Stellar Hayabusa Aegis BMD Watch

Today's watch is a confusing one to research, as it seems that the watch wasn't promoting an anime like I'd originally thought.

The watch itself is a basic 3 hand dial design with a quartz movement. The movement is a PC21J and from the back plate, it seems the watch is made by Sweda in China.

The interesting part is the text on the front which says:
Raytheon
Stellar Hayabusa
Aegis BMD
JETM-2
Lockheed Martin
Along with a logo of a bird of prey breaking a missile.
Researching this text has lead me to believe that the watch is commemorative or promotional for a missile defence system.
The Aegis BMD stands for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence system which is a US department of defence program to defend against intermediate range ballistic missiles. The system currently uses the Lockheed Martin Aegis missile system with the Raytheon RIM-161 SM3 missile explaining those bits of text too. As this is a missile defence system, that fits with the logo of the bird breaking the missile as well, but I haven't found out exactly what Stellar Hayabusa is (although I think it may be a boat know the Japanese navy with this system).

Most of the links I've found about the missile system were from the mid 2000s (around 06), so I guess the watch is from then too.

So, the watch is pretty normal, but this is the first watch I've found promoting a weapons system!

Deep 8170 NW

Today I'm wearing another of the retro styles which seem to be popular amongst the Japanese fashion watch brands.

This watch is by the fashion watch brand Deep and is one of the rotating disc designs, similar in style to the old jump-hour watches. This one has a quartz movement and a left hand design (so the dials are read through a window on the left of the watch). The case is different than the majority of the rotating disc designs I have, with a rounded case that is slightly taller than it is wide. It has a matching metal strap with the first like connecting directly into a protrusion from the case (so it will be challenging to find a replacement).

There is no text on the front of the watch, so the only information is the Deep name and model number 8170 NW (or 8170NW). As I've mentioned many times before, there seems to be a link between a lot of the Japanese fashion brands with the same design popping up by different manufacturers. The last time I blogged a Deep watch with this number format (5766 NW), it was the same design as a Deadman watch with a similar number (GV5766), so that makes me wonder whether there is a similar Deadman GV8170 too.

Deep watches seem to be a bit newer than the Deadman watches, but don't seem to be around now, so I guess they were from the 2000s.

Axcent Stealth X5910

Today's watch is back to a Scandinavian brand, so is from close-to-home, even though I bought it in Japan.

The watch is by Axcent of Scandinavia, and this model is called Stealth (although, as it is large and white, I don't find it too stealthy). The Axcent brand aims to bring Nordic design into the world of watches, and they started this in the late 90s. This particular model was designed by Daniel Jakobsson who was their head designer from 2002 to 2009. Most of the Axcent watches I have were designed by him, so it seems that he was a very prolific designer for the brand.

The Stealth is an LED watch with a large bright 4 digit LCD display. The digits are hidden behind a semi-transparent window and only can be seen when lit (which must be where the Stealth name comes from). The case is square with a white front under the glass, inset into a silver steel frame. There are two buttons on the right side, one for showing time, and the other for date, with the time setting button being inset on the left side. The design is completed by the strap which is wide and leather with a matching white colour..

The back has the Axcent logo, model number (X5910), designers name and signature, and the technical info (stainless steel, and 5 atm water resistant).

Seiko Alba Wired - Beams W510

Today's watch is a special edition of a design I've featured on this blog before.

The watch is one from the Seiko Wired line of watches based around the W510 module, and this one was released under the Seiko sub-brand Alba. The Wired watches seem to be a high tech line released from the late 90s which blended advanced technology and elegant fashionable designs.

One of the designs that was used in several watches around the turn of the century was the high complexity curved digit LCD display. This display used many more segments in the digits than normal, leading to text which looked more like a printed font than normal. I featured a watch from the ViViDiGi line with this W510 module in June 2013, and there's been a few others on the blog too (see under the Wired tag).

This particular model is a special watch designed for the Japanese brand Beams. The Beams brand are a popular clothing, accessories, and interior products brand originating in 1976 from Harajuku, Tokyo, and they've produced a few watches over the years. It has a different colour scheme (black with red trim) than the other W510 watches I've seen, and has the Beams name at the top of the display. The back also the Beams logo (a planet with the path of a satellite around it), along with the text "Beams. Basic & Exciting". The other text on the back is the standard information that it is stainless steel, 10 bar water resistant, and made in China.

This watch is from 2001, and has the full model number of W510-4A50.

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).

Deadman GV4062

I'm back to one of my favourite mystery brands again today with this watch by Deadman.

The Deadman (or Dead Man) watches are Japanese fashion watches which I've managed to pin down to being from the late 90s (based on a couple of magazines from that time). They have produced many different designs, and I've so far found more different models than I've seen duplicates. There also seems to be a connection to other brands such as Deep, Module, and Eccentric Classic with common designs, but I've not concluded why so far.

Today's model is the GV4062 (or GV 4062) which has a style which I would say is heavily influenced by the Seiko Alba AKA designs. It has a quartz analogue display with a 3 hand dial design. The face design and colour /pattern around the edges is very similar to some of the AKA watches with silver hour markers and a red, blue, and grey square pattern around the edge of the dial.

The case is round at the top, widening towards the back and the strap connection points, and makes me think of the shape of a volcano. The strap is metal and also very AKA-like with the tuning fork (or chunky American Football goalpost) shaped first link.

The back just has the usual Deadman style, stating it is Stainless steel, and showing the Deadman name and the model number.

Flud - The Exchange

I'm back to the fashion watches again today (although, I  never seem to get too far away from them at any time...).

This watch is by a brand called Flud, and this is their first appearance on my blog. The Flud brand is relatively new, having started only in 2007. The concept for the Flud brand is to bring the watch back to its rightful place as the ultimate accessory. Their goal was to create unique, fresh watches without being pretentious or having a high price tag.

This model is called The Exchange, and is a quartz analogue watch. It has a 3 hand dial which is offset to the right, with a bar protruding from the bezel on the left side (just below the middle). The bezel itself is protruding above the glass and is enameled in black (with 10 other different colour variations being available). The back of the watch has the Flud name and states it uses a Japanese movement. There is also a quote around the edge of the back plate which reads 'You can never have time unless you take time'. The watch is still for sale on the Flud website for $90.

For the one I have, there are a few things which make me wonder whether it is genuine or not. The watch is sold with 2 different straps, one leather and one silicone, but my one has an expanding metal strap (which I would assume wad a replacement, but the colour matches extremely well). The other issue is the size, as the case size on my one is smaller than the 50mm which is quoted on the Flud site...