Watchipedia Blog

Watch Accessories: PR516 Chrono Bracelets

2010-12-08T15:57:00.005+01:00

From the vintage Tissot series, the PR516 is my favorite, mostly because of its sturdy design—"PR" stands for Particularly Robust—but also for the different dial variations that make them special. This series was produced for approximately three decades, and in the second millennium has evolved into the PRS-series—Particularly Robust and Sporty, that is! Among the watches from this series, hand-wind and automatic-wind versions were produced as well as alarm watches (the "Sonorous") and chronographs. These last ones, chronographs, are featured in this post because many straps and bracelets were available for them.

Tissot PR516 series catalogs and straps

Above is a photo of two catalogs displaying the PR516 series from the late 1960's. Leather and steel straps are shown. Rallye straps and bracelets (with large steering wheel-like holes) are becoming a signature feature of the PR516 range. In the middle is a genuine Tissot strap with original Tissot buckle, also with holes. Also displayed are three Tissot bracelets made from aluminum anodized in blue, brown and gold. At the top right, the chronographs can be seen in the catalog photo but on steel bracelets alone.

In my collection, I happen to have two of the greatest chronographs from the series. These have three-register dials and feature legendary Lemania movements, derivations of what Omega calls its Caliber 861. Until today, I never had them on straps from the PR516 series, but I am now sure this was the way they were meant to be worn.

Tissot PR516 Chronographs on PRS516 straps

I was trying to decide if I would sell one and if so, which one. I have had the one on the left the longest, but the red version is more rare. I thought it might be just the combination of black strap and black dial that truly appeals to me. That started the big strap and bracelet carousel that you will find documented in photos below.

Straps the other way around.

After the strap change, it was time to try fitting the original bracelets. Tissot PR516 chronographs came with these bracelets and both bracelets are 19mm wide, so they fit perfectly. Naturally, the clasps are signed with the Tissot-logo, "-T-".

Another one of this blog's contributors has the two-dial version of the red PR516 on a vintage Kreisler Stellux bracelet, also with signed Tissot buckle. The Kreisler bracelet was designed specifically for the large-case PR516 series and features end-pieces that fit perfectly.

At the time, it was common for high-end strap and bracelet manufacturers to produce special accessories for specific high-quality watches.

While going through my Tissot stuff I also discovered two advertisements showing the exact same PR516 models the way they were sold when new. Take a look. On the left is my black-white bezel PR516 on a steel bracelet. On the right is a red-white bezel version but with white dial. I think it has a gold-plated case and a brown rallye strap.

As to which is the best combination, I think I now have the answer. Do you? I think I was right the first time: The black-white bezel belongs with the black rallye strap. The red-white bezel deserves something else. I picked the bracelet without racing holes, and that combination makes it seem to stick out best!

Watch Writing: Incabloc, Shockresistant

2010-11-22T15:38:00.006+01:00

The biggest problem with the first pocket watches and early (1930-40's) wristwatches was the fact that bumping them into something or hard knocks could damage the balance assembly. One could say these timepieces were not resistant to shock. This was an area for much development during the late 1930's and through the early 1950's. Most watches produced after the 1950's came with some sort of shock absorption: The most famous was (and still is) called Incabloc.

Another lesser-known shock-absorption system is the KIF system (used by Rolex amongst others), Parashock (Pierce), or the Diashock system by Seiko. The incabloc system can be seen close-up here: Incabloc on YouTube

Incabloc systems can be found inside watches: We will now focus on the outside. Below are two photos of Indus watches from the 1970's. The first has "Shockresistant" on the dial, the other one has "Incabloc" written on the dial.

Reputable manufacturers could not write anything on the watch or the dial that was not correct. If there is not an incabloc absorption setting in the movement, the company could not print it on the dial. The first watch has a generic Swiss movement with a generic shock absorption system for its balance. The second watch (with alarm feature) was bought from the A.Shield factory: They used the incabloc system as standard in their movements. Various engravings can be found on case backs or dials that indicate there is some type of shock protection inside: "Antishock," "Antichoc," "Shockproof," and "Shock-Protected" are common indications of balance protection.

Watch manufactures—as a rule of thumb—indicate their latest improvements on the dial (Omega does this now with their co-axial escape) until the next great innovation is ready. The word "Incabloc" became a sign of extra quality until the end of the 1970's. It is only seldom found on dials any more because the system has become ubiquitous. This also goes for mid- and low-end brands. Large, well-known brands display technical features mostly to advertise their own innovations, but these displays last only for a short period. Less is more. A buyer knows he is buying quality, so extra writing does not need to be on the dial. If you find anything other than "Incabloc" on the dial of a 1950's-1970's watch, you almost certainly are looking at a low-grade watch.

What-a-watch: Fortis Cushion shaped Chronograph

2010-10-29T11:31:00.002+02:00

Here is something I just ran into. I am attracted to the "blue" in watches. I like chronographs and they must be made from steel. The Valjoux 7734 movement is not my cup of tea, but this Fortis does have Heuer-like chrono registers. In short, I simply needed to buy this.

I like how it is colourfull, with red, silver, white and blue brightly displayed. I especially like the blue tachymeter chapter ring. Of course, the hands with red accents are also special. Even the date is in red! Additionally, the case is not only made from solid stainless steel, it also has a satin brushed finish from crystal to side, and on the back there is the proud Fortis insignia.

While doing some research, I came across some interesting details. I found Fortis' brother from another mother! It is the exact same watch, only in a different colour scheme! i am not sure which I like better or even if I like one of them less!

This Fortis has a dark blue dial and the strap is original. The tachymeter bezel is white, not silver as it might appear. I do miss the Heuer-style seconds register with its red five-minute increment bars. The original strap (with tag) is always great to have when looking for a collector's item!

Cushion-shaped chronographs are not very common. This one has a steady Valjoux 7734 movement which, in combination with a good brand name and the solid steel case makes it stand out from other 1970's-era Valjoux 7733/7734 chronos. What a watch indeed!

What-a-Watch: Breitling Spatiographe

2010-08-26T22:58:00.006+02:00

FOR SALE AT: www.watchbrokerage.com

Here is one of my all time favorites. I was lucky to buy it complete with box and paperwork and in great condition. I really love this watch. The Montbrillant models are great, but the Spatiographe version is even better because the movement was specially adapted for Breitling to display a digital ten-minute counter.

The ten-minute counter can be found at the 9 o'clock position. It displays elapsed time in whole -and half-minute increments: First, 1/2 minute shows up, and then 1 minute, 1 1/2 and so on, up to 10 minutes. After ten minutes, it starts over again and continues counting ten-minute increments for up to 3 hours. At the 3 o'clock position, there is a running-seconds register.

The Spatiographe was produced between 1997 and 2002. Only one case number was used, reference 36030. Before the case number is a letter: A for steel or H for the solid gold case. Later case numbers are followed by a ".1" suffix. It is unsure why the extra digit was added—perhaps Breitling ran out of serial numbers and started over.

The Spatiographe is clearly from the Navitimer series. It measures 41,5mm in diameter and has a mineral crystal. The best part is, of course, the movement. Breitling developed the Cal. 36 automatic movement specifically for this model. It is based on the ETA 2892-A2 with a special module that no other brand was permitted to use.

There only a few variations of the Spatiographe. The first run consisted of two different dial colors, a black dial (see previous photo) with steel hands and a white dial with gold hands. In 2002, a different dial was introduced. This second dial style was also black with steel hands and white with gold hands: Both came in steel cases. There were, however, a few exceptions for this second version: Fifty limited-edition Spatiographes were sold with solid gold cases.

The earlier version seems nicer. Interestingly, though Breitling is well-known for their chronometer-grade chronographs, the Caliber 36 was never COSC certified. This movement did share the Navitimer calculator disc, though. The outer bezel can be rotated to make calculations in combination with the inner bezel. Breitling's included instruction booklets show how it is done. This watch is nonetheless probably more interesting for collectors than use in navigation!

The smaller watch brands: Stowa

2010-07-24T19:21:00.003+02:00

Often when old brand names are revived and start to have success, interest for their earlier products increases. Naturally, it helps generate interest in the brand when new products reference their heritage. This is the case for several new Stowa products. For example, Stowa still produce a divers' watch line under the name Seatime, which has been a registered trade mark since 1963.

Photo of a 1970's Seatime from the online Stowa museum.

The name "Stowa" derives from the name of founder Walter Storz. The company was started in 1927 in Hornberg/Kinzigtal, Germany, near the city of Pforzheim. Walter moved production to Pforzheim in 1935. Over the years, Stowa had a clear goal: Make affordable watches and follow current trends.

It seemed a good business model. Though the production factory was destroyed in 1945 during WWII, Stowa immediately re-started production in Rheinfelden, a small city near the Swiss border. By 1951, a new production facility was set up at Rheinfelden and the factory in Pforzheim was reconstructed. Production capacity for both factories was expanded greatly. Exports rose to almost 50% of total production, and Stowa watches were distributed to approximately 80 countries worldwide. In the 1970's, the complete Stowa collection amounted to nearly 1000 different models!

In 1960, Walter's son Werner Storz took over responsibility of Stowa. Werner Storz lead the company with varying degrees of success (the "quartz crisis" affected many watch manufacturers harshly) until 1996 when Jörg Schauer took over the Stowa Company. Under Jörg Schauer ownership, Stowa continued production of Stowa-branded watches. The change in ownership put Stowa back back in contention with modern watches, though the new watches differ somewhat from Stowa models through the 1970's.

Stowa established RUFA (Rheinfelder Uhrteilefabrik or Rheinfelder watch parts factory) in 1954 for production of their own movements—which were also sold to other watch companies. RUFA produced movements under the PUW (Pforzheimer Uhrenwerke) and Durowe (Deutsche Uhren Rohwerke) brands. PUW and Durowe chronographs often used the more-affordable Landeron movements. Vintage Stowas are nonetheless very affordable even today and will provide a good-looking watch with an above-average movement. Stowa watches are good quality for the money, and Stowa is a great marque for the starting collector.

An interesting note to the Stowa story is that, in order to keep up production, Stowa became part of the German watch cooperation PARAT for a brief period in 1950. In 1974, during the quartz crisis, Stowa joined a different German watch cooperation called "Pallas." It is possible to find a Stowa Parat (see above) as well as a Stowa Pallas (or Pallas Stowa) or even just a Pallas watch. In all cases, the watch will be a Stowa product.

The current Stowa product collection can be found on their website.

Watch Accessories: Bracelets, Part II

2010-06-04T01:03:00.027+02:00

It is interesting to observe strap sellers compete furiously to sell the same thing. Vendors seem to shout out 'originality' when their products are essentially the same. Most straps come in a handful of styles (with holes, without holes, with ridges, cuff styles, NATO styles) but are mostly the same thing but with different colors, and textures. This is fine for most people. Bracelets, on the other hand (pun intended), can change the physical presence (both appearance and feel) of a watch through different materials, link configurations, and of course use of end-links.

First, here is an old friend, a vintage Tissot Navigator. The watch came from its previous owner with a black strap:
The strap fits, looks decent, but the it is too long for the owner's wrist and it does not look interesting. Here are some bracelets that were tried with it:
The Breitling-style bracelet seemed to be the best choice, but it still did not look quite right. Other bracelets either did not fit well or did not look good on the watch.

Then there is this unique BWC:
Nice ridged strap. The black goes well with the dial, yet it seems to make the case seem larger than it is or should be.
Two Seiko bracelets and one Tissot bracelet later, it seems that the black-and-silver Seiko bracelet is the winner. With this last bracelet, the case appears better proportioned and the silver highlights are unique. This Seiko bracelet is also a vintage piece probably made by Kreisler, and it is also very comfortable—an added bonus.

Then there is this Croton. It is another Lemania 1340-based watch as the previous two, and it has a third type of case that is just as distinctive as the others. A lucky find, the Croton arrived with a dirty but excellent-condition JB Champion sold-link bracelet that is worth half as much as the watch itself:
The JB Champion bracelet is of the correct vintage for the watch—it very well might have come from the dealer with this installed as an option. The bracelet is very comfortable, being designed to flex almost like a strap. Yet something does not seem right. The case and dial seem to call for something else, and the bracelet is very light, perhaps too lightweight for the heavy watch head.

After time spent living with each watch, it became apparent that the Tissot needed something a bit more elegant. Its case represents a fine balance of shape and texture. The Breitling-style bracelet seems too bulky and too busy with shapes. The BWC, on the other hand, is a rather small case that seemed to want more bulk in the bracelet. The Seiko bracelet was a little light in weight and, though it looks nice, seemed too delicate. And the Croton? The JB Champion bracelet is great, but it has very limited length adjustment, proving somewhat ungainly on a small 165mm wrist. The myriad textures of the bracelet also seemed to take attention away from the Croton's smooth, angular case.

The solution, after trying several iterations, was always in front of the editorial nose, it merely took some ciphering to figure out:
Much better all-around. This is a very good example of how bracelets can change several different aspects of a watch.

But wait! This older Bell & Ross Space 3 came with a bar-style bracelet that was almost as alluring as the watch itself:
A double-deployant solid link bracelet? Yes! And made with exceptional quality, too. It transforms an unusual watch into something stunning.

Unfortunately, the bracelet came missing one full-sized link. No problem for its current owner, but that missing link might affect its resale value. Luckily an unused Bell & Ross bracelet for the Demineur model was for sale at a nice price.
This same style of bracelet is found on several high-end watches, and is in fact the second type of bracelet used on the Space 3 before the current rubber strap became standard. This bracelet makes the Space 3 look complete with its combination of rounded and straight elements:
Yes, that looks good. It looks correct, as if the bracelet and case were meant to be together. But what about that wonderfully vintage-looking bar bracelet? Hm, how might it look on that Croton..?
The sum effect is reminiscent of Tissot's vintage "lobster" bracelet that is matched to a watch case that is very similar to this Croton. The simpler lines of the bar-style bracelet make the case appear less independent and more like a unified piece. This particular case looks nice with a bracelet that is wider than the 20mm lug space. The extra weight from this bracelet balances the watch better, too. With a strap, the watch head always seems to want to fall on one side of the wrist, but this bracelet has enough mass to keep the watch centered. The added weight is noticeable but not uncomfortable.It is an unusual combination, and it might not be the final solution for the Croton, but for now it will stay.

Bracelets are a unique accessory to most watches. Straps can add color and maybe texture to a watch, but bracelets can completely transform a watch in more ways than one!

What-a-watch: Yema digital

2010-05-21T12:53:00.005+02:00

I have a special interest in unique watches. I tend to look at early digital watches every now and then. I own two Tissot digital watches from the Newtimer series. The Newtimer came in three shapes with three colours (blue, red and black) per shape and with a few differences in dial layout. Among the three versions, I like this red one the best!

For all these Tissot watches, there was only one type of movement: Tissot kept basic design the same because form follows function. There is an hours window on the left and a minutes window on the right. In addition, a date window is at the bottom. This Tissot movement is special because it is a manufacturer caliber (completely designed and built by Tissot) and is an automatic-winding, fully jeweled movement. Most similar movements were pin-lever designs with none or maybe one jewel, and almost always these movements were hand-winding with few exceptions.

I came across the following pictures from watch collector Ruud van Rijn. The Tissot shows what a standard mechanical digital watch looks like, but this Yema seems to go out of its way to appear unconventional:

Not only are the colours striking, but the floating hour window is great. The orange pointer for minutes is a nice feature, too, de-emphasizing less-readable numbers and putting the focus right on the current minute. This particular movement is made by FE and also features a date window at the bottom. A clever addition is the outer seconds ring where the seconds are indicated with a moving orange pointer—in the photo above it is at 45 seconds. The best thing about this Yema is that it is a fully jeweled (17 jewels) movement. With this Yema, function follows form. The design was thought of first, and a movement to make it work followed afterward. This same philosophy can be found in the following model.

The Yema above is a small ladies' version of the previous model. Again, it is fully jeweled and contains a hand-wind movement, this time based on a Lorsa design. There was no room for a date or for the seconds ring, but the the design is clearly the same. Both Yemas are watches that are easy to like because of their forms and for their great yellow, green, and orange colour combinations!

The smaller watch brands: BWC

2010-04-21T11:10:00.005+02:00

BWC (Buttes Watch Company) is a small but important watch manufacturer. It was founded in 1924 by Mr. Arthur Charlet in his birthplace, Buttes, found in canton Neuchâtel, Switzerland.The company remains in existence and continues making its presence known with new watches. You can read all about BWC on their website: www.bwc-swiss.de

1980's Valjoux 7733 Chronograph

Charlet’s son-in-law, Mr. Edwin Volkart, took over the company in 1953 and continued to operate it with great attention until 1991. This period in BWC history is its most interesting, at least in regard to vintage chronographs. BWC made made good-quality watches in great stainless steel cases with movements from Lemania, Landeron (48,148,248) and Valjoux (7733, 7734).

1970's Automatic Lemania 1340 Chronograph

At the moment, a BWC is for sale at www.sometimeago.com (item 1671): It is a 1970's Valjoux 7734 chronograph with date in a solid steel case. Once of the reasons BWC survived the 'quartz crisis' would be its ability to quickly adapt to changing trends and fashions. There are many types of BWC watches in all kinds of shapes and colors, always produced with above-average quality. This high quality helps make BWC watches collectible.

After 1991, BWC's commercial activities were moved to Germany; there were also several changes in ownership. In 2004, BWC was successfully presented at Baselworld, and in 2009, BWC celebrated its 85th anniversary. Below is one of their recent models.

BWC XXL 47mm Aviator 2001 automatic

This watch is currently for sale at www.sometimeago.com (item 1667). It demonstrates BWC once again following current fashion trends with its extra-large case, quality ETA movement, and aviator-style design. It is finished with a high quality strap and wooden box. If they keep this up, the BWC brand will be viable for many years to come!

What-a-watch: Glycine Airman MLV

2010-04-16T18:29:00.003+02:00

Yesterday a volcano in Iceland erupted, so I decided to write about this watch. You might ask what does a volcano have to do with watches? Not much in general, but it has everything to do with this specific watch.

The Glycine Airman MLV was produced in September 2004 in a limited series of 500 pieces. The watch above is featured on www.sometimeago.com (item 1673) and was found by a collector in a small shop in the high north of the Netherlands in 2006. It is numbered 112/500. The Airman MLV was introduced together with the Airman Special model, which was limited to 200 pieces, and its suggested price was CHF 2'000 while the MLV was to cost CHF 1'400. The reference number for the MLV is 3830.

The Volcano erupted. "MLV" stands for Mauna Loa Volcano, the world’s largest active volcano and which towers more than 4,000 metres above sea level in Hawaii. Take a good look at the watch again.

The dial is completely luminescent, it shines in the dark as a beacon in the night! The effect is stronger in the dark. The association with a volcano crater is enhanced by the black bezel. Aside from its relevance to Mauna Loa, the watch features the ability to display time in three time zones. First is the normal fashion using an extra hand. The red hand is a 24-hour hand that can be set in accordance with the crown in one-hour steps, and with the bi-directional bezel, a third time zone can be set—again using the red hand. This feature is specific to Glycine's Airman series.

The watch comes with a complete set of documentation and is presented in a wooden box that holds an additional strap. In this instance, it is a rubber strap. A strap-changing tool is also provided. Normally this watch is sold on the rubber strap and an extra light brown leather strap could be found in the box, but this MLV was sold on a very nice original steel bracelet accompanied by the rubber strap in the box. The photo above shows the special display case back through which the automatic ETA movement can be viewed in action. All in all, a very nice and complete watch!

Complete specifics to this model are to be found on the glycine website in PDF.

The smaller watch brands: Cyma

2010-03-10T15:55:00.004+01:00

When visiting the official Cyma website, one learns that Cyma was established in 1862 by the Schwob Brothers. We also learn that "CYMA and Tavannes are not related or associated in any way," and that Cyma is now based in Le Locle, Switzerland.

After conducting research, I can only compile facts but not find proof that the name "Cyma" was officially claimed in 1862. It is clear that Théodore Schwob claimed the name "Schwab Frères & Co. S.A." in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is also clear that in the late 1890's, watches with the Cyma brand combined with the Tavannes name (which is also a Swiss town) show up until some point in the 1940's. Watches with the Tavannes name also show up in that period using the same movements as Cyma watches. In addition, watches were made under the "Ta-Cy" name—which could stand for the combination of Tavannes Watch Co. and Cyma Watch Co. These Ta-Cy watches shared the same movements which are often very special, containing features patented under the Tavannes Watch Co. There is mention of the Schwob Brothers entering in business with Henri Sandoz, who founded the Tavannes Watch Company in the town of Tavannes in 1891. The cooperative agreement would have been made in 1892, consistent with the names on the watches. From the 1940 on, there appear only to be watches produced under the Cyma name.

Some possible facts:
• 1903: Production of an extra-slim pocket watch with lever movement and chronometer certification
• 1910: Cyma produces 2500 watches per day
• 1915: Cyma develops its first waterproof watches
• 1923-1930: Cyma claims to be the largest watch manufacturer in Switzerland
• 1943: Cyma launches its first automatic watch

• 1957: Cyma starts using ETA movements

• 1966: Production ceases and the rights to the Cyma name go to Chronos Holding, which produces watches under the name Sychron, in addtion to the marques that were already part of group: Girard Perregaux, Eberhard & Co., DOXA, and Borel. Production of most of these brands was quietly stopped as a result of the 'quartz crisis' in the 1970's.

In 2005, the Cyma brand was brought back as a privately owned company and is now found in the center of watch manufacture, Le Locle, Switzerland.

For the collector, there are now many high-quality watches under the Cyma or Tavannes brands that use patented-manufacture movements such as the caliber 335, that in the 1930's had already given the watch a three-day (72-hour) power reserve instead of the typical 38-42 hour reserve. There also is the 446 chronometer-grade movement, an example of which is for sale at the moment at www.sometimeago.com, and there is the Caliber 464, a chronometer-grade alarm movement called the Time-O-Vox.

What-a-watch: Breitling Longitude

2010-02-17T15:12:00.004+01:00

There are many watches that have a way of indicating a second time or a second time zone. As many people may know, time zones are delineated by the longitudes of the globe, differing exactly 1 hour and 0 minutes one from the next. So why show a second time instead of only a second time zone on a watch? Probably for design reasons. Adding a second time zone only requires an extra hand or a rotating bezel to register one or two extra time zones. Rotating time zone bezels can be found on many watches. On the other hand, fewer watches have this feature combined with a chronograph or even a chronograph with chronometer precision. Breitling does in their latest model—produced until 2003, reference A20348. It looks like this:

The Brietling Longitude A20348 has an extra time zone hand in silver with yellow filling to have it stand out from the other hands. The bezel turns both ways and is devided into 12 hours for the second timezone. Users simply need to remember if the bezel is aligned with the normal hand or with the extra GMT hand. The extra time zone hand is adjusted in one-hour steps, done by pulling out the crown halfway. The second time zone hand can be hidden under the normal hour hand if you do not need an extra timezone. In addition, the inner bezel displays a compass' 360 degrees. This latest version of the watch is unique because of its chronometer designation, which indicates a higher degree of movement precision. The A20348 uses the normal chronomat case, by the way. The case back can be seen below and typical; most Breitlings of this era are equipped with it.

The series before the Longitude A20348 came in different-colour dials, such as blue, black, and even yellow. The yellow dial is a real eye-catcher and a very fun watch—being one of the first Breitlings offered with a yellow dial in the late 1990's. This is by far my favorite Longitude model.

This Longitude is different not only because of the dial, but also because the case back is a little more intresting as seen below. All features are the same as other Longitude models except this version does not usa a chronometer-grade movement. The GMT hand on this model is the same colour as the other hands, and it is not completly straight but rather has a circular luminous portion. The reference for this Longitude is A20048—the "3" in 20348 stands for chronometer.

Of course, before these Longitude models there were other similar models, commonly known as the Astromat from the early 1990's. The Astromat does not use the chronomat case but has its own unique case and different reference number: A20405.

The Astromat case shows only two time zones because the compass points are on the outside bezel this time and the inside bezel uses a normal tachymetre scale. It is a shame in regards to functionality, but do notice that the GMT hand is the same as the Longitude A20048. Below is the back of this first Longitude edition, again very standard.

There is one common element about all these models: They all use Breitling's Caliber 20 movement. This is, of course, based on the Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movement. It is not clear if Breitling made their own additions to the 7750 to make it a Breitling 20 because there is the Valjoux 7754 second time zone movement that can be found in other brand watches such as Sinn and Tutima. Information found on this moment shows it has been manufactured since 2003—when Breitling stopped using it. Did Valjoux develop this movement for Breitling, only to sell it to other brands when Breitling stopped using it? Or did Breitling develop it and sell the patent to Valjoux after it no longer used it? And, of course, the big question: Will Breitling ever make another Longitude model?

It is difficult to pick a personal favorite, but personal it is! Below are both of mine. I have decided to sell the 20348 here: A20348 Longitude chronometre on www.sometimeago.com. I enjoy the yellow dial too much. I am certain will become a classic design, especially if no new Longitude models will be produced .

The smaller watch brands: Sicura

2010-01-31T22:35:00.003+01:00

Sicura. A watch company with several different entries on the records of the Chamber of Commerce:
- Montres Sicura S.A. Grenchen
- Sicura Uhren A.G. Grenchen
- Sicura Watch Company Ltd. Grenchen
...and also connected to the Breitling Watch Company.

Sicura was a brand in existence in the 1960's and 1970's—but I don't think before the Sixties. Because its founder, Ernest Schneider, was a pilot, watch manufacturer and microelectronics specialist all rolled into one, many different models made with different purposes were made. There were technical watches like jump-hour pieces, solar powered models, and many watches with chronograph and other functions—such as world-time models.

Nowadays, Sicura wristwatches are collected but ordinary models do not fetch very high prices. Sicura watches are easily identified by the nice coat-of-arms on the back. Other models are remarkable only by their lower quality manufacture. Often inexpensive movements and non-steel cases were used for the cheaper models. Sicura watches were popular in their day, though, because they were inexpensive and kept pace with latest watch design fashions. Sicura's attention to fashion lead them to produce a diverse range of timepieces.

"In 1979, the Breitling firm was closed. The low-priced offerings from the Far East, the price war, the inflated Swiss Franc, the increasing shift to electronic watches on the part of the public, and finally the illness of Willy Breitling, are the basic reasons that caused him to close down his firm. Despite this, Willy Breitling wanted to keep the name of this world famous firm alive and looked for a practical solution. A saviour came to Breitling's rescue in the person of Ernest Schneider. He was convinced that the Breitling brand was worth the effort of saving as it had always stood for excellent quality and had the potential to keep doing so.

After long consideration, Ernest decided that the Sicura brand would step down because of Breitling's greater potential. Some of the Breitling watches produced after 1979 share similar features with Sicura watches from the same period and therefore look somewhat alike. These three models were the Jupiter, Mars and Pluto chronographs. This is why often sellers are claiming the Sicura brand is linked to Breitling, but in fact these are two different watch brands under the leadership of the same man in different periods of time."

What-a-watch: LIP Nautic-ski Electronic

2010-01-10T20:51:00.002+01:00

This classic, French-made, stainless steel, electronic LIP Nautic-Ski diver's wrist watch is similar in appearance to IWC's Aquatimer and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Polaris models. This model was LIP's first specially-designed diver's watch, and at the time, was also the world's first electronic diver's model.

It has a stainless steel case with screw-on back. Two large original crowns with cross-hatch decoration can be found on the right side. The 2 o'clock crown turns the inner time-elapse bezel, and the bottom crown sets hands and date. The outside of the case is decorated with LIP's coat-of-arms and is marked "LIP - Electronic - Superwaterproof - Patents Pending." Case width (not including crowns) is 36mm.

The black dial with outer black time-elapse bezel (under the crystal and operated by the top crown) is original. The dial is signed "LIP - Nautic-Ski - Electronic" and bears LIP's "Electronic" lightning flash logo. Applied steel batons with luminous centres circle the dial. Luminous hands. There is also the unique LIP "Electronic" lightning flash second hand. The date window can be found at the 3 o'clock position.

This example is fitted with an original rubber tropic strap as was fitted to the watch when new.

The movement is a LIP-manufactured caliber designated R184. It was based on the R148 (LIP’s second electromechanical movement) but was their first truly successful one. In 1960, the Bulova Watch Company released their tuning fork-based Accutron movement: LIP realized that this was a superior technology to their own, so they increased effort into developing what was to become the LIP R148.

The R184 uses a balance with improved switching and circuitry, needing only one battery. It has 14 jewels and a 18,000 beat movement. It also features a hacking (stops the second hand when setting time) second hand movement. The R148 went through many improvements and changes during its production life. A version with a simple date ring became the R184 and was first produced in 1964. Lip sold the R184 to companies including Benrus, Elgin, Marvin, Universal Geneve, and Waltham.

This particular watch is difficult to date. It was produced between 1964 and 1972. The first year is derived from the first moment the caliber became available, and the last year comes from the fact that the Nautic Ski was replaced by the Super Nautic-Ski in 1972. At the moment there is one for sale at www.sometimeago.com

Hands Up! Watch Design Analysis

2010-01-08T20:29:00.021+01:00

The most dynamic element of a watch is its hands. The hands move and change the aspect of a watch through each day. Although a dial can tantalize, the interaction between hands and dial elements is what makes great watches fantastic and cheap watches ugly.

Consider this Swiss Army brand watch:
Simple, clean, elegant, yes? The contrast between the black hands and white dial is connected by the black numbers. A simple red bezel provides sufficient accent.

This Poljot also has a simple dial:
Why does this design not work as well as the previous? First, it is a chronograph, and the extra subdials add more elements to the dial making it more cluttered. That is not why it is less elegant, though. Look at the hands. They are thick, ungainly, and the shiny silver-colored main hands do not contrast sufficiently with the dial. The white sweep seconds hand does contrast, but it is too obvious with its white stem and red triangle at the end. It seems added on rather than part of a unified design. The 9 o'clock subdial hand looks better in itself because the thin white hand elegantly contrasts the black dial and correlates to the white running seconds marks.

This Vagary is colorful, but very difficult to read:
The design seems to work by its sheer confusion of colors and shapes, but it becomes tiresome to view after a brief time.

Because watches use a stationary dial and moving hands, the use of contrasting and accenting colors becomes key to legibility. At the same time, there needs to be a match between the shape and width of hands that is proportionate to the respective dial markings.

Wide hands and narrow hour markers usually look odd, though sometimes it does work well:
The vintage Heuer Autavia "Orange Boy" uses hands that are orange and are wider than its dial markers, but legibility is excellent. The orange bands on the 3 o'clock subdial relate the color, as does the orange sweep seconds hand. The contrasting dark black and grey subdial colors add to the effect.

Silver hands are popular on many watches:

Silver hands on the Seiko above are elegant and slim with a very slight taper. They match the dial hour markers perfectly and the hour hand reaches just to the marks while the sweep minutes hand just covers them. The matching white sweep seconds and subdial minutes hands relate to each other and are highly visible, yet unobtrusive. The contrasting blue hours subdial hand (underneath the white minutes subdial hand) is close enough to the blue behind it to blend in and yet different enough to be legible.

The Tissot PR516 Sea Star and TAG-Heuer Monaco re-edition both use shiny silver hands to great effect, too. Note how the Tissot utilizes slim, elegant proportions while the TAG-Heuer is the opposite, blocky and bold. Both watches use three-dial chronographs and both could be very busy dials, yet each is extremely effective in balance and proportion so that neither design seems overwhelming.
By contrast, the Tissot Sea Star above is both malproportioned and uses color poorly. The silver hands are thinner than the dial markers and do not extend far enough to seem proportioned well. The smoke-silver dial does not offer enough contrast to make the hands very legible, something that is exacerbated in direct sunlight. Matching silver dial markings do not help legibility.
This Rousseau has a busy dial with poorly-proportioned hands that are complex in shape. The lack of contrast and excessive dial markings makes this a difficult watch to read and an aesthetically confusing piece.

White hands are also popular, especially with the ever-common black dial. The classic Omega Speedmaster is an example of how multiple dial elements can be rendered with simple elegance:
Notice the hands. They are really quite dull in themselves, yet they work fantastically well with the rest of the dial design. How? First, note that there are no hour numbers, just luminescent strips that are ever-so slightly narrower than the hands. Straight hands might be boring, but the luminescent stripe in the middle of each makes them seem thinner, and the very slight taper at the end exudes classically understated elegance. The sweep seconds hand is the epitome of classic, simple, understated design. Notice also how the subdial hands are simple, thin, and use no counterweight shapes.
This Tissot Navigator above is one of my favorite designs. It uses similar hour and minutes hands to the Speedmaster, but the sweep seconds and sweep minutes hands are red. It could be confusing but they relate to the red subdial hand at 6 o'clock, just as the main hands relate to the running seconds at 9 o'clock. Furthermore, the sweep seconds hand is not completely red—half of it is black. Furthermore, the sweep seconds hand is an elegant needle-shaped design that draws attention to its tip rather that its body. The Concorde-shaped minutes sweep hand is effective for similar reasons, though its shape necessarily must contrast every other sweep hand. Notice that there are no markings inside the hour markers (no numbers again!) and the tachymeter scale is outside the main watch face. Complexity borders simplicity, and contrasting colors set off each important element.

The ARSA below uses a combination of white hands, matching and contrasting colors, and proportioned hands and dial markers to create a vibrant yet balanced design:
Note how the shapes around each subdial suggest inward movement and are accented by dark blue strips. My favorite touch on this watch are the block-center subdial hands.

Black hands on black dials can be elegant:
The Vostok above uses white inserts to set off its black hands. A simple dial helps it all tie together. The vintage Heuer Pasadena uses white elements on black hands to create legibility. The hands themselves are quite plain, but the contrasts between different elements of the face add up to an extremely legible design that is also uniquely classic.

Below is an example of how changing hands can change a watch. I bought this Revue Thommen Airspeed chronograph because it had many wonderful elements, but the hands were terrible. The watch uses a Lemania 5100 movement, famous for its sweep minutes hand that is both unique and highly readable. The original sweep minutes hand on the Airspeed was malproportioned, with a very large (and unnecessary) counterweight that makes the dial cluttered; a boring, awkward triangle pointer at the end exacerbates this ungainly design. The sweep seconds hand is interesting, and the hour and minutes hands are nice, but the subdial hands are difficult to read. These short, stubby subdial hands are also boring.
I took some spare, used Omega hands and, with a little white paint, created something much more refined and readable:
The interaction between watch hands and watch dials is crucial to a balanced design. These are elements to seek when looking for a watch that will remain useful and valuable after one design trend has passed and another takes its place.

Watch Accessories: Bracelets, Part I

2009-12-23T20:24:00.043+01:00

Straps are a quick, inexpensive way to change the appearance and fit of a watch. Often a strap can completely change a watch's appearance.

What about bracelets?

There are possibly more different types of bracelet than straps.

Bracelets are generally more expensive than straps, but on the other hand, bracelets can enjoy a very long service life. It is true that bracelets will stretch, but good bracelets will not stretch as much as a typical leather band. Bracelets are also attractive to those with smaller wrist diameters: Bracelets can often be adjusted with more precision than a leather strap. This is not always the case, but with attention to the number of links and clasp adjustment, many bracelets can fit a narrow wrist exceptionally well.

Things to look for in a bracelet include the number of removable links, the width of removable links, type of end link, and the amount of clasp adjustment. Link material, end link type, and the number of rows within each link are also aspects to consider.

Most clasps use a top portion with many holes to draw the top bracelet half in. Clasps with closely spaced adjustment holes will allow finer adjustment, something nice to have with any bracelet. Some bracelets include an extra fold-out section intended to allow use for diving wetsuits.
Long bracelet links will obviously expand or contract length in larger units. Coupled with a limited-adjustment clasp, these bracelets will be a hit-or-miss affair in adjustment. Short-length links typically provide the best fit owing to the smaller increments of length possible.
Some of the nicest bracelets will use links that taper in width—sometimes in length, too. Such bracelets are more difficult to produce and usually reflect high quality, though some very nice fixed-width bracelets have been made.

End links can be tricky. Straight end links are usually easy to interchange, but not always.

Curved end links sometimes look straight.

End links can be elaborate to integrate with case design, and thus will be specific to particular watches:
This vintage Kreisler Stellux bracelet was found on a vintage Tissot PR516GL. It was bought with the purpose of being used on an older Tissot SeaStar. The end links fit a newer PR516 but not the older SeaStar it was meant for.

The case is just a little bit thinner on the older PR516 than on the PR516GL. It is enough of a difference to make end-link adjustment impossible.

Oddly enough, a vintage Seiko oyster-style bracelet adapted perfectly to the same Tissot.

Possibly the most important aspect about end links is how roll pins are positioned relative to the case. It is possible to bend or remove material from end links, but if the roll pins are held too far away from their case holes, it might not be possible to adapt the end links.

For example, the end links on this genuine Tissot bracelet could not be adapted to a similar vintage Tissot Navigator:

It is clear that the end links will not position the roll pins close enough to the appropriate case holes. The bracelet is also held too close to the case to allow free movement.

Though subtle, differences between end links can make the difference between having a bracelet fit or not.

There are two basic types of bracelet link, solid and folded. Solid links are usually nicer, especially those made of high-grade materials. Do not ignore folded-link bracelets, though. Most vintage bracelets use some sort of folded link design because the technology to easily machine solid links was not affordable or even available at the time.

Solid-link bracelets will probably be quieter and stretch less than a folded-link design. Most folded links employ either a sliding flat piece or a press-fit round bar for access. The sliding flat piece design is a bit more susceptible to oxidation because more of its surface area is exposed to dirt and moisture. Both designs are very stable and sturdy.

Most high-grade bracelets will employ either press-fit or screw-in bars to hold links together. Be careful, some bracelets have what appears (on nthe outside) to be a screw-in link that is actually a press-fit bar.

Always check for arrows on the back of removable links to see which direction to press out bars.

Screw-type link bars are not favored because the screw head can become stripped: The bar will need to be drilled out if this happens, not an easy task.

One of the most unique bracelets that I have come across is from a vintage Zenith:

At first glance, there appear to be no adjustable links in the bracelet, but looking in-between the end links a pair of notches are visible.
A thick roll pin can be removed using a thin tool through the notches, somewhat similar to removing roll pins from a watch case but much more tricky.
Vintage bracelets can be very expensive. Well-known marques include GF (Gay & Fréres), NSA, JB Champion, Kreisler, Forstner, even Speidel.

Some of these (NSA, GF, and JB Champion especially) can be very expensive, but they represent excellent design and will last many decades. On nice thing about bracelets (in comparison to leather straps) is that bracelets can be cleaned and restored to like-new condition. A nice bracelet will enhance the looks, comfort, and value of almost any watch.

Lemania chronographs: Two Vintage Tool Watches

2009-12-17T23:46:00.021+01:00

The term "tool watch" can mean a watch that has many functions. "Tool watch" can also denote a watch that is designed with function in mind more than form. Two of the earliest examples of the tool watch are the Heuer Pasadena and the Orfina Porsche Design chronographs.

Both are among the earlest watch designs with black cases. It is possible that the black case is a reference to a military lineage (though neither of these particular examples were made specifically for military use), it could be a hint at the function-over-form sensibility (no fancy chrome or plating), or the black color might have been introduced to simply look rugged. To the best of my knowledge, the coating on the Heuer case was done in a PVD process, but the Orfina Porsche Design case coating might have been applied in a different process.

Both watches are very close in vintage, the Orfina dating from the early 1980's and the Heuer from late 1970's. They evidence similar aging, too. Both were born of a similar purpose, to be simple, elegant, and purposeful designs. They are very much of the tool watch ilk and are very similar in many ways, yet divergent in others.

The cases are quite similar, though the Orfina is 1mm taller and narrower.

The Orfina measures 40.5mm wide by 45mm high by 15mm thick. The Heuer is 41.5mm wide, 45mm high, and 14mm thick. The Heuer has a more elegant case, but the Orfina fits narrow wrists slightly better. The Heuer case is truly a classic design, though.

The bracelet on the Heuer is made from flat anodized aluminum links. It seems slightly out of place considering the rest of the watch is somewhat heavy; the Heuer bracelet is very light, a sharp contrast with the rest of the piece. It does wear quite well. The odd thing about the Heuer bracelet is that the it tapers down to 16mm at the clasp, typical for the period, but it lends a slightly imbalanced sense of design. The Orfina bracelet is a somewhat cheap steel link affair, but it is very adjustable and slightly more comfortable. Both watches have 20mm lug widths.

The Orfina clasp looks nicer with its stamped logo, but the outer clasp does not extend the full length of the folding parts. The Heuer outer clasp also does not extend the full length of the clasp but is less obvious.

A notable difference between the watches is in the movements. The Heuer uses an early version of the Valjoux 7750 and the Orfina contains a Lemania 5100. Both are very rugged and durable movements, both are automatic-winding, and both are nearly the same size. The Lemania's one-way clutch makes a slight whizzing sound as the rotor turns. Both movements' winding clutches make this noise, the Lemania being slightly more obvious. One could interpret the noise as a sign of happy winding.

Probably the biggest differences are in the dial layouts.

The Pasadena's dial appears larger but is not: Both dials measure 35.5mm across.

Both have day & date wheels, both use an hour totalizer at the 6 o'clock position, and both have running seconds indicated at the 9 o'clock subdial. The Valjoux movement indicates elapsed minutes using a sweep seconds hand and the 12 o'clock subdial, a combination I have found very readable. The Lemania 5100 uses both a sweep seconds and a sweep minutes hand which, for most people, is more readable than the 7750 setup. It is a mixed bag, but the Lemania sweep minutes hand is truly hard to beat for accuracy and readability. In addition, the 12 o'clock subdial on the 5100 is a running (non-resetting) 24-hour dial. At first it seems superfluous, but with use proves quite useful. Think of it as a more sophisticated day/night indicator.

The Orfina's black background day and date wheels blend into the dial well, but the Heuer items are more visible. The Heuer dial design is very Seventies and always a pleasure to look at. Very stylish. On the other hand, one of the advantages of the Lemania 5100 is a simplified dial layout, and the Orfina is clean and simple if nothing else.

Both watches are heavy but not too heavy. The Orfina has a screw-down crown, a nice (water-tight) addition. Both offer quick-set day and date adjustments. Both are very, very accurate timepieces, and both are very rugged.

New watches with vintage design: Fortis B-47 Calculator

2009-12-02T13:45:00.003+01:00

There it was! A bulky multi-purpose two crown calculator watch by Fortis. They call it he B-47 Calculator, and this is what it looks like.

The first question that comes to mind when coming across a watch like this would be, "Is this for real?" The next question would be, "What is it designed for?" The many bezel rings on this watch are actually a compilation off different features often found in vintage watches. On the outside, there is a ring that indicates minutes/seconds along with a 24-hour scale. This is the same as the inside scale next to the chapter ring on the dial. The purpose for the outer bezel is to permit a second time zone for the red hand that is actually a 24-hour hand in purpose: The red hand hand rotates in 24-hour mode instead of the normal 12 hours.

Below is a chronograph by Ollech & Wajs. It has a readable calculator scale, also known as a slide rule. Slide rules are used to make simple mathematical calculations. There is an entire website devoted to this specific piece of technical equipment, featuring watches among other things: The Slide Rule Universe

The two middle scales of the Fortis provide a slide-rule function. This function was integrated with several watch from the 1950's onwards until the 1970's, when real calculators began to appear on digital watches. Some brands like Breitling still produce these watches, such as the Montbrillant models.

This B-47 is not the first slide rule watch by Fortis. In the 1960's, Fortis produced a watch named the "Easy-Math":

In addition to the slide rule, this Fortis features a compass—a rare feature in any watch. By using the hands and the sun, North can be determined. This is an interesting feature in a complex two-crown watch with calculator, something I am sure was the starting point for creating the new B-47 in vintage style!

Lemania chronographs - Tissot 1940's

2009-11-27T20:23:00.004+01:00

For your consideration is a beautifully aged 1940's triple-register chronograph from Tissot. It contains a hand-wind Lemania movement. The serial number on the movement indicates that the watch was assembled in 1947 for distribution to the United States. The silver white dial is aged and has a smoke-like look to it. The hands are all original, as are the stainless steel case and back that have not been polished. It is finished off with a deep dark blue leather band that has the same color as the blue steel hands. This is one of the best Tissot watches money can buy!

The movement is a hand-wind Lemania C27.4H. This caliber was used by Tissot (according to the book Tissot: 150 Years of History) only in the years 1942-1943. Perhaps because of WWII, the watch was marketed in America because there was not much of a market for this watch remaining in Europe.

Lemania designated their chronograph movement of that era simply as CHRO 27 or C.27 where the "27" stands for the diameter of the movement, 27mm. It was produced with two registers as well as with three registers by adding a 12-hour subdial. The three-register movement was the one sold to Tissot as the C.27.H, however, with four changes to the original caliber, it was designated the C27.4H. In the very same era when Tissot, Omega, and Lemania worked together in the SIHH, Lemania produced the 27 CHRO C12 movement—also a 27mm diameter chronograph with extra 12-hour register—for Omega. Launched in 1942, the 27 CHRO C12 later became known as the Lemania 2310 or Omega c.321!

The smaller watch brands: ESKA

2009-11-08T21:43:00.003+01:00

Eska is certainly one of the small, lesser-known watch brands. At the end of World War I in 1918, expectations for an economic upswing led to the creation of a number of watchmaking firms. One of them was Sylvan Kocher & Cie. S.A. of Grenchen. Amongst its many brand names, Kocher registered "Eska," the phonetic spelling in French of Kocher's initials "eS Ka." In 1922, the company was established in the neighboring town, Selzach.

As with all quality vintage watch brands, the brand name can be found on several parts of the watch other then the dial, most notably a signed case back as well as the movement—to demonstrate pride in the movement itself.

As a manufacturer, Kocher compiled a wide range of wristwatches under the "Eska" signature that included manual and automatic models, as well as watches with full calendars and digital time displays. S. Kocher & Co. also completed mechanical wristwatches in "Reverso" cases, notably during the years that Jaeger-LeCoultre left its reversible watch languishing in a drawer.

Other than many different case shapes and functions could be found a wide range of Eska watches such as digital pieces (see above), chronographs, even watches with chronometer grade movements. When it comes to movements with automatic movements, Eska also made them with the early bumper-style automatic movements. Most of their great watches come from the 1950's and earlier.

What-a-watch: Seiko 7016-5011 Monaco chronograph

2009-11-01T17:22:00.003+01:00

The 7016-5011 is a large gents chronograph produced by Seiko throughout the 1970's. Initially produced in 1972, this series is sought by collectors for Seiko's use of colourful dials and hands. In addition, the 7016 series is set apart from other Seiko chronographs (like the famous 6138 and 6139 calibers) because movement uses a double subsidiary dial combining minute and hour registers. Within the subdial there are two hands, the lower one registering hours and a thinner hand above it registering minutes. The 7016 movement is an automatic winding type. The crown is used to quick-set the date by pulling out to the first click and turning; to change the day of the week, push the crown in repeatedly. The top pusher starts and stops the chronograph, and the lower pusher resets the chronograph, but it also has a fly-back function: You can reset it without stopping the chronograph and it will reset to zero, but the watch will continue measuring time.

The 7016 movement came in a variety of cases. There is a handsome tonneau-shaped case, and of course there is a round case, and then there is a square case similar to the ones shown in the photos here but with small lugs. The square case was designated the 5011 and is the nicest-looking example in my humble opinion, though the 5020 tonneau case is a close second. The 5000-series is nicknamed the "Monaco" and is widely appreciated amongst collectors. In the photo above is one of the most rare 5011 colours. The watch is from the collection of Mika Ruottinen from www.sometimeagofinland.com.

Original steel Seiko-signed bracelets are hard to find. They came in a wide variety and it is not clear which bracelets were original to specific watches. A good trick to determine if the bracelet is truly original is to see if the end pieces are a good fit to the case. Fortunately, the 7016 "Monaco" wears well and looks good with nearly any kind of strap. The black-blue example shown has been put on a sharkskin leather strap with an authentic 1990's Seiko folding clasp. Very nice. The blue-yellow one is from my personal collection and an all-time favorite, as it also is for Mika. Please check it out here. If you want to find out when your Seiko was produced, just click here.

Lemania chronographs - Omega Seamaster ST 145.(0)019

2009-10-24T16:43:00.003+02:00

What is a watch other than a collection of components? It is true, of course, that a watch is merely a collection of pieces when you leave all sentiment aside, but that is not what watch collecting is about. Objectively speaking, a watch is only as good as its movement. When you look at chronograph movements, though, Lemania is a great example of quality.

Here we have the Omega Seamaster Chronograph from the 1970's, designated the ST145.(0)19. The movement is the Omega Caliber 861, used in Speedmaster moonwatches from the late 1960's though the 1970's.. So much has been written on the Caliber 861 that I will simply direct you to the most elaborate online watch database by Dr. Roland Ranfft of Germany. He provides the following picture of a red gold plated movement:

These beautiful, sturdy three-register chronograph movements function at a high beat rate that reaches 21.600 vibrations per hour. The chronograph has three registers: The left subdial shows continuous seconds; the centre chronograph hand is activated by the upper push button (and resets with the lower push button) and counts elapsed seconds; and the subdial on the right indicates up to 30 elapsed minutes while the lower register counts up to 12 elapsed hours. This watch is also known as the Soccer Counter because, with its black and red markings in the right subdial, it is easy to read out an elapsed 45 minutes for a soccer game.

In addition, the watch has a inner rotating bezel which can be turned using the large crown at the 10 o'clock position. When you point the arrow on the black bezel to the minute hand of the watch you can read out elapsed minutes as well. The Omega is obviously very colourful—grey dials like this are not often seen on watches. The large case size and the very well-designed diver's mesh bracelet (22mm across) help make this a very sought-after watch.

Details on the movement reveal that this is a 17 jewel watch, a normal minimum number of jewels for a chronograph of its era. The 38-hour power reserve is not excessive, but given the era when it was produced, Lemania designed a very effective movement and Omega managed to build a great-looking watch around it!

What-a-watch: Bertone Stratos

2009-10-14T11:11:00.005+02:00

I am pretty sure that almost everybody has heard about Bertone, the company based in Grugliasco. It was founded as Carrozzeria Bertone in 1912 by Giovanni Bertone, with designer Nuccio Bertone taking over after World War II. The company was divided into two units with the Carrozzeria (building as many as 40,000 cars per year at its height) and the styling studio, Stile Bertone. The company is currently headed by Lilli Bertone, the widow of Nuccio.

In the 1970's when design went wild, almost every brand knocked on the doors of famous designers to design one or more watches for them. In 1970, the Bertone studios designed the Stratos zero for the Lancia car manufacturer. Read more here: http://www.lotusespritturbo.com/Lancia_Stratos_Concept.htm

Following this huge success, the Bertone Studios were asked in 1975 to design approximately 15 watches under the name "Stratos." And they did. Tricky thing is that it is not entirely clear which brand they were designed for. Tissot claims them in their 150-year anniversary book, but in the book "Watch" by Mr. Doensen—which has a large focus on 1970's designers, watch designers, and 1970's technology—these watches are claimed to be designed for the Buler watch brand. Find below the watch and the picture from the Tissot book:

This series of watches were produced using LED display modules. Other series of watches were produced with LCD displays. A model with both hands and LCD display was also produced. These watches mostly have shapes you seldom see in watches beforehand. In the model featured here, the bracelet is integrated with that watch to make the design complete. These watches would look a little wrong on a generic bracelet or strap!

Watch writing: Stainless steel (back)

2009-10-11T20:55:00.003+02:00

There is much writing on a watch. The case back seems to be the most popular location for writing. Typical text on the case back will be pointing towards the case itself.

A vintage watch will often read "Stainless Steel Back" when only the case back is made from stainless steel. Most case backs are made from this material because it is very strong and resistant to corrosive human sweat; stainless steel is also very durable You need to wear a stainless case back at least 10 years on a daily basis for writing to wear down at all. When an entire watch is made of stainless steel, it will not be written so, but the words "Stainless Steel" will appear on the case back. When only the case back is made of stainless steel, the watch case is usually made of a base metal which was plated, probably either chromium (chrome) plated or gold (gold filled) plated.

What-a-watch: Tissot Idea 2001

2009-10-04T13:58:00.003+02:00

When the idea for a quartz movement was first introduced in the watch world of the 1970's, the reaction must have varied from disbelief to horror to laughter. The idea of making a very low-cost yet precise movement must have been a vision into the future, nevertheless. Tissot was one of the brands that took this idea seriously and explored it. This resulted in the Idea 2001 watch, and what a visionary watch it was!

The idea was to create a nearly completely plastic movement that did not need lubrication, so it was called the "Autolub," but is also known under the name "Astrolon" and "Sytal." You can read more about the movement here. These movements were simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and they needed no batteries. When a movement would not work correctly, it could simply be replaced, thus making this truly throw-away mechanical watch. In the 1970's, much research was done on material use, not only in the watch business but everywhere. Some materials were used for low costs, for their colour or perhaps for their robustness. In the case of the Tissot movement, low production cost and design issues were both important.

This watch was actually a cross-over. Not only was the movement special, but it was also a semi see-through piece similar to a skeleton watch. The attachment of the strap was also new: It was screwed into the case by the use of 4 plastic screws. Additionally, the Tissot-signed buckle is plastic as well! Only the crown and a few parts are not made of plastic. This example was a sort of research model, but many different models were made in vaiours colours, some with see-through cases, some not. The movement was used in many different styles of cases as well, mostly cheap chromium-plated or gold-filled ones like the example below. Check out the entire watch on www.sometimeago.com.

Watch writing: serial numbers

2009-09-23T17:39:00.004+02:00

There can be all kinds of numbers on your watch. This time, I would like to focus on serial numbers. The serial number is unique for every watch. Not all watches have them, but most of the well-known brands will. It is a way for a manufacturer to keep track of its production and can help when a watch is sent in for repair. With vintage watches, serial numbers are a great source for finding out the age of a watch. In order to do so, serial number/year tables need to be published; you should be able to inquire from the manufacturer if number/year tables are not published. For instance, Zenith and Ulysse Nardin offer this service to the collector through their website.

In the Watchipedia, we keep track of all public serial number tables. There are lists for the brands:

Breitling
Bulova
International Watch Company (IWC)
Longines
Omega
Patek Phillipe
Rolex
Tissot

Serial numbers are usually found on the inside on the movement:

There can be many numbers on a watch or none at all. If there are numbers on the case back, you can be reasonably certain it is your serial number—at least on vintage pieces. Keep in mind that about 40 years ago, it was not easy to engrave very small letters. Nowadays, letters can be made as small as needed, even barely readable. For example, Breitling puts its number now on the outside of the case where the bracelet is fixed to the watches, but Seiko still does it the old-fashioned way, easily readable on the back!

With Seiko watches, the first digit of the serial number is the production year, the second digit the month. The above watch was produced in the 1960's, so it is from June 1966. There is even a production date calculator for Seiko. The serial number is one more aspect that makes vintage watch collecting so interesting. Pinpointing the exact production year (or sometimes even the month) is just the little extra information a collector could be looking for.

New watches with vintage design - Mido

2009-09-12T22:14:00.004+02:00

When designing new watches, often inspiration is based on older watch designs. It comes in handy when you are working as a designer for a watch brand with a great history. Mido has made watches for quite some time: They were established in 1918. Their Fifties design was similar to other watch brands of the era, but Mido stood out when the introduced the Multi Centre Chronograph. See picture below. The design as well as the function is famous for collectors. All hands are fixed in the centre, leaving a very clear design arround the edges for different scales.

It was exacly this kind of design that inspired a series of new watches in 1998. These automatic watches under the name Multifort (again a name inspired on there ranges from the 1940's-1960's) stand out by their Fifties design and the fact that they have very clear, readable scales on the edges. The bezel is a pulsemeter, used to measure just that—one's heart pulse rate. Mido has cleverly incorporated four starting points on the dial, meaning that a pulse reading can be taken when the seconds hand reaches 0, 15, 30 or 45 seconds. It is unique in this way.

Also, the colour scheme is very vintage and very Fifties. It gives the watch a direct appeal. The squarish case, on the other hand, shows it has something new, as does the see-through back, of course, and the fact that it is in a very cool watch case that was not common back in those days!

You can find the full description and additional pictures at www.sometimeago.com. Besides this squarish case, also watches with round cases were produced. The redesign of the first multi-centre chronograph as displayed at the start of this post is striking.

The smaller brands: ARSA

2009-09-09T20:14:00.003+02:00

Just a few letters make up the brand name, but an entire world exists behind them. ARSA (read more in the watchipedia) is short for Auguste Reymond Société Anonymethe: "A" and "R" are for founder of the company, Auguste Reymond, and the "S" and "A" are for the Swiss term Société Anonyme or "anonymous corporation." The company was founded in 1898. In 1932, the Ebauche department of A. Reymond S.A. (that manufactured movement blanks) became part of the Ebauches Group as the Fabrique d'Ebauches Unitas S.A.

Complete watches were made under the ARSA label. They made many different versions of watches with chronograph functions as well as special watches for the blind, as depicted below. These manually-wound models were fitted with different beautiful high-grade Unitas calibers.

Because Unitas did not produce automatic or chronograph movements, ARSA had to resort to calibers from its sister companies in the Ebauches group. These included AS (A. Schild), ETA, and Valjoux. These high-quality movements with made it possible to produce very complicated watches like this triple date and three-register chronograph:

The company went bankrupt amidst the 1970´s quartz-movement crisis. An old board member by the name of James Choffa saved what was left of this firm and even produced a few quartz watches under the ARSA name. It was in 1989 when Thomas Loosli had took over the brand and re-started production under the old name, and from then on, the watches have been produced under the full name Auguste Reymond. More information can be found on their current website www.auguste-reymond.de. They still produce quality mechanical watches like the one shown below!

What-a-watch: Wakmann Bullhead

2009-08-30T11:42:00.003+02:00

In the watchmaking business, especially in the 1970's, watch design was a fully open affair. Anything was possible, limited only by the movement used. This meant that a watch needed to have a crown for winding (only a very few ecxeptions to that rule) and one or more pushers for a chronograph function.

The funny thing is that a company can choose to make cases in all types of shape, but they can also place the movement in the case turned several degrees from the standard position (crown right) to, for instance, crown left. In this Wakmann, the manufacturer chose to put the movement in crown up! This created the so-called "bullhead" design with the pushers on top, creating the horn for what could be imagined as a bulls head.

The bullhead design is well known from the 1970's, several brands produced one. Models by Seiko (Speedtimer 6138-0030), Tissot (Navigator), and Omega (Seamaster) are simply known as their Bullheads! Yet all these watches have a more-or-less round shape. That makes the design of this Wakmann extra special with its square case design and rounded corners.

The fact that most 1970's case designs were "way out there" made it difficult to produce cases in solid steel, so often case makers chose for a soft (brass/copper) base metal (check out the lower left corner of the watch) which was then chromium plated. The back cover is stainless steel, though, and you can see a slight difference in colour and shine.

Also uniqe to this watch is the dial. It is as colourful as every good 1970's watch should be! All this makes the Wakmann Bullhead a special watch that will not go unnoticed—but of course, one does need to like the design!

The smaller brands: Technos

2009-08-26T21:23:00.002+02:00

Every now and then vintage watches from the 1940's-1970's under the Technos brand pop up. This small brand was founded in 1850 in Switzerland and registerd by the brothers Gunzinger under the name "AG Uhrenfabrik Technos." They used the slogan, "Technos: The most punctual Swiss of the world."

Like many companies, Technos suffered during the quartz-movement crisis of the 1970's, and years afterward, the brand was re-establised in the country of Brasil under the name TECHNOS RELÓGIOS S. A. To read more about the marque's current activities, it is best to view their website at www.technos.ch.

Technos made many no-name models, but like every quality brand, they also came up with their own model names as Alarmdate, Hydrostar, Skydiver, Sporthgraph, and Star Chief. Another indication off their product quality lies in the fact that they used mid- to high-range movements and took the time to put a logo on the case backs as well as on their movements. This shows Technoas was a company proud of its product!

Although their watches are good-looking, Technos followed the ethos of the times and were not shy to go for bolder or more daring designs. More expensive watches that included chronographs and alarm watches were also part of the Technos range. To conclude, do not shy away from a good vintage piece under the Technos brand!

What-a-watch: Rolex Deep Sea Special

2009-08-25T16:39:00.003+02:00

Some watches are a design victim of their function. This Rolex is a great example of a sturdy watch on which looks are not important,0 and in fact the looks are totally dictated by engineers' requirements.

In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Navy Lieutenant Donald Walsh descended in the Trieste dive capsule to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, found in the Pacific Ocean and the deepest point known on earth. This 10,915 meter (35,810 ft) dive was the deepest dive in history up to that point. On the outside of the dive capsule was affixed the above watch prototype. Different prototypes of this Deap Sea Special had been taken on deep dives before but none survived. This watch, though, held up to a pressure of 1,150 ATM or 1,150 kg/cm2. The high-dome crystal was designed specifically for extremely high pressure. Of course, later models for sale to the customer had a normal crystals and were sold under the Explorer name.

Read the entire article at: http://bjsonline.com/watches/articles/0022.shtml

What-a-watch: Doxa Sfygmos

2009-08-15T20:34:00.010+02:00

The Doxa Sfygmos was a special watch produced in the 1960´s. It was a chronograph specially designed for doctors. This one is in like-new condition with its original strap and buckle still intact. The leather strap is signed on the inside. The Sfygmos was produced in steel, gold-filled and solid-gold cases in very small quantities. The name "Sfygmos" is Greek for "pulse" or heartbeat rate. The normal name for such watches is "pulsimeter," but these were also called Sfygmograph—I guess the pulsimeter won!

The mint white dial show a scale of 20 pulsations on the outside. When the chronograph is started, a doctor feels the pateint's pulse and stops the chrono at the 20th pulse. He can then read the blood pressure of the person where the chrono hand stopped—this intruction is even written on the dial. The chronograph hands start from the left side of the dial at the 9 o´clock position, something very unusual, but this watch is adjusted in every way to make a doctor's work easier. Reading the watch this way is even easier. Divisions of the dial give plenty of room for the Sfygmometer, and only the small inner part of the dial is used for normal time display.

The movement is a basic, high-quality Valjoux 23, but instead of using the standard two registers, these complications were removed.This results in leaving only the central chronograph hand and no additional holes or hands that distract from its function. When you look at the movement there is clearly room remaining on the right side where more wheels have been. All in all, this watch is an inside-out specialty!

Watch writing: Türler

2009-08-14T08:39:00.012+02:00

The first thing you notice with a vintage watch is the dial. Whether you just started collecting or if you are intrested in a specific watch, the text on the dial gives the first clues into the watch's origins because that is where you will find the brand name. Often you will find more than just that, too.

The Türler name can be found as an addition to a high-end brand name. The Türler name can be found on watches by Movado, Omega, and Jaeger LeCoultre, for instance, but there are also watches that have only Türler as a brand name. Let's investigate this mystery.

Türler is not a standard watch brand but much more. In 1883 in Biel, Switzerland, the Türler name was registerd for a watch manufacturer and a jewelery shop. It is still one of the best jewelers in Switzerland with four shops in Zürich. These shops have goldsmiths and watchmakers on staff, and Türler is known throughout Zürich for its custom-made watches and jewelry.
They make special-order jewelery and carry a wide variety of watches from other designers—some 30 different brands in all—and they sell both watches and a selection of jewelry in a wide range of prices.

When a jewelry store is this high class, it becomes something like a trademark for any watch brand. High-end brands would thus be willing to do a little extra to get the Türler name, as it does a little extra for the brand's reputation. Small batches of watches are specifically produced for Türler to sell in their shops. High-class brands use the Türler name on their pieces, too. On the Türler webpage you can read more about this extraordinary watch and jewelery store.

In addition to small batches of watches, Türler also sell the typical watch lines and brands. Since they are registered as a watch manufacturer, one can find watches by Türler with their own name, though.

The smaller brands: Tenor-Dorly

2009-08-12T20:32:00.008+02:00

Tenor-Dorly is definitely not a head-turner for the average collector and certainly not for the general public. I think I can even say that if you did know of the brand, you are very close to becomming a watchipedia yourself!

So what about this Tenor-Dorly? First of all, the company does not exist any more. Still, it was a manufacture d' horlogerie and perhaps even more then that! Tenor-Dorly made some very interesting movements.

The company of Tenor-Dorly SA was founded in the 1950's in the city of Tramelan, Switzerland. It produced many more movements than watches under their own name, so Tenor-Dorly is much less known as a watch manufacturer. I can easily claim this because I have this one for sale now for approximately a year for a very fair price and I have not a single inquiry! (http://www.sometimeago.com/index.php?page_id=3876&mode=detail&ite_id=1022 )

This watch uses the Caliber 1335 automatic movement. The dial is clearly signed "TD" and "Tenor-Dorly."

In 1970, Tenor-Dorly introduced their own calibre family. In 1975, this small company went bankrupt when they no longer could find success due to contemporary development of the quartz watch.

In 1974, the Tenor-Dorly automatic caliber became the base for the smallest automatic chronograph of that era. It was designed by Dubois-Depraz and produced by Kelek.

These chronographs used normal hands for an analogue display and also used a digital display. Combining a digital display with analogue hands for the chronograph functions is a classic amongst chronograph collectors. This style of watch was produced by different watch brand using TD(B)K (Tenor-Dorly-Kelek) movements. Above is a red one from my personal collection.Now for sale here

The best known one, though, is the rectangular case design. This watch is often featured in watch books and somehow square or rectangular watches seem to have a special place in the hearts of many collectors.

New watches with vintage design - Tissot

2009-08-12T12:24:00.003+02:00

This first blog post is about one of my favorite brands, Tissot. You can also visit their offical website to get more information on their current work. Why am I so interested in the brand? There are several reasons:

1. Tissot watches (current and especially vintage) have a great quality-to-price ratio.
2. Tissot is very innovative, making unusual models and using technologies not used with other brands.
3. Tissot create a large variety of watch types.
4. Tissot were a manufacturer of their own watches from 1853 up through the 1970's.

I would like to share one of my favorite Tissot watches, the Tissot 150-year heritage Chronograph in steel (only 8888 produced) for Tissot's 150th aniversary. It is a model based on their 1950's chronographs.

One of my personal favorite watches is this limited edition chronograph from 2003 produced for the Tissot 150-year anniversary, the Heritage 1957 model.

It is perfectly designed according to 1950's sensibilities. It even has a Fifties-style Tissot logo. There is a small difference in size, though: This watch is much bigger to follow current fashion! It measures 40mm in diameter whereas the original was approximately 35mm across, not including the crown. An additional feature is the folding clasp, something not found on vintage leather-band watches. I think the folding clasp became a feature some time in the 1960's on steel bracelets, and later in the 1980's they began to be commonly found on leather straps. Even though I have seen a very early folding clasp from about 1940 on a leather strap, it was not from a particular manufacturer and rather unique.

Another feather is, of course, the see-through case back which the original did not have. Even though chronograph movements back then were beautifull in complexity, see-through backs has not yet been put into production. The rarest feature for a Tissot chronograph is the fact that this watch has a chronometre grade movement. Since Tissot has always been marketed as a mid-range brand, movements used in Tissots were never sent for CSOC qualification. This was left for Omega to do because they were positioned as a high-end brand since Omega and Tissot began collaborating—now under the banner of the Swatch Group, of course. The Heritage 1957 one is one of the very first Tissots every to be equiped with a chronometer-certified movement.

Tissot must have noticed that their heritage trend was very much appreciated by customers, since more old-style models would soon follow.