A Buren Grand Prix Dirty Dozen WW2  Military Watch With Caseback Engravings W W W - H 7082 - 337245

In the closing years of World War II, a basic but carefully specified model wristwatch was commissioned for members of the British Armed Forces by the Ministry of Defence - manufactured by one of twelve watchmakers who delivered the pieces in 1944 and 1945. These manufacturers (Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, JLC, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex) later came to be known as ‘The Dirty Dozen’ in the mid-1960s, after the release of the popular war film of the same name. Out of the circa. 150,000 watches delivered, only about 11,000 Buren branded watches were produced compared with Omega or Record, which produced around 25,000 examples each of the 150,000 watches.

What's on Offer

Looking at this piece it is obvious it has seen some wear but it does not take away from the great military style that came with watches produced in the early 40s and the historic feel that comes with this watch in particular.

The 36mm chrome topped case reveals some of the brass material underneath. On close examination of this watch, it would appear, that this case has most likely been re-plated at some point in time which is why it has a much shinier look compared to other examples you will see on our site! The thickness of the re-plated material has caused it to flake away in places, mainly around the lug areas and a little on one part of the bezel ring.

Light scratching can be also found on the plexiglass face. The dial however is still very black with lovely weathered numerals that have gone a sand colour and the lume plots have become slightly decayed which is normal over long periods, but overall the dial and hands have aged and look to be in stunning original condition!

This watch comes with a military-style NATO strap that suits it well and the lug bars are fixed which is normal for military-issued pieces manufactured at that time.

Viewing the caseback it has kept well with clear and legible engravings, W W W - H 7082 - 337245 displaying clearly.

The watch is running but has not been tested to any degree and it has not been serviced for some time to our knowledge so we would advise the watch would benefit from a service.

This watch is offered for sale as seen, as we are selling it on behalf of a watch collector's family who has asked us to help sell an entire collection - this is reflected in the price, still, it is a very nice watch with genuine military significance. The watch however can be serviced by our watchmaker, once you have made the purchase please add a note when placing it in your basket and we will contact you to discuss this. Once serviced the watch will be given a 12-month warranty.