1944 Omega WWW Dirty Dozen 35mm Cal. 30T2 Military Watch
Ref: W.W.W. Y22446
Specification
Lugs : 18mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as "Watch only" and, therefore, comes with no original Omega box or paperwork. It is paired with an 18mm NATO strap. The watch is from Circa 1944 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, wear and age can be seen throughout the watch, but overall, this is a great example of this rare reference. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ks8plBO3PmDQiN9z2Imcko3z8fdchRuh?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 4:43 - https://youtu.be/NixJ5A0hrxQ
The Watch
Here we have a 1944 Omega WWW Dirty Dozen 35mm Cal. 30T2 Military Watch. As a military-issue watch, it was part of the 12 brands: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex commissioned by the military during WWII. The 35mm stainless steel round case comfortably fits on your wrist thanks to tapered lugs, fixed spring bars, a 45mm lug-to-lug length, and an 11.5mm case thickness. A smooth bezel holds a domed crystal above a black dial. An outer minute rail track surrounds Arabic numerals coated in radium luminance, marking the hours, and elegant hands filled with radium luminance sit above a sub-second at 6 o’clock. At 12 o’clock, we have the Omega motif and the Broad Arrow (pheon), the mark indicating British Government Issue property. On the reverse, a screw-down case back with W.W.W. Y22446 10259515 / 10686645 engraved. WWW stands for Watch, Wrist, Waterproof, and the Broad Arrow (pheon), the mark indicating British Government Issue property. Inside a manually wound Omega Cal. 30T2, a Swiss 15 jewel movement beating at a leisurely 18,000 beats per hour and is highly regarded by collectors and industry for its reliability and accuracy, the Cal. 30 series of movements was first produced in 1939 until 1963. The watch comes paired with an 18mm NATO strap and pin buckle.
Personal Note
The "Dirty Dozen" were watches made by 12 brands commissioned by the military during WWII, these brands were Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex. Production numbers, cases, material and other small variations differ for the models, for me personally this Omega is one of my favourites. Do not hesitate to add this amazing example to your collection today!
The Brand
Formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co. in 1848, it was founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds. When he died in 1879, his sons carried on his dream. In 1880, they moved to 96 Rue Jakob-Stampfli, where they remain today. The brothers produced their first mass-produced calibre, the Labrador In 1885. Just a few years later, in 1892, they produced the first minute-repeater. In 1903, they renamed the company Omega until 1982, when they officially changed their name to Omega SA. During WW1, Omega watches were used as official timekeepers for the Royal Flying Corps and the US Army. In 1930, Omega and Tissot merged together to form Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH). In 1931, another group was formed - Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). Where SSIH was primarily French-speaking, ASUAG was founded by the more German-speaking members of the Swiss watch industry. In 1948, they introduced the first edition of one of its most symbolic watches: the Seamaster. Omega first introduced the Constellation in 1952. At the time, it was Omega's flagship timepiece. The first models had a Cal. 354 bumper movement in them. Later, in 1955, Omega introduced the Automatic Cal. 50x, followed in 1959 by the Cal.55x (no date) and 56x (date) versions. Many of the Constellations came with pie-pan dials, diamond indexes, and fancy lug configurations. All the gold Constellations of that time have the Observatory of Geneva's hand engraved on the back. The stainless steel and stainless steel/gold versions had a gold medallion on the back with the Observatory of Geneva. The eight stars above the Observatory stand for the many exploits of Omega in the world Chronometer competition. Celebrating the fact that all Constellations are Chronometer Certified. In 1962, when astronaut Wally Schirra wore a Speedmaster on his Mercury Sigma 7 Mission, making it the first Omega watch to enter space. After rigorous tests, NASA used Omega for all their Apollo missions, including the 1969 Moon landing of Apollo 11. Today, Omega is still the first choice of astronauts. In 1969, President Nixon famously said it was “too valuable” and turned down the first-ever all-gold Speedmaster Professional Deluxe. As a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Omega and many Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe formed Centre Electronique Horologer (CEH). Prototypes began to appear in 1967, and their production started in 1968. Then, In 1972, Omega introduced the reference 198.030, which included the Omega calibre 1250, a ‘tuning-fork electronic movement which was made under licence from Bulova. Later we saw a merger of SSIH and ASUAG into SMH, or Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie. This merger took place in 1983. In 1992, the company acquired Blancpain, and in 1998, it officially branded itself from SMH to the Swatch Group. Then, in 1999, they purchased and integrated Breguet into the Swatch Group.