ORIENT 21 Jewels Diamond Cut Crystal Automatic - Very retro looking dress watch, A Review

For my third time of buying a watch via eBay I decided to aim to get a vintage Orient (see the vintage Citizen and Seiko 5 that I got earlier). I was intrigued by this particular Orient because of the unique crystal glass it uses. More about this later.

The watch that I got has a reference "IT469702-6A CU". It is estimated to be a late 1970s watch. This watch was shipped from India. Below is the package that I received.

As this is a used watch, it did not come with a watch box, instruction manual or guarantee. The watch was packed in Styrofoam plus a short printed note about the seller (see below). I must say the packaging does its job well even if it looks fragile.

Seiko Prospex Fieldmaster SBDC011 - An Attention Grabber and Gives you Confidence to Seize the Day, A Review

Seiko Prospex is one of the many themes in my collection.With the Marinemaster and Landmaster already part of the collection, my focus was concentrated to acquire the Fieldmaster. In this case it is the Seiko SBDC011.

The Fieldmaster SBDC011 is one beautiful watch in my opinion. Designed with the Seiko Tuna Can body as inspiration, this watch has all the right balance.

After making the order via my favorite Japanese dealer, Mr Katsu-san of Higuchi-Inc.com, it arrived promptly.

After taking the watch box from the airfreight container, you would immediately notice that the box is different from the typical yellow colour display box common under the Perspex series of watches from Seiko. Instead of a square box, it is rectangle.

Seiko 5 6309-8910 - My first vintage Seiko and the first Caliber 6309A in my Collection, A Review

This is my second watch purchase from eBay. A vintage Seiko 5 6309-8910 square face model. Based on the serial number on the case-back, it is November 1973 production piece.

This watch was from a seller in the UK. I placed a bid for GBP25 and on 5 January 2014 I was informed that I won the bid. It was sent by tracked international post. The postage was inclusive of the final price.

I got the package through normal mail. The watch is wrapped in a normal envelope. I was initially apprehensive that it could be damaged due to the lack of a study box.

Seiko SNM035 "Land Monster" Dive Watch - Macho Good Looks by a Real Tool Watch, A Review

Two years ago, in February 2012, I decided to get the Seiko SNM035 "Land Monster" via Amazon. I got attracted by the twin crown at the 2 and 4 o'clock positions as well as the map function on an internal bezel.

I got to say that I am not a serious amateur diver, but many of us can appreciate a highly functional instrument like the Seiko SNM035 Land Monster. This watch looks more like a tool than a fashion accessory, and to me, that's its appeal.

Casio PROTREK Adventure Titanium Triple Sensor Ver. 3 PRW 3000 T7, A Continuation of the Super Tough DNA of a Casio Protrek, yet Capable of Doing More by Virtue of its Smaller Electronics and More Contemporary Design, A Review

It has been a long time since I bought myself a digital watch. The last time it happened was back in August 2009 when I got my Suunto Heart Rate Monitor watch. If I recall, my purpose of buying that watch was to fulfill a need - to track my heart rate as I prepare myself for my first marathon.

In reality, I am not an anti-digital watch-hater that only appreciate mechanical watches. Far from the contrary, I love gadgets and the Casio Protrek series have been on my "must-have" list for a long time. The ability of a watch to locate accurately North has been one of my theme for my watch collection. Currently. I have six watches that could do that (using time and sun). The collage of the collection is provided below.

You will note that all are Seikos. Although I would like to have a watch that could do the same from another brand, the various Casio Protrek models that weree on offer were too big and garish for my liking.

Seiko SKX779K1 200m Black Monster (similar to SKX781, SKZ203, SKZ213, SKZ243, SKZ277, SKZ331, SZEN001, SZEN002, SZEN006 & SZEN007) - A Must Have For Any Serious Collector, A Review (UPDATED: February 2019)

The SKX779K or commonly known as the “Black Monster” by Seiko watch collectors around the world is a total departure from the classic Seiko diver lineage when it was first launched back in the year 2000. It became an instant hit with watch collectors around the world.

It is hard to pinpoint what is the attraction on this watch. Some say its the looks, while others say it is about the price. Whatever it is, the overall package is what makes this diver a sought after piece.

Parnis 44mm White Dial Swan Neck Hand Winding Watch - My first Chinese watch, A Review

Bank in October 2011, I happened to find information about Parnis, a brand from China. I was surprised to see the price quoted on the watches. So, on 28 October 2011 I made an order for the Parnis 44mm White Dial Swan Neck Hand Winding watch. Priced at USD85 + USD20 for postage, I got the watch within a week. My first Chinese watch.

The watch did not come with a display box. It was just bubble-wrapped in a normal brown envelop.  I was apprehensive at first but after taking it out of the packaging, the watch looks much better than it look in photos. Most importantly, it still works after going through the post as it did.

Citizen 7 Eagle Automatic Day/Date 21 Jewel Vintage - Value for Money, A Review

Vintage watches are usually not my thing. I like new and modern designs. However, I made an exception for this particular specimen. With a reference "4-286740 KT 60600988 GN-4-S Japan" this Citizen is though to have been manufactured in the 1970s.

How I got the watch is also interesting. This is the first time I used eBay to make an acquisition. Although I have been a member of eBay since 2005, I never have gotten the fear of facing problems when making purchases. After getting through this barrier, I decided to get something small first. The Citizen 7 was the first that caught my eye.

The seller was from United Kingdom and I was able to get it for just GBP25 all in (or RM141.71) on 3 January 2014. After waiting for two weeks, I got the package as pictured below.

Solvil et Titus 06-1107-004 - A Practical Watch But One With No Soul, A Review

My wife and kids bought this watch for me many years ago. To me, this was the first time that I've heard about the brand. After a short internet search I got the following:



 "The brand Solvil et Titus was born in 1887 when Paul Ditisheim (1868-1945), an extremely prominent figure in the Swiss watch industry of his time, named one of the initial models he created. Solvil, an abbreviation of Sonvilier, is the Jura village in which a factory for making watch components stood and Titus was a highly talented and skilled Roman Emperor of the first century.

The well-known watchmaker and inventor was extremely successful in researching and manufacturing chronometers, which hold records for precision as deemed by the prestigious international trials carried out by the Royal Observatories of Kew-Teddington and Neuchâtel. His products ranged greatly from navigational-purposed watches to chronometers with automatic display of sunrise and sunset time to the minute each day; from watches with perpetual calendars to ones that could strike and incorporated chimes, from chronometers with equations of time to many others with many complicated features.

Seiko Brightz Starwars Yoda LE SDGC013 - A Noticeable Watch, A Review

In 2012, in conjunction to the 35th anniversary of the Star Wars, Seiko, in collaboration with Lucas Film issued six limited edition models. Launched on October 12th, 2012, the models come in various form from mechanical to quartz/analog/radio control and quartz/active matrix EPD/radio control variants.

I got a thing with anything green and the Yoda version (SDGC013) was my obvious first choice. As the whole series is a limited edition production run, the price is high. The list price for this particular model is YEN136,500 yen or RM4,282 (@ 16 January 2014).

Like the name suggest, this particular model commemorates the character Yoda in the movie. This character is associated with the colour green. There is an engraving on the side of the case using the Star Wars universe "Aurebesh" language with the name of the character. Apart from that, a motif of the character is painted on the transparent case-back of the watch.