Longines Dirty Dozen

Longines: A World War II Military Wristwatch, signed Longines, known by collectors as one of ''The Dirty Dozen'', circa 1945,

Longines: A World War II Military Wristwatch, signed Longines, known by collectors as one of ''The Dirty Dozen'', circa 1945, (calibre 12.68Z) manual wound lever movement signed and numbered 6956271 , black dial with luminous Arabic numerals, dial signed and with a military broad arrow, seconds dial, luminous hands, stainless steel case with screw back engraved with a broad arrow WWW F 6176 23088 2452 , back of one lug numbered 2452 , fixed bars between the lugs, inside screw back with repeated military marks 38mm wide, , 'The Dirty Dozen' is the name given to a group of 12 watches commissioned by the Ministry of Defence for use by soldiers during WWII. The MoD ordered custom-built wristwatches from 12 Swiss watchmakers: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. Each company was given the specific brief of providing watches that were accurate, reliable and durable, with a black dial, Arabic numerals, luminous markers, a railroad minute track, shatterproof glass and a stainless-steel case. No matter the maker, these watches can be identified by the engraved 'W.W.W.' on the reverse, as well as the broad arrowhead mark on the dial, inner case, and reverse, and both military and civil serial numbers on the reverse. Only around 5,000 Longines WWW watches were made for the British Army in WW2.2138 Longines: A World War II Military Wristwatch, signed Longines, known by collectors as one of ''The Dirty Dozen'', circa 1945, (calibre 12.68Z) manual wound lever movement signed and numbered 6956271 , black dial with luminous Arabic numerals, dial signed and with a military broad arrow, seconds dial, luminous hands, stainless steel case with screw back engraved with a broad arrow WWW F 6176 23088 2452 , back of one lug numbered 2452 , fixed bars between the lugs, inside screw back with repeated military marks 38mm wide 'The Dirty Dozen' is the name given to a group of 12 watches commissioned by the Ministry of Defence for use by soldiers during WWII. The MoD ordered custom-built wristwatches from 12 Swiss watchmakers: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. Each company was given the specific brief of providing watches that were accurate, reliable and durable, with a black dial, Arabic numerals, luminous markers, a railroad minute track, shatterproof glass and a stainless-steel case. No matter the maker, these watches can be identified by the engraved 'W.W.W.' on the reverse, as well as the broad arrowhead mark on the dial, inner case, and reverse, and both military and civil serial numbers on the reverse. Only around 5,000 Longines WWW watches were made for the British Army in WW2. Estimate £2,500 - £3,000