In the 1940s CYMA was one of the ‘Dirty Dozen’, which was a selection of 12 watch brands worn by WWII British soldiers. The 'Dirty Dozen' brands were commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense, which needed as many watches as possible produced for the British soldiers. Manufacturing capacity at the time allowed for roughly 145,000 watches to be produced.
The arrow seen on the dial, which is regularly seen on military watches, marks the watch as "crown property"; the British monarch's sovereign public estate, which was considered neither government property nor part of the monarch's private estate. Although manufactured by a dozen companies (known as the "Dirty Dozen" by military watch collectors), CYMA's models are especially sought-after, as CYMA utilized high-quality steel for their version of the MOD spec watch, despite the steel shortage caused by the war efforts of the time. The other brands had to make their watch cases from much more inferior metals, meaning many of the watches offered by the other brands of the "dirty dozen" haven't held up in the following decades.
| Stock # | CYMDD-3 | |
| Brand | Cyma | |
| Style | Military | |
| Model | Dirty Dozen | |
| Serial | 12506 | |
| Size | Men's | |
| Material | Stainless Steel | |
| Dial | Matte Black "Tropical" | |
| Millimeters | 38 | |
| Bracelet | Single Pass NATO Strap |
CASE & BRACELET
The excellent case is exceptionally well-preserved, displaying thick and angular lugs with strong brushing and honest signs of use. The stainless steel bezel shows honest signs of use and retains its factory dimensions as well. The unsigned crown is most likely the original to the watch. The case back retains all of its original military engravings in deep and crisp condition. The fixed spring bars remain fully intact and in excellent condition. The watch will come supplied on a single pass nylon NATO strap.
DIAL & HANDS
The original dial has achieved a beautiful tropical olive green color and chocolate brown color of the sub-seconds hand dial with appropriate signs of age throughout. The dial text and Arabic numerals all remain in wonderful and clearly visible condition. The radium lume plots show consistent degradation throughout when inspected under U.V. light and taken on a dark sandy coloration which is common. The original radium hands match the dial nicely and exhibit no degradation under U.V. light inspection.
ACCESSORIES
None. The watch is keeping time well, previous service history is unknown.
