Ready for DIRTY DOZENS 🪖 competition?? Help with suggestions 🙏🫡
I wish to do the dirty dozen competition where I plan to do this in two sections one is going to be the new/homage and other section will be orginal Dirty dozens. Then it will be semi finals and final.
Please help me with the new and homage entries 🙏
28 comments
Sort by
Dev
Your friendly neighborhood Rookie Watch collecter.🤗 🇺🇸🇮🇳 I Top Contributor 🏅
Piscataway, NJ, USA
Member since
Last active: 3 min ago
16.51 cm
Any help is helpful 💯 guys and please share some tips as well how to conduct this 🤗
Oh I'm excited for this one!
Oh I'm excited for this one!
Thanks Ryan please share your suggestions for worthy competitor 🫡🪖
Timor reissue and Vertex M100
So it's a competition to find the "best"?
In WW2 Omega supplied the most watches to the Allied Forces, tho during the war they were ATP, The Dirty Dozen were just after/or last few months of the war. (So much so that Field Marshal Montgomery visited the Omega factory after the war)
For Homages, there's two that stand out to me, the Timor and Vertex, for obvious reasons.
Dunno if that's what you wanted. 🤔👍🏻
Kuoe Kyoto. Cheers!
Timor reissue and Vertex M100
Thanks this is noted 🙂
Kuoe Kyoto. Cheers!
Thanks for the suggestions ☺️
Ok… so the watch is known as the W.W.W., the “Dirty Dozen” are those 12 watch companies who fulfilled the actual brief for the MoD:
Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.
It is tiring to keep pointing this out. The Dirty Dozen film is from the 1960s, so the colloquialism would only ever be a recent pithy collective noun, they weren’t called that at the time.
Only IWC, JLC, and Omega actually recorded how many units they shipped: 6000, 10000, and 25000.
The smallest numbers were around 5000, and it is Grana who are believed to have produced the least of these watches which is why they command a high premium. There were only around 150000 that shipped to the UK in the later part of 1945 for general service, which means that they never really saw combat action in WWII… although I have heard on the grapevine that Vertex claim to have some proof that their version was in service in late 1944, and as the only British-based brand of the 12, that would be (a) plausible, and (b) a real game-changer.
The specification for the watch required the following:
regulated to chronometer standards
waterproof
shockproof
black dial
Arabic numerals
luminous hour and minute hands,
luminous hour markers
railroad minute track
shatterproof crystal
stainless-steel case (but was relaxed to allow for chrome top and stainless-steel back)
15-jewel movements, measuring between 11.75 and 13 lignes
Following this brief, there is little to really separate them from a performance perspective, and due to the age, they will nowhere near compete with modern “homages”, it seems unfair to judge them against modern counterparts. You could put case against case, but that seems harsh. Unless you have benchmarks for the calibres at the time, the fact that they were all regulated to within the same chronometer standards would imply that they are all excellent timekeepers in their prime. You are then only really looking at size (by which the emasculated wouldn’t even wear 11 of them at sub 38mm judging by standard WC bs), and numbers produced, which seems odd.
The other thing to bear in mind is that many of these watches that were returned to the MoD were either completely overhauled by the Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (R.E.M.E) with cheaper parts, or just repurposed and subsequently sold off to other Allied forces such as the Dutch, Indonesian, or Pakistani militaries. Original, unmolested W.W.W.s are not very common.
The real workhorse watches for the British army were the ATPs (which were civilian watches), the 6B/159, and Weems (also known as the 6B/159 confusingly enough).
Ok… so the watch is known as the W.W.W., the “Dirty Dozen” are those 12 watch companies who fulfilled the actual brief for the MoD:
Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.
It is tiring to keep pointing this out. The Dirty Dozen film is from the 1960s, so the colloquialism would only ever be a recent pithy collective noun, they weren’t called that at the time.
Only IWC, JLC, and Omega actually recorded how many units they shipped: 6000, 10000, and 25000.
The smallest numbers were around 5000, and it is Grana who are believed to have produced the least of these watches which is why they command a high premium. There were only around 150000 that shipped to the UK in the later part of 1945 for general service, which means that they never really saw combat action in WWII… although I have heard on the grapevine that Vertex claim to have some proof that their version was in service in late 1944, and as the only British-based brand of the 12, that would be (a) plausible, and (b) a real game-changer.
The specification for the watch required the following:
regulated to chronometer standards
waterproof
shockproof
black dial
Arabic numerals
luminous hour and minute hands,
luminous hour markers
railroad minute track
shatterproof crystal
stainless-steel case (but was relaxed to allow for chrome top and stainless-steel back)
15-jewel movements, measuring between 11.75 and 13 lignes
Following this brief, there is little to really separate them from a performance perspective, and due to the age, they will nowhere near compete with modern “homages”, it seems unfair to judge them against modern counterparts. You could put case against case, but that seems harsh. Unless you have benchmarks for the calibres at the time, the fact that they were all regulated to within the same chronometer standards would imply that they are all excellent timekeepers in their prime. You are then only really looking at size (by which the emasculated wouldn’t even wear 11 of them at sub 38mm judging by standard WC bs), and numbers produced, which seems odd.
The other thing to bear in mind is that many of these watches that were returned to the MoD were either completely overhauled by the Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (R.E.M.E) with cheaper parts, or just repurposed and subsequently sold off to other Allied forces such as the Dutch, Indonesian, or Pakistani militaries. Original, unmolested W.W.W.s are not very common.
The real workhorse watches for the British army were the ATPs (which were civilian watches), the 6B/159, and Weems (also known as the 6B/159 confusingly enough).
Thank you so much for wonderful information with data. I will use this to conduct the match ups and will post the polls accordingly 🫡
Vario 1945 - amazing textured dial and sick caseback. Unfortunate crown position. https://vario.sg/products/vario-1945-d12-field-watch-raven-black-dial
Baltany D12 - affordable beater, great finishing for <$100, available in sandblasted or brushed case, 36mm or 39mm, quartz or NH38. https://www.baltany.com/product/baltany-d12-quartz-watches-s2019/12/
Ok… so the watch is known as the W.W.W., the “Dirty Dozen” are those 12 watch companies who fulfilled the actual brief for the MoD:
Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.
It is tiring to keep pointing this out. The Dirty Dozen film is from the 1960s, so the colloquialism would only ever be a recent pithy collective noun, they weren’t called that at the time.
Only IWC, JLC, and Omega actually recorded how many units they shipped: 6000, 10000, and 25000.
The smallest numbers were around 5000, and it is Grana who are believed to have produced the least of these watches which is why they command a high premium. There were only around 150000 that shipped to the UK in the later part of 1945 for general service, which means that they never really saw combat action in WWII… although I have heard on the grapevine that Vertex claim to have some proof that their version was in service in late 1944, and as the only British-based brand of the 12, that would be (a) plausible, and (b) a real game-changer.
The specification for the watch required the following:
regulated to chronometer standards
waterproof
shockproof
black dial
Arabic numerals
luminous hour and minute hands,
luminous hour markers
railroad minute track
shatterproof crystal
stainless-steel case (but was relaxed to allow for chrome top and stainless-steel back)
15-jewel movements, measuring between 11.75 and 13 lignes
Following this brief, there is little to really separate them from a performance perspective, and due to the age, they will nowhere near compete with modern “homages”, it seems unfair to judge them against modern counterparts. You could put case against case, but that seems harsh. Unless you have benchmarks for the calibres at the time, the fact that they were all regulated to within the same chronometer standards would imply that they are all excellent timekeepers in their prime. You are then only really looking at size (by which the emasculated wouldn’t even wear 11 of them at sub 38mm judging by standard WC bs), and numbers produced, which seems odd.
The other thing to bear in mind is that many of these watches that were returned to the MoD were either completely overhauled by the Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (R.E.M.E) with cheaper parts, or just repurposed and subsequently sold off to other Allied forces such as the Dutch, Indonesian, or Pakistani militaries. Original, unmolested W.W.W.s are not very common.
The real workhorse watches for the British army were the ATPs (which were civilian watches), the 6B/159, and Weems (also known as the 6B/159 confusingly enough).
Thank you for the information.
Vario 1945 - amazing textured dial and sick caseback. Unfortunate crown position. https://vario.sg/products/vario-1945-d12-field-watch-raven-black-dial
Baltany D12 - affordable beater, great finishing for <$100, available in sandblasted or brushed case, 36mm or 39mm, quartz or NH38. https://www.baltany.com/product/baltany-d12-quartz-watches-s2019/12/
Thanks for the suggestions.
I’m with you Dev, I didn’t vote just cause I’m gonna choose both but will be updated and vote between the actual watches🙏🏽🙏🏽🙌🏼🙌🏼
I’m with you Dev, I didn’t vote just cause I’m gonna choose both but will be updated and vote between the actual watches🙏🏽🙏🏽🙌🏼🙌🏼
I'll start form Monday 😁
if it was me I would consider: Lang 1943, Timor WWW, Vertex M100A (or the new one), MWC, Baltany D12, Kuoe Kyoto Old Smith 90-009, Militado, Milifortic, Vaer, Merkur/Seizenn, Praesidus Dirty Dozen 1945 (DD-45), SWC Ark Patina
no to the Vario, wrong crown position
all of those are, technically, “better” if comparing them to the originals in the present day (bear in mind they are around 80 years old) - more accurate if quartz, better water resistance, better materials…
if it was me I would consider: Lang 1943, Timor WWW, Vertex M100A (or the new one), MWC, Baltany D12, Kuoe Kyoto Old Smith 90-009, Militado, Milifortic, Vaer, Merkur/Seizenn, Praesidus Dirty Dozen 1945 (DD-45), SWC Ark Patina
no to the Vario, wrong crown position
all of those are, technically, “better” if comparing them to the originals in the present day (bear in mind they are around 80 years old) - more accurate if quartz, better water resistance, better materials…
Noted✅
Vario 1945 - amazing textured dial and sick caseback. Unfortunate crown position. https://vario.sg/products/vario-1945-d12-field-watch-raven-black-dial
Baltany D12 - affordable beater, great finishing for <$100, available in sandblasted or brushed case, 36mm or 39mm, quartz or NH38. https://www.baltany.com/product/baltany-d12-quartz-watches-s2019/12/
Thanks for the mention. I'm not part of the dozen and didn't set out to make a copy or close homage, so the arrow at 12 and crown at 4pm helps me to add my own twist and fuse the old and the new together.
Thanks for the mention. I'm not part of the dozen and didn't set out to make a copy or close homage, so the arrow at 12 and crown at 4pm helps me to add my own twist and fuse the old and the new together.
Thanks Vario for your entry here 🤗 I've received few requests to add you in the list.
Oh, I’ll take that Lemania then the Omega please 🙏🏻
Great post Dev!
Oh, I’ll take that Lemania then the Omega please 🙏🏻
Great post Dev!
Thanks Rusty it'll be a competition starts from Monday 🤠 it's going to be 6 days competition between originals and homages 🤗 stay tuned
I seem to have missed the point of all this. Enjoy.
I seem to have missed the point of all this. Enjoy.
Just fun engagement with other enthusiast who love the Dirty dozens and the homages 🤗
It is live!
https://www.watchcrunch.com/Dev9000/posts/dirty-dozens-championship-round-1-omega-vs-record-384961
I’m with you Dev, I didn’t vote just cause I’m gonna choose both but will be updated and vote between the actual watches🙏🏽🙏🏽🙌🏼🙌🏼
https://www.watchcrunch.com/Dev9000/posts/dirty-dozens-championship-round-1-omega-vs-record-384961
It's on @Vinnie.Fox
Oh I'm excited for this one!
It's on Ryan 😊
https://www.watchcrunch.com/Dev9000/posts/dirty-dozens-championship-round-1-omega-vs-record-384961
https://www.watchcrunch.com/Dev9000/posts/dirty-dozens-championship-round-1-omega-vs-record-384961
It's on @Vinnie.Fox
Just voteddd 🙌🏼
It's on Ryan 😊
https://www.watchcrunch.com/Dev9000/posts/dirty-dozens-championship-round-1-omega-vs-record-384961
Thanks Dev!