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Certina DS-2: Alternative Dive Watch

April 17, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

I’ve written about this watch before, picking it as a “grail” even before I bought it. It’s a good example of the “DS” shock proof case from Certina and has good period details. I purchased this at auction (the only bid) with an incorrect modern box and papers.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: Certina, Certina 25-661, Certina Ds, Certina DS-2, Certina Kurth Frères, Dive Watches

Seiko Lord Matic 5606: Retro TV

April 12, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

I’m on a Seiko kick this week for my “Watch A Day” series but this is a bit of an oddball. This Lord Matic is a mainstream automatic with dated 1970s styling and a decent but not awesome automatic movement. It’s the kind of watch many of us have in the box, getting occasional glances but infrequent wear.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: Lord Matic, Seiko, Seiko 5606, Seiko Lord Matic, Suwa Seikosha

Seiko Lord Matic: Emerald Jewel

April 7, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

When traveling to new cities, I often stop by a local watchmaker and dealer for conversation and to see what they kept to sell. I ran into this model Seiko Lord Matic at just such a shop in San Francisco, falling for the faceted crystal, green dial, and arrowhead markers, but felt that his price was delusional. This set off a 6-month quest to find a better example at an affordable price.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: 5216, Daini, Hi-Beat, Lord Matic, Seiko, Seiko 5200, Special

Seiko Lord Marvel: Hi-Beat Cool

April 5, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Today’s “Watch A Day” is a “Hi-Beat” Seiko Lord Marvel, with a 10 Hz escapement, wonderful textured dial, and retro domed crystal. It’s an occasional wearer for mine, but I love that fast ticking sound.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: 5740, Hi-Beat, Lord Marvel, Seiko, Seiko 5700, Seiko 5740

Two King Seiko Hi-Beat “56KS” Chronometers

January 16, 2018 By Stephen 3 Comments

The classic King Seiko 56KS, with its Cal. 562x movement, is a lovely daily-wear watch and a highlight of my own collection. What stands out about the King Seiko is its elegant and timeless design and the excellent performance of the 5626 movement. It is reminiscent of the legendary 1967 Grand Seiko “44GS” but perhaps even more attractively rendered with long, elegant lugs that draw attention to the dial rather than the case.

Filed Under: Collection, Grails Tagged With: 5625, 5626, 56KS, 7040, 7060, chronometer, King Seiko, Seiko, Seiko 5600, Suwa Seikosha

Stainless Tonneau: Patek Philippe Calatrava 3574

January 26, 2016 By Stephen 1 Comment

This stainless tonneau is a genuine Patek Philippe Calatrava but Ref. 3574 is beyond rare. I bet most enthusiasts never even heard of this model!

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: 23-300, 3574, Breitling Datora 592, Calatrava, Calatrava 3574, Patek Philippe, Patek Philippe Calatrava, Robert Maron, stainless steel, tonneau, WatchCentre

Curious: Jaeger-LeCoultre Club with A. Schild Movement

January 5, 2016 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Today, Jaeger-LeCoultre Club watches are mostly unknown. They don’t get the respect of the in-house models from Le Sentier, but they’re fine watches for daily use. Auctionata estimates €800 for this “C 2+” watch, but I suspect they’ll have trouble reaching that unless someone doesn’t know the provenance of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Club.

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: A. Schild, AS 1906, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaeger-LeCoultre Club, Jaeger-LeCoultre Club Automatic

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

“He’s No Jedi!” Debunking the Omega Seamaster 176.005

March 23, 2015 By Stephen 2 Comments

If you’ve read this blog for long, you know that I love to scour auction listings for under-described watches that are way more special than they appear. But folks like me also often note pieces that are incorrectly described, and one great example just caught my eye: The Omega Seamaster 176.005 Chronograph is often described as the “Jedi”, an incorrect name for this model and an unofficial one regardless. Let’s take a look.

Filed Under: Commentary, Grails Tagged With: Auctionata, Chrono24, Chronograph, ChronoMaddox, Chuck Maddox, debunk, eBay, Jedi, nickname, Omega, Omega Seamaster, Omega Seamaster Chronograph, Skywalker, Vader, Wound for Life

Reveil! Comparing Alarm Watches

January 21, 2015 By Stephen 2 Comments

It is difficult for a watch enthusiast on a budget to enter the world of complicated watches. Adding anything more than time and date quickly ratchets up the price beyond what most people can afford. This is especially true of chiming watches – good luck finding a mechanical Repeater or Sonnerie priced less than a car! But Reveil (or alarm) watches are the exception: These can often be found on a budget. Today we will look at a few that are up for auction and decide which (if any) is a buy.

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: alarm, alarm clock, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox, Montblanc, Oris, Reveil, Sonnerie, Vulcain, Vulcain Cricket

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