Grana WWW Dirty Dozen Military Watch

amanico · 2019-02-01T01:45:50Z

Discover the Grana WWW, the rarest of the 'Dirty Dozen' military watches. Learn why this 1945 British Army timepiece is so elusive for collectors.

amanico

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

30 replies4957 views2 photos

Amanico highlights the Grana WWW, a notoriously rare timepiece from the 'Dirty Dozen' collection of British Army military watches from 1945. He explains why this particular watch is the most challenging to acquire for collectors aiming to complete the full set, emphasizing its historical significance and character.

Credit pictures: SSong.

The Grana WWW is the responsible of the fact that many of us who want to get the whole Dirty Dozen Collection of Military watches from 1945, issued for the British Army, cannot achieve this collection.

Much rarer than the Vertex, Cyma, Omega, Jaeger-Lecoultre, IWC, Eterna, Lemania and Longines, to mention these ones only, the Grana is the almost impossible bird to catch.

35 mm case, in house manual winding movement, and this dial which is very similar to the 11 other " WWW ".

A macro of its dial:

They all are watches with character, History and Soul. This Grana doesn't lack any of these virtues.

I am not among those who want to build the whole collection of " WWW Dirty Dozen ", but if I could grab three or four of them, I would be very happy!

Best,

Nicolas

Key Points from the Discussion

The Grana WWW is widely considered the most difficult of the 'Dirty Dozen' watches to find, making it a highly desirable piece for collectors.
The Grana's movement is noted as one of the most compelling among the Dirty Dozen, even when compared to iterations from IWC and Omega.
The dials of all 'Dirty Dozen' watches were originally black and utilized radioactive Radium-226, a detail important for collectors to be aware of.
Variations in case measurements exist among the Dirty Dozen, with some examples showing differences of up to 0.15mm between polished and unpolished cases, and an unusual 38.5mm Cyma case noted.
The rarity of the Grana WWW means many collectors have only seen it in photographs, underscoring the appreciation for high-quality images of the watch.
A collector shared an old photo of their Grana WWW, contributing to the visual documentation of this rare piece.

The Discussion

Cpt Scarlet

Feb 1, 2019

The Grana is the most difficult of “The Dozen” to find. Just be aware of the use of radioactive Radium-226 on the dials. All dials produced were black.

Cpt Scarlet

Feb 1, 2019

Especially when storing several together ⚡️

montres1

Feb 1, 2019

While we see every now and then some of the Dirty Dozen, the Grana is always and only in photos !! Very nice one as usual ! BTW, do you have any bad looking vintage in your collection that you could share with us, too frustrating to see how perfect the models you present look !

VMM

Feb 1, 2019

Love the look and the patina. A 38/39 mm version looking exactly like that would be great. Thanks for sharing. Vte

Dr No

Feb 1, 2019

. . . never seen one in the metal, so your excellent pics are deeply appreciated. Would love to have just one of the Dirty Dozen, and happiest with this most obscure iteration. There . . . I said it. Not the Omega. The Grana. ;-)

Dr No

Feb 1, 2019

. . . the most compelling movement of the lot, although there's much to recommend the IWC and Omega iterations on that front. But in terms of desirability from a collectors standpoint, the rarest of the breed is personally persuasive. The military I'd most like to add to my collection aside from one of many Omega references would be a Benrus sterile, which you're familiar with. The Grana would be second on that list. Best, Art

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