Tag: vintage

Owner Review: Caravelle Sea Hunter – The Devil you don’t know

Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, Bulova manufactured quality affordable skin divers under their “Caravelle” sub-brand. The basic idea was to apply Bulova’s QC process to assembly lines outside of Switzerland using non-Swiss movements to keep costs down. The Caravelle Sea Hunter is a close cousin of Bulova’s infamous “Devil Diver” of the same era, these…
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04/06/2020
Owner Review: Seiko Seikomatic DayDate 6206-8040

Simplicity, elegance and precision are the factors that Seiko care deeply about. And today I am going to review their beauty from the 60s – the Seiko Seikomatic DayDate 6206-8040. Take a look at the silver-grey dial with the “baton” indices, as well as dauphine hands. You can hardly miss the Japanese professional watchmaking techniques.…
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02/06/2020
Owner Review: Cyma WWW Dirty Dozen

Military watches such as the Cyma WWW Dirty Dozen are attractive for various reasons. As tool watches they are usually very practical, well designed and legible, but for some pieces the historical aura that comes with the watch is just as important. I have always been fascinated by the Second World War: the RAF, spitfires,…
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29/05/2020
Owner Review: Universal Geneve Microtor Automatic

This Universal Geneve Microtor Automatic cost just about as much as a Volkswagen car in 1959. Universal Geneve watches at the time were sold in Patek Philippe boutiques and it really does show. Truly stunning quality in 18k rose gold and a beautiful brushed face. I wear a suit almost every day- at least I…
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10/05/2020
Owner Review: King Seiko 5626-7041 – Gone but never forgotten

Ah, King Seiko 5626-7041. You may have lost your battle with Grand Seiko but you still won my heart. ❤️ In the 1960’s, Seiko was on a mission to disrupt Swiss watchmaking. To accelerate innovation, Seiko split into two completely independent subsidiaries, pitted against each other in a race to produce the finest watches capable of…
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06/05/2020
Owner Review: Orven De Luxe Super-Compressor

In the 1960s, Australian import duties on watches were high, lower on watch parts, this led to a number of companies bringing in cases and movements, assembling and rebranding them. Orven was one such company, based in Melbourne, they predominantly created dress watches for sale through independent jewellers. In much the same way that you…
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23/04/2020
Owner Review: Tudor Submariner 94010 Lollipop

The term lollipop comes up quite often when it comes to watches and not just with the Tudor Submariner 94010 Lollipop. It usually refers to either dial markers or watch hands. For the dial markers, it sometimes does resemble quite like a lollipop; the round dial marker, touching the straight minute marker, resembling a lollipop…
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29/02/2020
My Scottish Grandpa’s Roamer. A Story/Review.

My Scottish Papas watch. He was a Military man and very Dour (If you’re Scottish, you’ll know what I’m talking about). But a character who loved Swiss watches, and while most people would turn their nose up at this Solid 9ct Gold ‘Quartz’ Dennison cased Roamer, to him it was an amazing innovative 80’s Swiss…
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24/02/2020
Owner Review: Rolex Turn-O-Graph 6202

Black sheep of the family: everyone has one…or two. Even the mighty Rolex is not immune! After all, not every watch is a commercial success. That being said, just because something isn’t an inherent success, doesn’t mean it is a failure—far from it. Oftentimes things just don’t get the credit they deserve or are overlooked,…
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15/02/2020
Owner Review: Rolex Oyster Perpetual 1005 – 2 Brands are Better Than 1

Let’s get right to it. What makes vintage watches worthwhile are the feelings it can evoke and the innate beauty that comes from knowing the design, character, and details will never be replicated again. The watch becomes truly special if there is a story behind it or has taken on a pleasant patina- something that…
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02/02/2020