What watch you're wearing?

[bykfixer]

The G-Shock case is generally larger than the tough solar.

Amazon.com

Here's a tough solar I have that you can see fairly well in the daytime outdoors. Best part, it's cheap. I think I paid $36 for mine. With a 52mm case, 14mm thick, it's substantial like a G-Shock

 

[bykfixer]

Today's pick is a gold plated stainless Seiko Sportmatic seahorse on a two tone Speidel stretch band. Being the Sportmatic was an entry level watch it would have been like a Toyota Corolla with leather seats and automatic transmission.

It was only made in '64. Seiko had discontinued the seahorse line, which was based on a Chronos so I surmize they had some parts left and used them on the Sportmatic until gone. It was the only screw back case for '64 for the Sportmatic. The rest for '64 were push on.

Now, the nicer Seiko's of that time that were gold plated had between 80 and 100 microns of 14k gold applied.

The Sportmatic had 20.
They stopped showing micron thickness in '64 and started using "14k" across the entire lineup. Some say cost savings by reducing the thickness resulted in not showing the number of microns anymore.

The nicer gold plated Seiko's had solid gold markers. The Sportmatic had gold plated. Hence no "star" symbol on the dial. No 8 side star indicating solid gold or 4 side star indicating a little nicer dial but the 4 star is on the case back.

It had a hidden crown at 3 o'clock instead of 4. A gentle sweeper hand was used with the (what I belive is a mondernized 820) 6201 movement but I've not removed the case back to see.

There were other versions such as a nicer dial, and a date window.

An example of the nicer dial and date window from an Etsy listing. Note the 4 side star. It sold for $280.

 

[Buff]

I prefer the G Shocks myself. Had the original plain jane G-Shock and wore it in the concrete delivery job for a long long time. The protective rubber shroud eventually broke( no dobt due to the constant exposure to water and the lime and chemicals in the cement) but i wore it a few more years with the band minus the shroud. Eventually the band failed i think while i was working the concrete in my own driveway. Frozen in time! Damn good watch!

Quick edit. The one on the left is my work replacement G-Shock i wore for maybe 10 more years and if you look close you can see remnants of cement that the truck wash (acid) did not completely remove. Yes i washed it with acid. The cement residue would foam up like a rabid dogs mouth lol. The yellow G-Shock my son left behind when he moved out. Said he didn't want it. New battery and good to go.

 

[Buff]

Got a question for everyone:

I'm looking for an alternative to the mechanical watch I now wear to the office and dress occasions. I need something rugged for when I work in the yard, go hiking, camping, etc.

I do like the Casio Tough Solar Atomic series. Aside from the lunar phase and tide indicator, any other differences between the 6900-1 and 7900-1? Are the displays different in crispness/shadowing?

I'd like to add I have an $85 Amazon gift card burning a hole in my digital pocket.

Might i suggest popping over to watchforum.com of which i am a member. "Daven" and asking there. Wvclockdoc is a Casio expert/enthusiast really of all watches and could give you more information.

 

[bykfixer]

Might i suggest popping over to watchforum.com of which i am a member. "Daven" and asking there. Wvclockdoc is a Casio expert/enthusiast really of all watches and could give you more information.

He also specializes in cheap watches. Not cheap as in junk but cheap as in on clearance at WalMart etc.

 

[Buff]

Yes he does indeed. He has dressers full of watches 1000's is my guess.

 

[bykfixer]

The first edition of the Seiko 5.
In very late 1963 Seiko added the day/date movement in the Sportmatic and called it 5. Today the 5 attributes are a bit different than the original 5 were. More on that later.
The original 5 was water proof rated to 10m and featured a 410 movement. It did not have the quick adjust feature yet so you have to do a 9pm to 12 back to 9 with the hidden crown to change the day/date. The day moves backward or forward but the date forward only so it isn't that difficult to get them both correct. The 410 movement DNA is still in use today.

The first ones out of the factory had blank case backs.

Stainless but blank.
The cases were either rodium coated stainless or hard gold plated stainless. The hands and markers always matched the case.

The dial was either white or silver with a small percentage of black ones. The unsigned crown is hidden at 4 o'clock.

On the higher end Seiko's with the AD special dial the applied markers were solid gold. The Sportmatic markers were gold plated.

Note the AD next to the reference number meaning special dial and the star/triangle symbol meaning special gold plated markers.

This is one of those automatics that winds in both directions and has a nice faint sound and positive feel as it winds.

The attributes of the 5 in 1963

Original five key features of the Sportsmatic 5 — Plus9Time

Many people may be aware of the five key features that identify the Seiko Five series of watches. What you may not be aware of is that these commonly quoted features were not exactly the same as those first defined by Seiko when the Sportsmatic 5 was announced in 1963.

www.plus9time.com

 

[F89]

Got a question for everyone:

I'm looking for an alternative to the mechanical watch I now wear to the office and dress occasions. I need something rugged for when I work in the yard, go hiking, camping, etc.

I do like the Casio Tough Solar Atomic series. Aside from the lunar phase and tide indicator, any other differences between the 6900-1 and 7900-1? Are the displays different in crispness/shadowing?

I'd like to add I have an $85 Amazon gift card burning a hole in my digital pocket.

I like the non-solar standard G7900 (black with red buttons), it's a great watch.
I always favour a standard over negative display.

 

[Monocrom]

I like the non-solar standard G7900 (black with red buttons), it's a great watch.
I always favour a standard over negative display.

I've tried Negative displays. They are horrible if you need to read your watch outdoors, on a bright sunny day. Never again.

 

[bykfixer]

Switched watches yesterday.
First, my first eco drive circa 2010 that has worked great in harsh conditions for over a decade:

Still acurate within a minute per time change season.

Later I felt the urge to clap my hands in the air, and wave 'em like I just don't care so.... use that energy to wind an automatic.

I wanted to see if the 7 turned to 8 with a snap like a Seiko or moved slowly like a Timex.
I'm old, and fell asleep while waiting. Probably minutes after this photo was snapped. Oh, it was lit by a Fenix E01 v2.

 

[bykfixer]

Orient promo with Seiko movement on a 60 degree day in December.
It's based off the Kamasu model with gold plated accents inside the dial and lumed parts. It used a SII (Seiko Instruments Inc) quartz movement. It came on a Bambi beads of rice bracelet but I don't think that was original.

All stainless case and saphire crystal. One way (counter clockwise) with 1/2 minute clicks. Screw down crown. Rated at 200 meters.

It's Kamasu/Mako II based with the Kamasu arrow hands but the crown protector on the Mako II is less protective.

 

[bykfixer]

My other eco-drive from about 2010.
This one is rarely worn to keep it in nice condition. It mainly lives a pampered life under a lamp to feed it a regular diet of light.

 

[gurdygurds]

F91w

 

[gurdygurds]

DW-5600e. 3229 module.

 

[gurdygurds]

 

[knucklegary]

Fighting my way through palms, late (again) for 11am appointment. Might as well stop for photo

;-)

 

[scalpel_ninja]

New addition and my first Casio since the Wrist Remote Controller my mother bought me from Price Club when I was in middle school. That watch landed me in 3 days' detention when a classmate borrowed it and pulled a prank on a teacher who was desperately trying to start a video lesson but couldn't figure out why the TV kept shutting down. That classmate immediately tried to blame me, but ended up getting the same punishment.

This one's fresh from Japan. I wanted the M5610U, but didn't like the red line and multiple colored text. Almost got the black one with black display. With the recommendation from @Monocrom to avoid negative displays, this one had the nice monochrome (get it?) text with a positive display.

 

[bykfixer]

Casio W-S 200H from around 2010.
Tough Solar nowhere on the case but it's a tough solar. It used to play outdoors but the strap kept breaking. A great wrist watch otherwise.

 

[bykfixer]

Back to bling with a vintage Gruen

 

[gurdygurds]

View attachment 71603
Back to bling with a vintage Gruen

That one may be my favorite of your's that I've seen.