Eccentric Classic Gold Full Skeleton

When I've ow blogged so many watches,  there is room for error when I pick up something to wear. Yesterday I couldn't blog as I had picked up something I'd blogged before by accident, but today I didn't make the same mistake!

Today's watch is part of my expanding collection of  Eccentric Classic watches, who I've got into due to their interesting designs and links to other brands I collect.

This Eccentric Classic is a mechanical watch with a full skeleton design. The movement is one which seems a common low cost movement which I've seen in many different brands of Japanese watch, but there are no part numbers or manufacturers marks on the movement. There are also no makers marks on the front or back of the watch except for the Eccentric Classic name on the inside of the glass.

The case design is quite hard to describe, so I'll have a go but it's better to just look at the photos. The glass is round and protrudes from the gold metal case, which is vaguely rectangular with curved edges. The area around the glass has been cut/moulded in a way that the area is curved around the top, but comes to a flat edge at the bottom. There is also an edge behind the glass as it goes down towards the movement, and on there are printed the hour markers (roman numerals at 3, 6, 9, and 12, and just lines at the other hours). The strap is metal and comes in a matching gold colour.

This is another design which is common to multiple manufacturers. This watch is an Eccentric Classic by a company called Medistore (Japanese piercing accessory shop), while I have the same design by Deadman which is an older brand that doesn't exist anymore (and I've not blogged that watch yet).

COGU Classic Automatic Skeleton Watch

Just over 3 years ago I posted a watch by a brand called COGU, and today I'm blogging my second from this brand.

The COGU watch brand is a difficult one to research a definite story around. The brand is reportedly an Italian brand, but there is no Italian website that I've found, with the main online presence being on the watch sales sites Bodying and Rakuten. When I blogged the previous model, I also found a Japanese website where it appeared they had checked and the import office had no record of the company. The brand name is a shortened version of the founder's name Cosimo Gucci, who is a 4th generation Gucci (son of Roberto and born in Florence in 1956). According to a YouTube interview, the brand was started in 2004 to allow Cosimo to explore his unique take in design, and the company is French owned. The trademark however is owned by a Chinese name/company, Sun Xianbo of Hong Kong. Last time I posted the about the brand, I was sceptical about its Italian origin, and I still haven't found anything to reduce that scepticism.

The watch itself is another mechanical watch with an automatic movement. It is also a skeleton design with the mechanical movement being visible through the face and the back of the watch. Unusually, the movement is offset from the centre of the watch with the dial closer to the bottom of the case. Above the dial is the COGU name and logo, and the text 'Classic Automatic'. This model comes with a Chestnut coloured leather strap which is imprinted with the COGU name and logo on the back.

There is no model number to this watch, so I can't confirm the release date, but this model doesn't seem to be on the sales sites anymore.

Eccentric Classic 1/2 Skeleton - Pixel

I blogged a relatively unknown fashion brand called Eccentric Classic a little while ago, and after searching for them online, I've started to build a little collection. After looking at some of their designs, I also found many similarities to some of the other unknown Japanese fashion brands, so now have links between Deadman, Deep, and Module with a design, Module and Eccentric Classic with another (which I've not blogged about yet), and now from Eccentric Classic back to Deadman...

This Eccentric Classic model is a skeleton design analogue watch. It has a hand wind mechanical movement which can be seen through the holes in the watch face and through the glass watch back. The movement has a sweep hand operation, with a frequency of over 14,400 bph (or >4 per sec). The dial on this watch is split into two with a pale gold coloured face and the open part where the movement shows. The edge of the face is shaped in a an irregular line with a squared path, so reminds me of the blocky designs from pixel art. The numbers on the dial are hour markers in Roman numerals, and for the skeleton parts, the hour numbers are printed on the glass instead. The strap is a brown padded leather design.

This watch states that it is an Eccentric Classic by Medi Store. What I've found about Medi Store is that it is a shop in Japan which sells all manner of goods which normally relate to body piercing, and I've seen posts suggesting that the watches were on sale there. In my previous post I found a link between Eccentric Classic and a manufacturer called RSSP, but little else. This suggests to me that the Eccentric Classic line may have been commissioned by Medi Store, and manufactured by RSSP for them (but I can't find a site linking all 3, so it may be that the name changed hands, or Medi Store and RSSP got the watches from another 3rd party).

When I saw this design, I was immediately reminded of the Deadman Mechanical Special Edition watch I posted in October last year. The case shape is the same, the movement looks almost identical through the back, and they both have a 1/2 Skeleton face with the lower left part of the movement exposed. The Eccentric Classic watches seem to be newer based on the sites referencing them, but I don't know the real reason for the link.

Based on the timing of the different Web links, I think that these watches are relatively new (compared to the late 90s timing of Deadman). One blog featured this particular model, and had a date of 2012, so I have no reason to doubt that date for the watch's release.

Deep Skeleton watch

Today's model is from a fashion brand which I'm gaining a bit of a collection of.

The watch is by the Deep watch brand, who I've been collecting for a little while now. There isn't much about them, and the only thing I know from the collection is that they are made in China, and have at least one design which is the same as a Deadman model.

This model is a mechanical model with a hand wind movement. It has a skeleton appearance with the whole face being see through as well as the back. There is no name on the movement inside, but it looks similar to the mechanical movements in the Deadman and J-Axis models. On the back there is no model number, just the Deep name. The face has the numbers printed under the glass giving it a flat appearance. The strap is a black (genuine) leather design.

As with the other Deep watches, I don't know the date, but my guess is early 00s (as they aren't for sale new and the similar Deadman watches were late 90s).

J-Axis iXa Skeleton DG733

It's party day again today so I chose another smart looking model.

This watch is another of the J-Axis range watches that I've been blogging for a while now. This model is one of the surprises, as the J-Axis watches aren't a high price brand, but this model is a high quality feeling mechanical watch.

It is a model DG733, with this colour (green) being the DG733-GR. It is a 3 hand dial design powered by a hand-wind mechanical movement. The design is a partial skeleton with a large round window on the dial covering the centre towards the 9 o'clock position. The back is also clear so you get a good view of the mechanism from behind, and can see straight through the watch where the balance wheel is. The dial is green with hour markers for all except the 3 o'clock where there is a big number. The glass is shaped with the flat face having 12 edges angling back into the body. The design is completed with a thick padded brown leather strap.

The J-Axis watches are produced by the Japanese company Sun Flame Co and first came out in 1987. They release watches in 6 series, and this is one of the D Series. This also has the iXa designation which has been on a few different watches, but I don't know what it really means.

This model is still available from the Sun Flame website, and even though it is a mechanical skeleton watch, it is only ¥3,990!

Deadman Mechanical Special Edition

This is my 1000th post on my blog! It's not quite the 1000th watch (which will come sometime next week), but I'm happy to have reached this milestone!

I decided to mark the occasion with one of my Deadman watches, and one with a very smart look.

The watch is called a Special Edition on the face, but I'm not sure if there was some special occasion it was released for, but it has a high quality look about it.
The face shows this as a skeleton watch, but with 1/2 of the face covered. The shape of the covered half is made so that the dial looks like a yin and yang symbol (or taijiku as I found out earlier this week). The back is also clear showing the very cut away mechanical movement inside. It is a hand wind mechanical watch with 3 hands and a sweep hand movement registering at least 14,400 bph (>4 beats per second). The movement is a 17 jewel design, but there are no makers marks obvious on the movement through any of the windows.

There is also no model number on this watch, which seems to be the case for most of the mechanical Deadman watches. All that is written on the watch is "Deadman, Mechanical, Hand winding mov't, 17 jewels, Special Edition".

I'm afraid I still don't know too much about the Deadman brand. I know that they were around in the late 90s, and produced a wide range of different design (as you can see by looking at the different models on my blog). The quartz watches were low cost, but they have a reasonable quality, and the mechanical watches are very well made.

Gallucci Tonneau Skeleton

Today is my third watch by the manufacturer Gallucci.

As with the other Gallucci watches, this one is a mechanical automatic watch. The Gallucci brand is from Hong Kong and was started in 2002. It is owned by the Hong Kong based watch manufacturer R and S International Limited and they chose the name after the celestial atlas by Giovanni Paulo Gallucci.

This model is a Tonneau shaped watch in the skeleton style with a Gallucci mechanical automatic movement. The movement can be seen through a round window in the centre of the dial and a large round window in the back. It has a 3 hand display and there are two other small dials (which is the same as the other Gallucci watches I've posted). At the 6 o'clock position is the 24hr dial and at the 3 o'clock position is the date. Time is set by the crown, but there is a push button for setting the date. Above the date window there is a raised section of glass which magnifies the view.

Swatch GK191 Skizzo

It's more from the 90s again today with this Swatch watch.

This model is one of the Swatch Originals range of watches, which are the standard 3 hand dial models that make up a large proportion of the early models.

This particular model is called the Skizzo and has the designation GK191. It was one of two watches under the label Optiques with the other being called Brouillon, and they were released as part of the Spring Summer 95 collection.

It is a clear design, with thick scribble type lines along the strap and face. The case and face are clear, meaning that you can clearly see the module inside (making it basically look like a quartz skeleton watch). It is meant to be completely clear, but this one has been yellowed through aging, sun exposure, or having a smoker as a previous owner.

I don't know the original sale price, but at the time of writing, it is around $50 on the online auctions.

Gallucci Skeleton Classic - Square Automatic with round window

Today's watch is one that I tried to get working, but my mechanical watch skills weren't quite enough. After stripping it down as much as I could, I found that the balance spring is broken, but I thought I'd blog the watch anyway. The balance system on the watch is made of a balance wheel attached to a balance spring. These two together form an oscillator which is designed to keep a precise beat (independent of external disturbances) and thus keeps the watch accurate. The balance spring pulls the wheel back, reversing it's direction, causing the oscillations and so when it's broken the watch can't tick.

The watch is by Gallucci, which is a jewellery company formed in 2002 and owned by Hong Kong watch manufacturer R and S International Limited.

This is an automatic mechanical skeleton watch, and is the second Gallucci watch of this type I've blogged (see 24th Dec 2012, or the Gallucci tag for the other).

This model is a large and heavy square design, with a face pattern that is no longer for sale. The watch is a 3-hand dial, with an additional 24 hr dial and date dial (at the 6 and 3 o'clock positions). The back has a glass panel over the movement so you can see the design of the internal workings (which are decorated with small engravings) as well as the weight used in the automatic movement to wind the watch. On the dial, there is also a round window where the other side of the movement can be seen (while the current models have square and rectangular windows).

There is no model number on the watch, and as it is not for sale, I don't know the date of release.

Gallucci Skeleton Automatic with Date

It'll be smart watches for me for the next couple of days. It's time for the family parties to start for celebrating Christmas.

Today I decided on a large automatic watch by Gallucci. The Gallucci name is a watch and jewellery brand owned by R AND S INTERNATIONAL LIMITED and started in 2002. The name was chosen due to it's association with the celestial atlas (Theatrum Mundi el Temporis) by Giovanni Paulo Gallucci. The website then says "The buyer could admire the delightful Gallucci's products and could discover our new celestial objects and development".
R & S International Ltd is a Hong Kong manufacturer of LCD and analogue watches. It was started in 1987 and has the objective to make elegant modern watches with good quality and competitive prices.

This particular model is an automatic watch with a skeleton movement. It has a 3-hand dial with two small dials on the face. The small dial at 3 o'clock shows the date, while the one at 6 o'clock is a 24-hour dial. Date setting isn't done with the crown, but there is a small button below which advances the date by one with each press. The face design has large roman numerals around the edge, and the middle is cut out so you can see the movement.

The back of the watch has a glass panel so you can see the weight that spins to wind the automatic movement, along with the heavily cut-away and engraved mechanism. The movement is open enough that you can see all the way through is several places.

I've not found the exact model, suggesting that this model is not sold anymore. The closest looking watch currently on sale has a RS-M0159 movement which looks pretty much identical. I also don't know the model number, but it will be of the format WT2xxxxSK.

COGU skeleton watch

Today's watch is not electronic for a change. The watch is an automatic skeleton watch with a curved triangular shape. The shape is very reminiscent of the classic Hamilton watches. Unfortunately, that is about all I know on the watch itself.
The COGU brand is also difficult to find information on. It is reported to have been formed by Cosimo Gucci (4th generation Gucci? eldest son of Roberto Gucci, born 1956 in Florence, Italy). The COGU brand started in 2004 after Cosimo wanted to explore his own unique approach to design, and belongs to a French company (from a 2008 interview) . The brand has both watches and accessories, but only seems to be active in the far east (HK, Taiwan, and Japan account for most of the links, and there is a YouTube video of a HK interview). The US trademark COGU appears (as of Dec 2011) to be owned by Sun Xianbo in the Liaoning province in Hong Kong. Because of all this, there is a lot of scepticism on whether this is a real Italian brand (and a translated Japanese site suggested that a check with the official import office found no record of the company).
But despite the history of the brand being a bit uncertain, the watch itself is a nice example of a full skeleton :-)