VAER A12 Dirty Dozen WW2 Accurate Hand Wound Eta 7001 in 36mm Swiss Made Mil Spec Reissue Watch

[@chriswatchreviews4752]

Gotta give Vaer some much deserved credit. I absolutely love their designs, and this military homage is no different. Just a killer piece. Thanks for the review Chris!

[@Newsthink]

Thanks Chris! Appreciate your video. Any idea of the weight and how precise do you find it? Thinking of getting this

[@christianaviles2199]

I have two VAERs they make solid watches (an Ameriquartz field watch and one of their divers) with a third on its way (their new GMT) . Their designs are derivative and that is both a critique but also not really a bad thing. Their watches don't stand out, they are a little anonymous aesthetically but they also pull off being inoffensively familiar without being clones. And the watches themselves are also great quality for the price point they sell at. Solid watches. If you're looking for a high quality watch at reasonable pricing that's neither a straight homage copy but seems extremely familiar VAER seems to do that well.

[@wi903060]

got mine A12 in July. Have worn it mostly on my Joseph Bonnie bonklip bracelet (switched to NATOs for the winter). I wish it had drilled lugs, clear AR and a regulated movement. Cheers!

[@gideon3648]

Lovely watch and great review. Pleased to see them being faithful to the 36mm size which is perfect for my wrists. If I hadn't bought the recent crowdfunded Timor Heritage Field, I would probably be buying one right now.

[@willsherman3527]

I have this watch and wear it almost daily to work. Absolutely love it! Fabulous watch the closest to the original Dirty dozens that I've seen, even including watches made by a couple of those original companies. Have a handful of Vaer watches, The companies c3 quartz watches are also fabulous. I also bought the A12 gold ceremony, which I reserve for special occasions. As a veteran and an environmentalist, I really love the companies, enthusiasm, approach, and transparency. Transparency. They have some great educational videos too which I use with my students and economic class. If you have a larger wrist, putting it on a nato strap gives it a little bit more presence. The watch movement alone on eBay and other websites can sell for $400 used. Fabulous movement

[@ivermec-tin666]

The original MOD dirty dozen watches varied in size, the largest being 38mm. VAER's rev.1 of their A12 was larger. IMO, this 36mm rev.2 watch is truer to the spirit and functionality of the vintage MOD watches. Personally, I passed on the rev.1 and waited for the rev.2. This is the form factor that I want in a field watch. I find that this watch presents larger on the brown horween strap, or the khaki nylon strap. VAER's silicon straps are rebranded Barton straps with the VAER logo on the buckle. VAER straps are all quick release. With such straps, drilled lugs are of no added value. VAER has not offered drilled lugs on any of their watches, to date. The lume is far better than you give it credit for. It lasts all night if your eyesight is adjusted to low light conditions. Unfortunately, the logo is lumed, which is a niggle for me. The crystal does have AR coating on the inside. The handwound movement is of the elabore tier. It is very accurate. It does not have a hacking feature, but back-hacking works. I am unaware of any current but time tested handwound Swiss movement with a small seconds complication that could best the 7001. The original dirty dozen watches did not have the hacking feature. IMO, the watch compares favorably to that from Timor and from Serica. The width of the bezel is a design feature of the genre. These are tool watches. It is best to keep in mind that the US General Issue field watch from WW2 through Vietnam were 34mm in diameter. This category of watches were designed to perform a function without getting caught up or on things in battle. They are not jewelry. They are intended to be worn with a cuffed shirt. If you are looking for a larger field watch consider CWC and the Longines heritage line. The MOD did move to larger watches over time.

[@RabidMortal1]

Ugh. That lumed logo is soooooo cheap looking. I really wish they hadn't done that.

[@rakmanx1]

Stowa Marine Classic 36 - the same movement beautiful watch...

[@MrFredrictai]

I got 2 JLC dirty dozen but they are still keeping good time. This VAER A12 is good-looking.

[@WatchChris]

Oh those JLCs are sweet. I always thought about trying to collect all 12 but I know it would be very expensive

[@MrFredrictai]

@@WatchChris I got the JLC because I am a sucker of those cathedral hands... Yeah, collecting all 12 of them is gonna be prohibitively expensive.

[@chrisallen9303]

I have two Vaers, C5 and D5 Meridian. I love both, my C5 is an every day wear watch which is great. Both look great on the arm.

[@phil5611]

I had an A12 Dirty Dozen but returned it because I felt it played too small. I wanted a 36mm watch and ordered it because it was 36mm but it just disappeared on my average sized wrist and the proportions were off. I think the bezel was too big for the dial yet the case was too small for the movement which exacerbated the perception of smallness. When viewing the movement you see mostly stationary plates with few moving parts. It has a good story behind it and props to Vaer for the effort but to me a disappointing result. On the plus side, Vaer's customer service was top notch with the return. Happy holidays.

[@davidbreckler5327]

Been on their site a number of times but didn't see this one. Looks a lot like the Hamilton Pro Piolet. I wonder which one is better?

[@ronaldparver9527]

$899 is way out of line. Many many more well-respected watches in that price range.

[@macfl3594]

I love that new diver that was on your wrist.Can you make a review on that one pls pls pls............

[@MrZanzibar123]

I like the looks. Does it hack? I wonder how they could coordinate military actions with non-hacking seconds….

[@FharishAhmedPortfolio]

0:35 LoL this guy is literally giving us the middle finger!!!

[@mystic48209]

All around this is a perfect adventure field watch. Size 36 ir even 38 is a sweet spot. Remember the greatest generation ever , the ww2 fighters, wore watches that were 34 or 36mm diameter as form followed function especially milspecs. The originals used acrylic as they were shatter proof and any scratches were smoothed over by buffing. Sapphire is scratch resistant though not shatter proof but provides that luxury feel .

[@mystic48209]

I think the Swiss movement watches are assembled in Switzerland. The miyota 9015 auto and ameriquartz watches are assembled in USA.

[@MrBacchus18]

Cool watch but 36 is kinda small for my 7.5 inch wrist.

[@Bonpu]

Get yourself a 36 mm watch (Alba or Baltany will do), wear it for a month, check if your other watches aren't too large. I have a seven inch wrist and my favourite watch is 35 mm (Seiko SUS).

[@MrBacchus18]

@@Bonpu Well I have a 37mm Seiko 5 that I can wear but still feels too small. And a Seagull 1963 37mm that feels better probably because it has a 47mm lug to lug. I know I can wear a 36 but I much prefer 38mm-42mm with 39-41 a sweet spot.

[@daniellogansa8101]

I have a 7.5 inch wrist too but 36mm is the largest I’ll go, with 34mm being my preference. I imagine it might be due to me wearing watches for years before 40mm and up sizes became the norm. Most modern watches look like plates or the equivalent of a giant pickup truck to me 🤣

[@desertsoldier41]

Tough choice between this and a Weiss

[@zillsburyy1]

manual wind?!

[@denisdaly1708]

yes

[@halfpastblog]

Gorgeous watch. Too bad it is too small for me.

[@waynesellers4078]

If they put a nicer dial on that it would actually make a very nice dress watch

[@denisdaly1708]

i would love if they did a 38mm variant

[@Bonpu]

What is your wrist size?

[@denisdaly1708]

@@Bonpu 7 and a quarter inches

[@Bonpu]

@@denisdaly1708 I consider the 36 mm Baltany Dirty Dozen perfect on my 7 inch wrist whereas my my IWC Mark 15‘s „updated“ 38 mm size looks noticeably large, at least not authentic. Vintage and field watches have just smaller, more practical sizes. Why worry?

[@piotrszmidel]

Adding a rubber strap to this watch is a crime.Some nice canvas would be better

[@thewatchmission7693]

Vertex. That is all.

[@gusthesailor4885]

Sold out ROFL

[@inglebybhoy3293]

Buy a Timefactors Smiths instead of this. Almost half the price and more than twice as good. IMHO I think this has only a passing resemblance to a dirty dozen watch.

[@denisdaly1708]

38 today is like 36 last mid century. people are bigger now.

[@gideon3648]

I'm not! Seriously though 36mm is the perfect size for me and I'm sure I can't be alone in that regard. It's nice to see some companies still supporting those who want this size.

[@LTC_Tiger]

The lack of hacking on the 7001 kills this for me.

[@willsherman3527]

There's a workaround for that. Starting with it unpowered you look at a digital clock plan your time carefully, change the time on the watch, and then wind it up. I can get within like 4 seconds pretty easily. Besides, who really needs hacking? If you really need absolute time, you can look at your cell phone.

[@johnanth]

The mix of patina and faux-tina kills me. Good watch otherwise

[@fredoakes7441]

36mm? Just too too small. Great review tho!

[@gackerman99]

"looks small" because its supposed to be. it's a couple mm bigger than they were back then even. don't understand this fixation. if men in the 40s and 50s could wear this without worrying about what it conveyed about the size of their weiners then so can we ffs.