The original “Dirty Dozen” watches refer to W.W.W. watches that were commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) during World War II and produced by these twelve companies Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.

The acronym “W.W.W.” was engraved on the screw-on or snap-on steel casebacks for each of the original watches and means “Watches, Wrist, Waterproof.”