Military Watch Auctions
Our quarterly watch auctions in London, Edinburgh, and live online offer the perfect platform to sell your military wristwatch.
Our expert team have extensive experience of these specialist timepieces; from RAF pilot watches, to diver and navigator watches and trench watches, our thoroughly-researched cataloguing ensures that your wristwatch will reach thousands of interested and motivated bidders.
Our free watch valuation service offers a simple way to find out how much your military-style watch could be worth at auction. Contact us below and a member of our watch department will be in touch to advise on an auction estimate, the best time to sell and more.
Why Sell Your Military Watch at Auction?
The value of army and navy wristwatches has grown hugely over the last 10 years. From WWI trench watches to WWII RAF watches, these historical pieces are now highly sought-after at auction. The most popular examples come from Rolex, Panerai, Omega, Tudor, IWC and Breitling.
The ‘Dirty Dozen’ is a term used to describe the twelve brands instructed by the British Ministry of Defence to create military watches to a particular set of criteria; these watches have black dials, luminous hands and stainless steel cases among other features. The brands chosen were Omega, Lemania, IWC, Vertex, Eterna, Record, Buren, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cyma, Gruen, Timor and Longines Wittnauer.
Military-issue watches are easily recognisable from their casebacks: most will have an inscription. Many will say WWW or W.W.W. (if they are an example of the ‘Dirty Dozen’) and have a broad arrow which is a triangle with a central line denoting the watch to be the property of the state. German military watches will have ‘BUND’ and those from the USA will have ‘U.S.’ Most also have other numbers that can relate to the date the company started manufacturing the watches or the date the government received the watches, only occasionally will dates relate to the time the watch was issued to its wearer.
Recent military issue watch highlights at Lyon & Turnbull include an Omega WWII wristwatch that sold for £2,250, a Lemania ‘Dirty Dozen’ watch that made £1,250 and a Jaeger-LeCoultre example that achieved £3,000.
All sale results shown are inclusive of buyer’s premium.
