Q&Q Alarm Chronograph Ana-Digi Watch

Today's watch is another by one of the more elusive brands, who are quite well known, but their links to the larger watch manufacturer are relatively hidden.

The watch is by Q&Q (or QandQ as I've had to write it in the tags as the & symbol isn't allowed), who are a budget but quality brand started in 1976. The name stands for Quality & Quantity, and the links I've found suggest they were part of the Japan CBM Corporation, which seems to mean Citizen Business Machines - so the watches may be Citizen watches after all.

This model is one of the 80s watch staples - the Ana-Digi, with a main 3 hand dial analogue display and a small 6 digit LCD display at the bottom. The analogue display is operated by a crown, while the 3 buttons operate the LCD. All of the different modes are displayed on the LCD, with the watch having date, dual time, alarm, and stopwatch as options.

The back has the Q&Q logo, and states this has a Japanese movement, but assembled in Korea (and that it has the usual stainless steel back and base metal bezel), with a case that is 30m water resistant.

I don't know exactly when this model is from, but the style was very popular in the 80s, so I'll guess that it is from that era.

Bulova Astronaut Day and Date Wheel

A few days ago, I posted a watch I called 'Date Wheel' by Benetton, but not part of their Benetton by Bulova range. Today's watch is a Bulova with date wheel, but nothing to do with Benetton!

I don't have a definitive model name/number for today's watch, so I've decided to call it the Day and Date Wheel based on its features, but there is also the name Astronaut in tiny writing on the dial. The watch is a quartz analogue model with a 3 hand dial design for telling the time. The unusual part is how the watch shows the day and date. The date is done with a wheel behind 7 equally spaced windows, with the middle of the bottom window showing the date. The days are written around the edge of the dial in gold capsule shapes with a small window at each end. The day is shown by the dots behind the windows showing red instead of white, and interestingly, the transition between days is shown with one dot in each.

The watch is made of grey painted /anodized base metal with a grey steel back, and there is a gold cog tooth pattern around the edge of the glass. The strap is a matching grey metal and there is the Bulova tuning fork logo on the clasp.

The watch is made by the US watch company Bulova. They were founded in 1875, starting the first dedicated watch making plant in 1912, and bringing mass production into watchmaking on a scale never seen before. Over the years, they were good at embracing advertising technology, being thought to have had the first official radio and television adverts. In 2007/08, the brand was incorporated into the Citizen watch making family.

This model has no indication of a date in the watch as far as I can tell. If they use the same format for serial numbers as Citizen, that would suggest a manufacture in X7, and based on the design, I'd suggest 1987. There is a second number on the back 8988501 which could be a model number, but the imprinting style suggests it was a number which changed regularly...

Ricoh Riquartz Ana-Digi watch

Those who've been following this blog for a while have probably seen that I have a liking for ana-digi style watches (although I've not posted so many recently).

From the few that I've blogged, I've also become a fan of the Ricoh Riquartz watches, as there is something about the design and build quality for the range which makes them feel luxurious.

Today's watch joins those two likes as it is a Ricoh Riquartz Ana-Digi model.

The Ricoh brand is a well known Japanese brand who are best known for products other than watches - printers and photocopiers are the products I normally associate with the name Ricoh. The brand was founded in 1936 and are still continuing to this day. They seem to have started the Riquartz line of watches in the early 70s and have been credited with improving the quality of quartz movements and possibly being second behind Seiko for quartz watches in the 70s.

One online forum had a similar watch to my one, and they have suggested that the number on the back of the watch is a model number and not a serial number as I'd thought. On this basis (and that I've seen an original label for another Ana-Digi with this as a reference number style), this watch is a model 122002 and so uses a calibur 122 movement which is a 7 jewel design.

The watch is a rectangular design with curved sides, and has a simple plain face with no numbers, only markers on the raised edge of the face. I think it is the cleanliness of the face design which makes this one look so high class. The analogue display is a 2 hand dial design with a stepping motion for the minute hand. The LCD display is at the bottom of the face and is a 4 digit design with large easy to read numbers. The digital display can be used to show day/date, seconds, dual time, and the alarm (with the modes written along the bottom of the face).

The only thing written on the face of the watch itself is the Ricoh name, along with the Riquartz brand and the logo (a hexagonal stylized Q), and the back also says Ricoh along with Ricoh Watch Co. Ltd. The back also states that the watch is water resistant and all stainless steel.

The watch comes with a Ricoh branded stainless steel strap (with the branding on both parts of the clasp), and the strap has a part number of 329C-U.

If this model is similar to the other I saw online, they dated that to 1980, and I have no reason to disagree. I've also seen that a model 122009 had an original price of ¥31,000, so I'd assume that the original price for this 122002 was something similar.

Alba Disney Mickey & Minnie Y950 Ana-Digi

In April 2013, I blogged about a vintage Alba watch with an analogue dial and an LCD in the glass. One of the conclusions of the blog post was that it was quite an uncommon model.

This watch shares the same module as that watch, the Y950, but this time it is a Disney version.

The Y950 watches came out in the early 90s and was one of the designs which seem to have been reasonably high tech and expensive for the time. The Y950 has a 3 hand dial which uses a crown for setting purposes. The glass has an LCD display built in with various display options. At the top and bottom of the LCD are two lines of digits, the top one able to show letters too. By default, these show day and date at the top and time at the bottom, but are also used by the alarm and stopwatch modes. In the centre of the display you can normally bring up a full month-view calendar with this module, however in this watch, the calendar has been replaced with an LCD picture of Mickey & Minnie.

This particular version is done as part of the collaboration between the Seiko brand Alba and Disney which has been going on maybe since the Alba brand was established. The watch face features a picture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and above the face are the words 'Mickey & Minnie'.

This watch was made in 1983 (same as the previously blogged model) and has a full model number of Y950-5030.

Okaya City Nagano watch

I've blogged all sorts of commemorative/ promotional watches on my blog so far, but I think this is the first which is for a city!

This watch is made for a place called Okaya City, which is a small city in the Nagano Prefecture (county) in Japan on the banks of Lake Suwa. The city was founded in 1936 is in the centre of the prefecture and has a population of just over 50,000. After WWII, the city established itself as a place for high precision manufacture, and is now home to Seiko Epson and Olympus.

The watch is a standard round case analogue watch with a 3 hand dial design. The face features a picture of a colourfully dressed person holding drumsticks with the Okaya City name on their drum. In the background, the picture has what looks like bells, trees, and maybe a city landmark.

The back has the city name engraved into it, as well as the usual watch information (water resistant, stainless steel and base metal).

The watch is made by Seiko (which is appropriate as they have a base there), and is based around the V701 quartz module (which inside is revealed to be a Shiojiri V70C). It was manufactured in a year ending in a 5, so could be 1985 for the 50th anniversary of the city in 1986, or 2005 for the 40th anniversary of the twinning with Mount Pleasant, Michigan, US, or something completely different. My guess for the watch style is that it's an 80s watch, but possibly 90s.

Casio SA-54 slim digital watch

Today I'm back to another of my vintage Casio LCD watches.

This model is the SA-54 and is the second of the SA- watches I've blogged (-the first being in June 2014). The SA watches seem to have first appeared in 1984, and I've seen quotes that this SA-54 model was released in that year. The SA- watches seem to share a slim design as a common design feature, and this SA-54 fits with that brief, being only about 4mm thick.

It has a standard 6 digit LCD panel, with smaller seconds and a narrow first digit. Inside is a Casio 145 quartz movement which is an alarm chronograph module. Overall, this gives the watch dual time, an timer modes as well as the alarm and chronograph, and these are marked just above the LCD display.

The back has the older design with the information engraved in a ring. It into has the basic information present, just saying the brand, model, movement number, and material (stainless steel back). There is also a serial number, and that this watch was made in Japan.

Citizen 1300m Professional Divers Watch

I used to think that a divers watch with 200m to 400m water resistance was impressive until today's watch came into my collection.

Today's watch is one of the Citizen Professional Divers watches, designed for serious underwater use. The models were made for saturation divers (tool divers), and came in 3 different levels of water resistance. This model is the most serious of the lot, with a crazy 1300m water resistance - yes, really 1300m!  The others in the range were only 800m and 300m. My research has found that the watches come from the early 80s (with my one being made in 1982), and it seems they were very expensive at the time, with only a very limited number being produced mainly for the Japanese domestic market (-I guess the market for people needing this level of water resistance is quite a small one). From the comments on various forums, it seems that this1300m  model is even one of the holy grails of the tool divers watch collector. I was pretty lucky to get it, as it was mixed into a pile of old junk watches I'd bought online, and it is in excellent condition!

The watch is a large case analogue model based around the Citizen 1251 quartz movement. It has a 3 hand dial design, and there is a day and date window at the 3 o'clock position. There is also a rotating bezel with lock feature, so to turn it you need to press the bezel down first, reducing the chance of an accidental nudge. As this has a high water resistance, it unsurprisingly has a screw down crown too.

The case is large and more of a square shape, but is made of titanium, so is pretty light and comfortable to wear. The strap is thick and long, so is suitable for use over a diving suit, and it has the Professional Divers name printed onto the lower half. The buckle is printed too, with a table of no-decompression limits to be used while diving.

The back of the watch controls the usual mode number and construction material information. The unusual part is that there is a section with dates (1 for year, and 1 for months) which is used to show the battery change date - I don't know if this is when it was changed, or when it needed to be changed, but suggests that after the battery change, you may have been expected to replace the watch back too!

The full model number is 1251-215249. In terms of value, it seems that the watch commands a reasonably high price, often being put up for sale for over $2000.

UPDATE: I found that the watch was still for sale in the 1990 Citizen catalogue, and I've added a picture of the advert. The catalogue number was SPN56-0503, and it had a sales price of a rather massive ¥172,000! 

Innovative Time Corporation MDW031 Alarm Chronograph with Compass

Today's watch is an old digital watch from a brand which doesn't exist anymore.

This watch is a traditional looking LCD watch by a company called Innovative Time Corporation. Looking online, it appears that the brand doesn't exist anymore, with the last information being that they were bought by a company called Trendmasters in 1999 (who's website also seems not to exist anymore). Looking further, the Innovative Time logo used on this watch was registered in 1983 and went out of use in 2003, putting limits on when the brand was about. The company states on the watch that they were 'leaders in quartz technology', and it seems they also made promotional watches for companies such as Disney.

This watch is the MDW031 and is an alarm chronograph model with a compass. It has a standard LCD style with 6 digits and day markers above, and the watch modes are time, date, alarm, and stopwatch. The compass is actually mounted on the bottom half of the strap with small dome and floating compass pointer.

The back has the logo and name, and states this was made in China. It also says the watch is made from resin and stainless steel, and is 3 atm water resistant.

From all of the information about the brand, and taking into account the design, I'd guess that this was an 80s model (or early 90s at the latest).

Casio JC-11 Jog & Walk Calorie watch

It's another of the retro Casio watches for me today, and this one is made for the sporty types.

This model is a Casio LCD watch called the Jog & Walk Calorie. It has a model number of JC-11 and seems to have come out in the late 80s or early 90s. The JC-11 is the Japanese model, with a JC-10 version being more common outside of Japan.

The watch has an unusual design, and is laid out as a 'bullhead' watch. This means that the buttons are laid out at the top left and right of the case, so are like the horns of a bull, which is like the button placement on a handheld digital stopwatch. Strangely, these buttons are not for the stopwatch start and stop, as those are on the front of the watch below the LCD. This model has a round case (which is not so common) made of resin, and is 5 bar water resistant.

Inside is a Casio 880 module which runs the 2 line LCD display. The main (bottom) line covers the time in 6 digits, while the top line has the day and date. Inbetween the two lines is an area where the different modes are shown to highlight what setting is active. In the top right of the LCD is a small dot matrix array with a picture of a running man, who runs or walks depending on the mode. For modes, this watch has a stopwatch, pace, and alarm mode. From the stopwatch, it also has the option to measure your calorie usage, but you need to set up the watch to your own settings before it will work. To get the calories, you input your weight, age, and stride length, set your pace (which is marked by beeps), and say whether you are walking or running, and the watch then calculates the calories consumed.

The Official Ronald McDonald Watch

Today's watch is a charity watch from a well known corporation.

The watch is a watch for Ronald McDonald, the mascot of the McDonald's burger chain, and the watch is named as "The official Ronald McDonald watch". On the packaging,  the watch also says "Thank You for supporting Ronald McDonald House". The Ronald McDonald house is a program of charities from McDonald's, which provides a home away from home for families of children undergoing long hospitalisation. The charity was established in 1974 in memory of Ray A. Kroc, and provides shelter, warmth, and comfort to families during difficult times. They now operate over 300 houses in 57 countries. A proportion of the sale of this watch was a donation to the charity. The packaging also has branding for Coca-Cola who are quoted as helping support Ronald McDonald House.

The watch is a small LCD watch with a 4 digit display. As usual with this kind of LCD watch, it has just the basic features of time, date, and seconds.

The date for the watch is 1984, and there is a warranty label on the back which says the watch has a warranty until Mar 15th 1985.

Nivea-Kao Choose Your Own Watch

Today's watch is more than one, or more correctly, one which I could make look different for a long time.

The watch is by Nivea-Kao, which only appears to be a cosmetics company and not a watch manufacturer.

The watch is a simple 3 hand dial quartz watch in a small sized case. The unusual part is that this has a choice of cases, straps, and bezel. Overall, there are 7 cases, 19 bezel (of which 7 are marked and the rest are plain), and 7 pairs of straps. This means that there are 6517 different combinations that could be made (if you mixed and matched the straps too).

The face of the watch has the statement neu 8x4 which I don't know what it means (as it doesn't correspond to the number of combinations). It could be that is comes from 84, as that looks to be the right age for the watch, but that is just a guess.

The other strange part is that the watch uses an Eta movement which is Swiss, but the packaging suggests Japanese or Chinese.

Q&Q Vintage small LCD watch

Today's watch is a nice vintage LCD model from a large, but relatively unknown, brand.

This watch is by the brand Q&Q, which is a name that appears on many watches, but doesn't seem to be too well known. On the back, there is also the name Japan CBM Corporation. The Japan CBM Corp is a sales group rather than a manufacturer, and were formed in 1964. It is a subsidiary of Citizen Watch Company, becoming more integrated into the main brand over time, and it is reported that CBM stands for Citizen Business Machines. The Q&Q line of watches was started in 1976 as a brand for entry level and extremely low price but still quality models. The Q&Q name is meant to mean Quality & Quantity, and this is a theme found throughout their website. The line is still running and quite themselves as being the number one (selling) analogue watch supplier in the world.

This model is a basic LCD design but in a very small package. It has a 5 1/2 digit LCD (meaning it can only show a 1 on the first digit of the hours and needs an am/pm symbol instead), and has a two button operation. One button is there to change the display modes between time and date, while the other is for setting the time. The watch case is approximately square and measures about 2.5cm x 2.5cm. It is a black watch with colourful touches printed in red, yellow, and blue. The case is resin, with a plastic strap, and is quoted as being water resistant (to an unspecified level).

There is nothing on the back apart from the Japan CBM Corp name, so there is no quoted model number.

Having no model number means I can't find a true manufacturing date, but based on the style, complexity, and colour scheme, I'd guess this was an 80s model.

Ronald McDonald rotating arm watch

It is another promotional watch for me again today, but this time it's for burgers.

The watch features an image of Ronald McDonald, who is widely recognised as the mascot of McDonald's fast food chain. Ronald McDonald was first seen on TV spots in 1963 as the Hamburger-Happy Clown. Since then, his adventures have been seen in the adverts (including the battles with the Hamburgler which I remember from my youth).

This watch is a 3 hand dial design, where two of the hands are Ronald McDonald's arms with his body painted on the face. The back has a model number of A99-9698 which is not a known number to me, but may suggest a model/module A99. It says this has a Japanese quartz movement, but must have been for a different market as he is called Donald McDonald in Japan.

There is no information regarding the date on the watch, but the look of the watch is very 80s.

Gobots Blue & Red robot watch

There have been many different types of robot watch made. I've blogged a Gobots watch before, but this is a different style robot than before.

The Gobots watches were sold by the Tonka toy company starting in 1984. The toys were made by Impulse Ltd in Hong Kong, and were in competition with the Takara robot watches from the same era. The Gobots toys were licensed from Bandai, and after Hasbro bought Tonka, they got the toys back again. The Gobots line were present in the US market until it was phased out in 1991.

This robot design is a lot more flexible than the standard square robot watch. The arms have extra hinges, and the legs are both hinged and rotating. As with the other watches in the series, this had a magnetic connector to the strap along with a rotate to lock connection. The design makes it a muck thicker model when folded, and the LCD display is set deep into the body, with the buttons positioned below.

The watch has the standard 4 digit LCD display design, with two button operation. One button sets the time, while the other switches between the day, date, and seconds displays.