Swatch - Date In View GW404

Today's watch is one of my Swatch watches, but this one has quite an unusual shape.

The watch is one of the Swatch Standard line of watches and is quoted as being in the Standard Gents line but also as being a unisex watch. It is called the Date In View and was part of the 1998 Spring Summer collection (and has a design date of 1997). The watch case is a standard shaped white plastic design, and has a transparent strap with white and silver panels. The unusual part is the shape of the glass which is the normal depth at the bottom of the face, but is angled so it is sticking out about 1cm at the top of the watch. The front face of the glass is painted with a crosshair design aimed at the centre of the dial, and there is a small date window at the bottom. Behind the glass, the watch face is transparent, so you can see the quartz movement and the full date wheel around the edge. The watch is a two hand dial design, and the hands are transparent with silver around the edges.

The model number for this design is GW404.

Boy London B014

Today, I'm wearing one of the watches from my Boy London collection, but this one has a very different style than most of the others I've posted so far.

The Boy London name originated in 1976 when the brand was founded by Stephanie Raynor. They disappeared for a while during the 90s and early 2000s before the brand was relaunched in 2007. The watches, however, appear to have been continued, and it seems like they have been produced under license (probably) by a Korean company for at least some of that period.

This model is the B014, and has a full model number on the label of B014/AS14-00. Looking at the stylized B logo on the face, back, and label, this model may have been from a range they produced called B for Boy.  The design on this model is a more metallic construction than the more common models, with a solid silver metal case. The strap is also noticeable, being a solid metal strap with the underside being a curved metal bar with the Boy London name stamped into it, and this piece connected to the case by curved metal struts. The connector for the strap is also unusual, and is a hidden crocodile clip style where you press on a section of the strap and it opens the 'jaws' to release the hinged section.

This is a 3 hand dial watch with a Miyota quartz movement. The face is silver with curvy numbers for the 3, 6, 9, and 12, and just hour markers for the rest.

I've seen this a couple of places online, with a couple of dates shown. The different sites have suggested this is either from 1985 or 2001, and out of those two options, I think that the 2001 date is much more likely (based on the style and markings).

Seiko Alba My Neighbour Totoro V501 watch

Today's watch mixes a major manufacturer with a well loved Japanese anime character.
The watch is part of the My Neighbour Totoro collection by the Seiko brand Alba. My Neighbour Totoro is a feelgood anime from the famous Studio Ghibli, and one of their most loved movies. The story features the adventures of two young girls who, after moving house, meet various creatures around their house and garden, including soot sprites and Totoro, King of the forest. The movie was released in 1988 and is one that helped bring Japanese anime to a global audience, with Totoro being viewed as one of the greatest animated characters. I'm a fan of the movie, so it's nice to get a watch that matches.

The Alba brand seems to be a major south Totoro watches, with many different designs featuring in their My Neighbour Totoro collection. This model is a 3 hand dial design which is powered by a Seiko V501 movement. It is a ladies/children's size watch with a gold case and blue strap. The watch has a Japanese movement, but was cased in China, and the strap has a series of Japanese characters I can't read on the back.

The face is a light gold with a shiny gold picture in the middle, but was also available in silver. The picture depicts one of the small Totoro sitting on a leaf and holding some acorns.

The full model number is V501-0BB0, and the catalogue number is ACBS738 (or similar, as that number has the same case but a brown strap). The Alba Totoro watches have been around since at least the 90s, but from the serial number (and the Chinese construction), I would guess this is from 2003 and I found it in the 2003 catalogue too. Online, I've seen this for sale originally for ¥6,300, and that was the rrp including tax.

Back Space by Ke!Kosa

Today's watch is an interesting looking watch with a mystery manufacturer, and one I've not been able to find online.

The watch is called Back Space, and is quoted as being by Ke!Kosa (or ke!kosa to keep the capitals the same as the logo. I've tried looking up the brand ke!kosa, but all I've been able to find are a couple of other watches for sale on a Japanese shopping site. I did find a brand info site from Germany about the brand ke.kosa which was registered to a Spanish owner in 2005, but with a . instead of an !, I can't be sure it's the same. Translation doesn't help as ke kosa means "to vocabulary" in Indonesian. If it was Spanish, it could mean "que cosa" which would translate to "this thing".

The watch is a 3 hand dial design in a metal case. The case is very deep with a raised rim, and so sits about 1.3cm out from your wrist. The hands are unusual with them having a bend just up from the base, so the hand goes backwards first before turning forwards. The face is plain apart from the watch and brand name, but if you look carefully, there is a raised cog design with "teeth" that are the hour markers. The back doesn't help as it only says the watch is by ke!kosa, has a stainless steel back, and is 5atm water resistant (although the use of atm suggests a European influence).

As for date, it is another guess. Going by the date for ke.kosa being a 2000s brand, I'm assuming this is from that time.

Casiotron 76CS-56

Today is the turn of one of the vintage LCD models, and a variation of one I've blogged before.

This watch is one of the Casiotron watch by Casio, which were one of the first LCD watches by Casio. This model is the Casiotron 76CS-56, and seems to be a variation on the 76CGS-41 I blogged in October 2013. It has a smaller and thinner case shape than many of the early Casiotrons, and so seems to be a unisex or ladies model. As with the other 76xx model, this has a 3 1/2 digit LCD display with day markers along the top. This model also has a stopwatch function, as well as the date display.

It is a silver model with a dark grey face, but there is a gold ring around the face as well. The fine weave stainless steel strap has a part number B221L.

As this is a Casiotron, it will be from the late 70s, with these models usually being from around 76/77.

Time Force Titanium

Today's watch is another of a brand I last posted in 2013.

The watch is my second watch by the brand Time Force. The Time Force brand is a brand which seems to have two halves. Originally, Time Force were based in Switzerland, but around 2000 the company moved to Spain (becoming part of the Valentin group).

This model is similar to my other Time Force watch with a similar logo. This suggests it is a pre-2000 model, or is a range of related watches from the Far East. It also has the same statement on the back that this is an Italian design.

This particular model is an all Titanium analogue watch and 10 at water resistant. It is a 3 hand dial design with a date window at the 3 o'clock position. Looking at the back, there is a 4 digit number, 9782, which I guess is a model number.

Citizen 7630 - Hello Kitty

Most of the time when I blog merchandise watches they are made by unknown manufacturers. Today's watch is made by a major manufacturer though...

This watch is a Hello Kitty analogue watch. It features the face of Kitty at the 12 o'clock position, and the Hello Kitty name near the bottom of the dial. Hello Kitty is a character by Sanrio, and is actually a girl (not a cat) called Kitty White who was born in London. She was born Nov 1st and is around 5 apples high, and she has a pet cat called Charmy Kitty. The strap is on a matching colour combination, and is a plastic strap printed with a tartan style stitch design.

This Hello Kitty watch was made by Citizen, and is a 3 hand dial design. It uses a 7630 module which is a Citizen quartz movement. The watch has a model number of 7630-A42021, with a number 7630-A42796 in small writing at the bottom of the dial.

The serial number on the watch only has 4 digits, so doesn't follow the normal Citizen pattern, but may suggest less than 9999 were made. The date is given away be the copyright date at the base of the dial which suggests a 1996 release.