Mind your fingers folks, here comes the Buzzsaw! (Click pictures to enlarge) To many watch enthusiasts, the Sea Wolf is regarded as Zodiac’s quintessential diver’s watch. The first model was released in 1953 and was one of the first dive watches made specifically for sale to the general public, rather than being produced solely for commercial use. I won’t go into detail about the original Sea Wolf, I’ll save that for another post, but fast forward a few years to the 1960’s and the Super Sea Wolf was released, increasing the depth rating significantly from 100 to 750 metres. Fast forward ano ..read more

A few years ago I wrote about a Breitling TransOcean chronograph on the blog, in which I referred to the subject of this post, the original TransOcean automatic. I had one in for servicing recently, so let’s have a closer look. (Click pictures to enlarge) The TransOcean is a popular model in Breitling’s history and this watch is where it all started. Breitling released their first TransOcean model in 1958, following on from their Navitimer and SuperOcean lines in the years prior. Aimed more at the intercontinental business traveller than pilots, the watch was available in stainless steel, gol ..read more

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought this eye-catching watch might be appropriate. Red and gold? Very Christmassy! (Click pictures to enlarge) I find it incredible that in a design meeting for this watch, someone said “How about gold with a red dial?” and it was given the green light. Amazing! However, after a quick search, it seems like gold watches with red dials were a thing during the 1970’s and 80’s, especially at the luxury end of the market. Here are a few examples from Rolex, Cartier, Piaget and Omega. Whilst re-watching the movie Casino recently, I also spotted that Robe ..read more

I’ll admit that I didn’t have high hopes when I bought this quirky, yet sorry looking, Certina Argonaut 220. (Click pictures to enlarge) When you think of vintage Certina, the DS range springs immediately to mind. First introduced in 1959 and designed primarily as tool watches, many of the later models were not what you’d call everyday watches – if you’ve handled the 1000m DS-2 and DS-3 models, you’ll know exactly what I mean… substantial! The Argonaut range was introduced in the late 1960’s and whilst still using the same mechanical calibres as the DS range, the designs were more conventiona ..read more

Here’s a watch that’s tricky to hide under a shirt cuff, the Breitling Chronomat Automatic. (Click pictures to enlarge) Announced by Breitling in 1941 and brought to market in 1942, the Chronomat was Breitling’s first watch (and the second ever) to feature a slide-rule bezel. Although a bit ‘old school’ today, a slide-rule bezel was useful for pilots, scientists and engineers to perform calculations, conversions and arithmetic before the advent of calculators and GPS. For an in-depth tutorial on how to use a slide-rule bezel, here’s an excellent video on the subject. The Chronomat format pr ..read more

When it comes to watch design, did they have all the fun in the 1970’s? Here’s another beauty from that era, the Camy Superautomatic Piccadilly. (Click pictures to enlarge) Though not what you’d consider a ‘household name’ in collector circles, vintage Camy watches have a growing fan base and certain models are sought after, typically for their quirky nature. I’ve written about two other Camy models from the Superautomatic range previously on the blog, the Superautomatic Diver and the Superautomatic Airport, neither of which could be considered shrinking violets. The Piccadilly is another mo ..read more

Bearing design hallmarks typical of a 1970’s watch, this visual delight is a Mondia Chris-Craft Automatic. (Click pictures to enlarge) “TV” cases were much more common in the 1970’s than they are today and there has only been a couple on the blog in the past, namely the Memostar Alarm and the Favre-Leuba Sea Raider. There has only been one Mondia model on the blog too, the equally quirky Mondia Top Second, where I included a brief history of the brand and its link with Zenith. The curious “Chris-Craft” branding on the dial however, is not only the model name for this watch, but also a brand t ..read more

A 1960’s Seiko dress watch this time, and a very handsome one at that, the 8305-5000 Seikomatic-R. (Click pictures to enlarge) The Seikomatic range was first introduced in 1960 and for the first half of the decade offered models in the Seikomatic, Selfdater and Weekdater ranges, powered by the 62xx range of calibres (formerly named 603/395/400 before Seiko switched to their 4 digit calibre numbering system.) It was a busy period for the model naming department at Seiko as 1965 saw the introduction of two further sub-ranges, the cal. 83xx powered Seikomatic-R, and cal. 51xx powered Seikomatic ..read more

I’ve been looking at a few vintage quartz watches over the last few months, this Seiko 3923-5010 V.F.A. being one example, and a real eye-catcher. (Click pictures to enlarge) Several watch manufacturers had been developing quartz calibres throughout the 1960’s, but it was Seiko that were the first to market with the Astron 35SQ in December 1969. Despite costing ¥450,000, the same price as a small family car, they still found buyers (100 in the first month) and the model signalled the start of the quartz revolution. Since 1959, Seiko had been split into two wholly owned subsiduaries, Suwa Seik ..read more

This time it’s a watch that has been on my radar for a while now, an Aquastar Atoll. Though I’ve serviced/restored a good number of them over the years, a model missing from my own Aquastar collection was a decent Atoll automatic. (Click pictures to enlarge) The Atoll was first introduced around 1970 and might be considered a ‘Benthos-lite’. If you’ve never had the pleasure of handling one, the first-generation Benthos 500 is a real bruiser of a watch, 47mm (including the crown) and 16mm thick, there’s no mistaking that it’s a professional tool watch. Being 42mm in diameter (including crown ..read more