Citizen Dandy Seven Custom

A little while back I posted a Citizen watch from the Crystal Seven range. Today's watch is part of that series, but with a different name an look.

This watch is a model called the Dandy Seven Custom. It is part of the Crystal Seven range of watches, which was the overall name for a range of automatic mechanical watches with the 52xx movement. Not much is known about the Dandy Seven models, but as they are normally marked by unusual case designs, and were often more colourful than the normal Crystal Seven watches, the speculation is that they were aimed at the younger market. According to sweep-hand.org, the Dandy Seven watches were first released in 1968, and are marked with a crossed sword and shield logo on the face. It looks like they weren't made in large numbers, and are very rare outside of Japan.

This model has a 27 jewel automatic mechanical movement (with a frequency of around 18,000 bph), and the movement number of 5200. It is ha 3 hand design with a date window at the 3 o'clock position, and a day window at the 9 o'clock position. It has a round face in a rectangular stainless steel case with curved sides.

The model number is 4-520041 and it looks like it was made in 1969.

Zeno De Luxe square watch

I decided on a mechanical watch for today's blog entry with the Zeno De Luxe.

This Zeno De Luxe is a hand wind mechanical watch in a square perspex (or actually Acryl /Acrylic) case. The case and strap style is very similar to the Super Lovers 60s model I blogged, which I guess was modelled on this original type of design.

The watch is a 2 hand design with a normal looking round dial. The rest of the watch is transparent, and the 17 jewel mechanical movement can be seen through the back. The back is actually solid, and the module comes out of the front of the case. The movement is made by, and has the model number 1218-21

Inside the back, the case is printed with the name Fabuleux. Fabuleux is a Swiss watch brand with manufacturing in Switzerland, but their watches aren't so common.

Gruen Precision Autowind

Today's watch is my second by Gruen, but the first mechanical watch I've blogged by them.

This model is an automatic mechanical watch in a rounded rectangular case. Inside is a 25 jewel movement, but there is no model number anywhere on the watch, and it is a reasonably smooth movement with a 14,400 bph frequency.

The watch has a 3 hand dial, with a date window at the 3 o'clock position. The face has hour numbers, but starting at 13 rather than 1.

The Gruen company was founded in 1894, but ceased to be a family business in 1953. After this date, the manufacture was done in Switzerland, with a head office in New York, until it closed down in 1977. The Gruen name was then sold, and watches are still manufactured, but with no link to the original company.

There isn't much more information on the watch except that it is a Gruen Precision model which I guess means it was a high end model. It also states that it was Swiss made which makes it before 1977, and I'd guess this is a 60s or 70s model. The back only states that it is a mixture of stainless steel (back) and base metal (bezel).

Disney Time - Cinderella mechanical watch

Today's watch is another of my Disney watches, but this time I think it's a much older model.

This model is a Disney Time watch, which was made by Seiko, and their name is hidden on the bottom of the dial and can only be seen when you take the movement out. It has a Seiko movement in the shape of a Diashock 7 jewel movement. This Diashock movement is a hand wind mechanical movement which drives a 3 hand dial. Looking inside, it seems to be a DT731 caliber 375.

The front of the watch shows the Disney character Cinderella in a pink dress rather than her more well known blue dress. It also has the name Disney Time which I presume was the name of the line.

The back also has the Disney Time name and copyright to Walt Disney Productions. It also details the Diashock 7 jewel movement, and the model number which is 73979.

With regards to the age, I've found two different conflicting dates. One site has a Mickey Mouse version in this line quoting 1961, but another site has a Cinderella watch stating 1977. From the design I'd say 60s looks more likely, but I'm not completely sure. The Disney Time watches might be quite rare and expensive, as the Mickey watch was selling with an price of ¥44,000.

Citizen Crystal Seven Automatic ACSS 2822a

It's New Years Eve, and they say it is "Out with the old..." so I'm finishing the year with a vintage watch.

Today's watch is a Crystal Seven Automatic watch by Citizen. The Crystal Seven watches came out in December 1965 and were one of Citizen's most popular lines. They were slim designed models with Sapphire glass and were variations on the 52xx movement. On the back it mentions Para (for the parashock movement), water (for the water resistance), and Star (which I don't know). The Crystal Seven logos are a 7 inside a crown on the front, and a 7 inside a shield with a crown on the back.

This model is the ACSS 2822a and is based on a 21 jewel automatic movement. Looking at the serial number, I think this model is from 1968. It has a 3 hand dial with a 14,400 bph seconds hand. At the 12 o'clock position is a day window (in a flattened hexagonal shape), and there is a date window at the 3 o'clock position. There is also the number 1580-IKA in very small writing on the face at the bottom edge of the dial.

Montine of Switzerland Automatic 25 Jewels

No digital for me today, and a watch I didn't buy myself. This one was inherited from my father (and I think it probably came from my grandfather).

The watch is by Montine of Switzerland and is a Swiss made mechanical watch with an automatic movement. The movement is a 25 Jewels incabloc, and this covers the 3-hand dial and date (at the 3 o'clock position).

The brand Montine of Switzerland is not well detailed online. From what I've found, it was operating in the 1960s/70s and there were both Swiss and French Montines. There is some speculation that this was an import brand as most watches turn up outside of France or Switzerland.

It is well made, with a gold plated case, and the glass has a magnifying section for the date. The strap is a basic black leather one. This design seems to be relatively common, as a search for Montine of Switzerland results in this watch being the majority of the top search pictures.

Seiko 5 Automatic 6119 movement

My watch today is one that I inherited rather than purchased, and originally was owned by my father.

It is a Seiko 5 Automatic watch, and was made in 1968.

The Seiko 5 range was where Seiko released it's affordable mechanical watches. The range had a much lower cost than the other mechanical ranges, but the watches were still good quality. Most of the Seiko 5 range were mechanical watches, but there seems to have been some quartz watches too. The 5 in Seiko 5 stands for the 5 key common features (of the mechanical watches) which are:
1 - Diaflex unbreakable mainspring
2 - Diashock shock resistance system
3 - Automatic movement
4 - Day/date
5 - Water Resistant

This watch has a 6119 movement which is running a 3-hand dial with day and date at the 3 o'clock position. The crown is placed 30 degrees down from horizontal (at the 4 o'clock position). Setting the date is a little unusual, as you have to press in the crown to advance (rather than pulling out the crown a half step). It is an automatic mechanical watch, which runs well from a days use. The second hand is quite smooth, with 4 steps per second, but doesn't have a continuous sweep.

The full model number is 6119-7080.

Timex colour changing mechanical watch.

It's another mechanical watch today :-)
This one is by Timex, and is a little more unusual than yesterday's watch.

The watch shows as copyright 1969 by Pakter / Krauss, and only states the maker on the dial.

What makes it unusual is the ever changing colour pattern on the face. The watch face is split into 3 coloured sections, yellow, pink, and blue (cyan), and the same 3 coloured sections are on a transparent dial for the seconds. As the seconds tick past, the seconds disc and watch face show different colours depending on the combination.

UPDATE: I've now added a YouTube video of the watch in action: YouTube link