Casiotron 76CGS-41

It's time for the old Casio watches again with another of the original Casiotron range.

This model is one of the smaller case designs for the Casiotron watches, so I guess it was a unisex or ladies model.

The model is a 76CGS-41, which seems to have been produced in 1976 (based on information on the casiodigitalwatches site for other 76CGS models, but the -41 isn't mentioned online anywhere). It has a 3 1/2 digit LCD with a star pm marker in the top right (at the Saturday marker). Across the top is a set of bars for day marking when in date display, but these also act as a seconds display, flashing during a 10 second period before the next one starts.

This watch is a gold model, and has a matching gold strap (with part number B-159L).

Metro Costa Mesa

Today's watch is by a brand who seems to have done quite a few nice design watches for the Far East, but doesn't seem very well known on the internet.

The brand is called Metro and they have a logo with the word Metro in a script font with a 5 pointed crown above. I think that their watches are from the late 90s or early 00s, but there is no site or magazine I've found that can confirm this.

Today's model is called Costa Mesa (I guess after the small city in Orange County, California), and has a very retro classic look. It is quite a large 3 hand dial design with gold hands and gold hour markers on a black background. There is a date marker at the 3 o'clock position, and the watch has a dome in the glass above the date to magnify the number. The case is a solid looking brushed steel, with a polished (fake) wood ring around the face. The strap is a black leather crocodile skin pattern design, topping off the very 50s/60s feel of the design. There is no other information on the watch apart from that is has a Japanese (quartz) movement. There is also text on the face which says "Stainless Steel, Round Case, Water Resistant, tastefully styled, fine quality, dependable".

Citizen Independent Girl painted face watch

I was having trouble finding a name to describe today's watch, as I have with a few others from this range.

The watch is part of the Citizen Independent Girl range, which was part of the Independent line of watches that was released in 2007 and aimed at fashionable young persons. The Independent Girl watches were aimed at women, but as you may have noticed from my blog, many are large enough to be unisex.

This model uses the 1036 quartz module that is used by quite a few different watches in this range. It is a 3 hand dial design with a crown at the 3 o'clock position. It has a basic round face, but this is covered in raised lines (looking like I N I), with a painted style of writing (saying Independent) between them.

The full model number is 1036-003140-2, and it sold for 18,000 yen (+tax). I don't know when this was released, the serial number suggests 2000, but I know it is not sold by Citizen anymore. The catalogue number was ILA21-6132.

Casio Friendly Memo Data Bank DBJ-22

Today I'm wearing another watch which is a variation on a model I've blogged before.

Those who have been following for a while may remember I posted a Friendly Memo Data Bank watch back in May. That one was the DBJ-24 rather than today's DBJ-22, and featured cats and dogs compared to the boys and girls in this model.

It is part of the Casio Data Bank range of watches and has a memo feature where you can store the name, phone number, and date of birth for your friends. As this is a Friendly Memo model, you can also assign a face to the contact choosing the face and the head style (boy or girl and hair style). The watch is a Japanese model, so all of the input is in Japanese characters (unless there is a language shift option that I haven't found). The contacts are also used in a game called Fit where you choose two of your contacts and it runs a compatability check  showing a number of stars in the hearts box and a percentage score.

The watch has a hybrid LCD display with a normal 6 digit number display along the bottom, a set of 9 star symbols in a 3x3 pattern (which fills with the seconds), and a dot matrix array. The dot matrix shows the picture of  a girl by default, who is animated to look around and pull faces (especially when the button marked forward is held).

This model uses a 1437 module (compared to a 1537 in the cat and dog model), and has alarm and stopwatch modes too.

Orient Radio Controlled Perpetual Calendar MA VY00

A quick post today of a watch I've been trying unsuccessful to fix.

The watch is by Orient Watch Company who are one of Japan's largest producers of mechanical watches. The company started in 1950 but is now a subsidiary of Seiko Epson.

It is a 3 hand dial watch with no other windows. Inside it's simple exterior is a more complicated watch. The watch has a perpetual calendar, so is correct throughout the months. There is a set of markers around the centre that goes up to 31, so pressing one of the buttons will show the date. It is also radio controlled on the Japanese 40KHz frequency to keep it on track.

The full model number seems to be MA VY00-C0 CA.

Subzero Big Tic watch

My watch collection started at quite a slow pace. After beginning with the Storm watches I received as presents, I wanted to buy some interesting watches that I could afford on my limited student finances. So I ended up with watches like this which were cheaper versions of more expensive makes.

This watch is by/called subzero and seems to be modelled on the Fossil Big Tic design. It has a 2 hand dial with crown adjustment and a quartz module. The face of the watch shows seconds in a curvy fisheye style which uses a separate module.

The design is basic with a standard case with small numbers around the dial (showing 12 and 24 hr numbers). It has a screw opening back and is 5 bar water resistant. The strap is a simple rubber one with the word sport on.

F.H.B. Mechanical Jump-Hour Watch

It's been 90s watches for a while, and so I went for something a little older today.

Today's watch is one of the vintage design jump-hour watches, which are also sometimes called a mechanical digital watch. The principal is that there are two windows showing through to rotating discs below. The minutes disc is continually rotating, and the window is about 10 minutes round to ensure you can see at least one of the numbers on the disc. In a true jump-hour such as this one, the hours disc remains in one place until the final minutes of the hour when it 'jumps' round to the next number (whereas most quartz replicas have a rotating and not jumping hour). This model also has a seconds hand, but you need to watch it carefully for timing as it is double ended.

The design is quite common for this style of jump-hour, with a round face and rectangular window. The strap is steel, but the clasp has a spring loaded section to lengthen it, so it has a more comfortable fit.

This watch is by a company called F.H.B., and it has a Swiss made 17 jewel mechanical movement. I've found reference to a FHB watch company which seems to be Japan based but originated in Switzerland after the brand was started by Felix Huber. This company appears to have been started with quartz watches though, so I think it is a different company. This F.H.B brand is therefore a mystery (so if anyone knows more please let me and my readers know).

Alfee & Bose commemorative watch

Keeping up the 90s run today with a watch that has been hard to find out about.

The watch is a special watch that was released "Commemorating the Collaboration between THE ALFEE and Bose Corporation" according to the back. The back has a lot of information showing in the middle "Love All Music, Alfee Bose 1993" and stating that this is an original Alfee/Bose product. It also states that "The ALFEE/BOSE SOUND SYSTEM is a Victory Gained by THE ALFEE and BOSE Corporation".

So following up on this, it seems that there was a speaker/music system released by the high end music equipment manufacturer Bose which was called The Alfee, but this only appears to have been in the far east (and i guess it was from 1993).

The only reference I can find for The Alfee is referring to a Japanese music group founded in the mid 70s. They play various rock styles, being quoted as being prog rock, folk rock, hard rock, and pop rock. The year 1993 saw the release of a special live acoustic album called Confidence, so the sound system release may have been linked.

The watch itself is a 3 hand dial design, but with a very stylised metal case. The watch face is only seen through a smaller window with bars crossing the face. The parts connecting the black leather strap are also designed with a vent design, and the buckle is engraved with Alfee/Bose.

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.

Casio Baby-G G'Mix BGM-200CR Chara Edition.

Another from the Casio G-Shock /Baby-G rugged watches today, and another 90s model too!

This is a Baby-G watch from the G'Mix line, and as released in summer 1999. This particular model is a special edition collaboration with the Japanese singer and actress Chara. Chara debuted in 1991 with a single called Heaven, and she is most known for her whisper voice singing style. In spring 1999, she released her 6th studio album called Strange Fruits.

Overall, the watch looks like a standard Baby-G, apart from the wild colour scheme, and Chara's signature on the back. The fabric strap is one of the dual fastening models with a velcro inner strap, and elasticated plastic clip strap too. The main difference is the modes that the 2063 module has. The watch contains several tunes by Chara (Duca, Yasashii Kimochi, Shima shima no bambi) which can be played back as the alarm, in beepy computer tone, accompanied by a little animated band in the top window of the LCD (where the day and date is normally on a dot matrix array). Other modes are mix, alarm (x5), and stopwatch. The mix mode seems to be a choice of 3 different tunes started by pressing the front light button, and accompanied by a different animation.

The lower part of the display is a standard 6 digit LCD, and there are two small windows at the top sides which fill and empty with small LCD markers.

This particular colour has the full model number of BGM-200CR-4BT, and was one of three colours originally sold for 15,000.

Casio G-Shock DW-003

It's tough watch time today, and another from the Casio G-Shock range. Having been through a few of them on the blog now, it seems I have a thing for the 90s G-Shocks as that seems to be the majority of my collection.

This G-Shock is the DW-003. There were quite a few different versions called DW-003, but based on the use of a 1662 module, and a bit of digging, I think this is a DW-003RB-1T, which was released towards the end of November 1997. It seems to have only been a Japanese model, and was originally sold for 19,000 yen.

This model is part of a line called Rock & Native (using translation software...), and has a native American symbol of peace (a feather) on the strap. There were a few different watches in this line, each with a different backlight picture, and this one has a hedgehog (maybe porcupine) which signifies peace.

The watch has the rugged round G-Shock design with a thick screwed on case for protection, and the G light button  below the LCD. The LCD is shown over two window with a dot matrix array across the top (for showing day or mode), and a main window with two lines of 6 digits (6 digit date and time at the bottom).

The 1662 module gives it a good number of modes, covering data bank (30 slot telephone numbers), alarm, dual time, timer, and stopwatch.

Nixon The Dictator

My watch today seems to have had a hard life so far. I rescued it from a junk pile and tidied up the strap, but the case looks like it's been left outside for a long while.

The watch is another from the American Nixon brand. This model is called The Dictator, and is a large metal watch with an inverse LCD and mesh panel above. The mesh panel is due to the special feature in this model, a voice recorder (which is hinted at in the watches name). With this function, you can record 8 messages with a total time of up to 3.5 minutes.

It has a large block dot matrix style inverse LCD (with a red el-backlight) which is can show 3 1/2 digits (along with a variety of other indicators around battery charge and message status). Apart from the recording, the watch has a custom alarm mode.

It was released around 2006, and was around $120. Some links refer to the model as The Dictator A063 1400, so I think that's the model number.

Alba AKA Square V733 - Gold and Red

Another shiny gold watch again today, and more festival later.

The watch is a variant on new that be posted before from the Seiko Alba AKA range. The AKA watches were originally released in the mid 90s for the young and fashionable, and may have spawned competitors such as the 1481010s that came soon afterwards.

It is a 3 hand dial model using a V733 quartz module. There is a day and date marker at the 6 o'clock position, with a dual language day option. The design is very shiny in reds and golds, and it has a cut glass face (with the central part raised and tapering down towards the top and bottom) making it catch the light well. The case is square on this model, and has the same tapering outwards on the top and bottom to where it meets the matching gold strap.

This gold version was part of a sub range called black and gold which came into the shops in Japan at the start of 1997. The catalogue number was AMBX006, and the original sale price was 15,000 yen. The full model number is V733-5A4O.

Citizen Ana-Digi 41-8021 module

Old school shiny gold  watch today. I'm off to a hiphop festival tonight, so wanted something with a little bling.

The watch is an original 1980s watch by Citizen Quartz (with the CQ logo on the face). It is one of the early Ana-Digi watches, with a serial number suggesting 1980.

As normal, the top two thirds is the analogue display, with a 6 digit LCD display below.

As with many of the older digital watches, the crown is the main tool for making changes. Modes are switched by pressing the crown, and the digital time is set by pulling the crown to the first position and turning (as well as the normal analogue setting). There are two other buttons, but they are used for the modes. For the digital display, the modes are time, date, chime setting, alarm, stopwatch, and timer, and there is a mode marker along either edge of the LCD.

The full model numbers are 4-098676 and 41-8021. The strap is matching, but only gold coloured on the front, and has a part number of 2723T. The catalogue number was 2197-12, and the original sale price was 39,000 yen. Two versions were released with the same model number, with this brown face version, and a white and gold face version (and there were also 4 silver models which look the same).