One Week Wearing Rarely Worn Watches

Have heard of worse plans. 

I've done that a few times, sans tracking and analysis, and sometimes one or two end up coming out of hiding when I realize that I enjoy wearing them again.

You should be shamed for not giving Arnie the wristtime it deserves, nay-demands!

Manual Wind Monday

The Seagull 1963

Background

As you may know, the Seagull 1963 utilizes the ST19 caliber, which is a mechanical column wheel chronograph movement based on the Venus 175 caliber. China purchased the machinery from Venus and the Tianjin Watch Factory produced a watch intended for the Chinese Air Force and released in 1963. This is a modern interpretation of that watch. As far as I know, this particular one did not come from the Tianjin factory. The warranty card that came with this watch references Hong Kong Sky Timepiece Co.

Experience

My experience wearing this watch today was overall favorable, especially considering the low price required to obtain this timepiece. The 38mm case and 18mm lug width made for a comfortable fit on the wrist. The watch came supplied with an olive green NATO strap, and a light brown leather two-piece strap with quick release spring bars. These straps are not the highest quality, but serviceable, and nice additions considering the price. I opted to fit this watch with a Colareb Venezia tobacco leather strap, which I find to be a great looking option. 

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The crown turns smoothly during winding and setting. Using the chronograph is tactile and pleasing. The two o’clock pusher engages with a solid, satisfying click, but the motion of the red seconds hand is not completely smooth as it moves along. There’s a bit of a stuttering, irregular motion to it, though it still seems to track quite accurately. The four o’clock pusher has a soft press, but results in the hands satisfyingly snapping back into their vertical position with an audible click. The finishing of the case is well done, with everything nicely polished and fitted. There are no visible flaws, dirt, or dust underneath the crystal. I find the dial attractive, well balanced, and interesting. The combination of a champagne dial, gold numerals, and red and blue hands works well, and creates a unique look. 

However, the exhibition case back showcasing the ST19 movement is the real showstopper. The slowly turning gears, cams, levers, and oscillating balance wheel, all working precisely together is a mesmerizing sight (I almost want to reverse the strap and wear it upside down to always have a view of that captivating movement).

I did notice this watch has a slightly loud tick. A few times, while typing at my computer, I heard its soft, mechanical rhythm tapping away during silent pauses. I actually like to hear a nice tick as an auditory reminder that the little balance wheel is still spinning back and forth in there.

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Performance

This watch is lovely to look at, but its performance was not quite as nice. This watch has always run slow. Past tracking has shown it to run pretty consistently at about -15 to -20 spd. On the wrist today, it lost about 12 seconds over the approximately 14 hours I had it on the wrist. The tracking app I use showed an average rate of -23.5 spd today. I also set the watch before going to bed Sunday night, and it had lost 8.5 seconds sitting on the desk overnight. This is just the results of my particular movement, and it could probably be improved with regulation. As far as the performance of the chronograph, I tested it against my iPhone’s stopwatch, and had some strange results. 

During my first test, the red seconds hand kept pace with the iPhone just fine during the 25 minute test. But I noticed at 25 minutes, the Seagull’s chronograph minute tracking subdial was one minute behind the iPhone. I know they matched at 20 minutes. So, I stopped the test and started again. This time, the Seagull tracked minutes accurately all the way through 35 minutes, but when I checked again at 38 minutes, the Seagull was once again one minute behind the iPhone. There seems to be something causing the Seagull’s subdial to occasionally fail to advance to the next minute. But, the seconds did keep pace with the iPhone pretty well through 38 minutes, though it was slowing down slightly over time. By the end of 38 minutes, the Seagull was close to one second behind. Later in the evening, I ran another test. This time, the Seagull tracked minutes without any errors for a full 60 minutes, and lost about one full second compared to the iPhone over that time.

Disappointments

Aside from the timekeeping issues, the other most notable bummer is the lume, or lack of lume. When letting the dog out in the back yard after dark, I checked my watch and could not read the time without seeking out better lighting. Any amount of lume would have been nice.

Overall Conclusion

This watch did its primary job of telling time well. It was never off by more than 12 seconds throughout the day, and the dial was easy to read as long as there was sufficient light. I’m a little concerned about the overall quality of this movement due to the chronograph minute tracking errors, and I’m unsure of its long term reliability. I would hesitate to rely on it as my daily watch. However, this is a valued piece in my collection for its interesting history and amazingly complex movement, visibly working away behind the case back. All for a bargain basement price. This watch will probably never be in my main rotation, but I’ll proudly wear it on occasions when I’m in the mood for something with a fascinating connection to another time and place in history.

Tuning Fork Tuesday

1966 Bulova Accutron Spaceview

Background

The tuning fork movement used in the Bulova Accutron was developed in the 1950s, with the goal of substantially increasing the accuracy that was possible in a watch. NASA used this new technology in its space program, and an Accutron movement used in the Apollo program is still on the moon to this day. Watches with the 214 Accutron movement were introduced to the public in 1960. Bulova supplied dealers with store demo models that had the dials removed to show the circuitry inside. Customers were so fascinated by this electronic marvel, that they wanted to buy the demo models. Demand was so great that Bulova started supplying dealers with Spaceview conversion kits, so customers could convert their standard models to Spaceview models. By 1963, Bulova was producing Spaceview models direct from the factory, and they continued the Accutron line until 1977, when quartz watches took over the timekeeping world.

Experience

The Bulova Accutron Spaceview was a joy to wear, and pretty much kept out of the way today, until it was called upon to tell the time. It’s very lightweight and small on the wrist. It is rather tall though, with a pronounced, domed acrylic crystal. 

The hum of the tuning fork is quiet when worn. I never noticed it during normal use, but when held up to the ear, the somewhat raspy little buzzing can clearly be heard humming away at 360Hz. This is what allows for the seconds hand to glide smoothly, as it floats along above all the gears and circuitry beneath it.

This watch has no crown, which makes this already rather diminutive watch, seem even smaller on the wrist. This does ensure that at no time will a crown poke uncomfortably into the wearer’s wrist. 

The watch is set by lifting a small handle on the caseback, which is then used to turn the time setting mechanism. The battery can also be accessed under a small hatch on the caseback. Unfortunately, this does not allow for hacking seconds.

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Performance

This watch performed as expected, which is exceptionally well. It stayed accurate to within 0.5 seconds during the approximately 14 hours it was worn. As a timekeeping device, it is excellent.

Disappointments

Considering what this watch is, I can’t find much to complain about. The only times I found this watch a bit lacking today were when making dinner, I missed having a dive watch bezel to time the oven (but that’s not the watch’s fault). Also, due to this watch being about 56 years old, and having questionable water resistance, I did remove the watch while washing dishes and taking out the garbage this evening. The other small disappointment is that only the hands are lumed. So, checking the time in the dark is a bit more of a guessing game than it could be. The prominent acrylic crystal is also more likely to pick up scratches than most of my sapphire equipped collection, but this is a vintage watch, and that acrylic crystal does look nice. Otherwise, I can’t find much fault with this watch.

Overall Conclusion

This watch still looks modern, even futuristic, today. The tuning fork mechanism was an ingenious solution to increasing the movement’s oscillation count, and the engineering it took to make it work amazes me. The number of vibrations this movement produces every hour of every day is staggering. The fact that the tiny little gear inside can withstand the millions and millions of impulses it receives every day really is amazing. This is an absolutely fascinating piece of watchmaking history, featuring serious innovation, and a connection to space travel and the Apollo missions at least equal to the legendary Omega Speedmaster. I plan to wear this watch more often, to celebrate that history, and just to appreciate its soft hum during rare quiet moments.

Beautiful Accutron! I have the same watch, it was passed down to me from my grandfather. He was the original owner, my grandmother bought it for him back in 1965 (I think). All original parts, never been serviced as far as i know, and still runs (Hummmmms) great. 

Yours came from the factory as a Spaceview (not a conversion like mine). It has that nice chapter ring. Wow, it’s in spectacular condition. Very cool!

Weekender Wednesday

Timex Weekender - Pac-Man Edition

Background

Timex started as the Waterbury Clock Company in 1854, and became famous for producing inexpensive, yet reliable watches. Timex continues to provide reliable watches at an affordable price, including the subject of this write-up, the Weekender.

Experience

My experience wearing this Timex Weekender today was great. Better than I expected. As a timekeeping device worn on the wrist, it did its job exceedingly well. It was comfortable on the wrist, and provided accurate time when needed. The 38mm size was perfect, not too big, not too small, and the original leather strap was sturdy yet comfortable to wear all day. I’m not sure how well this strap would hold up after months of use, but as far as cheap straps go, it seems pretty good. 

I will say this watch ticks loudly. It never got to the point of being annoying, but it's noticeable. One thing I really appreciate about this particular watch is that it brings some fun and levity to the wearing experience, this being the Pac-Man edition. The dial has a subtle Pac-Man maze pattern, with the four ghosts (Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde) appearing on the lower portion of the dial. Meanwhile, Pac-Man endlessly circles the dial near the end of the seconds hand. The indices next to each hour numeral are yellow Pac-Man pellets. The dial is clear and easy to read (in well lit conditions). 

One very cool feature of this watch is the illumination. When the crown is pressed, the maze lights up in blue, just like in the arcade! Pulling out the crown allows you to easily set the time, and the Pac-Man seconds hand does hack.

Continued...

Performance

The quartz movement in this watch is excellent. Over the last 24 hours it has kept time to well under 1 second. As a watch, it has performed its task extremely well.

Disappointments

Considering that this is a novelty watch, meant to be fun, I’ll cut it some slack here regarding the main bummer of this watch. The illumination. While very cool, the light-up maze does not provide easy legibility in totally dark situations. The illumination is not as bright as it appears in the picture above. You really have to struggle to make out where the hands are in total darkness. Another annoyance is that the hands have what looks like white colored lume inside cutouts in the metallic hands. But it is not lume. The illumination feature of this watch is almost purely for fun. It also would have been nice to have more than 30 meters of water resistance. For the price, I don’t really have much else to complain about.

Overall Conclusion

This is a fun watch, but also a useful time telling tool when you need it. It could utilize higher quality materials, and it could have better illumination. But as far as a fun piece that brings back memories of dropping quarters into arcade games as a kid, this watch does its job very well. 

I enjoyed wearing this watch today, and I’ll make an effort to give it some more wrist time, while also getting in a few games on the Pac-Man Arcade 1Up machine while I’m at it. 😀

Thicc Boy Thursday

Seiko Arnie - SNJ025

Background

The original Seiko “Arnie”, the H558, was released in 1982. The H558 was the first analog/digital dive watch with a digital chronograph and alarm. It soon became well known when it appeared on the wrist of the mighty Mr. Universe himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Seiko H558 was featured in some of my favorite 80s action movies, including Predator and Commando. 

Experience

As a kid, I remember trying to figure out what that cool watch was that Arnold Schwarzenegger was wearing in Commando. Unfortunately, I could never figure it out because when we got a full screen, up close look at it, we saw this…

Some kind of weird prop watch that never really existed. But now, with Seiko’s reissue of this watch, the SNJ025, I’m finally able to wear something very close to the timepiece used by John Matrix as he blasted his way through countless second-rate soldiers to save Alyssa Milano! Wearing this watch does provide a blast of 80s nostalgia, but with modern technology and features that make it a joy to use. Even though this watch has what seem like Schwarzeneggerian stats on paper, it wears amazingly well. 

I really like the multi-purpose digital display, which I mostly keep in day/date mode. But it’s nice to have a chronograph and alarm available, just in case I ever need to rescue a family member from a would-be dictator, or face off with an extra terrestrial trophy hunter. Another feature I really appreciate is the hourly chime. I like the small reminder that another hour has elapsed. It helps keep me on task, and is a feature I always miss when wearing a mechanical watch. The dive bezel is another useful feature that comes in equally handy when observing troop movements, or cooking pasta. Setting this watch is great fun too. It’s almost a shame that this watch is so accurate, because it rarely needs to be set. Turning the crown, and seeing the digital display changing is like two worlds colliding. Then when you pop the crown in, the hands all quickly turn independently, in an unnatural looking sweep around the dial until they land precisely in place. It never gets old.

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Performance

As a timekeeping device, this watch is fantastic. In the last 24 hours, it has gained a fraction of a second. Averaging past tracking results, this watch runs about +11 seconds a month. This is also a solar powered watch which should provide power for 6 months after a full charge. Battery changes are not something I want to worry about when I’m infiltrating an enemy base. The 200 meters of water resistance also allows for any amphibious operations that may become necessary, as well as escorting my niece to the pool. Another great feature of this watch is the legibility any time of day or night. The excellent lume allows for easy time telling. 

Even in total darkness, long after the lume has run down, the digital display’s backlight clearly and evenly illuminates the display. This watch is tough, rugged, and packs in many useful features, with the reliability and performance of a highly trained, special forces commando.

Disappointments

I don’t have many complaints about this watch. The overall size of it is just a bit large to be a true daily wear watch for me in all circumstances. The pushers at 8 and 10 o’clock can be a bit awkward to manipulate, especially when they need to be unscrewed first. The bezel could be a bit smoother to turn, and the big metal keeper (with what might be the Purina logo), could be a bit less conspicuous in my opinion. Otherwise, this is a spectacular watch.

Overall Conclusion

I love this watch, and I hope to have it in my collection forever. It’s fun, retro cool, charming, and oozes personality. It’s no wonder the Seiko SNJ025 is known as the Arnie.

Field Watch Friday

Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic

Background

The Hamilton Watch Company was founded in 1892 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The quality and accuracy of their pocket watches helped improve the safety of the US railroad system while building Hamilton’s reputation as a quality watchmaker. Hamilton continued producing excellent timepieces used in aviation, exploration, and both world wars. Hamilton created the first battery operated watch in 1957, and their innovative and futuristic designs soon became iconic. They continued innovating into the 1970s with the Pulsar, the world’s first digital watch. Soon after the release of the Pulsar, Hamilton became a part of the Swatch group. By 2003 Hamilton had moved its headquarters and facilities to Biel Switzerland.

Experience

This watch has been totally functional, comfortable, lightweight, reliable, and accurate all day. It does exactly what a watch should do. 

The operation of the crown is nice and smooth. The date complication is a welcome feature, and is incorporated tastefully into the dial, in my opinion. The date snaps over quickly, usually within seconds of midnight. The lume is pretty good. It’s useful, but not fantastic. The hour and minute hands, numerals, and small dots at each hour, all glow a nice green. But it does begin to fade pretty quickly when compared to the average Seiko.

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Performance

This watch incorporates a modified ETA movement which Hamilton calls the H-10. 

This movement features 25 jewels, and runs at 21,600 vibration per hour. This has been a very reliable and accurate movement for me. This particular watch has always run well within the COSC accuracy range. According to my tracking over the last 24 hours, it is running at +1.5 spd. I can’t complain about this watch’s consistent accuracy and reliability. Overall, this is an extremely competent watch.

Disappointments

The first actual complaint I have about this watch relates to the strap it came with. The brown leather strap is a little stiff and plasticky, and the buckle has sharp corners that poke into my wrist. I had to immediately change out the strap. 

I am enjoying the Fluco brown leather strap I installed. It’s comfortable, and fits the style of this field watch very nicely. The other minor complaint is the reflectivity of the crystal. It reflects a lot compared to most other watches I wear. Not really a big deal in use, but noticeable. It made taking pictures of the dial difficult.

Overall Conclusion

This is a really great watch. It has interesting historical relevance, great build quality, accuracy and reliability. But I haven’t really been able to form much of a connection with it so far. I appreciate everything about it, but there always seems to be something else more alluring in the watch box. I’m not giving up on it though. I believe with time, its solid, reliable, utilitarian competence will develop a unique and endearing personality, much like the patina on a vintage watch dial.

Seiko Saturday

Seiko SNKL23

Background

The Seiko 5 line of watches was introduced in the 1960s as affordable, but reliable watches intended to serve the needs of a younger market. The 5 features of this new watch line are somewhat debatable, but are usually listed as including a day/date function, automatic movement, water resistance, a recessed 4 o’clock crown, and a durable metal case and bracelet. Many of these features were innovative for the time, and set Seiko apart by offering thin, reliable watches with amazing features for an affordable price. The Seiko 5 line continues to offer good value in the watch market to this day.

Experience

The first thing I did when receiving this watch was to remove the stock folded link bracelet and replace it with a nice 18mm brown leather strap from Fluco. So, I can’t really comment on how the stock bracelet wears, but I do really like wearing this little Seiko on a nice leather strap. It has been lightweight, slim, and comfortable to wear all day. This is an amazingly good looking watch, especially considering I paid just under $100 for it. 

The case is nicely polished, the dial is elegant and not overly cluttered. The hands are crisp and sharp looking, with nicely reflective indices, and a cleanly outlined day/date window. There are no obvious flaws that I can see anywhere on the dial. A subtle pattern of vertical lines forms a ring around the outer space of the dial, giving it an extra touch of visual interest when the light hits at the right angle. This is a good looking dial! I always appreciate having a date complication, as I seem to be unable to retain which day of the month it is at any given time. Another nice feature is the lume applied to the hands, along with small dots of lume at the edge of the dial at all 12 hour markers.

I must say that setting this watch with the small, recessed crown is a bit of a chore. Setting the day, date, and time took an unusual amount of patience as my fingers struggled to grip that tiny crown and turn it with any level of efficiency. The inability to hack the seconds hand also made precise setting frustrating and ultimately futile. Not to mention the extended Seiko shuffle that was necessary in order to ensure this watch would still be ready to go in the morning. Once set, however, this watch is a joy to wear.

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Performance

The 7S26 movement in this Seiko 5 has been reliable, and seems to be a decent performer. 

Over the last 24 hours, it has been running at just under +10 spd. I have no complaints about its performance, and the build quality of this watch appears to be excellent.

Disappointments

As mentioned above, the small crown makes setting this watch quite tedious. The lume seems to be good quality, and lights up nice and bright, but there’s just not much of it, so it fades relatively quickly. The supplied bracelet isn’t the nicest, and the Hardlex crystal will likely get scratched over time. But these are pretty easy to overlook considering the price, excellent build quality, case finish, and dial design.

Overall Conclusion

This is a fine watch for the price. It does not look like a sub $100 watch at all. Especially on a nice strap, this little Seiko is a real joy to wear and look at throughout the day. 

There’s something I find extremely satisfying about an item that looks and performs far better than its price should allow. Once this Seiko is set and on the wrist, this watch manages to achieve something for me that most others don’t. It doesn’t leave me wanting anything more from it.

Soviet Sunday

Vostok Komandirskie

Background

The company that is now Vostok, was founded in 1942 in the town of Chistopol in Russia. They originally produced equipment for military purposes, but specialized in mechanical watches after the war. In the 1960s they adopted the Vostok brand name and have continued to produce wrist watches including the Amphibia and Komandirskie models, which were originally developed for military purposes. Modern versions of these classic military watches continue to be popular around the world today.

Experience

I’ve been enjoying this Vostok Komandirskie today. I hadn’t worn this watch for more than a few minutes at a time before today. It wears small, light, and very thin on the wrist. It functions well enough as a timekeeper, and has a utilitarian charm about it. 

Setting the watch is not the simplest operation, especially if the date is off by several days. This watch requires the hands to be moved back and forth around the dial from about 9pm to about 1am, which will advance the date, one by one. This is made a bit more awkward by the Vostok’s wobbly crown. Hand winding is also a bit weird due to the crown engaging easily with the threads as you attempt to wind it. Once it was set and wound, I noticed the tick sounded a little slow, so I looked up some information about the movement in this watch. I believe it’s the Vostok 2414A, which runs at 19,800 vibrations per hour, or 5.5 ticks per second, which explains the slow tick. This movement has an accuracy range of -20 to +60 spd, and a power reserve of 38 hours. The Komandirskie has run reliably all day. The main annoyance has been the stock leather strap. The keeper is rather loose, and the excess strap occasionally slips out and is susceptible to catching on things. Otherwise, it has been a very nice wearing experience. As far as the lume on this watch, there is a small application of lume on the hour and minute hands, and small dots along the outer edge of the dial (except at 3 o’clock). There are double dots at 12 o’clock. Unfortunately, the lume is not the best performing over time. It’s quite bright and clearly legible when charged, but fades relatively quickly. 

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The dial on this version is black with Arabic numerals all the way around (except at 3 o’clock where the date window resides).  The Vostok logo, a small, stylized “B”, appears above 6 o’clock. At 12 o’clock there is a red star above a graphic of a tank with “Командирские” written underneath. I find the dial appealing. Simple, but with an unmistakably Russian aesthetic. The domed acrylic crystal allows for clear viewing, and creates interesting distortions along the edge of the dial. There is a bidirectional rotating bezel on this watch, but with no numbers on this version, it serves as a decorative element only. 

The caseback has a quite nice engraving also.

Overall, I find it to be a handsome looking watch. This was also a very inexpensive watch at around $40, so it’s pretty amazing that it offers all that it does for that price.

Performance

Past tracking, mostly not on the wrist, has shown this watch to run pretty consistently in the +25 to +35 spd range. Today, while on the wrist, it has continued to run just over +30 spd. Not the best accuracy, but accurate enough. There were no problems with reliability or function during use today.

Disappointments

As I mentioned, the strap that came on this watch is not very impressive. It is functional as a strap for now, but I’m unsure of its longevity. The keeper also fails to hold the excess tightly enough, allowing it to catch on objects and clothing. Accuracy is not great, and setting the date is a bit cumbersome. Otherwise, I can’t fault this watch much, especially considering the price.

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Overall Conclusion

This Vostok watch seems to have the attributes of a typical Russian product, in my experience. Rugged, reliable, practical, and inexpensive. Not necessarily the most precise or finely finished, but it will function when you need it to work. Much like the Russian military Makarov pistol, or the AK47, they may not be the prettiest, but they will function reliably, even in less than ideal conditions. 

I’m hoping the Vostok will also continue to reliably tick. Not at 28,800 vph like a finely finished Swiss dress watch, but at a pragmatic 19,800. The sweep of the seconds hand may not appear as elegant, but this should allow for extended, reliable service from this watch, while delivering acceptable accuracy. If that’s the case, it’s a practical trade-off for a basic, inexpensive field watch. Now that I’ve gotten a bit more wrist time with this watch, I plan to keep it in the rotation (and will definitely find a suitable replacement strap for it). I’m now looking forward to seeing for myself just how rugged and reliable this Vostok Komandirskie proves to be.

I like it, I would have a tough time sticking to a schedule. So I applaud you!