Seiko Alba AKA V782

Today's watch is a smarter looking model from the AKA line of watches.

The AKA line was a set of watches released by the Seiko brand Alba. They come out in the early to mid 90s and ran through to the end of the decade. The watches were one of the early fashion watches which appeared in the 90s compared to the functionality and practical focus of the 80s designs.

This model is an analogue watch based around the V782 module. It has a different style than most of the AKA models I've posted. The design is a little similar to a couple of the watches I blogged in 2012, and as this has a manufacturing date of 1999, I think this style is one of the late designs compared to the more colourful and curvy early AKAs.

The watch has a 3 hand dial design with a round dial in a rectangular case. At the bottom of the dial is a tiny date window too. The case is quite a bit larger than the watch face, and is deeper towards the top of the watch. It has a silver colour and is made of stainless steel and base metal, and the case is 10 bar water resistant. The strap is silver stainless steel and is designed to match the watch case. The first link in the strap is a typical AKA design, having a U-shape (but more square than the others), followed by the standard Y shaped links.

This particular watch was made Feb 1999, and had the model number V782-5090. The catalogue number was AMAZ001, and the original sale price was ¥15,000.

Seiko Alba AKA V657 Orange Chronograph

Today's watch is one of the mid 90s fashion watches from Seiko.

The watch is part of the AKA range of watches released by the Seiko brand Alba. Many of the watches released by the sub-brands of Seiko have appeared under the different names (for example Alba and  Pulsar), but the AKA range seems to have been am Alba exclusive. The range came out in the mid 90s and was aimed at the young and fashionable, but were not a cheap line of watches.

This model I've blogged before, but in a different colour. It is an analogue watch based around the V657 quartz module. It is a 3 hand dial design, with 3 smaller dials at the 6, 9, and 12 o'clock positions, and a date window at the 3 o'clock position. The smaller dials are for the chronograph features and show 1/10th sec, seconds, and minutes.

This watch has a round face with a shiny orange dial, and there are blue and red minutes markers around the edge. It has a common AKA steel strap design with the first section shaped a little like a  tuning fork (or robot hand), and an AKA stamped clasp.

This particular model was made in 1996 and has the model number V657-6030 (which is the same for all of the colour variations).

Seiko Alba AKA V743 - Black and Aquamarine

As I'm quite a collector of late 90s fashion watches, the AKA watches are a little under reported.

Seiko released the AKA brand under their Alba brand new the mid 90s. They followed on from the Spoon watches which seemed to mark a change from function to fashion in the popular watch styles. The AKA line featured various different designs with sci-fi looks and bright colours, and were the main competition for the later Citizen Independent 1481010 watches.

This model is an oval design based around the V743 module and is similar in style to the silver limited edition V742 AKA I blogged just over 2 years ago. Looking at the differences between the watches, it seems that the V743 just has the addition of the day window compared to the V742.

It is a 3 hand dial design with the centre hidden behind a spot painted on the glass. There is a day and date window at the 3 o'clock position which fits nicely with the oval dial, and the crown is at the 4 o'clock position. This model is one of the less common black anodised versions with a black case and strap, and the case is 10 bar water resistant.

The full model number is V743-5A10, and this one was made in late 1996. It was part of a sub-range called black&gold which came out in 1997 and had black and gold cased versions for a higher cost than the normal silver models. This model had the catalogue number AMBN007 and it cost ¥15,000.

Alba AKA Square V733 - Gold and Red

Another shiny gold watch again today, and more festival later.

The watch is a variant on new that be posted before from the Seiko Alba AKA range. The AKA watches were originally released in the mid 90s for the young and fashionable, and may have spawned competitors such as the 1481010s that came soon afterwards.

It is a 3 hand dial model using a V733 quartz module. There is a day and date marker at the 6 o'clock position, with a dual language day option. The design is very shiny in reds and golds, and it has a cut glass face (with the central part raised and tapering down towards the top and bottom) making it catch the light well. The case is square on this model, and has the same tapering outwards on the top and bottom to where it meets the matching gold strap.

This gold version was part of a sub range called black and gold which came into the shops in Japan at the start of 1997. The catalogue number was AMBX006, and the original sale price was 15,000 yen. The full model number is V733-5A4O.

Seiko AKA Chronograph V657 Black and Green

As well as collecting the Citizen Independent 1481010 watches, I also have quite a lot of their rivals (or forerunners).

Today's watch is from the Seiko (Alba) AKA watches. These models came out in the mid 90s and were targeted at the young and fashionable, and there were many different styles and colour variations.

This model is another of the Chronograph models with a V657 module (-I've blogged one of these in a different colour before). The module was used for watches in a few different ranges, including the Seiko Wired watches (which I've also blogged before). The dial layout and function is also very similar to the GSX Smart Style watches. There is also a date marker at the 3 o'clock position.

The watch has one main 3 hand dial for time, and three smaller dials for the chronograph. The smaller dials are placed at the 6, 9, and 12 o'clock positions, and cover minutes (left), seconds (bottom), and 1/10 sec (top, with 2 seconds per rotation). The main hand is operated with the crown, but the chronograph ones are electronic dials.

Many of the AKA watches have a metal strap with cutout sections, and this one has a part number of F0M0AZ-E.

This particular watch was made in 1996, and has a full model number of V657-6030. The chronograph was one of the most expensive AKA models out at that time with a cost of 15,000 yen. The catalogue number for this variation was AMAS001.

If you need to reset the smaller dials (if they have not returned to zero), you can do this by pulling out the crown to get not setting mode, and then pressing the top or bottom button. I don't know how to reset the minutes dial though.

Seiko Alba AKA Chronograph V657 Red

This watch is one of the Seiko Alba AKA watches which came out in the mid 90s. They were released by Seiko as their brand aimed at the young and fashionable (and were the brand that the Citizen Independent 1481010 watches were released to compete with).

This one is one of their line of chronograph watches that were released in 1996 (or earlier - this one was made in 1995), with a catalogue number of AMAS005. It's original sale price was 15,000 yen making it the most expensive of the AKA line at that time. It was still for sale in late 1999.

The watch has a V657 movement with a 3-hand dial and date at the 3 o'clock position. The chronograph is worked by the two buttons on the side and shows on three dials; minutes (up to 60), seconds (up to 60), and tenths of a second (up to 2 seconds).

The full model number is V657-6030.

Seiko Alba AKA V742 - Silver Limited Edition

I've posted a lot of the late 90s Citizen watches, recently, but not much about their rivals Seiko/Alba.
1999 was the 20th anniversary of the Alba brand, and as this limited edition Alba watch has only 1999 watches made, I guess this was a special release to mark Alba's birthday.
The watch is part of the Alba AKA range, and is a shiny variant on the models referred to in the catalogue as AMBN...
Design of the watch is very futuristic with interlocking metal pieces, rounded design, and very shiny finish, but is a very simple type of watch.
It is powered by a V742 module, and is a 3-hand dial with date. The watch is 10 bar water resistant. AKA is stamped in several places on the strap (which has a part number of F153AZ.E).

The full watch model number is V742-5A20, and I guess this was released in 1999. The normal versions of the AMBN... watches were originally sold for 17,000yen (1999 prices).

Seiko Alba AKA - Square Dial V733

Back to the Seiko Alba AKA range again today.
This watch is one of the designs brought out in the late 90s to appeal to fashion conscious buyers in the far east.

It has a 3-hand dial V733 movement, which also has a date and day marker at the 6 o'clock position. There are no hour numbers on the dial, but the minutes (every 5) are marked instead. The glass is shaped with the central 2/3 being thicker, and then tapering to the top and bottom. This makes the watch catch the light quite effectively! The watch is also 10bar water resistant.

The full model number is V733-5A4O, and this watch was made in 1996. It has an AKA strap with part number F0N5AZ-E

Seiko Alba AKA Ana-Digi V091

Today is another Ana-Digi watch, this one by Alba (Seiko).
The watch is a large metal number, with a 3 line inverse LCD over the top two-thirds, and a more traditional dial on the bottom.

Function-wise, the V091 module has a chronograph (with lap memory), multiple alarms, and a timer. On the time display, the 3 lines are used for date, day, and time. Inbetween the date and time lines, there is a display for which function is active, and when the mode is shifted, the markers jumps around before settling on the chosen mode.

The LCD functions are operated with the four buttons on the right side of the watch, and the crown on the left operates the dial.

The full model number is V091-5000

Seiko Alba AKA LCD W853

This watch is another of the Alba AKA watches released in the late 90s.

The watch is based around the W853 module which is the same as the older Seiko h-Timetron.
The display is a dot-matrix LCD. The time can be shown in two versions; large time + day, or small with date and day. The displays are switched with a dedicated L/S button.
Pressing the menu button (bottom left) shows all of the available modes: time, alarm, chronograph, timer, and world time. The last button in the bottom middle is the electroluminescent back-light.

The full model number is W853-4010

Seiko Alba AKA W670-4000 black/red

This watch is another from the Seiko Alba AKA watch line.

The display on this watch is an LED illuminated dot matrix LCD, with a module number W670. The time is displayed when the front button is pressed, or one of the mode buttons is used. This is a more common modern take on the original LED display shown yesterday - you can tell the difference mainly by the wider and dimmer segments on the symbols, and the brightness is a little uneven across the display.
Function-wise, the watch has a chronograph, timer and alarm.

The design is very angular, with subtle curves along the edges, and could be bought in silver or black versions. The strap is the same shiny metal, with an air-vent style design on the segments next to the watch head.
The shiny black, the vents and angular design definitely remind me of Darth Vader!

Alba AKA dual dial

Sunday's watch is one from the Alba AKA group of watches. Alba is a subbrand of Seiko watches, started in 1979 with the name bring used mainly in Asia and the Middle East. The AKA range was designed to appeal to young fashionable people, and was in competition with the Citizen Independent 1481010 line (one of which was shown yesterday).

This Alba AKA has two independent watch dials, each can be set separately and has its own battery. The model/movement number is Y15W, but also shows (Y151 + Y150) reflecting that the two dials have slightly different movements (only the top one has a second hand). As the dimensions of the watch are quite narrow, I'd guess it was designed as a unisex or youth watch.