Seiko Alba Neatnik V707

Today's watch is from one of Seiko's lesser known lines of watches - the Neatnik range.

The Neatnik watches were released by the Seiko brand Alba, starting in 1999. A Neatnik is someone who is habitually neat and tidy, and the watch was marketed with the tag line "Are you neat?".

The early watches are easily identifiable by their small dials and aluminium cases. This model is one of the square designs with a deep case. The cases have the designation h.a.o.c, which stands for hard anodic oxidation coating and refers to the manufacturing process. This model is more unusual in that it has a black anodised case and strap. It also has one of the common Neatnik strap designs with aluminium links and a plastic fastener (with a strap part number of F1BGFZ-C).

It is based around a Seiko V707 module, and is a 2 dial design. The larger dial is in the centre and is a 2 hand dial for time. The second dial is smaller, covering the seconds, and is places next to the main dial in a window which gives the feeling they are wheels connected by a belt/chain.

The back has information about the construction materials (base metal (Aluminium) an stainless steel), and quotes it as being water resistant. There is also a set of letters, KMN-MNJ-SGT, which appears on many of the Neatnik watches, but I don't know what it means.

The full model number is V707-5080, and it was made in 1999.

Alba Neatnik Round V501

It's a second Alba in a row for today's post, and one that's quite a different style.
The watch is from the Alba Neatnik range that was released in 1999 (Alba's 20th anniversary year). A Neatnik is defined as someone who is habitually neat and tidy, and the adverts for the range asked the question "are you neat?".

The early watched from Neatnik range are easily identifiable by small dials, plastic clip or rubber straps, and aluminium cases. The cases are usually stamped with the phrase Aluminium h.a.o.c. which stands for hard anodic oxidation coatings, and refers to the process used to prepare the Aluminium.

This model has a round case and a V501 module. The dial is in the middle of the face, and is a two hand dial - but minutes and seconds! The hours are shown using a smaller circular window at the 5 o'clock position with a rotating disc behind. As this window is so small, between the hour numbers there is a half hour marker which actually shows the hour as as e.g. 4½.

This model has the rubber strap which is a one piece design passing behind the case of the watch. Reading the info on the back is therefore harder, but it shows a full model number of V501-5F60 and details it was made in early 1999. The watch doesn't appear until the later half of 1999 in the catalogue and had a catalogue number of AMXS005. The original sale price was 12,000 yen.

The Neatnik range seem to have been less common than other watches of the time, as you don't see them for sale very often compared to others such as the Seiko AKA, Citizen 1481010, or Alba Spoon.

Seiko Alba Neatnik V701 Aluminum H.A.O.C

The Seiko Alba range reached it's 20th anniversary in 1999.
This year, also saw the release of the first models of the Neatnik range. The early models all had small dials in an aluminium case, with the text Aluminum H.A.O.C on the front. The H.A.O.C stands for hard anodic oxidation coatings, and refers to a method of preparing the Aluminum case involving a low temperature acid treatment.
The watch has a 3-hand dial using a V701 module. This module is also used in quite a few different styles of Alba watch with small dials.
The back of the watch also has the letters KMN-MNJ-SGT, but I don't know what they mean.
The full model number is V701-2G40 and this watch was was made in 1998, but not released until 1999. The catalogue number is AMXT003, and cost 12,000yen when released in 1999.

Seiko Alba nn V501

Yesterday's and today's watches have a slight similarly - they both have hands that point to different dials depending on what time it is.
This watch is from the Seiko Alba label, and may be called the nn (as it is the only writing on the dial). It could also be part of the Neatnik range (nn=neatnik?) which fits in with some of the watches design features. Based on the serial number, it was made in 1999, but it doesn't appear in the Alba 1999 vol 1 catalogue.
To tell the time, you need to look at both the colour and position of the hands. Both the hour and minute hand go across the whole width of the dial, and have half red and half yellow. The markings on each dial have two sets of numbers that match the hands colours (red being 12 to 6 and 0 to 30, and yellow being 6 to 12 and 30 to 60). In the pictures, the time shows as 9:40, but the hand position makes it seem like 3:10.
This is a very unusual Alba, which I have only seen once, and can't find anything about on the internet.
The full model number is V501-5F10.

Seiko Alba Neatnik - Aluminum H.A.O.C - V33J

Today's watch is yet another line of watches from Alba. This line is called the Neatnik and was released by Alba starting in the late 90s (this one was made in 1999). The word Neatnik is defined as "someone who is habitually neat and tidy".

The watch is very lightweight, and is made from Aluminium (or Aluminum depending on which country you are from) and plastic. This leaves the weight down, but makes the watch prone to scratches.
This, like most of the Neatniks, has very small dials, and this particular watch has 4. The central silver dial shows time, and the bottom dial shows just hours, but with 24 hours for one rotation. The side dials are for the date (left = days, right = date).

The Neatnik range also often have this aluminium link strap with a plug and socket clasp. This straps part number is F1B7AZ.I

The watch label is Alba Neatnik Aluminum H.A.O.C, and has a model number of V33J-5A20. The watch takes the SB-AJ/SR961SW battery. I do not know what H.A.O.C means - anyone out there who knows?
The back of the watch is also imprinted with the word oshidori which is either a type of mandarin duck, or a name.

This particular model appears to have been released either at the end of 99, or the start of the 00s, as it does not appear in the 1999 vol. 1 Alba catalogue.