For those who are interested, Christie's calendar for 2009:
June 10: Rockefeller Center
November 3: Amsterdam
December 14: Rockefeller Center
Enjoy.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Wakmann
Wakmann is back. They were an independent Swiss brand who were taken over by Breitling. The company slowly disappeared. They issued watches under their brand name as well as joint Wakmann Breitling named watches.
Check them out at:
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Antiquorum
For those who are interested, the Antiquorum 2009 Auction Calendar:
Important Collectors Wristwatches, Pocket Watches & Clocks
June 11/12 New York
September 16/17 New York
October 10/11 Geneva
November 14/15 Geneva
December 9/10 New York
Vulcan Force Seiko (updated)
In recent months, I have grown an interest in military watches (actually I have been interested on and off). In my quest to learn more, I came across an interesting article on RAF issued Seiko. I was very interested in a particular Seiko that was rumoured to have been issued to Vulcan Force pilots. That Seiko is the 7A38-701B. I wanted to find out if this watch was really a military issued watch. Thus my quest began and this is what I found.
Photo: Bill of MWR
This Seiko chronograph (with its distinctive yellow dial) is rumoured to have been issued to the Vulcan Force from 1983. What I seen from postings and pictures on the Internet, these watch do not have the normal military markings. The typical markings would be the upward facing arrow (broad arrow) or the lettering 'WD'.
Photo: Broad Arrow
Newer RAF watch markings are as follows:
1. NSN number (NATO Stock Number) and is usually 13 digits long. Typical NSN would be 6645-99-XXX-XXXX. The 6645 is NSN for timing device, 99 is for UK, and the rest shows what the item and where it comes from.
2. The Broad Arrow
3. The Serial Number, typically 4 digit/ and year issued, e.g. 1234/83
Sources have put the number of these watches at 700 and not available commercially. The reason for the selecting the yellow dial was it would be visible in the cockpit of the Vulcan bomber. Other than these bits of information, there seem to be nothing else that can be found on these watches.
Lets look at the Vulcan Force. From wikipedia, we know that the Avro Vulcan flew from 1953 to 1984. My understanding is that the last Vulcan bomber squadron, 44 Squadron was disbanded in December 1982. The last Vulcan, 50 Squadron was a tanker flying out of Waddington was operational until March 1984.
From my readings and research, it seem unlikely that these yellow dial Seiko were issued to the Vulcan Force. The rumoured number of watches issued is 700. Yet, based on my experience working on aircraft, it would not take more than 30 people to keep 1 aircraft in tip top flying condition. I don't think that the RAF would purchase the watch for such a small team. It was also rumoured that it was a 'local purchase' by the RAF purchasing officer. I doubt that he would be allowed to make such a huge purchase as a 'local purchase'.
The story also stated that these watches were not issued commercially. That would account for the low count number. However, the watch do appear in Seiko catalogue. This means that there watches were available commercially.
Photo: Time2fly (www.larrybiggs.net)
I am not saying that these watches were not issued to the RAF or the Vulcan Force, but thus far I have not found anything that can confirm this fact. I contacted my lecturer in the UK who I knew worked in the RAF. He in turn contacted one of his friend who worked with the V Force. I quote "I was issued with a pilot's watch. It has a khaki-coloured, simple to operate strap and buckle. It has a black face and a unique serial number engraved on its stainless steel (I think) back". When asked about the Seiko, he response was "I never saw, or heard of, the yellow dialled model". As for an issued watch not having any military markings, he response was "All War Department kit either had 'WD' marked on it or, more commonly an upward facing arrow. My watch has the arrow just below the main, central spindle on which the hands are mounted".
Even Seiko UK and Japan have no knowledge of these watches being issued to the military. They do acknowledge that 2 Seiko models were issued, the 7A28-7120 and 7T27-7A20. The 7A28 is the same as the 7A38, minus the day date display at 3 o'clock and having a black dial. Refer the photo below: the watch on the left 7A28-7120 (tri-compax design) and the right 7T27-7A20. These Seiko were issued to the RAF in general and not aircraft specific.
Photo: John of MWR
So far, from what I read and researched, not one RAF aircrew member or ground crew has been found with any knowledge of this watch being issued.
So my conclusion? Perhaps there were members of the Vulcan force who had purchased the yellow dial Seiko chronograph and later on sold it. That perpetuated that this was also another Seiko that was issued to the RAF. Who knows? It has been an interesting quest and one that I will continue.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
DW-5600E-1V
This a small review of my daily beater, the Casio G-Shock DW-5600E-1V. This watch, to me is the bread and butter model for Casio. It was first released in 1996 and is based on the popular DW-5600C-1 (the Speed model, but more on this watch in a later review) and it's predecessor the DW-5200C-1. This watch is cheap and offers great value for money.
Basic Specifications:
Module 1545
Timekeeping Mode: Hour, minutes, seconds, am/ pm, month, date, day of week (time display switchable between 12-hour and 24-hour format)
Calendar System: Auto-calendar from 1995 to 2039
Alarm Mode: Multi-function alarm, hourly time signal
Countdown Alarm Mode (Timer): measuring unit: 1 second, input range: 1 second to 24 hours, auto repeat and repeat function
Stopwatch Mode: measuring unit: 1/100 seconds (first 60 minutes), 1 second (after 60 minutes), measuring capacity: 23 hours 59 minutes 59.99 seconds, measuring modes: elapsed time, split time and two finishes
Dimensions: 43 mm X 49 mm, height: 13.5 mm
This watch is not small, but it does not look as big as its dimensions suggest. It is very light as the case is made from resin, unlike its predecessor which had stainless steel body and a screw down case back. The resin body is tough and is further protected by a rubber case. This rubber case has raised ridges at the top and bottom of the LCD display and this helps to protect the mineral glass used on the case. On the ridges are the wordings 'PROTECTION' and 'G-SHOCK'.
The case back is typical Casio. It is a stainless steel plate held by 4 screws at the 4 corners. The plate is matte, with vertical brushing. This watch is Made in Thailand (Thailand Y). The normal Casio marking are present at the case back, i.e. module number, model number, water resistant, made in data, the G-Shock logo in the center. This watch is water resistant to 200 m or 20 bars.
The buttons are a pleasure to use, large and very tactile. As with most Casio, there is a confirmation 'beep' when the mode button is selected. The watch will cycle through time display, alarm, countdown alarm, stopwatch and back to time display. The 'beep' for the return to time display is different (not much) from the 'beep' when cycling through the functions. This helps the user in that the user knows when he is back to the normal time display. Additionally, the watch reverts to normal time display when the mode button is selected once an operation has been selected, regardless of mode. What this means is if you have adjusted the alarm in the alarm mode, when you select the mode button, you return to normal time display instead of having to cycle through the entire function modes. The current time is displayed in all modes except alarm.
As with most Casio, the adjust button is recessed to prevent accidental selection. The backlight on the watch is good if not great.
The strap on the watch is supple yet strong. It wears well and is very comfortable. It is made of rubber. It has the non-slip ridges on the inside of the strap along the edges. This ridges also help to keep the the strap cool when worn. It comes with 1 keeper but it is broad enough. There are no markings as to where it is made. The only markings are '444, F4, 16'. I figure the last number, 16, indicates the lug size (16 mm).
The buckle is made in Indonesia and it is well made. It is polished and there are no rough edges. Casio QC can be observed throughout the watch. There is raised portion where the buckle tang sits on the buckle.
I like the LCD on this watch but I don't love it. I feel it would look better and the display could be clearer if Casio had opted not to have the 'crystal' effect as the back ground on this watch. The top of the display shows the day, month and date. The lower portion shows the time, either in 12-hour mode (with a 'PM' for afternoon) or 24-hour mode (with 24H indication). In other modes, except alarm mode, the time display will appear in the 'month-date' window.
As I said earlier in the review, this is my daily beater. I wear this watch almost everywhere and it is one tough watch. The picture below shows the watch after spending a day clearing weeds in freezing water at a local wetland. It is a very comfortable and light watch and you tend to forget it is there. I prefer to have some heft in my watch and would like it if the watch had a screw back.
Overall, the watch delivers and offers great value for money.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Saving MD-703S-7AV
The last 2 days have been a busy 2 days. Why? Well I found out one of my favourite watch has somewhat 'died' on me. I could no longer change the day or date on the watch. Otherwise it was working. If you look at the picture, you can see that the day is not align within the day window. SIGH!!!! What to do.... off to the friendly watch service man. He gave me bad news. The calendar ring is damaged and there is nothing he can do. He called up Casio and they confirm that the module (394) is no longer in production and has not been since the mid 90s.
Arrgggggg what to do??? Well, the next best thing, go to another shop where I get all my watch tools. They have lots of parts for lots of watches. The guy there had a look at the watch and gave me the same bad news. That was it, the end of my watch.
Spent the next 2 days looking in the Internet if there were module 394 for sale. Then an idea hit me today. Why not look for a donor watch. But wait, this watch was from 1988. So, would there be another watch using the same module? Yes there were, lots but all issued in 1980s and 1990s.
How difficult can it be, look for analogue Casio watch with day date function. Off I went to the watch shops (yes, shops). Nil joy. This is bad. Finally decided to go to a place called Shimenti where there are a number of watch shops selling vintage Casios (well mostly G-Shocks). First shop, nil, second shop, nil, third shop, again nil. I was about to give up when I notice a shop out of the normal walking path. In I went, and yes, an analogue Casio with 3 hands and day date function. Had a look at the watch, YES!!!!!! module 394. Bought the watch and home sweet home to do the transplant.
Now for the transplant. First clean the work area and get all the tools ready. Remove the strap and screw back.
Remove the back and remove the white plastic spacer/ movement holder to get to the battery. Remove battery.
Next remove the crown/ stem. This was made easier as unlike some quartz module, this one actually has a 'push' indicator to show where to push to remove the crown/ stem.
The case back and crown/ stem.
With the crown removed, it was as easy as turning the case around for the movement to drop out. Notice the notch at 12 o'clock? This is to align the minute ring to the dial and also the rotating bezel.
Finally the movement on the movement holder. OK it is not the right one for quartz movement, but it works.
Now to remove the hands. Always remember to protect the dial.
The hands. As you can see there are some oxidation on the hands. I decided not to clean it (actually I don't know how to .... :) ).
Finally the movement. So now to see what is wrong with it.
As you can see from the pictures below, the calendar ring is held in place by a number of notches in the center of the movement. These notches seem to be worn out. Also you can see that the calendar ring itself is damaged.
Now lets look at the dial. As you can see from the pictures below, there are some weld marks on the back of the dial. These are the weld marks of the luminous minute markers.
The dial is no longer white but have developed some yellowing around the edges. I think it adds character to the watch. Notice the tab at the 12 o'clock position? This is to align with the minute ring in the case.
So now the reverse can take place. Installation of the hour and minutes hand. We have to remember to adjust the time to 12 midnight so that the day date change before we install the hands. Failure to do so will result in the day date changing at a different time. Remember to clean everything, blower and a bit of Rodico helps.
The new module in place, batteries in and movement spacer as well.
Screw back the case back. Don't forget to lubricate the o-ring. Tomorrow off to the watch shop for pressure test.
And the watch, as good as new with another 20 years of life (more I hope).
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