Throughout World Conflict II, the British Ministry of Protection commissioned a rugged and extremely legible timepiece for its troops, and twelve Swiss manufacturers answered the decision to supply Britain’s very first military-issued wristwatch. Colloquially often called the “Soiled Dozen” in recognition of the twelve manufacturers that produced them, these purpose-built subject watches adopted a design transient outlined by the British Ministry of Protection, they usually performed an important position in laying the muse for all future mil-spec timepieces. For its inaugural mannequin, the Brooklyn-based microbrand Tuul has reimagined the blueprint of the basic Soiled Dozen subject watch, and the Tuul Filthy 13 represents a modernized expression of the historic military-issued timepieces that have been specifically created to outlive on the entrance strains of humanity’s biggest battle.
On the time of writing, the Tuul Filthy 13 subject watch is out there in 4 totally different configurations consisting of two fashions in chrome steel and two crafted from bronze. Though all 4 variations of the Filthy 13 characteristic the identical basic design, the chrome steel fashions can be found with both black or white dials, whereas dial colours for the bronze variations embody black or olive drab inexperienced. Other than the fabric of their circumstances and the ending on their dials and palms, the 4 Tuul Filthy 13 watches are in any other case more-or-less similar, and whereas the black-dial chrome steel model carefully adheres to the template of the unique Soiled Dozen watches, the bronze fashions provide an alternate expression that additional leans into the gathering’s vintage-inspired aesthetic.
Not like their siblings that use 316L chrome steel for his or her parts, the bronze variations of the Tuul Filthy 13 subject watch are crafted from CuSn8 bronze, though chrome steel remains to be used for his or her casebacks to forestall the bronze patina from discoloring the wearer’s wrist. No matter their supplies, the entire Filthy 13 watches characteristic matte bead-blasted surfaces for a completely non-reflective end, and they’re furnished with flat sapphire crystals, solid-screw-down casebacks, and signed winding crowns on the 3 o’clock location that screw right down to the center case to assist guarantee 100 meters of water resistance. Whereas a completely bead-blasted case hardly provides probably the most elevated look, the absence of any brushed or polished surfaces creates an inherently utilitarian aesthetic that enhances the Filthy 13’s rugged no-frills design.
By way of dimensions, the case of the Tuul Filthy 13 measures 38mm in diameter by 11.25mm thick, and it options squared-off lugs (with drilled holes) which might be set 20mm aside and lengthen to create an total lug-to-lug profile of 46mm. The signed crown at 3 o’clock measures 7mm large to make sure loads of grip throughout operation, and the burden of the bronze Filthy 13 fashions is available in at roughly 72 grams when measuring simply the watch itself, or a complete of 84 grams for those who additionally consider its included strap. With the added bulk of the NATO strap sitting underneath its case, the full peak of the Filthy 13 finally ends up being nearer to 14mm, and whereas it isn’t an particularly skinny watch (particularly when worn on a NATO), the squared-off profile of its lugs helps the Tuul Filthy 13 preserve a comparatively compact profile on the wrist.
The dials fitted to the Tuul Filthy 13 watches are closely impressed by the design of the unique Soiled Dozen fashions, which have been based mostly on specs outlined by the British Ministry of Protection. Similar to the unique Soiled Dozen watches, the Filthy 13 includes a time-only show with Arabic numeral hour markers, a railroad-style minute observe, and the seconds displayed by a sub-dial on the decrease half of its dial. Whereas a number of various kinds of palms have been fitted to the unique Soiled Dozen watches, the Tuul Filthy 13 opts for a easy pencil-shaped handset, and the bronze fashions characteristic palms with a matte bronze end to match their circumstances. Because the Filthy 13 isn’t a watch issued by Britain’s Ministry of Protection, it omits the broad arrow emblem that may be discovered on the unique Soiled Dozen fashions, and slightly than counting on radium for its luminescence, the Tuul Filthy 13 opts for contemporary Tremendous-LumiNova to offer it with a green-glowing show at midnight.
Powering the Tuul Filthy 13 subject watches is the Swiss-made Sellita Caliber SW261-1 automated motion, basically the small-seconds model of the acquainted Sellita SW200-1. As such, the 31-jewel Sellita Cal. SW261-1 runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with an influence reserve of roughly 42 hours, and it additionally provides the comfort of a hacking seconds mechanism along with each handbook and automated winding. In its commonplace configuration, the Sellita SW261-1 is a date-displaying motion, though the model that Tuul makes use of inside its Filthy 13 fashions has had its date complication eliminated to get rid of the vestigial “ghost place” that might in any other case end result from their time-only shows.
All 4 variations of the Tuul Filthy 13 are paired with ribbed nylon NATO-style straps, and consumers have the choice of selecting between black, khaki, or olive inexperienced after they place their orders on the model’s web site. No matter colour, the entire Filthy 13 straps are fitted with chunky tang-style buckles signed with Tuul’s brand and crafted from the identical materials used for his or her circumstances. With that in thoughts, one small distinction between the straps for the chrome steel and bronze FIlthy 13 watches pertains to the fabric used for his or her trio of keepers. Whereas the chrome steel fashions have straps with matching chrome steel keepers, the bronze variations have straps with cloth keepers, and the one steel parts on them are their CuSn8 bronze buckles and the springbars that safe them to the remainder of the strap’s construction.
Though fairly just a few manufacturers now produce their very own expressions of the Soiled Dozen subject watch, the Tuul Filthy 13 represents a extra premium execution of this common mil-spec format, and similar to the unique Soiled Dozen watches that have been provided by the British Ministry of Protection, the Filthy 13 is a Swiss-made timepiece. Whereas you may get your palms on a watch with the same total look for as little as just a few hundred {dollars}, the Tuul Filthy 13 provides fairly a bit extra consideration to element than what you’ll discover among the many business’s varied bottom-dollar choices; nonetheless, it additionally prices extra with and official retail worth of $899.99 USD in chrome steel and $1,099.99 USD for the bronze fashions. That stated, the Tuul Filthy 13 is hardly overpriced if you evaluate it to related Swiss-made choices, and it represents a really strong providing for the one who needs a modernized rendition of the basic Soiled Dozen subject watch. For extra data on the Tuul Filthy 13, please go to the model’s web site.
