The Dirty Dozen 1945 (DD-45)

An homage with the looks of an 80 y/o

The Project

As a young Field Watch Brand, we’ve always wanted to re-interpret the infamous “Dirty Dozen” series. A series of 12 watches commissioned by the British War Office for their soldiers during WW2. These are widely considered the first true field watches ever commissioned by the British War Office. 12 iconic Swiss watchmakers took part; giving the nickname “Dirty Dozen”.

When we started our Dirty Dozen program, we didn’t want to bring the Dirty Dozen aesthetics to the XXIst century. Partly because it already had been done by other brands previously, but, also because we felt it didn’t really fit with our ethos. So, instead of “modernizing” the Dirty Dozen design we tried to do the exact opposite & “vintagize” our homage. The result is a series of 3 dials: a “factory finish” dial, a fully tropicalized dial & a heavily aged dial with true patina luminous.

A Story-Telling Dial

The dial on the DD-45 took two years of development as we aimed at re-creating a “true” patina on both the indexes & hands. Each dial is unique in its patina & truly feels like it is an 80 year-old dial. You can choose how much “aging” you want; from “factory finish” non-patina all the way to a fully tropical brown dial.

Watch Wrist Waterproof

Our Dirty Dozen was designed with the orignal 1940s W.W.W (Watch Wrist Waterproof) requirements in mind. Although we won’t call our Dirty Dozen waterproof, we definitely made sure it’s water resistant in most conditions. Featuring 10 ATM (100m/330ft) water-resistance & a screw down crown, your Dirty Dozen is ready for anything.

An Exceptional Case Work

The case profile has been extensively worked on to match the exception detail we’ve gone into for the dial aging. Featuring radial brushed rounded lugs sharpened by a shiny facet-cut, we’ve never got this complex with our case.

A Legendary Design Brief

The “Dirty Dozen” was a set of 12 watch manufacturers that answered the British War Office’s request for dedicated field watches meant to equip specialists on the field (radio operators, artillerymen, etc). The brief was simple: a waterproof, shockproof & chronometer regulated piece that would feature maximal legibility. This meant a black dial with white arabic indexes & a white railroad track.An odd design decision was to ask for a sub-second hand at the 6-index; negatively impacting readability; especially when compared to the American A-11 design. An estimated 150,000 were built for the British War Office with companies ranging from 25,000 pieces delivered to only 1,000 for the smallest (Grana).

The “Dirty Dozen” was a set of 12 watch manufacturers that answered the British MOD’s (Ministry of Defense) request for dedicated field watches meant to equip specialists on the field (radio operators, artillerymen, etc). 

THE DD-45

SPECIFICATIONS

Swiss Power

Just Like The Originals

The original Dirty Dozen companies all had their production lines based in neutral 1945 Switzerland. We’ve selected the Swiss-Made Landeron L24 automatic movement to pay homage to the origins of the Dirty Dozen. Featuring 25 Jewels, a 40 Hour Power Reserve & 28,800 Frequency.

Sizing & Finishing

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