My Pulsar Pokemon Moment

Grab a cold drink and a comfy seat, this is going to be a long one.

As we all know, or at least should know, #pulsar is a brand or "sub-brand" owned by the good folk at #seiko. Seiko started supplying watches to the Royal Airforce (RAF) at the start of the 1980s[1].

Gen 1 Seiko RAF chronograph [Worn&Wound]

The first of these was Seiko #chronographs running a #quartz 7A28 movement. Naturally, these are referred to as "Gen 1" pieces and are distinguished by the 'circle P' on the dial indicating that the element Promethium was used to lume the hands. (Promethium is a mildly radioactive, man-made element that has relatively large atoms. These atoms find it quite difficult to pass through crystal [or #hardlex] and stainless steel and so it poses no risk to humans)[2]

If there is a Gen 1, then obviously there was a Gen 2. The second generation of Seiko RAF chronographs show a slight evolution in terms of overall design bezel, and dial, again with the 'circle P', but with a chapter ring indicating seconds in the Gen 2.

Circle-P [Military-watches.net]

These watches are the peak of utilitarian Seiko chronograph design, with no bezel, bead-blasted stainless steel case, basic, blocky typography used for the numerals on the dial, and by all accounts the 7A28 movement was near indestructible, or at least cheap enough that replacement wasn't an issue for the RAF.

Gen 2 [Harry's Vintage Seiko Blog]

These were issued to Aircrew by the RAF and thus remained the property of the service, although they were occasionally "lost" or purchased from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) when a service person left the RAF. As such they are fairly rare but you can pick them up starting at about USD$700 if you know where to look[3].

From Military-watches.net:

...[The] Seiko Gen I chronographs were issued by the Royal Air Force from 1984 until 1990, the later Gen 2 watches were issued  from 1990 onwards. The first generation watches are much more collectable than the second and in fact use a 7A28 Seiko movement which has a very good reputation for long-term reliability. The movement used in Gen 1 was a 15 jewel movement  the Gen 2 uses a non-jewelled quartz movement [...] The case size of both watches is the same [38mm] the only difference is the positioning of the dials with the Gen 1 being 9,6,3 and the Gen 2 being 12, 9.

From memory, they were also 200m water resistant. The Case back of the Seikos (and later the Pulsars) forgo the usual markings in favour of the "broad arrow" - an ancient symbol used to denote items belonging to the crown (So I don't know what you are trying to pull #citizen) and the #nato Stock Number (NSN) ‪6645-99 7683056‬ used for #military-issued equipment:

Gen 1 (L), Gen 2 (R) [Harry's Vintage Seiko Blog]

6645 = Time Measuring Instruments
99 = NATO Country code United Kingdom
768-3056 = individual part number

Followed by the last two digits of the year the watch was issued (not the year of manufacturer).

At the start of the 1990s, The MoD (or perhaps Seiko) switched to #pulsar, updating the look and feel of the chronographs and using a V675 quartz movement.

Gen 2 RAF #pulsar #chronograph [Military-watches.net]

Like the predecessors from the Mothership, there are two models, imaginatively labelled "Gen 1" and "Gen 2". The 2nd generation having much larger numerals marking the hours and this time a 'circle-L' to indicate the use of LumiBrite as the lume[4].

Circle-L [Military-watches.net]

And that's where I come in. The RAF Pulsar models were sold to the public as early as 1993 with the 1st generation and the mid-to late 1990s with the 2nd generation. They also came in at least three colourways - #green, #blue, and the traditional #black on a #stainless #steel #bracelet or Nato. The black model usually appears on an admiralty grey #nato. My third Pulsar #reissue (or more accurately "civilian issue") in black arrived in the post this morning:

(L - R: Green PM3127X1 [Gen 1 style], Blue PM3177X1 [Gen 2 style], Black PM3175X1 [Gen 2 style]).

From Military-watches.com:

The British military currently issue the Seiko PX8307X1 NSN: 6645-99-958-4756 for aircrew use. As of 2016 there were 2,027 of these watches issued so it's the only British military issue watch that is issued in any significant quantity although it has to be said that even 2,027 watches is not a particularly large number when you consider they've been ordered over a long period of time and appear to have first been issued in 2009.  Working on the basis that from 2009 to 2016 is a seven year period and allowing for attrition the number is surprisingly low. I have been informed by reliable sources they are normally procured in batches of 1000 per time which would suggest there were two separate orders at some point.

I am, for all intents and purposes, a "chronograph guy". I own more chronographs than any other style or model of watch, and they are mostly Seiko, and Pulsar models (although there is at least one #citizen #bullhead in my collection). So I have been aware of the RAF chronographs for some time. In addition, I became aware of a true "#reissue" of the 1st Gen Pulsar which, by all accounts, was made into a "thing" by UK-based retailer Rubicon Watches. They seem to be the only place you can get a new-in-box Gen 1 style, black, Pulsar RAF chronograph. And this is the 4th piece that I am missing.

Gen 1 RAF Pulsar re-issue [Rubicon Watches (AUD$)] 

The Green 1st Gen was an eBay find, as was this morning's Black 2nd Gen, while the Blue 2nd Gen was the result of me walking down the street in Burwood, Sydney and spotting it in the window of a jeweller, new-in-box for AUD$100.00

But I dare you to do any research into these pieces - the consumer ones. It took me a good hour to nail down the model numbers of the three pieces I have, and even then, there are some discrepancies between posts online that still leave me thinking I haven't quite got it right. The Pulsar website is of no use, and I haven't found a repository of Pulsar catalogues like those available online for Seiko stretching back to the 1960s[5].

If anyone knows where I can find any info just generally historic Pulsar offerings (and/or Lorus for that matter - see a future post) I would be much obliged.

3/4 will buy again. 
---
[1] And by all accounts still do, in the form of the #pulsar chronograph -  or at least they did up until 2016, according to the most recent and reliable information I can find online. 
[2] Seiko reportedly used Radium in the early early days, which again isn't all that dangerous unless you breathe it in... It's not clear (at least based on my internet search skills) when the switch to Promethium occurred, but it's likely the mid-1960s.
[3] If you are keen, this listing has been up on #eBay for positively ages selling Seiko Gen 1 and Gen 2 and Gen 1 and Gen 2 Pulsar models for approx. AUD$7000.00!

[eBay]
[4] Which is not radioactive at all, but occasionally you need to quickly know what is going on with someone's watch in the kinds of crazy and dangerous environments that military service people find themselves in. As an example, I used to work for a mining company, and occasionally head down into a mine where there are all sorts of cool but explosive stuff... like gas. So much so, that the tiniest spark, say from a watch battery shorting out, would have caused a not insignificant explosion. Hence, you will find miners only wear automatic or manual winding watches - nothing quartz, or a hybrid like a solar movement. It was that job that is chiefly responsible for me catching the watch-collecting bug.
[5] Pulsar was launched as a brand in 1978.
---

Sources:
In addition to those linked above, The Internet - do some judicious Googling if you don't believe me. That said, if you have more accurate info, don't be shy, share it in the comments below.