Valjoux, who?

One of the first movements that I began to hear a lot when I was reading up on timepieces and how many automatic watches ran was the term “Valjoux”.

It is one of the names I have heard many times and is a movement used in my timepieces, usually for chronograph movements.

Valjoux was a fabled movement maker and was part of the behemoth ASUAG group known today as Swatch Group.

The piece de resistance of the Valjoux movement is none other than the ETA 7750.

How this movement was conceived tells an interesting tale. At that time, Valjoux was a leader in the manual wind chronographs.

It had already produced the manual wind Valjoux 7733 movement which doing amicably well. In the 1970s, they wanted to spearhead a development of a new movement, one which would be reliable and cost effective. This movement is also acclaimed to be the first to have been designed with the aid of a computer back in the seventies.

Sadly it was short lived, it did sell well in the beginning with an estimated of around hundred thousand pieces in 1974. In the following year, production stopped and this movement went bust. At that time, the demand was so low that supplies lasted well into the eighties. Imagine if your Grandad or dad actually bought those pieces when nobody actually wanted them, they would have gotten them at a steal. Today you would be seating on a ‘goldmine’, as the demand for automatic timepieces were somewhat resurrected, so the ETA 7750, somewhat like the phoenix rose from the ashes. (Thankfully the people of ASUAG kept the dies and equipment so they could restart production seamlessly).

Thanks to its ingenious design, this was both durable and economical to produce, along with great support from Swatch Group the 7750 became the most movement in the Swiss automatic chronograph movement. It could be said to be the most successful automatic chronograph movement, perhaps period.

Here are some of the brands out that which use this fantastic movement in the timepieces; Breitling, Cyma, Hamilton, IWC, Mido, Omega & Panerai to name a few.

ABCs of Watch Brand Abbreviations

This is a beginners guide to the abbreviations commonly used by watch users or in discussions on forums.

Basically I have hunted high and low (well not really) and these have been some of the common terms I have came across online.

It may help to clear up confusion you may have had while reading online something or have no idea what on earth some acronym means.

So basically here is a sumamry of all things watches or horologically related.

ALS - A. Lange & Söhne
A&S - Arnold and Son
AP - Audemars Piguet
B-ling - Breitling
B&M or BM: Baume & Mercier
BP: Blancpain
GG: Gérald Genta
GO:   Glashütte Original
GP: Girard-Perregaux
IWC: International Watch Co., that was what it was known as back in the day, today they have sort of rebranded and called themselves, wait for it “IWC”
JLC: Jaeger-LeCoultre
MB: Mont Blanc
ML: Maurice Lacroix
PP: Patek Philippe
RL: Ralph Lauren Watches
Tag: Tag Heuer
UG: Universal Geneve
UN: Ulysse Nardin
VC: Vacheron Constantin

Bascially these are the more well known brands, it would be impossble to cover all brands out there.

If you know any more which I don’t, please feel free to add.

Cheers.

My Bulova Sea King

I recently got my hands on a classy vintage Bulova Sea King, fitted with a Speidel elastic band.

This was a particular model that I have been trying to get my hands on for a while, pictures below.

 

 

Prior to getting it, all I knew that it was from the era of the seventies but its story, which once I found out which intrigued me and made me sought after this piece even more.

So when I got it, the first thing I had to do was to get it authenticated from Bulova (something everyone should do once they get any vintage watch).

So Bulova got back to me, confirming my time piece was indeed genuine and from the N1 on the back case confirmed that it was produced in 1971.

Wow! What a marvellous piece of work, it is 44 years old this year and it still works fine.

From what I have gathered, the Sea-King was a water-resistant line from Bulova, it was introduced in 1959 all the way till the seventies. Which means mine was one of the later models.

Some have only the label “SEA KING“, some with the “SEA KING” & Whale logo, while some only had the whale. Which I guess changed over time. This is what is believed as a general consensus.

It seemed to be something that was not questioned by most, who took it as a gradual change in the aesthetic feature of the watch. Apparently there is a meaning to the whale on the face.

Some Bulova experts, have stated that the whale actually appeared around the 1966 to 67 but it did not necessarily meant it was a ‘SEA KING’ model. The whale actually meant it was waterproof.

If you dig further, there seem to be a link or a tribute to the Whalers of Sag Harbour, which was the home of the Bulova watch case factory (at Sag Harbour).

We only know this to be hearsay, its seems plausible thought. The whale logo came out around 1966, which coincidentally marked the 100 year anniversary of a Whaling Festival of Sag Harbour which was where the Bulova factory was situated as well. This seems the most promising explanation which links the two together.

For those of you who would like to delve deeper, have a whale of a time reading more into the story here : http://www.mybulova.com/forums/bulova-sea-king-whale

I guess the story of the watch actually compelled my to want to own one as well, as it has an interesting story shrouded in mystery.

I am a fan of many of the old Bulova timepieces, another highly sought after piece for myself would be the Bulova Accutron.

To me, the Bulova timepieces of old which were Swiss made are really lovely and has that ‘real deal’ feel about it. What I mean is that it built watches that were made to last.

Though the current modern day do Bulovas look nice and are now mostly made in Japan, I am just a little unsure if it would stand the test of time, like the stalwart Sea King that is still going strong 44 years on.  Asthetically a watch may look exquistie but there more than meets the eye. To someone who love timepieces, the movent and detailing matter much as well.

Though I would think it would be time I sent it for some general servicing and cleaning.

As to why it is now mostly manufacuted in Japan, here is a short history.

Back in the day, Bulova was a major force in the watch industry. Bulova timepieces were mechanical movemnts that were well made, deisgned and relialbe (just look at the one I got, still ticking away). Bulova had a great share of the electronic watch market with their tuning fork Accutron. By the mid seventies, there was an eruption of quartz watches in the market, Bulova was suddenly hit and somehow seemed to dwindled down from then. It has lost its marketshare to the influx of Japanese watches, names the qaurtz watches. They were sold to the Loewe Corporation and then finally sold of to Citizen of Japan in 2007.

 

So the Sea King is surely a piece to be etched in Bulova history.

Deconstructing the Tachymeter

Alright today let’s talk about the tachymeter complication.

A tachymeter gives a timepiece a sporty look, something that when you look you associate with sports such as racing or for the military.

It add lovely contrasts to many timepieces, making the overall look more sophisticated.

Though a lovely complication which adds dimension to your timepiece, it may be totally foreign or alien to some on how to use it.

Like seen from the below picture, my Seiko Criteria SNDG13P1 (which I will write about soon)

 

Some people go out having their timepiece without ever using the tachymeter function.

To a major share of watch uses, they may simply purchase a timepiece with the tachymeter function due to the fact that it add aesthetic value to their timepiece.

So let us cover how a Tachymeter actually works.

A tachymeter scale is a scale sometimes inscribed around the rim of an analogue watch. Usually with Arabic marking around the dial as well.
 
This function is used to either measure a distance based on speed or speed based on travel time. The markings have spaces in between them on the tachymeter dial are consequently proportional to 1/t where ‘t’ is the elapsed time.

A tachymeter’s performed function is independent of the unit of distance be it kilometres, miles or any other only as long as the unit of measure is equivalent for all calculations. In essence, a tachymeter is a way or means of converting ‘elapsed time in seconds per unit to units per hour’.

To get a little mathematical below is some info on calculations to work it out;

“To use a tachymeter function to measure speed, start the chronograph at a starting marker of a known distance. At the next position, the point on the scale adjacent to the second hand indicates the speed of travel between the 2. The typical scale on a timepiece converts between the number of seconds it takes for an event to happen and the number of times that event with occur in a hour. The formula to create this

kind of tachymeter scale is     T = 3600/t   

Where ‘T’ is the tachymeter scale value and ‘t’ is the time in seconds that it takes for the event to occur and ‘3600’ is the number of seconds in an hour.

So lets work out an example, if it takes 35 seconds to travel 1 kilometre then the average speed would be 103KM per hour. Do take note that the tachymeter scale only calculates the average speed.”

So with that, we are more or less through with the practical of a tachymeter.

Lastly, just some history, the first rotating bezel tachymeter was introduced by Heuer, now Tag Heuer which was back in 1958.

By the late sixties chronograph timepieces where sky rocketing, demand grew invariably and watch manufacturers around the globe were contesting to opportunities to patent automatic versions and wanted exclusive rights. It has to be known that without the chronograph the tachymeter complication would have no place as well.

Let me share a little fascinating history on some very lovely chronograph movements which came into being.

Around that time Breitling, Heuer and Hamilton partnered up with Dubois Depraz to develop the first ever self-winding chronograph. It was a clandestine affair in which only a handful of professionals involved on a need to know basis. This great development was unveiled in Geneva and New York on 3rd of March 1969. Called the Chrono-matic, the Calibre 11 movement would wind itself using an off centre micro rotor.

Soon enough, Zenith had produced the El Primero (Which might I add, is absolutely stunning!) which used a central mounted full rotor and was capable of measuring time to one tenth of a second.  Seiko the Japanese giants also released their automatic chronograph called the 6139 Auto-Chrono.

Out doing themselves once again, Seiko created the world’s first quartz watch, a giant breakthrough in Horological history, thanks to this hefty invention it somewhat marked an end and seemingly rendered chronographs virtually obsolete with the Seiko Quartz Astron 35SQ.

Back to our modern day and age, the chronograph is making a comeback and is appreciated by many once again.

With many lovely pieces from Tag, Seiko, Breitling, Hamilton and so on.

Though some of us may not entirely know how it functions or its practicality, it may serve as an aesthetic feature. Nonetheless the tachymeter is a lovely complication, you will never know when it may come in handy.

My frist Swiss Timepiece & what is GMT

The first Swiss timepiece I got was a Cyma, it was a world time GMT in rose gold.

 

Just to share something on Cyma, so the back story of Cyma (in French meaning Summit) watches, is that it was founded by brothers Joseph and Theodore Schwob in 1862.  By the 1920s, Cyma’s strategy or route was  inclined to standardise watch part manufacture. For Cyma producing average parts wasn’t good enough. Precision was paramount to ensure long term accuracy. Though there was magnificent accuracy, it wasn't all that study and these wasn't something faced only by Cyma. Despite all these efforts, early timepieces were known to be vulnerable to damage when impacted upon.  Till there was a breakthrough technolody. A reliable and fantastic shock proofing system being used in 1930s, invented by Georges Braunschweig and Fritz Marti. From this creation it led to an in-house revolution by Cyma, in the 1950s, it developed its own shockproofing system known as Cymerflex. This is a true testament of Cyma’s pinnacle, sort of reaching its “Summit”. Thus till today, you hardly ever hear of a Cyma of the yesteryears giving you much trouble.

Today, having spoken to so numberous people it seems the name Cyma is somewhat a forgotten thing of the past.  In recent times, its prestige and presence has dwindled down over the years from the way I see it and am not entirely sure why so as well.

On to my first Swiss timepiece, it is a GMT World Time (pictures below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a quartz movment, a beauty to behold, aesthetically to me it is lovely and classy. So after getting my hands on my timepiece, I had to figure out how exactly does one read the time on a GMT watch. So here I will try explain what exactly is a GMT watch and how it functions in lay man’s terms.

 

Firstly, “GMT” stands for Greenwich Mean Time and is the zero point on the 24 hour scale of international time zones. Greenwich is in England, and from there other time zones are plus or minus GMT. This was set in place so that travellers could tell time of the location they are in, where ever in the world. As long they knew the GMT time, they could then add or subtract from that time to get the local time or somewhere else. Point to note, GMT is also known as UTC ( Coordinated Universal Time), this may be a common sight in German timepieces.

 

Most GMT timepieces have two hands to display both the time in a 12-hour format and an independently adjustable 24-hour hand. If the 24-hour hand cannot be adjusted independently, its only purpose then is to solely indicate if the time is AM or PM. One of the primary reasons a GMT timepiece is used so that people can tell the local time along with other time zone that is not usually GMT. So this helps to tell the time in any two different time zone, which may be locally or internationally and doesn’t not have to be GMT.

 

Once you have accustomed yourself to reading two different time zone, since most GMT timepieces have a rotating 24 hour bezel (if a GMT scale is available on the dial) you can use it to follow a third time zone. Though this may need some calculations.

 

So basically a GMT timepiece shows you 2 times zone at the same time. This may be the second most handy complication out there in next to a chronograph. Or even the second most common?



 

Hugo Boss Timepieces

So I recently received a Hugo Boss Timepiece as a gift. I have been scratching my head to figure out where exactly the watch is made in?

Nowhere on the box, manual guide or watch does it state. I have not tried opening the backing of the watch, as I do not have the proper tools nor expertise for it.

I have a few pictures below of the watch I received, let’s see if any ne out there can help me out on this.

 

I have been doing some reading online, what I found out is that Hugo Boss has licensing agreements with Movado to help produce timepieces for them. This is the background except from Wikipedia, “ The brand's parent company, Movado Group, Inc., was founded in Switzerland in 1983 by Cuban-born Gedalio Grinberg. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes the following brands of watches in addition to its own: Ebel , Concord, ESQ Movado, Coach, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Juicy Couture and Tommy Hilfiger.

Of all the above brands, I only know Concord watches to fetch a hefty price tag. None of the other brands, like Ebel the principal brand of Movado have I really heard much of. Prior to this, I must admit I did think of Concord watches to be altogether an independent brand. I can’t seem to find a reference, link or connection on Concord’s website www.concord.ch tying it up with Movado. I guess this could be a marketing strategy, to make it seem like a totally independent brand from Movado. As who would want to spend 50 grand on a timepiece (Yes, I personally know someone who bought a Concord timepiece for 57Grand) to having later find out, that the watch they pay such dough for is linked to a company making “mediocre” timepieces for Fashion Label, who are finding secondary means to generate more revenue. On the other hand, some people may not even bother about such trivial things. Thought I can see myself being one of the lesser few who may be.  After some searching I did find it stated on Mavado’s website; http://www.movadogroup.com/brands/concord.cfm

While scavenging through some forums, some signs points to perhaps the Hugo Boss watch I received could have possibly be made and assembled in China. Which would be no surprise for me, but I don’t seem to be able to find any solid evidence for it.

Movado may be a Swiss company but I am pretty sure the watches under their account from Coach, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Juicy Couture and Tommy Hilfiger are surely not Swiss made as it would surely add additional ‘zeros’ or well at least hundreds to the price tag to be modest. Also the most clearest indication would be to slap on the ‘Swiss made’ tag on the dial, which who wouldn’t right? On the other hand, some people in forums said they may actually be made in  Germany. Though at this point of time, I have no actual evidence of this. Having read several forums, many other people seem as puzzled as myself.

So this still have left me scratching my head. Never thought finding something like this out could be so tedious. It all seems a little jiggery-pokery.

What is a Chronograph?

So have you ever asked this question, what exactly is a Chronograph watch?

It may seem like a really absurd question to most people who know a thing or two about watches.

But guess what, I have been asked this question before. So why not explain it?

Firstly, before I carry on, yes I do know there are a ton of websites and books out there that already explain or give you the answer you are looking for with regards to “what is chronograph or tachymeter” and so on. Well yes it is true, there are so why exactly am I writing then?

I am doing this to help myself further understand and learn from what already little or much I may know. As you can never know too much.

Similarly I do live by the principle of, "We learn new things everyday". So writing helps me to learn and express. 

Carrying on, so the most basic kind of watches out there are the ones that only show you the time. It has numerals (most of the time, some omit numerals altogether) and 3 hands (Hour, Minute and Second) like shown below.

(TAKEN FROM : HTTP://Global.timex.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product/t2p128_0.jpg  )

Some basic watches do have other patterns or designs, like the Nomos Tangente, which right now is one of my favourite pieces out there. This particular model has a separate second hand counter. ( On a side note, this is such a lovely and classic piece that I would really like to own, soon)

  (TAKEN FROM HTTP://WWW.nomos-store.com/out/pictures/master/product/1/tangente_font(1).png)

Before I carry on, we owe it all to Monsieur Louis Moinet, the inventor of Chronograph. So the back story was that in those days the "aristocrats" were interested in the cosmos, so this invention was actually used for tracking astronomical objects.

In essence, chronograph watch is basically a watch that has a stopwatch function added into it. Chronograph watches can be either automatic or quartz and feature various complications at once and have several sub dials to read off the measurements. The most basic chronograph has a separate or independent sweep second hand which can start and stop, and return to zero. There can be up to four dials on the face to indicate hour, minute, seconds and 24 hour indicator(some dials show even up to a tenth of a second), like the  Eberhard And Co. Chrono 4 Grande Taille 31052.1 shown below. 

                 (TAKEN FROM HTTP://azfinetime.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/eberhard-and-co-chrono-4-grande-taille-31052-1/)

Majority of the chronograph's  features works by pushing a start button. Usually most of the start buttons are placed at the Two O Clock position to get the timer moving to record time and by pressing the same button to stop the time recording and returning to zero by pressing it over.

Each individual function of the chronograph is independent of each other. What this means is that your timepiece can tell the time and function as a stop watch concurrently.

Not to be confused, Chronograph is known as a complication of a timepiece and not its movement (of the watch).

Just to add in some technical stuff, there are 2 kinds of chronographs the automatic and digital. Difference being, automatic chronograph depends only on kinetic energy as a source of its power. The digital on the other hand works very much like a common hand help stopwatch and is run by batteries.

So what is Quartz & Mechanical

I have been absorbed into the very fascinating world of Watches.

I can’t seem to have enough of them, these fine timepieces have gotten the better of me.

This year I have been reading up countless pages online on different watch movements and history of certain timepieces. Expanded my knowledge of many more amazing new and vintage brands.

Learning the differences between functions and movements.

I still have so much more to learn and grasp.

The art of watch making is amazing, all the unbelievable kinds of functions in every time piece, each in its own style and each brand having it’s open particular speciality.

Firstly a movement is something like what runs the watch like an engine or heart of the timepiece ( in my own words).

The most basic being either quartz or mechanic.

A quartz movement is an electronic movement. It is called a quartz movement, because a small quartz crystal is integrated into the electronics. This is done as every timekeeping devices needs something constant in which it can measure time against. When current is run through a quartz crystal it will oscillate almost perfectly at a constant frequency. Hence the reason why quartz watches have such an amazing accuracy. The better the quartz, the more accurate time keeping will be to within few seconds a year.

Most quartz watches run on a battery, which can usually last from 2 to 5 years before a replacement is needed. The more basic the watch the longer the battery may last. More complicated movements which may include a compass or stopwatch may result in a shorter battery life.

Mechanical watches seems like a thing of the past in our current day and age. Yet it is an important movement as it may have led to more modern movements. So there may be self-winding or manual winding mechanical or automatic. The technology used in mechnical watches may somewhat be centuries old. This movement is powered by springs that turn gears in which is a regulating mechanism, eventually the hands. Mechanical movements have a range of 50 to 300 parts. This usually depends on the movement. If properly maintained and kept in good care, whose to know how long it may last?

From reading maybe articles, it is said that the jewels used in the movements is a reason that mechanical watches have such longevity.

The most common form of mechanical watches are the automatic. Automatic watches have a rotor that spins on the back of the movement. This turns a gear which winds the main spring in turn working the watch.

Mechanical watches may start simply by keeping time, showing hours, date and stopwatch features to complications such as perpetual calendars alarms and minute repeaters. Such complicated mechanical watches are known to fetch high to exorbitant prices. Watches such as Vacheron Constantin or Philippe Patek.

Just like changing the battery on a quartz watch, for mechanical watches it requires cleaning and maintenance after every few years. For this cost it varies from hundred dollars onwards.

As I have mentioned, I am new and this info is what I have amassed from reading articles and posts online and in books. So I may be wrong in some parts, and I am open to learning more if anyone can help me improve.

Thanks for reading and for anyone new to this hope you have learnt something.

 

Cheers.

Introduction to my obsession

It was back in 2011, when I stumbled upon an exhibit in our local Museum in Singapore on fine timepieces. It was an exhibit by Vacheron Constantin and my god were the timepieces amazing and nothing short of exquisite. To cut the story short, since then I have been hooked.

The history, the art, the finesse, the immaculate work, the scrutinising detailing, everything I saw was simpliy mind blowing.

Below is the link of some of the gorgeous timepieces I laid eyes on;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rajvind/sets/72157649658323870/

I was privileged and blessed enough to be invited to an exclusive closing event by Vacheron Consantin including a private tour for the exhibit and a closing party in Fort Canning Hotel in 2011. The highlight was the night was a private tour with a watch experts who expounded further on each timepiece as we walked past them. Each piece telling a marvellous and intriguing story. From being a famous heirlooms of monarchs and to personal pieces belonging to notable historians. At that very moment, like a fish swimming towards the bait, I was hooked.

Since then, I have been to number of other exhibits available locally. I am constantly trying to grow my understanding on timepieces and chronology. I am still a baby, weaning and am slowly growing my capacity and intellect on the meanings of all the different kinds of watches and movements.

Back then I was a student, having just started working I hope to start a small watch collection and hope to grow it to a decent collection someday.

Who says it's wrong to dream? As I told my wife, it would be a dream to work for any timepiece company out there, to expand my knowledge and grow my fascination and love for timepieces.

Having seen, read and learnt of so many brands around the world, each great and momentous in its own right. I dream to be a proud owner of a Vacheron Constantin timepiece one day, to me it is the Crème de la crème.

Who knows, from my little humble blog, an opportunity may come along. Allowing me to work with timepieces as a living. What a life!

So let's get started! I look forward to more posts and use this page as a means for me to learn and share.