User:Bruce Fielding/sandbox

THE VERTEX STORY
Founded over a century ago by Claude Lyons in London’s jewellery heartland, Hatton Garden, through its dedication to quality, Vertex quickly grew to become one of the most successful watch companies in Great Britain.

During the Second World War, Vertex – along with 11 other carefully chosen watchmakers including IWC, Jaeger-le-Coultre, Longines and Omega – was selected to supply the British Military with watches to an exacting new bespoke design. The specifications were precisely what you would expect a military watch to have - waterproof, luminous, regulated to chronometer level and rugged. On top of that, the dial needed to be black, with arabic numerals to maximise legibility.

These eponymous few became known as the ‘Dirty Dozen’ and one of the common features of all these watches was the engraving "W.W.W." (for Watches Wristlet Waterproof) on the outside case-back.

The watches also featured the British Government Broad Arrow which had been in use since 1544 to signify the Board of Ordnance.

The Board’s principal duties being to supply guns, ammunition, stores and equipment to King Henry VIII’s Navy. The Broad Arrow frequently appeared on military boxes and equipment such as canteens, bayonets and rifles, as well as the British prison uniform from the 1870s, including that of transportees to British penal colonies such as Australia.