellent condition and retains its original military engravings. Particularly rare and desirable, this watch features matching case and lug numbers — a detail some collectors covet. You will be hard-pressed to find a nicer example of the Vertex Dirty Dozen, which comes serviced and ready to enjoy!
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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