Friday, December 25, 2009

Linear Beauty: Grand seiko 4522-7010

Another new member into my Grand Seiko family. This is what they called Linear Beauty. Most GS are beauties.... of course there are few exceptions...
I personally think the new GS Spring Drive chronographs look relatively hideous.
This watch is special in two ways:

1) It has pencil thin little hour, minute and second hands






2) This is one of the first seiko watch equipped with sapphire glass.
Bare in mind, this watch was produced in 1970 at KAMIDO/DAINISEIKOSHA. During the 70's not many european watches used sapphire crystal...



At the heart of this watch is the cal 4522A, manual winding 25 jewels movement, beating at a super 36000Vph.



This is a plain looking GS which simplified time.... A true beauty.... Sometimes I wonder why do we needs a multi complication watch???





Thursday, December 17, 2009

Vintage Seiko Automatic Chronograph

Seiko used to produce pretty good automatic chronograph back in the 1960's and 70's before the Quartz revolution. During the time the chronographs were relatively cheap compare to their new Ventura, Credor, and Flightmaster automatic chronograph. My personal opinion is that these vintage chronograph is value for money... not only are they stylish... the case, the movement and the finishing is of high standard... I think the reason for ceasing production may be due to the costing factor and also the shortage of skilled watchmakers to assemble all those movements...

Seiko still makes excellent mechanical chronograph nowsaday... but the price is way above the sky... if I am going to pay that amount of money, I will opt for Breitling, omega and IWC chronograph. Afterall, I find the european cosmetic is much nicer. There is always talk of in house movement and a lot of experts are emphasizing on that term.... but if a movement is reliable why not?



Classic Seiko Bullhead

Seiko 6138-0040 (Brown; Speedtimer)

Speedtimer is only for Japanese market and is usually consider to be of higher standard than normal bullhead chronograph. This is a pure blood bullhead... all original even with the speedtimer buckle. Bullhead is a double registered chronograph.








Bullhead black with fishbone bracelet











Seiko single registered chronograph 6139-6020: The doctor's watch

This is a 17 jewels automatic watch with day date function. This watch was made during the early 1970's. I picked up this one from a local watch shop as a new old stock. Therefore everything is in original status... sadly there isn't any instruction or manual left for this. What is distinctive with this chronograph is that rather than having the normal tachymeter, it has a Pulsimeter. How to use the pulsimeter? Don't ask me... I am not a doctor by profession... However this is what I found out from the internet:
This watch was aimed at members of the medical profession as it can be used to measure heart rates. The outer ring is graduated with the numbers from 100 to 11 and the ‘base 10′ tells you how many heartbeats to count before stopping the timer. To use it, you feel for the patient’s heart beat, reset the chronograph, start the timer, count 10 heart beats and then stop the timer. The number that the sweep second hand points to on the outer ring is the patient’s heart rate (in beats/minute)….




Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Bulova Chronometer Day Date

Bulova Rolex Wannabe...

This watch was actually bought by my wife for me. I find it quite amusing... not only because it looks quite alike a Rolex.... Somemore at the dial... it is written:

"Bulova
Chronoprecision
Day-Date
Official Certificate
Sapphire Crystal"

Original look



Although the wording is odd and stupid. It is quite a watch for collection and it is kind of rare because I have tried to find another one similar to this.....

Some years later due to an accident the dial was scratched. I have to send the dial for repainting.... The technician does not have the same wording, so we have no choice but to alter it into:

"Bulova
super-seville
Day-Date
Superlative chronometer
officially certified"

We repainted the dial into radiance red colour. Maybe the next step of modification is to change the diamond bezel into diamond bezel equipped with 4 rectangle rubies......

Make-over look













For once, I think the repainting dial looks nicer than the original. This is definitely one of a kind for collection... a custom watch in a sense... Yes I know all about use of wording like chronometer and swiss made is a violation of switzerland's law... With so many replicas and self proclaimed chronometers out there..... My one is pretty minor.....

My Other Bulova that look like Rolex President... with rare red maroon dial.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Rolex: International Currency

Another form of currency, my big R

Want a currency that does not depreciate in value? When economy is bad, when inflation rate is high..... This may be another way of safe keeping your money. By investing into watches... of course not every single watches.. It has to maintain or increase in value over a period of time and it has to rotate easily in any market... Rolex, the king of watches as it was known in Asia.... comes as a first choice. It will be wise to go to an established watch dealer to buy one for investment. High grade replica and cross over Rolex are everywhere, it is even quite hard for experts to make a quick conclusion.....
Rolex King/Rolex President
Rolex 16013