Baltany makes several watches that pay homage to Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen watches have been a popular theme for watch collectors for a long time.

they may not be as highly rated as other military watches when they are presented individually, as a set, they become some of the most collectible.

The Dirty Dozen is the name of a movie from the 1960s, depicting the misadventures of 12 fictional soldiers during the Second World War. It is also, in watch collecting circles, the name given to a group of 12 watches.

They were commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) during World War II.

Back in 1944 at the height of World War II, the British Ministry of Defence put in an order for a watch to equip its soldiers on the battlefield.

But, when Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, few local watch companies could compete with Switzerland’s greater production capabilities, and those still in the business of making components were asked to focus their efforts on building military parts for the Air Force and the Navy.

Perhaps in a bid to maximise production, rather than partnering with a specific brand, they invited any Swiss manufacturer who could build a watch to the requested standard, to do so.

Due to the rigours of military life, very strict specifications were set, and all in, twelve watch manufacturers were eventually accepted, resulting in the nickname ‘The Dirty Dozen’. They were: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger Le-Coultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex.

More formally, these watches were known as W.W.W,  it  stood for Watch,Wrist and Waterproof.

The W.W.W. spec called for a watch between 35 and 38 millimeters in diameter (not including the crown); The watches were to be waterproof, a black dial with luminous hour markers, hands and railroad minute track; a shatterproof crystal; Arabic numerals; and a chrome or stainless steel case.

The attraction of the vintage tool watch for many is that these were timepieces built to do a specific job as accurately as possible, and, as such, form almost always followed its utilitarian function. Military wristwatches, of course, often took this idea to the extreme, with nothing extraneous added, and nothing essential left out of the design.

There are numerous watchmaking firms producing modern interpretations of these great watches, or are producing watches that take design cues from this era and are reminiscent of the original.

Baltany has made several watches that pay homage to the D12,Those watch keeps the essential details of the original, including the clean white-on-black dial, the small-seconds subdial and a 36mm case.

To make the watch more durable,It also adds a few subtle upgrades like a sapphire crystal and 100m water resistance. You do not have to worry too much about dropping it on the bathroom floor or accidentally wearing it in the pool.

Most importantly, the price of the baltany dirty Dozen is undoubtedly very competitive among the D12 tribute watch of the same craftsmanship and configuration, you can add a true superhero watch to your wrist as easily as ordering a new pair of swim trunks.

To enhance the fun of the watch, the Baltany Dirty Dozen watch combines 2 lume tones: BGW9 (for the numerals) and old radium (on the hands and pips).

If we look closely, we will find that the prototype D12 watch is missing the number 5 and the number 7 to varying degrees due to the distribution of the small seconds dial. Baltany re-modified the layout of the dial according to the position and proportion of the small seconds of the movement, and the overall appearance is more coordination.

The version of the Baltany D12 watch with a white dial will also make your eyes shine. The emery craftsmanship, the irregular distribution of white emery on the cream yellow dial, comes from the retro old atmosphere, but there is no lack of modernity.

Baltany offers a choice of two versions of the D12 military watch, the VD78 quartz version and the Seagull ST1701 automatic mechanical version. The quartz version is a pencil hand, the second hand is also filled with luminous, the automatic version is a cathedral hand, and the second hand is printed luminous.

>36 mm stainless steel case with a matte bead blasted finish

>double-domed sapphire crystal with AR coating

>small seconds complication

>18mm lugwidth , 43mm L2L, 11mm height (without the crystal)

>lumed pencil hands + lumed pips and arabic numerals around the dial’s railroad track

>screwdown crown and screw-on caseback

>100m water resistance