Longines WWW

This is a British Army issued Longines watch from 1945. The watch was issued to soldiers in the army, it has a steel case and a black dial with white numeral for clear legibility. The watch is in great condition (by no means a given for a military issued wristwatch). The dial and hands are all original and in excellent condition.

The Ministry of Defence in the 1940s developed a specification for military issue wristwatches. The specification is referred to as W.W.W., an acronym which stands for Watch, Wristlet (i.e. not a pocket watch) and Waterproof. W.W.W. is marked on the case back along with the serial number and manufacturer code (F for Longines). In all there were 12 different manufacturers who produced watches to this specification for the MoD, collectively they are referred to as “The Dirty Dozen”, there’s an excellent introduction to these watches here:

Note: often this watch is referred to as a “Greenlander”, this derives from the misapprehension that these watches were supplied to members of the British North Greenland Expedition (1952-54).

The watch has an beautiful Longines 12.68N movement with Breguet overcoil and blued screws contrasting nicely with the gilded plates. This is really the last generation of Longines movements which featured this sort of traditional finishing. The movement also has shock proofing on the balance pivots, designed to absorb the sort of jarring-impacts which can damage or break the staff. The watch has a great solid stainless steel case, which at 38mm is large for a vintage watch, but well suited to contemporary tastes. The watch has fixed lugs to hold it securely to the strap, even in combat. The watch has been fully serviced and regulated and the time keeping is of the highest order.

All in all a charismatic watch in excellent condition.

Case diameter (excluding winding crown): 38mm
Case material: stainless steel
strap width: 18mm
time keeping: grade A+