Agnès b V33J-0030

Today's model is one of my growing agnès b  collection, and is a shiny watch.

The agnès b brand is a French fashion brand which now has over 100 stores worldwide. They started in France in 1973 and seem to have quite a following in Japan. The watches have been made in collaboration with Seiko since 1989 and are still being produced now. So far, I've seen many different designs, but they all have an elegance to the design.

This model is based around the Seiko V33J quartz movement, and is one of several agnès b watches to use this movement. This particular version is the V33J-0030 and has a tonneau shaped case (rectangular with curves sides, or barrel shaped). It has a round face with a 3 hand dial and 3 small dials at the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. I've seen this movement online quoted as a chronograph, but this is not right as the dials cover day and date (left and right respectively), and the 24 hr time (bottom with an orange hand). It has a curved glass from side to side which has been fashioned into 3 flat faces (sloped at the sides and flat along the middle) so as to catch the light well. The strap is a fine stainless steel design with many small flat sides so it gives a shiny but flexible design (with a part number of E0F2JZ-L).

Judging by the serial number, this watch was made in 1998 or 2008. My guess is 1998 as although the watch is in very good condition for that age, the Seiko Alba Neatnik watch I have blogged with the same module was from 1999.

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.