Collecting a full set of Dirty Dozen watches is something of a rite of passage for budding collectors, and Bonhams has two of the 12 lined up for its next online and in-person auction on February 21.
Dirty Dozen refers to a list of manufacturers commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence at the end of World War II.
The ministry insisted on all watches meeting specifications including waterproofing, shockproofing and accuracy.
They all have black dials, Arabic numerals, and night time readability for issue to the Armed Forces.
When it comes to collecting the Dirty Dozen, it is the rarer pieces, manufactured in smaller quantities, that tend to attract higher prices.
Bonhams has one of the rarest Grana watches. The total number of Grana watches is contested, with estimates of between 1,000 to 5,000 produced.
Jaeger-LeCoultre pieces are also hard to find. Only 6,000 were made before they were decomissioned.
How many Dirty Dozen watches were made?
- Buren – 11,000
- Cyma – 20,000
- Eterna – 5,000
- Grana – Between 1,000 & 5,000
- IWC – 5,000
- JLC – 6,000
- Lemania – 10,000
- Longines – 8,000
- Omega – 25,000
- Record – 25,000
- Timor – 13,000
- Vertex – 15,000
*Figures taken from Konrad Knirim’s book British Military Timepieces
Grana’s watch is often the missing watch in a full set of Dirty Dozen watches, which explains its pre-auction estimate by Bonhams of £15,000 to £20,000.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre piece goes under the hammer with an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000.
There are 139 lots in the Bonhams Watches and Wristwatches sale including another piece with crossover appeal to military collectors.
An A. Lange & Söhne steel manual wind observation pilots’ wristwatch, from around 1942, was commissioned by the German Air Force.
It goes to auction with an estimate of £5,000 to £7,000.
