A so-called ‘Dirty Dozen’ military watch which has stood the test of time is coming up for auction in Lichfield.
The rare Eterna timepiece goes under the hammer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers on Monday (5th July).
As well as a famous war movie, the Dirty Dozen is the modern nickname of a group of 12 watches commissioned by the British MoD for World War Two soldiers in 1944 and 1945.
Civilian watches were deemed not accurate enough and strict specifications were requested – 12 companies delivered timepieces which went on to be issued to personnel.
Yet whereas Omega’s Dirty Dozen model is known to have been made 25,000 times, as few as 5,000 are understood to have been produced by watchmaker Eterna.
The example featuring in the Lichfield sale is expected to fetch between £600 and £800.
Auctioneer Richard Winterton said:
“The custom-built military ‘Dirty Dozen’ wristwatches are incredibly popular in the world of collectable watches.
“They were built to the exacting chronometer standards and had to be accurate, waterproof and shockproof as well as having a black dial, luminous hands and markers, Arabic numerals, a ‘railroad’ minute track and a shatterproof crystal – all powered by a 15 jewel movement.
“The fact that these two are still ticking today is a testament to those high standards.”
Richard Winterton
Full details of the lot and other items in the sale are available online.
