Wristwatches · Wristwatch
WWW, Grana, Dirty Dozen Military Wrist Watch, circa 1945
- Maker / attribution
- Grana (maker)
- Date
- c. 1945
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 35 mm
- Stock no.
- vws0868
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws0868)
- Catalogue title (original)
- WWW - Grana - c.1945 - Dirty Dozen Military Wrist Watch (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws0868), this is a wristwatch by Grana, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1945. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 35 mm. The record is illustrated with 4 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
Sorry! You have missed this WWW Grana Dirty Dozen Military Watch which is now sold. Please email your details to javid@vintagewatchspecialist.com if you are interested in buying or selling a similar piece and want to have your search added to our stock wish list. Many thanks, 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: M18598 Year: c.1945 Box and papers: No Movement Type, Calibre and Jewels: Hand wound, Cal. KF320, 15J Case: Stainless steel with screw-down case back Dial: Black Radium dial, Sub Sec's and Pencil Hands Crystal: Plexi Bracelet: Nato strap Width (w/o crown): 35mm Height, lug to lug: 45mm Lug width: 18mm Wrist size: N/a
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
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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