Comet Trail watch

It's going to be a quick blog post today. This watch is one that has no information, but I thought it looked interesting, and so wanted to blog it (as interesting, unusual, and retro are the main themes for my collection).

The watch is a cheap model which is the type that are mass produced and sold online for very little money. The build feels cheap with a thin light strap, and a build quality which is sometimes lacking.

It was the design that made me interested in the watch though. Time is told through 3 rotating discs. The centre disc has two coloured rectangles and is the seconds display. The hour and minute discs show the time through little windows to the numbers below, and are printed with an ever decreasing line of circles, which makes me think of a comet and it's tail. Reading the numbers through the windows is reasonably easy. The minutes have numbers every 5 in the smaller inner circle, but the hours are more tricky as around 1/2 past, the window is between numbers, and you have to rely on where the window is (as it is laid out the same as a normal watch with hands).

I think it is a modern watch which, can probably be found for sale still.

Super Lovers - Lovers Rock Skull & Crossbones

I'm using another of my Super Lovers collection again today.

The Super Lovers range are from the clothing brand Harajuku Super Lovers, which was started in Tokyo in 1988. The brand is known worldwide for it's cutting edge designs and is heavily inspired by the London punk and rock scene.

This watch is from their Lovers Rock line of watches which tend to be more rock and metal inspired than the Super Lovers or Lovers House lines.

This model is a leather cuff watch in an orange leather, and has metal studs along the band. The strap also has a fabric patch which has a flame pattern which says 'Lovers Rock Equipment Since 1988'. The cuff is fastened by two sets of two press studs so the level of adjustment is quite limited.

The watch part is a 3 hand dial design in a square case. The face has a skull & crossbones (with the text Lovers Rock) on the left half, and a large LR symbol on the right side. Around the face is a metal frame with text on the bottom which reads 'Super Lovers, London Tokyo since 1988'.

Inside is a Seiko Epson Y121 (or more correctly a Y121E) module, which means that over the years they have used Seiko, Miyota (Citizen), and Time Module Inc modules (so far... and I've got more still to blog).

Deep DT-057 Purple and Black dial

Here is another watch from the mystery brand Deep.

The brand makes watches in China and seem to be popular in Japan. This model is a different style, and doesn't have the same DEEP logo on the back. Instead, this has a more script-like font on the back, but has the same DT type of model number.

This model is the DT-057. It is a quartz dial watch with a 3 hand dial. The dial is deep set into a purple circular case with a crown on the right. The black leather strap is fastened into a slot in the case, and is stitched in a colour that matches the case.

Still no idea on the dates for the DEEP watches, so I'm still guessing the 2000s.

Casio F-105 LCD watch

Over the years, Casio has produced many simplistic LCD watch designs, and today I'm blogging another one.

This model is the F-105, and is a resin cased LCD watch. It is an alarm chrono model and also an Illuminator, meaning it has alarm, chronograph, and el-backlight, but no other modes. It uses a 2 line LCD display with time on the larger lower line, and day and date on the small top line. All of this is powered by a 1572 module with a CR2016 battery (and a 7 year battery life).

The strap is a matching resin design with a part number of 283 EJ2 18.

Based on the specs, this looks to be a modern version rather than a true retro 80s design (battery size and the el-backlight are more modern features), and it is still mentioned on the Casio website (where it can be picked up for $22).

Disney Limited Collection - Mickey Mouse Chronograph V655

I'm wearing another chronograph today, but this one is a little different.

Today's watch is a Disney Mickey Mouse Chronograph, which is a very child friendly design, but with a more adult watch feature. The design charts the progression of the Mickey design from Steamboat Willy in 1928 through the early colour design (1931), and on to what I presume was the present when the watch was released (1994). The strap also features this motif with the 3 Mickey designs running after each other. The Mickey Mouse theme also continues with the rotating bezel which has Mickey's name and a little Mickey Mouse head shape at the top.

The watch is made by the Seiko brand Alba and uses a V655 module. It is a 3 hand dial design with 3 chronograph hands on the dial. The chronograph style is similar to quite a few other watches (such as the GSX Smart Style) with a top dial covering 1/10 sec (2 sec per rotation), bottom dial for seconds, and left dial for minutes. If the chronograph dials become misaligned, they can also be adjusted by using the chronograph buttons while the crown is pulled out.

The chronograph dials also are designed to fit in with the Mickey over the ages theme. The seconds dial is designed like the old Mickey Mouse watch design with Mickey's hands acting as the watch hand, and the minutes dial has a picture of Mickey as Steamboat Willy on his boat.

It seems to be part of a range called Disney Limited Collection, and only has a 4 digit serial number, which implies there are 9999 or fewer watches (mine has a number less than 1000 though). It has a full model number of V655-605A.

Nautica Chronograph - white and brown

A different, but high profile, brand today with a smart looking design.

This watch is a chronograph model by Nautica. The Nautica brand is an American clothing brand which has all manner of apparel with a sailing theme. It is based in New York, and was started in 1983 by David Chu, but now owned by the VF Corporation.

As part of the clothing line, they make a series of watches, which judging by the customer service email address are made by Timex. These watches are actually made by Timex Group USA, Inc. which is a subsidiary of the Dutch parent company Timex Group B.V.

This watch is their Nautica Chronograph model, but I can't find the model number. It has a 3 hand dial which is powered by a Japanese quartz movement. On the main dial are 3 small dials towards the outside which cover 24-hr time (right), and seconds and minutes for the chronograph (bottom and left respectively).

The dial features hour markers as well as some sort of scale around the outside. I assume this is for some sort of nautical speed and has 19 at the 6 o'clock position, and finishes with 90 at the 2 o'clock position. The case also has a rotating bezel with compass markings.

The back has the Nautica sailing boat logo on and has information about the material, movement, water resistance (50m), and tells it uses a 371 battery.

This model comes with a brown leather strap with the Nautica name on the back and the sailing boat logo imprinted on the front of both halves.

This model doesn't appear on the Nautica watches website, so I don't think it is a current model, but I don't know when it was released.

Disney Time - Cinderella mechanical watch

Today's watch is another of my Disney watches, but this time I think it's a much older model.

This model is a Disney Time watch, which was made by Seiko, and their name is hidden on the bottom of the dial and can only be seen when you take the movement out. It has a Seiko movement in the shape of a Diashock 7 jewel movement. This Diashock movement is a hand wind mechanical movement which drives a 3 hand dial. Looking inside, it seems to be a DT731 caliber 375.

The front of the watch shows the Disney character Cinderella in a pink dress rather than her more well known blue dress. It also has the name Disney Time which I presume was the name of the line.

The back also has the Disney Time name and copyright to Walt Disney Productions. It also details the Diashock 7 jewel movement, and the model number which is 73979.

With regards to the age, I've found two different conflicting dates. One site has a Mickey Mouse version in this line quoting 1961, but another site has a Cinderella watch stating 1977. From the design I'd say 60s looks more likely, but I'm not completely sure. The Disney Time watches might be quite rare and expensive, as the Mickey watch was selling with an price of ¥44,000.