Seagull 1963 - a great starter chronograph for any collection

Anyone who has purchased a Seagull 1963 has done well for themselves. Regardless of which version you have, the uniqueness and history of this watch makes it iconic with an entry into mechanical chronograph watches. There are many YouTube reviews on this watch and plenty of material to confuse you. I have researched deeply into all of it and have come away from with results that has made me build up a collection of five pieces. Two of them; 38mm & 40mm have sapphire crystal dial glass so those are not originals but good homages or reproductions or whatever you want to call them and are practical for everyday wear semi-beaters. You really can’t go wrong with them. Having an 8-to-8.25-inch wrist, surprisingly enough the 38mm IMHO wears better for me. I would have expected it the other way round like other watches. The presence and proportions of the 38mm does it for me. I am glad I did not get the 42mm version as that would have been well out of proportion. The size factor being an oxymoron as I sometimes wear a 42mm Hanhart (my favorite chronograph of all time!) being my preferred and the oversized version of the original 39mm 1954 one (now renditioned) in line with the 417ES Steve McQueen wore as his non-influenced personal choice.

Back to The Seagull 1963. Each one of the five has its own character. Two already mentioned, at the far right and now the two HKED D304 ones, at the far left. The difference between the two being the subdial totalizers; one being a Panda style with a sapphire crystal glass and the other standard with the acrylic. The distinction being of HKEDs are the logo (star-trek style), square markers instead of where the odd numerals or the triangular batons would be, 19 Zuan Zhongguo writing above the six position that are very subtle. Many have referred these as the nearest and best to the original. One can debate that all day and still come away scratching one’s head! For me, they are not easy to get and have a distinct character. Anyone who is thinking of an HKED edition will not be disappointed in the slightest. The one that takes first prize for me is in the middle the 819.17.1963 I bought from Times International being the Sea-Gull (note the hyphen) that was a re-issue 5500 pieces; each one numbered on the solid steel case back. There is a bit of Poetic License regarding the production of these so, do not get caught up in it. The dial is a lighter not so bland or pale as the other ones, there are two rows of Chinese characters and the first row with two characters I have been told signifies the Tianjin factory where apparently the original ones were made and now today under different ownership. The acrylic glass has more of a bubble with lovely distortion when looking at the dial from the side.

Looking at the movement at the back the blue components look very blingy with the bluey parts which, I believe are not heat treated and can be off-putting. Swan neck or not, the column wheel can be seen. So, going back to Square One, whichever one you choose, will not be a wrong choice. So, you decide and enjoy wearing knowing what you have is a little gem. I have a personal collection of many watches including pieces that would costs over 40 times what you would pay for a Seagull or Sea-Gull 1963. You just cannot go wrong!

So peeps, enjoy.