C-3P0 Character Watch

Day two of helping the Nordic Garrison of the 501st Legion, and so another Star Wars watch.
This watch is one of a line of watches that I've featured before, but this time a different model.
The watches were released in 1996, and guessing by the text on the back, were made in China by WWL. Many different designs were issued, and i'll blog more in the future!
This one is the C-3P0 model, and the head of the watch is his head. The strap is also designed to look like his chest and stomach sections.
Under the head is the 4 digit LCD display, and mode and adjust buttons. The LCD module is very basic and only has time, date, and seconds.

GSX Smart No. 38 - Darth Vader

This weekend I'm working at a local convention as a photographer for the Nordic Garrison of the 501st Legion.

The 501st Legion are a international group of  Star Wars characters (Stormtroopers, Clone Troopers, Boba Fett, Greedo etc.) who will be attending the event in their full uniforms and collecting money for charity. More info on these groups can be found here: 501st Legion and Nordic Garrison

Because of this, my weekend watches will both be Star Wars themed.

Today is another of the GSX Smart watches which I've mentioned about before (-you can use the tags on the right of the page to find the others I've blogged). GSX watches have produced many limited edition collaborations including a set in 2007 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars.

This watch is one of that range and is the Darth Vader version. In the range, it is Smart Style #38. The watch is in Darth Vader trademark black and has his face on the front. His mask is painted on the glass, but his real face is printed on the watch face so you can see that from some angles.

Around the edge of the (glow in the dark) hour markers are the hours, but these are in a font which makes them look a little like tie-fighters.

The back of the watch has an etched Star Wars image for the 30th anniversary, and the watch number. This watch was released as a limited edition with only 300 of this design being issued.

The watch itself is a 3 hand dial watch. It has 3 small dials for the chronograph function, but the top one of these (which counts 10ths of a second with 2 seconds per rotation) is hidden by Darth's helmet so can't really be used. The seconds dial (bottom) and minutes dial (left) are no problem to use though.

Casio Casiotron TRN-110

Casio first released their Casiotron LCD range of watches in the 1970s, and they were the first of their LCD watch collections.

In the late 90s, they released a new set of watches under the Casiotron name using the same visual style as the original, but with updated modules.

This watch is one of the 1990s versions but is difficult to tell apart from the originals. I was able to tell when setting the time as the calendar goes from 1995 to 2039+.

The watch has a 2 line inverse LCD display, with the top line showing day and date, and the bottom line showing a 6 digit time display. In the old models, there were marks across the top/middle to show days, but here is shows information such as pm, 24hr mode, and stopwatch status.

It runs with a 1670 module with alarm, timer, and stopwatch modes.

The watch has a Casio S-669N strap and has a full model number TRN-110B-8T.

Citizen Trans Continents Ana-Digi C480

Another day, another watch :-D.

Today's choice is a Citizen watch from the Trans Continents range. The Trans Continents range were a line of watches with a travel theme that Citizen released in the late 90s, but I haven't found them in the normal dealers catalogues.

The watch is an Ana-Digi watch with a main dial and a small LCD display. Controlled by a C480 module, the LCD display can show time, date, alarm, and stopwatch.

The full model number is C480-L20239, and the watch was made in 2000.

I don't know if the strap is the original, but it has the number 20, and the name Maruman with their logo on the leather inside of the strap. Maruman are a company from Taiwan (based on their website address, but are maybe Japanese) who produce golf equipment. It may be that this watch was a promotional item, or a collaboration between them and Citizen (or the strap was added later).

Citizen Independent Ana-Digi Temp Black 8989 version

If you've been following my blog for a while, you may have guessed that I like the Ana-Digi Temp watches by Citizen. The watches were the first ever electronic watches with a temperature sensor and appeared in 1982. You can find out more about the range in my overview page (link in the top right of the page in the web version).

This one is my most modern version and was released as part of the Citizen Independent range.

The Citizen Independent range was released in the late 00s as a regeneration of the older independent 1481010 watch collection. Many different designs have been issued under this range, and the collection is still going with new designs every year.

This version of the Ana-Digi Temp watches has a more modern look than the normal design. It has a one piece glass front covering the whole face making it very shiny. The body also plastic compared to the normal metal case.

It runs with an 8989 module and has the usual 2 electronic dials, a 2-part LCD time display, and an LCD mode indicator. Modes include dual time, alarm, stopwatch, and of-course a temperature reading. Each dial and display has multiple uses, and full details of these can be found in my overview page.

The full model number is 8989-003431-02.

Seiko's first calculator wristwatch, the C153

Today's watch is one with a special place in watch history - it was Seiko's first calculator wristwatch! It was only beaten by a few months by Citizen from being the world's first LCD calculator watch. It may also be the watch that takes me over 30,000 pageviews!

The Seiko C153 was first released in 1977. It has a fully functional calculator and number pad which was operated with a small stylus. The calculator features all of the normal calculator watch features, but has memory, square root, and percentage functions which are rarely seen on modern calculator watches! The calculator function is displayed along the top line of the 2 row LCD display and can handle 8 digits.

When not in calculator mode, the top line has date and seconds, with the time on the bottom 4 digit line on the LCD. There are no other modes apart from the calculator. There is a light bulb to read in the dark though. Time adjustment is slightly unusual in that you need to pull out the middle button to put it in adjust mode.

This particular model is the C153-5011 version which was released in 1978 (so maybe I exaggerated a little with the blog post title). The watch has its original strap which has a part number of XGB 460.

Mint condition versions of this watch can make over $1000, and even a moderate condition one can easily go for $300 to $400. My one has a slightly faded LCD which is likely caused by aging of the polarizing filter (maybe due to sun or high temperature damage).

Paul Smith Amber Watch 0730 module

Today's watch has a very 60s/70s feel. It is a large angular block of amber plastic designed by Paul Smith.
Sir Paul Smith is an English fashion designer specialising in menswear. He originally wanted to become a professional racing cyclist until an accident cut short his ambitions. After chance meetings in a pub, he found his calling and ended up managing a boutique in Nottingham. Six years later he showed his first menswear collection in Paris. In 1994, he started producing watches in a licensing deal with Citizen, and this is one of those.
The watch is a 3-hand dial with a Citizen 0730 module. It also has an el-backlight that lights up the whole face.
The full model number is 0730-H12735. It was made in either 1997 or 2007.