Wednesday 25 November 2015

Super Lovers - Love Love Message watch

Today, I'm back to the Super Lovers watches again, and yet again, it's a completely different style (which is the reason I like this brand so much).

This model I've called Love Love Message based on the text written at the top of the case. As may be expected from the name, this watch is one with a message /memo function where short messages can be stored in its memory. These are shown using the top line of the LCD which is a dot matrix array (5x41 so it can show 7 5x5 letters at one time). The bottom line of the LCD is a standard set of digits (6) which normally shows the time. The rest of the modes are pretty standard, with there being dual time, stopwatch, timer, and daily alarm options as well as the message mode.

The case is round and made of see-through plastic with 4 buttons on the edges. There is a large button on the front below the LCD, and this activates the el-backlight. The strap is a matching clear plastic, and has the Super Lovers logo and the text Lovers Digital printed on both the halves. The back of the watch is stainless steel and just has the Super Lovers name printed across the middle.

I don't know when this model is from as there isn't much about this brand online (but all the info I've gathered so far can be found throughout my other Super Lovers posts). My guess is that this would be an early 2000s model, but it is purely a guess.

Monday 16 November 2015

Freestyle Shark - Tigershark

Today's watch is another from the Shark watch range by the American brand Freestyle USA. This time, the watch is called the Tigershark, and is a different shape than the other Shark watches I've blogged.

The Freestyle USA brand has been around since the 80s, gaining popularity through word of mouth, and becoming recognised for the Shark fin silhouette that they chose for their logo. The Shark watches continue to be popular today, with many different types of Shark being produced.

The Tigershark model is an LCD model, but with a more unusual round design. The case is primarily made of plastic, but has a metal top making it look more solid than the normal all-plastic designs. For the LCD, it has a two line design with day and date along the top, and time (6 digits with smaller seconds) on the lower line. The LCD has an el-backlight, and when pressed there is a very visible Shark logo in red on the display. This model has the normal modes for a sports watch, with stopwatch, alarm (multi), timer, and dual time options. All of the modes actually display along the top line, leaving the bottom for the normal time, which is unusual, as this is usually swapped.

The back has the Freestyle Shark logo and name, along with the statement 'performance timing'. The back also states this was designed in California, but made in China.

I've looked around online for this model, and it appears that this isn't one of the models which is currently being sold, so I'd guess it was an older model. To me, the design looks to match with the styles seen in the 90s, so it may be that old (but there are no indications on the watch as to when it was actually released).

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Boy London B337 LCD Watch

I've blogged a lot of watches by Boy London so far, but this is something completely different.

The Boy London name has been around since the 70s, and many watches have been made under their name. The history of the watches is a bit of a mystery, and my feeling so far is that the name has been bought/used by another company (possibly Korean) since the 90s. More information can be found about the brand in my many other Boy London blog posts (see the tags on the right side of the web page).

This particular model is the B337, and is unusual in being one of only a small number of LCD watches I've seen from Boy London. It has a large black plastic case with the display split into 3 sections. The top covers day and date, the right circle has segments which jump around with the seconds, and the main bottom section is for the time. In the text on the face it describes itself as a chronograph, and therefore has a stopwatch function, and it also has alarm and dual time modes.

The front of the watch only has the Boy London name in plain text (which is not common), and the name United Kingdom is also printed above the display. The back has the more usual Boy London name and totem style Eagle logo as well as the model number. The back also has the text "BoyLondon original timepiece. Created by United Kingdom. Water resistant 50m". As it says "created by" not "created in" it suggests the company making it was called United Kingdom, or it is just bad English!

As for date, I think this is newer than the other Boy London designs, so I'd guess that it is from sometime in the 2000s.

Monday 9 November 2015

Deadman Quartz GV5766 Red and Blue

This is my second Deadman post in a row, as those one was close at hand and ready to wear.

The model will be easily recognised by long-time followers of my blog as the quartz rotating disc design GV5766. What I'd been finding about the Deadman watches was that there were more different designs than I was finding duplicates of any design, but this model is the exception. So far, this seems to be the most popular of the models, with many different variations of strap colour and texture being released.

This particular version has a silver case and a black face with gold writing. The strap sections are in a smooth leather and this time are red for the top half and blue for the bottom half.

Friday 6 November 2015

Deadman Skull Watch GV 6674

I'm going to a late Halloween party tonight, so wanted to have a watch with a bit of a horror theme, and this Deadman watch seemed to be perfect.

The Deadman (or Dead Man) brand is one of my favourite lines of watches, but are relatively unknown online. They are a fashion brand which was around in the late 90s, making a wide range of different designs, but I don't know how long they were active for. Some of the designs used have been used by other brands as well, so that just makes it more of a mystery.

This model is the GV 6674 (maybe GV6674), and has the most unusual case shape of the range so far. The design seems to be an alien skull with a large forehead where the face sits, with the eyes and smiling mouth below. The clock part is a quartz analogue 3 hand dial design, with no numbers, just markers at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock positions. The Deadman name is on the face, the back plate, and also on the clasp of the matching metal strap.

One other mysterious thing with this design was that one day I also found a fabric sew-on patch with a similar alien skull shape, but with a yin & yang symbol where the clock is here, and it was also being called Deadman...

Thursday 5 November 2015

Swatch Black Board SAB103

Today's watch is my second Swatch Automatic on this blog (-the first was in April this year).

The Swatch Automatic watches were released in 1991 and continued until 1997 when they were replaced by the Autoquartz technology. They have a mechanical automatic movement, and there is a load of information about that on my earlier post.

This model is one of the later models, having been designed in 1994 and released as part of the 1995 Spring Summer collection. It is called the Black Board and has a model number of SAB103. The watch has a white face with black numbers in all different sizes, and the top of the 2 in 12 is an open crescent moon shape with the movement just visible through. It has a black plastic case with matching black plastic strap, and the back is see through so you can see the rotating weight for the movement.

Wednesday 4 November 2015

@ #008 by Poll Position

Today's blog is for a watch manufacturer I've blogged about many times before, but this time with a different line of watches.

This watch seems to be from a line of watches called @ based on the only symbol on the dial (which is also on the back plate). The back also has the number #008, so it would seem that this is likely the name of the model (as the text style is too polished to be a serial number).

The only other information is that this watch is by Poll Position Ltd. Co who have featured here before as the company behind the Module watch line/brand. Their background is a little hazy, but the most likely lead would suggest they are an Osaka Japan based manufacturer and/or the Japanese distributor of the French Lip brand.

The watch is a quartz analogue watch with a 3 hand dial design. The face design is simple and uncluttered with virtually no writing. Around the dial is a silver band with small circular holes which act as the hour markers. The hole at the 6 o'clock position is slightly larger, and when you look closely you can see that there is a small date marker inside.

From what I've found, I think that the Module watches are from the 2000s, and can be found new still, so I'd guess that it is probably the same for this watch too.

Tuesday 3 November 2015

K.Swiss World Time 503

Today, I'm wearing a new brand to this blog, but one of the more well known names in trainers/sneakers.

This watch is my first watch by the American brand K.Swiss. The K.Swiss brand was started in California in 1966 by two Swiss brothers, based on their love of Tennis. They mainly produce Athletics shoes, but over the years have produced a range of watches too.

This watch has the model number of 93-0038, and there is a name on the front, which says World Time 503. The watch is a large LCD model with an unusual case shape. The LCD has 3 lines of information in a blocky digit design. The top line has the smallest text and covers the day and date, with the slightly larger bottom line covering seconds. The time is the largest part of the display, and has 4 digits over the middle line. It seems to have been designed as a sports watch, and has the usual range of modes - chronograph, timer, world time, and 2x alarms, and there is an el-backlight for nighttime use.

The case and strap is the unusual part of the design and makes the watch stand out. The middle of the case is white plastic, and the white rubber strap is designed in one piece and splits where the case is, going round the both sides of the case.

The watch is water resistant to 30 atm (which suggests a European model) and was assembled in China. The K.Swiss logo is on the front of the watch above the LCD, and is also engraved on the back plate.

There is no information about when this watch was made, but I'd guess it was from the late 90s or early 00s when the brand was going through a big marketing push.

Monday 2 November 2015

Q&Q Alarm Chronograph Ana-Digi Watch

Today's watch is another by one of the more elusive brands, who are quite well known, but their links to the larger watch manufacturer are relatively hidden.

The watch is by Q&Q (or QandQ as I've had to write it in the tags as the & symbol isn't allowed), who are a budget but quality brand started in 1976. The name stands for Quality & Quantity, and the links I've found suggest they were part of the Japan CBM Corporation, which seems to mean Citizen Business Machines - so the watches may be Citizen watches after all.

This model is one of the 80s watch staples - the Ana-Digi, with a main 3 hand dial analogue display and a small 6 digit LCD display at the bottom. The analogue display is operated by a crown, while the 3 buttons operate the LCD. All of the different modes are displayed on the LCD, with the watch having date, dual time, alarm, and stopwatch as options.

The back has the Q&Q logo, and states this has a Japanese movement, but assembled in Korea (and that it has the usual stainless steel back and base metal bezel), with a case that is 30m water resistant.

I don't know exactly when this model is from, but the style was very popular in the 80s, so I'll guess that it is from that era.