Wristwatches · Wristwatch
WWW Grana Dirty Dozen Military Watch, circa 1944
- Maker / attribution
- Grana (maker)
- Date
- c. 1944
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 36 mm
- Stock no.
- vws0576cs
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws0576cs)
- Catalogue title (original)
- WWW Grana Dirty Dozen Military 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 vws0576cs), this is a wristwatch by Grana, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1944. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 36 mm. The record is illustrated with 5 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 rare Gents’ Stainless steel British military Grana W.W.W. This watch, part of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ collection, was found after having been left with a batch of similar timepieces in a shoebox for many years. Its untouched dial and hands retain the original lume, with the case equally retaining sharp factory edges. This is undoubtedly one of the best-preserved examples of a military watch from this era; the only work done to it by our watchmaker, John Senior, was to service and test the watch’s timing. The original dial, hands and case show minor signs of ageing, but all told have a fantastic look and patina to them. Model ref: WWW Dirty Dozen (M18230) Year: 1940’s Box and papers: No Movement type, calibre and jewels: Manually Wound, Cal. KF320, 15J Case: Stainless Steel Dial: Black Crystal: Plexiglas Bracelet: Nato Strap Width (w/o crown): 36mm Height, lug to lug: 45mm Lug width: 17mm Wrist size: Adjustable
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 · c. 1944
Grana W.W.W. Dirty Dozen, WWII British Army-Issued Military Watch, circa 1944
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · c. 1944
Grana w.w.w., WW2 Dirty Dozen Soldiers Watch, Extremely Rare, circa 1944
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · c. 1944
Grana The Rarest WWW Dirty Dozen WW2 Military Soldiers Watch, circa 1944
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · c. 1945
Grana Dirty Dozen WWW Soldiers Wristwatch, circa 1945
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
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
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Certina, Switzerland, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Omega, Västerås, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Universal, Switzerland, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation