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).

Seiko Wired XYZ W543 Rotating Head Watch

Today I decided to wear a watch from the mysterious line of watches called Wired XYZ by Seiko.

The Wired XYZ range of watches was first released in 2004 (May 21st in Japan) as a line of futuristic designs within the Wired range (that started in 2000). The range initially started with 4 designs (2 digital and 2 chronograph), and were designed under the leadership of Hoshina Ichiro. The XYZ range was promoted by the Korean singer BoA, who had their own branded Wired watch that I blogged in June 2013 (and you can find out more about BoA and the watch here). The XYZ line doesn't seem to be around anymore and the original website has been deleted.

This model has the model number W543-0AG0, but is hard to research as there are no web hits for this number. It is a limited edition of only 100 pieces, and so there aren't too many others out there, so I'm not surprised about the lack of coverage online.

The head of the watch is shaped like a gold bar with a the LCD on the top face. The LCD is powered by the W543 module with 6 equally sized digits (in groups of 2) in a slightly curvy style, and there is a tiny Wired XYZ logo in the corner. Across the top are 3 buttons which switch the display between time and date (with the date having text for what each number means above the digits), or for changing the numbers in time setting mode. The watch case is mounted on a silver cog-like base which allows the watch head to be rotated a complete 360 degrees, so you can use it from any angle. The strap also mounts onto the base and has a part number F2G0-Z-Q.

The back reveals its text as you rotate the head showing the model number, that it is water resistant and made from stainless steel, and it was made in China. There is also text in Japanese on the back of the silver base, but I don't have a translation (so if any reader can translate this, I'd be extremely grateful). There is also a serial number on the back which suggests a 2005 manufacture, and this aligns with the W543 modules date starting at 2004.

1481010 Bonzaipaint Journal Standard D600

It's been a long while since I posted a 1481010 (in fact I didn't post one in the entire of 2014).

This model is one of the solar powered Eco-Drive models and has a D600 module inside. I've blogged one of these watches in 2012, but this is a special model. This model is a collaboration between Citizen, Bonzaipaint, and Journal Standard. In the guarantee form, it states that this is an "Independent Bonzaipaint custum limited edition", and I've spelt it exactly as the paper says...

Journal Standard is a Japanese brand which has been around since the 90s, with creative, quality contemporary casual clothing. They are running in Japan, Hong-Kong, and Paris, and have over 30 stores. Bonzaipaint seem to have been a group looking at custom designs or special editions of clothing, but their website just has a single cartoon image. For info on the Citizen Independent 1481010 range itself, I've got lots on information on my 1481010 overview page.

The 1481010 D600 is a large solar watch with an LCD display. It has a curved solar panel above the LCD display which uses a dotted pixel style 6 digit display with an animation as the numbers change. The watch has buttons on the front which control the modes and start the light. The modes are dual time, stopwatch, alarm, and countdown timer, and which is shown by circles along the top of the LCD. The size of the solar panel and battery, combined with the power saving mode means that this model should have 4 years life between charges.

This special edition has different paints than the usual 1481010 D600, and a special style of strap. The strap is extremely wide with a velcro fastening, and includes the Bonzaipaint and Journal Standard names.

The full model number is D600-L20271, and the watch seems to have come from 2000.

Casio G-Shock DW-5600VT - XLarge Ltd Edn

I've now blogged a few different XLarge (or X-Large) watches, but today's is one of the big collaborations they did.

This watch is the collaboration between XLarge and Casio to produce a limited edition G-Shock watch. The watch is a G-Shock DW-5600 design which is designated DW-5600VT. The -VT models seem to be the mark for the line of watches where Casio released the limited editions, and there have been many different designs produced over the years.

This limited edition looks to have been released around 2006 or 2007, but I don't have any information on the number of units produced. It was a Japanese market version (as it has the Foxfire name), but was officially sold in one store in the US, the XLarge store in Los Angeles. This isn't a common model, so they seem to command a high price in the second hand market. The model has the same case shape as the regular DW-5600, but has the XLarge name under the glass above the LCD. The strap is also covered by a faint pattern of leaves and flowers. The el-backlight reveals a red image of the XLarge clothing name and Ape logo. The XLarge name is also engraved in the centre of the back plate.

The DW-5600 watch is an LCD design with a 2 line LCD display. The LCD shows day and date along the top, with the 6 digit time along the bottom. The date is shown on a little box in the top left, and during the other modes, the time is shown here. Inside is a 1545 module which gives the watch time, alarm, stopwatch, and timer modes. The module start date is 1995 which shows the design has been around for a while.

Yoshitomo Nara Walk On flip clock

I decided that I would blog a clock again today, but it is an unusual design.

The clock is called Walk On, and it was designed by Yoshitomo Nara.

Yoshitomo Nara is a Tokyo based artist, born in 1959, who's work is influenced by Japanese pop culture, manga, and TV. His work has a style often described as scary cute - cute simple images which often have a dark theme.

The Walk On clock is a flip clock design, this means that the time is shown on little plastic plates which flip over when the digits change (like the old railway station destination boards). The special part of the design is that each of the plates has a separate drawing by Nara on each one. It works with a 24hr set up, so there are 84 different drawings (24 hrs and 60 minutes). It often is sold with the warning about the colourful language as one of the minutes drawings (the 00) has a swear word on. The flip drawings are sat in a rectangular case behind a perspex cover. Inside is a quartz movement which is powered by a large 'C' size battery. The clock was exhibited in several collections, so was released also as a piece of art.

It came in 3 colours, and this is the beige model. I think it originally came out in the early 2000s as a limited edition, but there may have been several releases as there are some still for sale (around $350 new) but with slightly different text on the front.

Tonneau style Astro Boy Limited Edition watch

It seems I can add another sub-collection to my watch collecting, but I haven't decided whether it is just Astro Boy watches or whether I should admit already that it is manga/anime watches in general.

This watch one of my Astro Boy watches. Astro Boy is known in his home country as Mighty Atom or Tetsuwan Atom, and he was created by the God of Manga Osamu Tezuka. Osamu Tezuka is one of the most famous Manga artists in Japan, and has been thought of as a Japanese Disney (which has also more recently been said of Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli). Astro Boy is probably his most famous work outside of Japan, but his productivity has resulted in over 150,000 pages of Manga. This watch is slightly unusual in that it has Japanese text as well as the name Astro Boy, so is mixing the Japanese and western names.

The watch is a 3 hand dial design in a tonneau (barrel) shaped case. There are also 2 smaller dials at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions which cover date and day respectively. The dial features two pictures of Astro Boy, with his face at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions. The face also has the Astro Boy name in the centre circle with the same Japanese text on the clasp on the strap. The back also feature the same two Astro Boy pictures as the dial and shows that this is a limited edition with a release of 500 units. The other information on the back is the standard, stating this is 3atm water resistant, and that it uses a Japanese quartz movement. The one major piece of missing information on the watch is the manufacturer, with only the copyright (Tezuka Productions) being included!

The date is again difficult to pin down, but if I assume that the watch came out for a special event or novie/series release, it would suggest that the most likely link would be to the 2003/04 series restart or 2005 Japanese movie. Not much had happened in the 90s with Astro Boy, and I think this looks too modern for an 80s watch, but the 2009 computer animated movie is a remote possibility.

Adidas SF-100 Limited Edition

Through my collection, there are so many different styles of watch. I've managed to cover from the cheap fashion watches, through the vintage electronic watches, to limited edition models like today.

Today's watch is by the sports giant Adidas, and is one of their high-tech LCD models. This is a limited edition version of the SF100 (or SF-100) sports watch, and has an additional model number of 10-0173 on the back. The limited edition model was released in 2002 to commemorate the (football) World Cup in Japan and Korea. I haven't seen this on many Western sites, so it may have been mainly a Far East release, with only 2002 units produced (but maybe 2002 in each of a variety of different colours).

The watch has a round LCD panel with a dot matrix array, except for the bottom line which is in traditional LCD digits. The dot matrix is used for most of the display modes to give time, the mode description, and/or the mode itself. The modes this model has are Chronograph (with a lap recall mode CH-RC), timer, sports timer (with graphics to show time elapsed/remaining), and alarm (x6 including an option to set whether it is a daily alarm on on a specific day). There is also a dual time mode and an el-backlight. The Adidas button on the front isn't to active the light as I'd expected (as that is the top left), but changes the display from the usual large time display to showing the Adidas 3 stripe logo with the time on the normal digits below. Time is set by holding the light button until a message appears, with the mode button cycling through the options, and the top right and middle Adidas button taking the numbers back and forward.

The case is made of plastic, and has a colour matched rubbery plastic strap which follows the lines of the case.

Black Dice Switched BD-034 Limited Edition

Today marks the 1000th watch (or more correctly, timepiece) on my blog!!! The watch I chose is something flashy and noticeable, and according to the back, one of the more limited edition watches in my collection.

The watch in question is the Switched by Black Dice Industries, and has the model number BD-034.

Black Dice Industries is a London based brand which started in 2005. Their starting aim was to revolutionise the concept of luxury fashion timepieces, and their designs incorporate elements of fashion, music, and urban lifestyle. The brand prides itself on quality using high spec materials and custom electronics where necessary.

The Switched model was released in the late 00s (around 2008), and so is one of the earlier models in the Black Dice Industries range. The back states that this is a limited edition release with a total of 100 pieces only (although this came in 4 colours so the total for the overall design is more like 400).

It is an ana-digi model with a large 3 hand analogue dial in the centre, and a subtle inverse LCD display making up the face of the dial. The LCD part is a 2 line dot matrix with one line above the centre and one below, and it is here that the other functions reside. The top line shows day and date, and gives text information while cycling through the modes. The bottom line is normally the time display with up to 6 equally sized digits. The modes included in the watch are chronograph (with lap memory), alarm, and timer, and there is an el-backlight. At a button press, you can also switch to show a dual time option.

The watch has a large and heavy duty gold (anodized?) stainless steel case which is square/octagonal in shape. The gold steel bracelet strap is custom made for the case and is also large and weighty, giving the watch a robust and well made feel.

The back gives the model number and limited edition number as well as the brand name and logo. It also reveals that this is an all stainless steel watch with a Japanese movement and is 50m water resistant.

The specific model number of this colour variant is BD-034-3 and is seems to have cost around £165 when it was originally released.

So that is it for my 1000th timepiece post. It's been an interesting journey so far, and I'm sure I've got many more interesting watches to find!

Burrn! 10 year anniversary

About 2 years ago, I posted a curious watch where the head was connected to the strap with a spring system. Today, I'm wearing another one, but this time I can work out exactly when it's from!

The previous post was of a watch called the BA-727 by a Tokyo based brand called Belami. Belami were a trademark of the Empire Trading Kabushiki Kaisha company, and appear to have been active between 1984 and 2003.

The watch has a 3 hand dial design with large circles on the ends of the hour and minutes hands, and a crown at the 12 o'clock position. The strap is connected to the sides of the case with spring sections and screw mounted arms so it can flex and twist to fit your arm. The strap is also decorated with springs to give it a rough mechanical feel.

This watch is identical to the Belami BA-727 and although it has no makers marks, I assume that it is the same model. This version has a difference in the face design though, and has been made for the Burrn! 10th anniversary. The face has the Burrn! name across the bottom and the word anniversary across the top, with the 10 hour marker showing which anniversary it is (as it is the only numbered hour marker.

Burrn! is a Japanese magazine which has been published monthly since 1984 and currently costs ¥670. It is for Heavy Metal fans and often has an English language cover even though the content is in Japanese, and they describe themselves as the "world's heaviest heavy metal magazine". It is quite interesting I chose to blog this now, as it seems the latest issue is the 30th anniversary edition and I'm blogging the 10th anniversary watch which I therefore assume was issued as a limited edition cover item almost exactly 20 years ago (1984).

Firetrap Kate Moross Limited Edition White

Today I'm wearing a limited edition watch which would have fitted well with the recent street art festival.

The watch is by Firetrap who are a British company specialising in premium menswear and accessories. They started under the WDT (World Design & Trade) group, but are now part of the Sports Direct group (along with Lonsdale and Karrimor).

This particular model is a limited edition release, exclusively designed by Kate Moross. Kate Moross is a designer, illustrator, and art director based in London. She is known for her typography illustrations, and has designed ad campaigns and clothing lines, as well as directing music videos.

The Moross Firetrap watch was released in October 2010 (according to an album of photos from the launch party). The watches came in three colours, black, pink, and the white design I'm wearing. The face features a geometric design in different grey shades and colourful hands. It is a 3 hand dial watch with a quartz movement in a heavyweight metal case and strap. The hands are bright pink (hours), bright green (minutes), and yellow (seconds). The back plate shows the Moross logo (3 concentric triangles) and the usual info on water resistance (5atm) and material of construction (stainless steel).

It was released as a limited edition, but there is some disagreement online as to how many were made. I've seen both 150 and 500 quoted, but haven't got a definitive answer. The model number is FT1009KMW, and the original rrp was around £35.

Head Porter Plus military watch

It seems that a lot of the Japanese fashion brands at some point regale released a watch as a magazine cover item. Today's watch is another of those.

Like the A Bathing Ape watch I blogged earlier this month, this watch was also issued as a limited release on the front of Smart magazine. Smart magazine is a Japanese fashion magazine which caters for youth fashion and seems to be a monthly release. This watch came out on a 2013 issue (sometime earlier than September) and is not for sale on its own.
The watch is a military style watch by the clothing line Head Porter Plus. Head Porter is a Japanese fashion brand which was established in July 1998. It is manufactured by Yoshida Kaban which is a Tokyo based manufacturing company started in 1935 and recognised for its high quality bags and accessories, and best known for its Porter brand. The Head Porter brand is a private brand designed by Hiroshi Fujusawa, which uses Yoshida Kaban as a manufacturing partner. It only has 3 shops - the flagship store in Harajuku, Tokyo, and shops in Osaka and Kyoto.

The watch is a 3 hand dial design with clear to read white hands and time markers. It has a plain black case and camo green fabric strap helping to give the military style. The dial shows the Head Porter Plus name and has a red + sign below the 12 o'clock marker. The back is completely blank, so there is no other information on the watch.

Citizen Deep Impact watch

When I bought today's watch, I knew it was a limited edition but not what it was for. After a bit of research, I worked it out, and would definitely have never guessed.

The watch is by the Japanese watch giant Citizen, and is quite a formal looking chronograph watch. It has a rounded square case and face in silver and white/silver, and has a plain black leather strap. It has a 3 hand dial, 3 small dials, and a date marker window arranged on the face for the combination of time and timing. For the time, it is 2 hands on the main dial that are used, with the main dial seconds hand functioning for the chronograph while the bottom small dial provides the seconds (or 1/10th seconds when the chronograph is started). The other two small dials are also for the chronograph giving the minutes and hours.

Inside is a Japanese Citizen 0560 module,  which seems quite a high tech design, and the model number is 0560-S033365.
The watch was cased in China, and is 5 bar water resistant.

On the dial, the watch has the name Deep Impact, which makes it sound like it is a special edition for the space mission or the movie, and the date of 2005 on the back fits with the NASA mission. It's only the tiny writing saying Triple Crown and the engraving of a horse on the back that gave the real answer. There are several lines of Japanese text on the back too, but I don't know what that really says yet. 
The research on this revealed that the watch is a special edition for the Japanese champion racehorse Deep Impact. Deep Impact was a successful racehorse in the 2000s, winning 7 Japanese domestic races during 2005 and 2006. Its biggest known achievement was in 2005 when it became the first racehorse for 11 years to win the Japanese Triple Crown (Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun, and Kikuka Sho), and that is what this watch was released for. Deep Impact was retired to Stud in 2006 and is one of Japan's leading sires, fathering at least 12 race-winning horses.

As the name on the face is directly printed, and the back is unique to the watch (having none of the normal serial numbers), it looks like this was a direct release by Citizen rather than a 3rd party modification. As there is no serial number, it is hard to conclude on how many were released, but I wouldn't expect there to be a large market for high quality horseracing commemorative watches which are a domestic Japanese release only!