Seagull 1963 Aviation Chronograph Pilot Mechanical Watch International Edition ST1901 - A Near-Perfect Watch for its Price, with Overall Appeal and Historical Significance, A Review (plus Video)

The first watch to join the collection in 2025. The Seagull 1963 Aviation Chronograph Pilot has been said to be a watch that any watch collector should consider adding. The history behind the watch is inspiring especially if one considers going into the watch making business from scratch.

 

Despite having been a collector for many years, I did not get a chance to pursue this model until now. While going through Amazon, I happened to find the page by Seagull and on it is an offering for the Seagull 1963 Aviation Chronograph Pilot Mechanical Watch International Edition ST1901.

 

To be honest, I would not have gotten my hands on an original but a reissued modernized timepiece by the same factory is possible and would be awesome. The offer was very enticing. Coupled with a few coupons that I have with Amazon, I was able to get the watch at an unbelievable price after discount.

 

I quickly put in an order on 3 February 2025 and exactly two weeks later, I got the watch via courier.

Daiso Military Style Quartz Watch - Cheap but Versatile, A Review (plus Video)

When I got my SeiyaJapan watch recently (see the review here), the package also included a free watch. A cheap watch but a watch nonetheless. It it a watch sold by Daiso Industries Co. Ltd. of Japan. Daiso is famously known as “the Japanese dollar store”, where all items on sale are kept under a certain price. In Japan it is typically YEN100 per item. In Malaysia it is RM5.90. This watch came straight from Japan and is listed for YEN500.

The Watch

Made out of plastic, the watch is 38 mm in diameter with a lug-to-lug length of 41 mm. It comes with a boxed clear plastic window which bumps up its height to 12 mm.  

The crown which happens to be the only metallic on the watch casing is located at 3:00. Although the watch casing is black, the crown has a bright polished steel look to it.

Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical H76419931 - A Re-craft of the Classic W10, A Review (plus Video)

One of Hamilton's enduring legacy is its connection to military watches. No, I am not taking about "wannabes" military style watches but actual watches endorsed and pressed into actual military service. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton became one of the manufacturers of watches for the British Army. These pieces are very easy to recognise thanks to their “broad arrow” markings on their dials. Hamilton's more famous design was the W10. This went into production between 1973 and 1976. It was made specifically for the Royal British Air Force.

In 2019, the brand announced a re-craft of the original W10. In the press release, Hamilton used the term “exact remake of the W10” which I believe only refers to the dimensions. This in itself is very good as a lot of 'remakes' nowadays do not strictly follow the original dimensions, just the basic shape.

The Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical came at the heels of the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical. In Hamilton's website, the expected release date was September 2019. Imagine my suprise to see a few examples already on display in a Hamilton AD in Kuala Lumpur by early November 2019. I had to get it and I chose the nylon NATO strap version.

Seiko 5 Sports Sense Style with NATO Strap SRPD85K1 - A Fresh Injection of Style, A Review (plus Video)

Seiko was the brand that brought good mechanical watches designed from the ground up for the masses. The launch of the Seiko 5 sub-brand 1963 was the key turning point that made Seiko a major world player in wristwatches. Despite kick-starting the quartz watch tsunami of the 1970s with the launched the world’s first quartz watch in 1969, Seiko mechanical watch division was able to comfortably weather the storm and strive. Established brands did not react at all or in time and within 15 years later, almost two-thirds of all Swiss watchmakers closed shop.

The name Seiko 5 actually signifies the the number of key attributes which Seiko adheres to; self-winding automatic movement, resistance to water, a day-date in a single window, a recessed crown, and a durable case. All this ns a package and manufacturing quality that defies the price point of a Seiko 5 which very few manufacturers can match. As such the Seiko 5 brand has won respect, affection and loyalty of people from all around the world.

Seiko 5 Sports is a branch of the Seiko 5 dedicated to more sporty and tool-like designs.

Seiko Prospex Fieldmaster LOWERCASE Special Edition Reference SBDJ029 (similar to SBDJ027 & SBDJ028) - The Perfect Tuna for the Masses, A Review (plus Video)

Seiko’s Prospex watches is subdivided into Sea, Land, Sky and Run. Although most would be familiar with the dive watches from the Sea collection, the Land collection is also interesting. In my collection is the Seiko Prospex Fieldmaster SBDC011 (click here for more). It has been given the nickname "Field Tuna" by Seiko fans. It is an automatic watch that features a compass bezel and a shroud similar to that on Seiko's Tuna divers.

Since the introduction of the SBDC011 under the Fieldmaster sub-line in 2010, nothing else of substance was launched by Seiko to carry on the namesake. In 2017, Seiko surprised us with new Prospex Fieldmaster LOWERCASE watches which is similar to past models yet different at the same time.

Made in collaboration with the Japanese design consultants LOWERCASE, Seiko is able to bring something fresh and exciting to its design styling. Lead by Mr. Yuki Kajiwara, creative director of LOWERCASE, the Fieldmaster has been given a radical change in the design department.

Glycine Combat 6 Vintage Reference GL0122 - A Wise and Good Investment, A Review (plus Video)

I am definitely into the military or infantry watch phase. Everywhere I look, only military style watches appeal to me. When I was crazy for dive watches I used to wear them in every occasion but experience have taught me that contemporary styling is important and a mismatch situation of a timepiece with a specific attire is a fashion faux pas.

The Glycine Combat 6 Vintage Reference GL0122 is a simple watch. Made from 316L stainless steel, it has an original military style dial layout with an automatic movement. Manufactured strictly to the MIL-W-3818B military specifications (see the PDF document at the end of the review), the three handed watch with a date complication is easy to use, reasonably accurate and tough.

Since this is the first Glycine in the collection, it would be good to cover the core history of the brand.

Glycine was founded by Eugène Meylan in 1914, The company has been producing watches at its factory in Bienne, Switzerland. One of its famous series is the Combat range. Combat or military style watches stand out for their classic design, enduring strength and reliability. Since the early 1960s, Glycine has offered a slew of examples made for severe conditions of wear and use using military specifications.

Evant Tropic Diver Bronze Finale Limited Edition 100 – The Simplicity of Design, Use of Exotic Material and Rich Colours are Potent Combination that Increases the Perceived Value, A Review (plus Video)

This is the second time this year that I decided to get another watch from Evant Timepieces. This time, the clincher is the material used - marine grade bronze, CuSn8. This bronze alloy is regarded as the industry standard as it can be used in salt water with virtually no signs of corrosion. Moreover, the CuSn8 alloy is the most expensive bronze material due to the high copper content of 92% while the rest is tin. This combination gives the bronze alloy a warm rose gold-like colour. Over time, the watch will start to show signs of patina.

The Evant Tropic Diver Bronze Finale is very much similar to the Evant Tropic Diver Fume Blue (see: http://easternwatch.blogspot.my/2017/08/evant-tropic-diver-fume-blue-limited.html) which I got earlier this year. The only thing differences are the material used for the watch casing, the dial colour and the additional leather straps provided. As such, in this review, I will only cover what is different and the wearing experience. Below is a snapshot of the watch specifications.

Seiko 5 Sports FC Barcelona SRP303K1 - A Legendary Pedigree For Both Watch And Club, A Review

One of many ways to teach the concept of responsibility is to play a game where give a group of people something precious or fragile (sometime both) and see how they manage that item for a period of time. Some of the well know learning games which a lot of people know is with the use of an egg.

In my case, I was trying to proof a point with my second daughter on this concept of responsibility and the item I chose for this life lesson is a mechanical watch. The first thing that came to mind is a Seiko 5. It has all the hallmark of an excellent mechanical watch for a first timer and it is built to last. At that particular time (2012) this particular model was just launched. Since my daughter was small then, a canvas Noto-like strap that comes standard was a good start. 

Seiko 5 SNKL07K1 - It Is A Hardy Design And The Accuracy Is Surprisingly Good; A Review

Having going deep into the watch collection hobby, I realised that I don't have in my collection a model using the classic Seiko workhorse movement the 7S26 caliber. As I am only interested to have in my collection the caliber itself, I decided to search for a simple watch. I found it in the form of the Seiko 5 SNKL07K1.

The standard watch came with a stamped  steel bracelet. If you have been used to solid bracelets, the one that came with this watch was atrociously yukky. I quickly replayed it with a black Nato strap. More about this later. 

This is how the watch looks like straight from the box.

The watch is 38 mm wide with an 20 mm wide lug in an all stainless steel construction. The crown is a simple push-in located at the 3 o'clock position and like all Seiko 5, it comes with day and date functions. The hands are luminous silver tone and the marker are luminous as well. The dial is dark blue in colour.