Storm Salvador

Time for my first post of 2017!

Today's watch I'd another from my selection of watches from the London based brand Storm, and this time it's one of their limited edition watches.

This model is called Salvador, and is a quartz analogue watch with a square case. The front is covered with glass to the edges, except for the right side where there is a sloping strip of metal. The display has one main 3 hand dial, with three smaller dials. The small dials cover date at the top, day on the left, and 24 hr dial on the bottom. Sometimes, I've seen this quoted as being dual time, but I guess that is where they have got confused about the 24hr dial.

I don't know when the watch was released (I'd guess 2000s from the design), but there were only 3000 of this black model released worldwide. The watch was also available in white and blue, and I think those also had a limited number.

The watch has a stainless steel case and strap and is 50m water resistant. The strap has a glass inset in one of the links which has the Storm name behind. There is no mention of the model number on the watch, but one of the sales sites suggested that the model is 4094/BR (with the BR I think referring to the colour).

Storm Transit

Today is number 27 in my Storm watch collection, and is a relatively simple design, so I expect this to be a short post.

This model is called Transit, and is a quartz analogue watch. It has a 3 hand dial design, with a design for the face and hands which is very recognisable as a Storm (but it's difficult to explain exactly why).

The face is surrounded by a blue, semi-transparent bezel which has been moulded with the minutes numbers (in 5's) with the Storm name instead of zero. The bezel actually rotates, which is a surprise as it looks purely decorative. The case is stainless steel, with a screw-on back, and has a water resistance rating of 50m.

The strap is unusual for a Storm watch, being a more solid bracelet design. It has metal sections (metal plate wrapped around the plastic core) with blue plastic wedges inbetween each segment. This makes the bracelet quite stiff, but also it means it needs to be cut to size (so make sure it's large enough if you buy one second hand).

I haven't found a date for the watch, but from its design I'd guess that it's a newer model from the late 2000s or early 10s.

Storm Cycloid Ana-Digi Watch

For those who've been following my blog for a while, and have looked at the picture of today's watch, I'm sure you'll have recognised what brand it is already.

For the rest of the readers, this watch is one by the brand Storm of London (whose watches started my whole watch collecting obsession). The brand was started in 1989 to produce affordable fashionable watches and quickly developed a recognisable style - unusual shapes /faces with brushed steel cases, and straps with a mixture of a solid curved section (with distinctive raised features) and Y-shaped links.

This model is called the Cycloid and was released in 1996. It is an ana-digi model with a rectangular analogue section and a small square LCD in a square case. The square of the case is rotated by 45 degrees, but strangely this is anticlockwise so a quick glance when your arms are outstretched has the time at 90 degrees to you (-unless you wear your watch on your right arm).

The analogue part is a simple 2 hand dial design with quartz movement. The glass for this section has a curve along the length of the face, and I think this is the reason that the watch appears slightly different colours from different angles (yellow through to pink). The LCD is the same small square module from the Navigator and Pentax, which shows 4 digits of time with the hours at the top left and minutes at the bottom right (and only has inset buttons). Unfortunately, the LCD modules have been hard to get back working, and I still can't get this one (and the Pentax) to work (and even the photo of this model on the Storm website doesn't have the LCD display on).

Storm Rollernet

I've blogged watches which move is all sorts of ways so far. There's been watches which rotate, twist, or flip up, but this is the first where the face can be rotated 360° in all directions!

The watch is by Storm of London, and is called the Rollernet. As regular readers will know, Storm watches were the ones which started me collecting watches. The brand started in 1989 to produce fashionable but affordable watches, and have a recognisable style.

The Rollernet is an analogue watch with a 2 hand dial. The dial is set into a sphere of glass and metal which houses the whole watch movement and display. This sphere is set into the body of the watch in a way that allows it to rotate freely (like the ball in a roll-on deodorant). To adjust the watch, you need to take off (unscrew) the ring holding the ball to get to the crown (as well as the back for battery replacement).

The rest of the watch has the brushed steel look of the Storm watches, and it has a variation on the normal strap design with holes in the long solid first links, but the normal Y-piece flexible section. The back gives the material (steel) and the brand and model name, but not much else.

From what I've found online, the watch was around in the mid 2000s, but it may have been first available at the end of the 90s (but I've not been able to confirm that so far). The original rrp seems to have been around $170, but that is also hard to completely validate.

Storm Nuclear Lazer

Today's watch is one from a brand which is pretty easy to identify from looks alone.

The Storm watches by Storm of London definitely have a recognizable style. The watches are usually metal cased with metal straps and have a shiny but not mirrored appearance. The straps are also easy to spot from a distance with the long solid first section with the raised centre and small grooves down each side, and the square Y shaped links.

Today's model is the Nuclear Lazer, and it follows all of these usual Storm watch design features. The Nuclear Lazer is an analogue watch with a 3 hand dial and quite a simple design. It has plain silver hands on a bright blue shiny face, and there is nothing on the dial except the Storm name. The case is a curved metal surface with no markings, and the watch has a domed glass which catches the light. The back just has the standard info with the Storm logo, watch name, serial number, material (stainless steel back), and water resistance (50m).

The watch was released in the late 90s, and was definitely for sale in 1999, making it one of the models from the 10th anniversary year of the brand .

Storm Pentax Round

It's a quick post today as I'm a little sick.

The watch I'm blogging is another of my Storm watches, and unfortunately, it has a broken LCD.

The model is called the Pentax Round, and it is a small ladies LCD watch. I've seen the watch online a couple of times, but it has been marketed then as a ring watch with a short strap - my one has a long strap, and so is definitely a wrist watch. The LCD is very small with the hours and minutes in opposite corners. Looking inside, I think that the module used is the same as the Storm Navigator I've blogged previously. It is a simple module with just the 4 digits of time, and the watch doesn't have any buttons (except for the inset ones for time setting) so you can't even change the display.

This watch still seems to be for sale online, so I think it will align with the 2009 reissue of the Navigator and is likely a 2010s model. The place I've seen it for sale was New Zealand, and it stated there that the rrp was 149 New Zealand Dollars.

Storm Heaven

There are some watches that are a nightmare to search for because the name means so many other things. Today's watch is one of those, as a search for Storm watch heaven leads mainly to a lot of weather sites about watching the heavens to spot storms.

This watch is by the London brand Storm, which is one of my bigger sub-collections, and a brand which I've blogged lots of information from before.

This model is called Heaven and is one of the ladies watches from the Storm brand. I don't know if it is an uncommon design, but I haven't found another online. The watch is a wide rectangular design with a two hand dial. The face has a oily design glass with just the numbers 9 and 3, and nothing else.

The strap is made up of square plates, 2 wide, which are linked with small metal loops. The back section has rectangular links which are all fastened together with the same type of clip as the fastener, meaning that it is easy to remove sections to adjust the length.

Because of the lack of online information, I don't know exactly when it is from. It is a little like the style of the Academiplex from 2003, so my best guess would be that this is from a similar time.

Storm ladies watch with backlight

I'm blogging another ladies watch today, but one which still works on my smaller wrist.

The watch is a vintage model by the British brand Storm of London. The vintage nature can be seen by the reference to Sun 99 Ltd which was the original company for Storm co-founder Steve Sun. The watch also has a strap design a little different from the normal Storm design, but one which was seen on a few designs in the mid-90s. On that basis, I'd guess this is a mid-90s model too.

This model is a ladies watch with a relatively normal design for a Storm, and there is no model name on the back. It has a 3 hand dial design with a quartz movement, and the special feature of a backlight. The face is a plain white with numbers in a dark grey outline font.

The back has the same registered design number as the last model I blogged,  so it seems that is the Storm number rather than the design of the watch itself. The same goes for the strap registered number, which is the same as the last model, but with a different strap design.

Storm Hemisphere

I think it's now 20 years exactly since I got my first Storm watch, so I thought I'd blog a Storm to commemorate that event.

Today's Storm watch is also a vintage model and is called the Hemisphere. It is one of the featured watches on the vintage watch section of the Storm website so I know this came out in 1997.

The back of the watch also hints that this is a vintage Storm as it refers to Sun 99 Ltd which was the original company of the brand co-founder and chief designer Steve Sun. Steve and his wife started Storm in 1989 to produce fashionable but affordable watches to encourage people to own several watches to match their outfits (-which I seem to have taken to an extreme). They started with a single store in London, but the popularity of the brand grew and now has a global presence.

The Hemisphere watch has the typical Storm image with plenty of curved brushed steel and glass. The dial has a donut appearance with the hands shown in a clear ring around a silver centre. The centre is actually part of the dial and is a silver hemisphere with the Storm name on which rotates with the seconds. The glass gives the watch an interesting optical effect as it is a thick dome with a flat centre. The case is unusually made of brass which has been coated in a later of silver metal and there is a stainless steel back. The back also says this is a registered design with the number 1374971.

The strap is also a typical Storm design (reg no 2016064) with the solid curved first section with the raised centre and Y-shaped links.

Storm Thunder Glow

Yesterday, I had a watch who's name wasn't so appropriate for the weather, but as there is rain and the forecast for thunderstorms today, this one is better named.

The watch is called the Thunder Glow by the watch brand Storm of London. The Storm watches have featured heavily on my blog before (this is number 19 here) and were the watch which started my collection. Storm started in 1989 and is now sold in over 45 countries. They have a vision to keep pushing boundaries to give exciting designs.

The Thunder Glow is from 1994, and has a typical look and feel of the 90s Storm watches. It has a slightly shiny steel case, and matching strap. The strap of these models was very distinctive to Storm with the first section being a solid curved section with a raised line down the middle with a concave line down each side, and the flexible links having a squared Y shape. On the back of the strap is a the Storm reg. no. of 2016064.

This model has a 3 hand dial design under a domed glass. The face is yellow (but I've seen blue ones too) with raised shapes for the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. The shapes are a circle (12), triangles (3 and 9), and a rectangle (6) and all appear to slope down to be the least raised towards the centre (although this could be an optical illusion from the curve of the glass). Inside is a Japanese quartz movement.

The back of the watch has the model number, and with its screw on cover it has 50m water resistance.

Storm Digiplex Blue

As regular readers know, I'm a fan of the Storm watch brand. Most of my Storm watches are the vintage models from the 80s and 90s, but do I like the new models too.

Today's Storm is a modern model, and is still for sale on the Storm website. It's called the Digiplex and is a very large rugged LCD watch, with an industrial styling (at least in shape, but being light blue isn't so industrial). In the centre of the large plastic case is a round window where the LCD lies. The LCD is a 4 line design to make the most of the round shape. The top line is just 3 digits and covers the day or the mode. Below that is a 4 digit line for the date or more text info (such as "lap"). Next is the largest line with the time (4 digits), and at the bottom are the seconds. It is designed to be a multifunction sports watch and has the normal  modes for those needs: alarm (x5), stopwatch (with lap memory), and countdown timer. It also has 50m water resistance and an el-backlight. The strap is a silicone/rubber design for comfort and flexibility, with a metal fastener, and needs to be cut down to size if too large (so it's worth checking the size if you buy one second hand).

This is the blue model, but the watch also comes in black, white, red, and green. The original rrp was $150.

Storm Mooky

My mother is here to visit at the moment, and as she has a cool watch, so I thought I'd blog that one today.

The watch is another by one of my favourite brands Storm of London. The Storm brand is known for its distinctive styles of watches and accessories. It was launched in 1989 and is the only recognised British fashion watch brand on the market today, and now has stores in over 45 countries around the world.

The watch is a ladies design called the Mooky. It is a small 2 hand design in an oval metal case. The strap is solid metal which curves around the wrist with short links around the connector. Inside, the watch is powered by a Japanese quartz movement.

It was released in the mid to late 2000s, with the first information appearing online in 2005.

Storm Obligator

Today's watch is quite a big model from the brand which started my collection, and is a different style from the others I've covered so far.

That of course means it is by Storm of London, and this model is called the Obligator. I've posted quite a few watches from the British fashion brand Storm now, ranging from their beginning in 1989 through to their more modern designs.

The Obligator is a large watch, but is still pretty light and comfortable to wear. Its base is a large slab of titanium (approx 4cm by 5cm) with a curved back and angled front, and this is where the brown padded and shaped leather strap is connected. On the left side are two small round inserts, one of which is a little floating compass, and the other is a little thermometer dial. The watch module is a square block with rounded corners which is mounted on the right side of the base and connected with screws from the back.

It has an ana-digi design with a 3 hand dial and two rectangular LCD panels. The top panel normally shows the time and has a 6 digit display (with the seconds a tiny bit smaller than the others). The bottom panel also has 6 digits and shows the date and day. The different modes are shown on a combination of the two LCD panels and are day counter (to determine the number of days from/to a particular date), alarm, and stopwatch. The modes are switched with the top left button, with the bottom two buttons used in the different modes.

The back of the watch has the model name and shows this is a titanium case with 50m water resistance and contains a Japanese movement. There are also two numbers, one I think is the serial number, and the other is TC.N4.

The date for this watch is a little confused as the module date starts in 1997 which suggests late-90s, however I've found magazine adverts for this model online which are quoted as being from 2005. As the module only suggests the earliest possible date, I'd guess that this is an early to mid 2000s watch (Update: the Storm site confirms this is a 2004 release). I think it was one of Storm's more expensive models when it came out, and I've seen suggestions of an original retail price of around $350.

Storm "Columns"

Today I'm wearing a watch I don't know the real name of, so Columns was the best I could think of.

The watch is by the British watch brand Storm. The brand started in 1989 and produce a range of interesting designs with a distinctive style. It was the Storm brand that started my collection, and they are one of the largest parts of the collection.

This model is a ladies watch, or at least it is smaller than the normal metal watches.  It is a standard 3 hand dial design in a round metal case. It has a metal strap with the usual links, but the first section is a little different in shape. The back panel on the face has a green furry/wiry texture which makes me think of fake undergrowth. Out of this background come the hour markers which are raised to different heights like silver columns coming out of the undergrowth (which is where the idea for the name came from). The top 5 numbers (10 to 2) have been replaced with the letters STORM, and both halves of the strap have the storm name engraved.

There is no model name on the back, just the Storm name and the reg number (1374971). This model also has a Thailand rather than Japan movement. For date, I think this is one of the 90s models as has some similarities in styles to those models.

Storm Flip Lid

I'm going out to a bbq party today, so my chosen watch's special feature may come in handy.

This watch is the Flip Lid by the London based brand Storm. The Storm brand started in 1989 and has produced many different designs, with many following a distinctive metal style for the cases and straps.

This particular model is hard to research. When you search for Storm Flip Lid, you get all manner of bad weather equipment that is storm proof and has a flip lid, but no sign of this watch.

The watch is a 3 hand dial design with a plain coloured face and a round metal case. The watch face is almost a bow tie shape with cuts out of the top and bottom. This face shape is required because of the special feature. If you lift the tab at the top of bottom of the face, a section comes off - so you can Flip the Lid off. This metal piece is actually a bottle opener so you can also Flip the Lid off your drink too.

I'm not sure when this model came out, but from the design, it fits in with the 90s models.