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The Fall and Rise of Zenith, 1969-1988

March 3, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Zenith was “the first manufacture”, one of the greatest watch companies in Switzerland, and the economic force behind Le Locle. Then it was purchased by an American electronics company and ordered to destroy its mechanical watchmaking assets. This is the story of the mighty Zenith, brought low, and returning thanks to a machine tools baron, a humble watchmaker, and two other famous brands.

Filed Under: History, The Watch Files Tagged With: Charles Vermot, Chronomatic, Dixi, Ebel, El Primero, Georges Favre-Jacot, H. Moser & Cie., Le Locle, LVMH, Martel, Movado, Paul Buhré, Paul Castella, quartz, Rolex, Rolex Daytona, Tissot, Zenith, Zenith Defy, Zenith El Primero

CEH and the Beta 21: The History of the First Swiss Quartz Watch

June 15, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

The development of the quartz wristwatch was a turning point for the timekeeping industry and shifted the balance from Switzerland to Japan and the United States, despite the fact that the Swiss industry developed the first such watch. This is the story of the tumultuous and controversial creation of the world’s first quartz watch by the CEH in Neuchâtel.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Armin Frei, Beta 21, Bulova, Bulova Accutron, CEH, Longines, Longines Ultra-Quartz, Max Forrer, Megaquartz, Omega, quartz, Roger Wellinger

The History of the IWC Da Vinci via Europa Star

June 5, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Regular Grail Watch readers might have noticed that I have begun using the archives of Europa Star rather heavily in my research. The editors noticed as well, and have invited me to be a contributing writer to that fine journal. My first piece was published today, and delves into the history of an iconic model, IWC’s Da Vinci. The archive brought me fantastic information and illustrations, as we will discuss today.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beta 21, CEH, Chronograph, Europa Star, IWC, IWC Da Vinci, IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar, Mechaquartz, perpetual calendar, quartz

Surveying the 2018 Seiko x Giugiaro “Speed Master” LCD Reissue Series (SBJG)

January 18, 2019 By Stephen 6 Comments

Seiko has been collaborating with Giugiaro Design since the 1980s. The most famous fruit of this collaboration was the “Aliens” watch line, which have been reissued in recent years. In late 2018, Seiko introduced another reissue: The SBJG multi-function digital models we will discuss today.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: A825, A828, Giugiaro, LCD, quartz, SBJG, Seiko, Seiko Giugiaro, Speed Master, SSBA

Movado 1891 Ultra-Slim “Museum Watch”

April 29, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Despite the sketchy history of the design, Movado’s “Museum Watch” remains an icon of horology. It’s one of the very few watches that is instantly recognizable even to the uninitiated, and thus belongs in any serious collector’s watch box, if not on their wrist.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: dress watch, ETA 956, ETA 956.032, Movado, Movado 1891, Museum of Modern Art, Museum Watch, Nathan George Horwitt, quartz, ultra thin, Vacheron Constantin

Storm Microcamera: Cool Bracelet!

April 27, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

The Storm Microcamera is something special only because it’s so darn odd. It’s not very functional or useful, but it looks cool and is excellently designed and made. It’s everything that “mushroom brands” like the Xeric aren’t. And I like it.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: bracelet, fashion watches, Miyota, plate bracelet, quartz, Storm, Storm London, Storm Microcamera, Storm Watches

Seiko SCED: A Modern Reissue of the 1980’s “Aliens” Chronographs

December 1, 2015 By Stephen 6 Comments

Some of the most recognizable and sought-after collectible watches weren’t all that expensive when they were new. One example of the low-end grail is the line of 7A28 Seiko chronographs designed by Italian designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro. These odd asymmetric watches were used in the 1986 film, “Aliens”, but were not considered collectibles at the time. Now they are so in demand that Seiko has reissued them as limited edition models in their home-market Spirit line.

Filed Under: Commentary, History Tagged With: 7A28, 7T12, Aliens, Chronograph, Giugiaro, Meca-Quartz, Mechaquartz, quartz, SCED, Seiko, Seiko Spirit

Prototype 4.2 MHz Omega Quartz – One of Two Made?

March 30, 2015 By Stephen 1 Comment

Here’s a real puzzle: What do you make of a watch with a standard case and the word “Automatic” on the face yet a quartz movement inside? And what if the seller of that watch claimed it was a rare prototype with an unknown movement number yet included no photos of the inside of the watch? You’d be skeptical, right? So was I, but I believe this is the real deal: One of two known Omega prototype watch movements running at an amazing 4.2 MHz.

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: Beta 21, Megaquartz, Omega, prototype, quartz, Watchuseek

Two Rare Seiko Historical Watches

January 23, 2015 By Stephen 4 Comments

At this risk of this becoming “Grail Seiko” rather than “Grail Watch”, please allow me to present two wonderful and very rare watches for your consideration. Both are gaudy gold watches, both are relatively modern, and both are probably overpriced except in the eyes of a true Seiko fanatic. But one is an homage to Seiko tradition while the other was the first attempt by the company to take on the Swiss!

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: 6810, 9F61, Astron, quartz, SCQL002, SCQZ002, Seiko, Seiko Astron

1975 Girard Perregaux Casquette LED

May 28, 2014 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Some grails are special because of their association with history (see my piece on the “Scuderia Ferrari” Zenith, for example), while others are just plain odd. This is the latter. The Girard Perregaux Casquette (Ref. 9931) is a mid-1970’s LED quartz watch with innovations throughout. It’s just too bad the quartz revolution ended with a whimper instead of this kind of excitement!

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: 1975 Girard Perregaux Casquette, Girard Perregaux Casquette, Girard-Perregaux, LED, quartz

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