Dirty Dozen have I got the bug!

[Baden H]

Well it's started I have now got a CYMA, Vertex, Record and a Timor inadvertently I realised I'm a third of the way in!
Sadly I'm at the cheaper end of the of collection and I'm terrified of amount of money I would need to carry on in this arduous task.

Can I please have some words of wisdom and inspiration to help me along.

Oh a few pics might help :D

[HansL]

Hello Baden,

Why don't opt for a Buren, Lemania and Eterna WWW first so that you can complete more of the dirty dozen. My advice is to look for Omega WWW ASAP as it is still in fairy cheaper price range, then go for JLC WWW, Longines WWW and IWC WWW. The main issue about completing the dirty dozen is Grana WWW which is super rare and needs a lot of patients and lucks to find one for sale. Even one pop up for sale, definitely has a big price tag and a lot of buyers that are willing to pay one to complete the set. There is Grana WWW for sales in the bay recently for around USD3800.

Below is my dirty dozen picture for your reference



Regards

[mixienewland]

Baden,

I also have 4 but think I will stop at a dirty half dozen as there are watches I would prefer in the iwc, jlc and grana price range to be honest. It is certainly a quest for some and not done quickly or cheaply nowadays!

Good luck mate

Cheers

Mark

[Baden H]

Thanks fr the replies.

Wow that dirty dozen looks awesome but alas Mixieland you might be right :( as much as I like to see things through and complete tasks I dont think I will ever have the funds to see it through.
If I sold the rest of my collection I would probably have enough cash to buy two or three more but not the Grana or Iwc.

I think the next on my list will be the Eterna or Omega I have heard the Eterna is top quality so this might be first. I have so far been impressed by the CYMA amazing case and very wearable because of it's size.

The one bug bear I have had to get over is nickel plating! Until these boys you would never get me buying a plated watch, I also think that's why I'm liking the CYMA so much.
Which of the others is full steel I'm presuming it's the Eterna, omega and IWC, I have led to believe that the JLC is the biggest disappointment and the hardest to find in good condition is there any truth in this?

I'm hoping this thread will become my resource so let's keep the info coming on any of the 12 you may have.

[Geronimo]

Baden, just stick in there, unless you want to complete in double quick time (like I did!)...

[gushunnybunn]

I only have the one, but it is a very nice one and (which may make a few collectors wince) I wear it every day.

[Baden H]

I only have the one, but it is a very nice one and (which may make a few collectors wince) I wear it every day.

Am I not supposed to wear them?

I only worry about the Vertex as it's in such good condition, my CYMA I built like. Tank so no worries there.

[RABbit]

I got the same bug a few years ago...



The next step is getting all the different dial variations...no, I must stop...!

[andy tims]

You lot are making me feel very normal.

[BillyCasper]

Lovely collections, I just have two Records with variant dials:

[dougjim8]

I'm just starting on mine, Baden H your are being a bad influence :lol:

keep us updated. also i'm sure you've seen this, but very interesting:

http://www.time514.com/BritishX.htm

[Alphafloor]

Another 12

[aroma]

Very nice but like all collecting, it becomes an obsession - harmless most of the time but beware!

[Jeff wilson]

Yes you all have the bug

[Geronimo]

Yes you all have the bug

Maybe we have, but Baden has opted out before reaching the half way line unfortunately, from what I´ve been reading lately.

Regards

Jimmy

[John G]

Lovely pictures & collections here. :-)

[Geronimo]

Lovely collections, I just have two Records with variant dials:

Billy, they are quiet something, your two dial variants. I probably haven´t a cats chance in hell in ever finding them though!
Nice watches, Congratulations!

Jimmy

[hth]

Another 12 from the continent :-).

[BillyCasper]

Jimmy,

Many thanks, just added a CYMA to my grand collection of three!

Regards,

[RABbit]

Another 12 from the continent :-).

A rare Lemania "P" dial you have there.
I have an Eterna "P" dial (subsequently cleaned up and re-lumed):



And my 12:

[sts1976]

to a novice like me they all look very alike... are they all built to the same spec?

[RABbit]

They all conform to the same basic appearance of black dial, sub-seconds, Arabic numbers. They differ in case material (some all steel, some are plated brass), size, hands; a few have shock-protected movements. The IWC has a snap-on back and the others are screw-on.

[coolwax]

I love military watches and have a nice collection. Anyway as for collecting the dirty dozen go for it, you will find them all but the IWC, jaeger, longines and grana will probably be good money.

The others are all still quite available at the £200-£500 mark. I do feel though that the omega is rising in price and might be getting up there with the other 4 biggies so the sooner you find one of those the better.

There are two pretty rare variations. One is the jaeger and the other is the eterna and they made these with both bog standard alloy cases and the ultra rare stainless steel cases. These are always good to look out for.

If there are any you are after give me a shout as i have a few duplicates i would sell or trade!!!!

Cheers!!!!

[spencerwells]

Wow, these collections are amazing.

I'm also very new to this but have always thought that the old milatery watches look great.

I stumbled across an Omega WWW watch on ebay not long ago but had no idea that this same style of watch was made by so many manufactures!

I'm sure its been posted before, but I was wondering what the history behind this was. Did the milatary produce a set of specifications and the differents companies all make watches to fit the bill?

I've tried looking it up on google but when you type in WWW it thinks you want a website, which I supose I do, but one specifically about these would be helpful!

Cheers

[spencerwells]

Found out a little bit more about these, I can see why it's such a tempting collection, and the watches look great, good luck!

[Geronimo]

Found out a little bit more about these, I can see why it's such a tempting collection, and the watches look great, good luck!

If you want the full details to these watches, I recommend the 3 part article writtten by our distinguished member Adrian v.d. Meijden together with Thomas Koenig, for the Horological Journal, published in August 2008.
On HIs Majesty´s Service...
http://www.freewebs.com/billyschorr/...WW1%5B1%5D.pdf
http://www.freewebs.com/billyschorr/...WW2%5B1%5D.pdf
http://www.freewebs.com/billyschorr/...WW3%5B1%5D.pdf

Best Regards

Jimmy

[spencerwells]

Thats really helpful and very interesting, thanks for your help. Very well written and easy to follow. I'm running the gauntlet of ebay at the moment, as I'm really taken by these and think they would be a great watch to keep hold of and appreciate. I like things with a bit of history behind them.

Thanks for your help.