During World War II, the British Ministry of Defense commissioned a rugged and highly legible timepiece for its troops, and twelve Swiss brands answered the call to produce Britain’s very first military-issued wristwatch. Colloquially known as the “Dirty Dozen” in recognition of the twelve brands that produced them, these purpose-built field watches followed a design brief outlined by the British Ministry of Defense, and they played a crucial role in laying the foundation for all future mil-spec timepieces. For its inaugural model, the Brooklyn-based microbrand Tuul has reimagined the blueprint of the classic Dirty Dozen field watch, and the Tuul Filthy 13 represents a modernized expression of the historic military-issued timepieces that were specially created to survive on the front lines of humanity’s greatest conflict.
At the time of writing, the Tuul Filthy 13 field watch is available in four different configurations consisting of two models in stainless steel and two crafted from bronze. Although all four versions of the Filthy 13 feature the same fundamental design, the stainless steel models are available with either black or white dials, while dial colors for the bronze versions include black or olive drab green. Aside from the material of their cases and the finishing on their dials and hands, the four Tuul Filthy 13 watches are otherwise more-or-less identical, and while the black-dial stainless steel version closely adheres to the template of the original Dirty Dozen watches, the bronze models offer an alternate expression that further leans into the collection’s vintage-inspired aesthetic.
Unlike their siblings that use 316L stainless steel for their components, the bronze versions of the Tuul Filthy 13 field watch are crafted from CuSn8 bronze, although stainless steel is still used for their casebacks to prevent the bronze patina from discoloring the wearer’s wrist. Regardless of their materials, all of the Filthy 13 watches feature matte bead-blasted surfaces for an entirely non-reflective finish, and they are furnished with flat sapphire crystals, solid-screw-down casebacks, and signed winding crowns at the 3 o’clock location that screw down to the middle case to help ensure 100 meters of water resistance. While an entirely bead-blasted case hardly offers the most elevated appearance, the absence of any brushed or polished surfaces creates an inherently utilitarian aesthetic that complements the Filthy 13’s rugged no-frills design.
In terms of dimensions, the case of the Tuul Filthy 13 measures 38mm in diameter by 11.25mm thick, and it features squared-off lugs (with drilled holes) that are set 20mm apart and extend to create an overall lug-to-lug profile of 46mm. The signed crown at 3 o’clock measures 7mm wide to ensure plenty of grip during operation, and the weight of the bronze Filthy 13 models comes in at approximately 72 grams when measuring just the watch itself, or a total of 84 grams if you also factor in its included strap. With the added bulk of the NATO strap sitting under its case, the total height of the Filthy 13 ends up being closer to 14mm, and while it isn’t an especially thin watch (especially when worn on a NATO), the squared-off profile of its lugs helps the Tuul Filthy 13 maintain a relatively compact profile on the wrist.
The dials fitted to the Tuul Filthy 13 watches are heavily inspired by the design of the original Dirty Dozen models, which were based on specifications outlined by the British Ministry of Defense. Just like the original Dirty Dozen watches, the Filthy 13 features a time-only display with Arabic numeral hour markers, a railroad-style minute track, and the seconds displayed by a sub-dial on the lower half of its dial. While several different types of hands were fitted to the original Dirty Dozen watches, the Tuul Filthy 13 opts for a simple pencil-shaped handset, and the bronze models feature hands with a matte bronze finish to match their cases. As the Filthy 13 isn’t a watch issued by Britain’s Ministry of Defense, it omits the broad arrow emblem that can be found on the original Dirty Dozen models, and rather than relying on radium for its luminescence, the Tuul Filthy 13 opts for modern Super-LumiNova to provide it with a green-glowing display in the dark.
Powering the Tuul Filthy 13 field watches is the Swiss-made Sellita Caliber SW261-1 automatic movement, essentially the small-seconds version of the familiar Sellita SW200-1. As such, the 31-jewel Sellita Cal. SW261-1 runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 42 hours, and it also offers the convenience of a hacking seconds mechanism in addition to both manual and automatic winding. In its standard configuration, the Sellita SW261-1 is a date-displaying movement, although the version that Tuul uses inside its Filthy 13 models has had its date complication removed to eliminate the vestigial “ghost position” that would otherwise result from their time-only displays.
All four versions of the Tuul Filthy 13 are paired with ribbed nylon NATO-style straps, and buyers have the option of choosing between black, khaki, or olive green when they place their orders on the brand’s website. Regardless of color, all of the Filthy 13 straps are fitted with chunky tang-style buckles signed with Tuul’s logo and crafted from the same material used for their cases. With that in mind, one small difference between the straps for the stainless steel and bronze FIlthy 13 watches pertains to the material used for their trio of keepers. While the stainless steel models have straps with matching stainless steel keepers, the bronze versions have straps with fabric keepers, and the only metal elements on them are their CuSn8 bronze buckles and the springbars that secure them to the rest of the strap’s structure.
Although quite a few brands now produce their own expressions of the Dirty Dozen field watch, the Tuul Filthy 13 represents a more premium execution of this popular mil-spec format, and just like the original Dirty Dozen watches that were supplied by the British Ministry of Defense, the Filthy 13 is a Swiss-made timepiece. While you can get your hands on a watch with a similar overall appearance for as little as a few hundred dollars, the Tuul Filthy 13 offers quite a bit more attention to detail than what you will find among the industry’s various bottom-dollar offerings; however, it also costs more with and official retail price of $899.99 USD in stainless steel and $1,099.99 USD for the bronze models. That said, the Tuul Filthy 13 is hardly overpriced when you compare it to similar Swiss-made offerings, and it represents a very solid offering for the person who wants a modernized rendition of the classic Dirty Dozen field watch. For more information on the Tuul Filthy 13, please visit the brand’s website.
