Citizen C480 Ana-Digi "stripy"

While checking out my blog for info, I found out that I hadn't blogged the watch I was wearing today.

The watch is an ana-digi model by Citizen, based on the C480 module. I'm not sure which year this is from as the module has been around for a while so it potentially could be 84, 94,or 2004. I blogged a Trans Continents watch from 2000 with the same module many years ago. Citizen Trans Continents C480

This watch has a 6 digit LCD display where most of the functions are shown. There are options to display a dual time or date and day, and there is also an alarm and chronograph (down to 1/100th sec). The LCD also has a back light, on the same button as the chronograph start/stop. The dial is crown operated and does not link with the LCD.

Power is supplied from an SR927 battery size.

Design-wise, they have thought this through well with stripes on the dial leading into a line pattern on the case and through onto the pattern in the finely linked strap.

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.

Sniper GV451

I've mentioned before that there seems to be a connection between many of the late 90s Japanese fashion watch brands. So far, I've mentioned a link between Deadman, Eccentric Classic, and Deep, but this is another one.

This watch is by a brand called Sniper. It is an unusual shaped ana-digi watch where the display has been rotated by 45 degrees and so have the buttons/crown. It has a 3 hand analogue dial at the top of the face, with a 4+2 digit LCD display below (with 4 large and 2 small digits). The watch modes are displayed on the LCD display, showing the day/date, dual time, stopwatch, or alarm options, selected by the bottom left button. From the feel of the material, I think the case is base metal, and is quoted as being 3atm water resistant. The case shape is elongated towards the top right, and sort-of reminds me of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

As this is an unusual design, it is easier to see when the same is used by other brands. I have seen this watch also made by J Axis, and there is also a Deadman version (which unfortunately I don't have yet - but would like if any of my readers is looking to sell one). The model number is GV451 which also follows the Deadman numbering system, hinting at them being linked in some way.

I would guess that this will be from the same time frame as the Deadman watches, based on the common design, so that would make it late 90s.

Citizen Vagary CE90

Today, I'm in a bit meeting, so wanted a watch which looked pretty smart, but was still a little quirky.

The watch I picked is one of the watches from the Citizen Vagary line. The Vagary line is owned by Citizen Italy, rather than being a Japanese model. The watches do seem to be sold at retailers in Italy, but the majority of the watches I've seen are sold in Japan as overseas models.

This watch is a quartz analogue watch which has an unusual design with a subtle twist on the display.

There are many analogue watches on this blog where there is a chronograph feature, and the watches have 3 small dials on the face for hours, minutes, and seconds. This design has the 3 small circles on the face, but this time they are LCD panels and not dials. Each LCD display has 2 digits in silver on a white background, and can be used in various display modes. The LCD can cover time, date, and alarm, as well as the expected chronograph function.

The button arrangement is a little different too, with the top left button covering the mode selection (rather than the bottom left). To set the digital display, you hold the bottom left button until the seconds flash, and the same button chooses which numbers to change (with the bottom right button), while there is a crown for setting the analogue display.

The face of the watch is quite colourful, but in small splashes. The hour and minute LCD displays are surrounded by a red ring, while the ring around the seconds is yellow. Only the 4, 8, and 12 numbers are on the dial and are surrounded in blue, and the seconds hand is green.

The CE90 Vagary models seem to be pretty uncommon, as I only found 2 references, both of which were Japanese auctions.

The full model number is CE90-S043573, but unfortunately, there is no serial number to give me an idea of the date. As there is no information, the general state and design would suggest to me it comes from the late 00s. The only other information on the watch is that it is all stainless steel, has a Japanese movement, and is water resistant.

Storm Cycloid Ana-Digi Watch

For those who've been following my blog for a while, and have looked at the picture of today's watch, I'm sure you'll have recognised what brand it is already.

For the rest of the readers, this watch is one by the brand Storm of London (whose watches started my whole watch collecting obsession). The brand was started in 1989 to produce affordable fashionable watches and quickly developed a recognisable style - unusual shapes /faces with brushed steel cases, and straps with a mixture of a solid curved section (with distinctive raised features) and Y-shaped links.

This model is called the Cycloid and was released in 1996. It is an ana-digi model with a rectangular analogue section and a small square LCD in a square case. The square of the case is rotated by 45 degrees, but strangely this is anticlockwise so a quick glance when your arms are outstretched has the time at 90 degrees to you (-unless you wear your watch on your right arm).

The analogue part is a simple 2 hand dial design with quartz movement. The glass for this section has a curve along the length of the face, and I think this is the reason that the watch appears slightly different colours from different angles (yellow through to pink). The LCD is the same small square module from the Navigator and Pentax, which shows 4 digits of time with the hours at the top left and minutes at the bottom right (and only has inset buttons). Unfortunately, the LCD modules have been hard to get back working, and I still can't get this one (and the Pentax) to work (and even the photo of this model on the Storm website doesn't have the LCD display on).

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.

Monkey+h Big Tic style watch

It now seems quite often that I've searched for a watch online and managed to find nothing about it, and today's watch is one of those.

The name on the back of the watch says Monkey+h but I've not found this name on the web so far (although it may just be that searching for a name with punctuation is quite hard).

The watch design is an ana-digi with a 3 hand analogue dial and LCD display on the watch face. The face is the unusual watch feature on this model and is made up of a rounded dot matrix seconds display at the bottom of the dial, and a set of small fixed numbers over the rest of the face. The display is animated and different versions can be displayed using the buttons on the side of the watch. If the 'falling numbers' animation is used, it looks like the ones of small numbers on the face are falling down the screen and it reminds me of the falling text from the Matrix movie. The display is also pretty much the same as a design of Big Tic display used by Fossil.

The face is in the middle of a large case and surrounded by a ring of minutes numbers, a ring of shiny silver and that is surrounded by a white plastic edge trim (which also looks around where the crown sticks out). The strap is thick and rubbery, and seems shaped to match the watch case.

Inside is a 2 part module. The first electronics you come across are for the LCD display, with the battery visible in a hole through the plastic cover. Unscrewing the cover reveals the LCD circuit board, and there is a hole in the board where you can access the AG4 battery for the analogue display. which has its quartz module hidden under the LCD circuits.

As for age and price, I don't have any fixed clues. I think may be a low price brand/model because of its similarities with a major brand, and the lack of online presence suggests to me that it is at least a few years old (so I guess 2000s).

Casio Waveceptor WVA-104H

Today's watch is back to the higher tech watches with a model from Casio.

This watch is the WVA-104H by Casio. It is an ana-digi design from the Waveceptor line of watches and is a multi-band radio controlled watch. It has a 2 hand electronic dial which is fully integrated into the LCD controls. The LCD sits at the bottom of the face and is of a 2 line design, having standard digits along the top and a dot matrix along the bottom.

The watch runs with a 2736 module and has a variety of modes. The functions are world time, alarms (x3 + a couple I couldn't work out), data bank (with time stamp), stopwatch, and dual time.

The design is a curvy blend of silver and black, with a slightly futuristic feel. There is a resin strap which blends into the design of the case.

It doesn't seem to be sold anymore, with most of the web hits relating to where to find the manual or for buying a replacement strap. Based on forum posts, the watch was for sale in 2007, so it's likely that it was an early 00s release.

Casio Ana-Digi AW-61

It seems like a while since I last wore one of my Casio ana-digi watches, so here is one.

This watch is the AW-61 and is a complex looking mixture of analogue dial and LCD. Previously, I'd suggested that the AW-XX numbering was marked a series of Ana-Digi models, and today's watch still fits with that theory.

The AW-61 has a bit more separation of the analogue and digital than my previously blogged AW series watches, with the LCD below the dial rather than being in the bottom of the face. The analogue part is a two hand dial design with its own crown for setting. The LCD section is a small rectangular LCD panel with two lines (which is not so normal in an ana-digi design). By default, the LCD shows day and date along the top, with time (6 digits) along the bottom, and is also used for the other modes. Inside is a 1750 module which gives the watch alarm and stopwatch modes. The analogue and digital displays have their own batteries, with the analogue using a SR521SW and the digital taking a CR1616. The watch is quite robust with 100m water resistance, and there is an el-backlight which covers both the dial and LCD.

The AW-61 came in many colour variations, as well as a choice of plastic, metal, or leather materials, and the model numbers go from -1xx to -7xx (but I've not found what this one is) . I don't know when the AW-61 is from, but it isn't sold anymore and my guess would be 90s (although the Casio watches are very difficult to date from looks alone).

Umbro A430 Ana-Digi watch

Today is another of my sporty watches, but one that unfortulately I've not been able to coax into action, so I'm just blogging it for informations sake.

This watch is by the sports brand Umbro, which is currently a subsidiary of the American brand Iconix. The brand started in Manchester as a sportswear and football equipment supplier, and was owned by Nike until 2012.

This is another ana-digi model and has a model number of A480. It has a 3 hand analogue dial in the centre, with 3 LCD windows at the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. The LCD windows cover hours and minutes across the middle, with the seconds window at the bottom. The watch modes are shown in the LCD windows, and based on the button descriptions, there is likely a stopwatch and timer (but I've not seen this model online, so haven't been able to confirm it).

The watch has an oval face encased in a plastic shell. The strap is in one piece with the main case, but is made from two pieces of rubbery plastic to give a two colour design.

The dial shows the Umbro double diamond logo and name, and shows this watch is 50m water resistant. The back has the logo and name, along with the model number. The text also says that the watch was "Produced under the authority of Umbro, design owner of the trademarks "UMBRO" and the "Double-Diamond". This suggests that the watch was made under licence, but there is no indication that I could find on who actually made the watch.

As for date and cost, I haven't found any information for this model. I'd guess is was from the 2000s, but that is just a hunch so could be very wrong.

DKNY NY-6001

I'm off to a dance festival tonight, and I got today's watch off one of the DJs who is playing.

The watch is by the New York based fashion house DKNY. The DKNY brand was started in 1989 by designer Donna Karan as a younger more affordable line compared to her main Donna Karan New York brand. The brand specialises in ready-to-wear fashion goods and accessories for men and women. As part of the brands collection, they have produced many different watch designs over the years.

This model is the NY-6001 and is a ladies/unisex watch with a quartz movement. It is an ana-digi model in big-tic style, meaning that the digital display on the face is to cover the seconds. It has two vertical digits so the tens of seconds are above the centre and the seconds are below. The time is shown on a two hand dial design with a separate movement to the digital display. I mentioned the big-tic style for a reason, as although that is a Fossil watch design, it seems to be the same movement inside here as the Fossil watches (and it even says Fossil on the circuit board).

I'm not sure when the watch came out, but it's not for sale anymore. The original sale price was $75.

Casio AD-732 Ana-Digi

It's not often that there is a watch by a brand as large as Casio which seems to be missing from the internet, but today I'm wearing one.

This model is the AD-732 by Casio, and the only link I've found online is to one single online auction. I can't even see any other models in the range with the only other Casio AD- models I found being for keyboards. The watch uses a 789 module, which is also missing from the archive of Casio manuals online, and there is no reference of this module online either. On this basis, I'm guessing that it may be a very rare and unusual model.

The main part of the watch is the analogue display which is a 3 hand dial design. The unusual feature is that there are 5 small LCD windows at the bottom of the dial - 3 round and 2 rectangular. The centre round window is a small LCD dial, and the rectangular windows have items such as the pm marker and fill and empty with the seconds. The remaining 2 small round LCD windows show the modes in use, with the options of time, timer, alarm, and dual time. Modes are switched and used by the two buttons on the case at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions.

The design is like a standard smart sports/divers watch with the watch having a purple rotating bezel with minute markers. The face is in light blue with an unusual design of hour marker at the 3, 9, and 12 o'clock positions. The case is stainless steel with a screw on back and 20 bar water resistance. On the back, it also has the Marlin symbol, but this is the leaping Marlin rather than the swimming Marlin design. The leaping Marlin was used on some of the Casio divers watches (of which I blogged the MD-730 in April) and it isn't the same as the models usually associated with the Casio Marlin range.

Due to the lack of online info, it may suggest a 90s model, but that is just a guess because of the lack of concrete information.

Black Dice Switched BD-034 Limited Edition

Today marks the 1000th watch (or more correctly, timepiece) on my blog!!! The watch I chose is something flashy and noticeable, and according to the back, one of the more limited edition watches in my collection.

The watch in question is the Switched by Black Dice Industries, and has the model number BD-034.

Black Dice Industries is a London based brand which started in 2005. Their starting aim was to revolutionise the concept of luxury fashion timepieces, and their designs incorporate elements of fashion, music, and urban lifestyle. The brand prides itself on quality using high spec materials and custom electronics where necessary.

The Switched model was released in the late 00s (around 2008), and so is one of the earlier models in the Black Dice Industries range. The back states that this is a limited edition release with a total of 100 pieces only (although this came in 4 colours so the total for the overall design is more like 400).

It is an ana-digi model with a large 3 hand analogue dial in the centre, and a subtle inverse LCD display making up the face of the dial. The LCD part is a 2 line dot matrix with one line above the centre and one below, and it is here that the other functions reside. The top line shows day and date, and gives text information while cycling through the modes. The bottom line is normally the time display with up to 6 equally sized digits. The modes included in the watch are chronograph (with lap memory), alarm, and timer, and there is an el-backlight. At a button press, you can also switch to show a dual time option.

The watch has a large and heavy duty gold (anodized?) stainless steel case which is square/octagonal in shape. The gold steel bracelet strap is custom made for the case and is also large and weighty, giving the watch a robust and well made feel.

The back gives the model number and limited edition number as well as the brand name and logo. It also reveals that this is an all stainless steel watch with a Japanese movement and is 50m water resistant.

The specific model number of this colour variant is BD-034-3 and is seems to have cost around £165 when it was originally released.

So that is it for my 1000th timepiece post. It's been an interesting journey so far, and I'm sure I've got many more interesting watches to find!

Phasar Ana-Digi 5070

Today, I'm blogging a watch which unfortunately I've not got working, but as I'm a fan of ana-digi watches, I thought I'd cover this one too.

The watch is branded Phasar, and from what I've seen online, this is a brand which was distributed by the American Sears department store chain. Sears, Roebuck & Company was founded in 1893 as a mail order catalogue which branched out into department stores in 1925. Many Phasar watches can be found at online auctions, and their styles suggest the line was active from at least the mid 70s onwards.

This model has a model number of 5070 and is an ana-digi design with the LCD at the top and a dial underneath. It is an alarm chronograph with those modes showing on the LCD display. As the module has ceased to work, I can't confirm whether there are any other modes (such as timer).

The analogue part is a 3 hand dial and states the watch is water resistant with a quartz movement.

Inside is one single module to control both the analogue and digital parts, but there is no makers name on the module (at least not on the surface).

For this watch, the design is very 80s and so I think it is that old. The only other date hint is someone has written a date inside (1996) which is when I assume they last changed the battery.