Casio Pathfinder PAW-1300T-7V

Today I'm wearing my newest Pathfinder, a PAW-1300T-7V. PAW for Pathfinder (in the world outside the U.S.A. these are called "Protrek" and the model numbers start with PR,) 1300 for the series (newer than my 1100,) T for Titanium, 7 for silver accents, and V for international (non-Japanese) version. This has all the functions of my PAW-1100T but weighs less and is much slimmer (only 11.5mm thick, while the 1100 is over 14mm thick.) This was the ultimate Pathfinder, all the functions available in a Pathfinder in a package that made it very wearable under most conditions. Of course, Casio couldn't rest on their laurels, so the PAW-1500 series is the newest King of the Hill, which adds tide graph, moon phase and 200m water resistance to the long list of features. I'm not sure if I'll get a 1500 or just wait for whatever comes next. It's almost certain that Casio will keep improving their technology and packing more features into smaller, more durable packages.

Military-Style Quartz Diver

So here you go, something non-vintage to wrap-up the week, a military-inspired diver from Hong Kong's Ray Wong. Mr. Wong refers to this as an SBS or SAS diver, but despite the familiar MOD dial, plongeur hands, and broad arrow and circle-T logos there's no actual connection to the British military. The circle-T logo was traditionally used to indicate the presence of tritium in the glowing paint on the dial, but this watch doesn't actually contain any tritium. The caseback also bears some fake numbers and another broad arrow, along with a 30 bar water resistance rating. I suppose it's probably good to 200m, and maybe even 300m, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't tested to 300m and the construction seems similar to watches with a 200m rating (screw-down crown, flat mineral crystal, single O-ring on the screw-in caseback, etc.) This watch says "Swiss Movt" on the dial which is misleading, at best. The movement is an ETA battery-powered quartz movement. It has no jewels and says on it "Swiss Parts" and "Made in China". To me, that's a Chinese movement. Ok, enough complaining. This is actually a pretty nice watch. It has a solid case and bezel, and looks really good, from the dial and hands to the black PVD finish. It's very similar in size and style to some Seiko divers. It has fixed bars in the place of the usual spring bars, so only straps with open ends or military style straps can be used. This is kind of nice as the fixed bars will never break like spring bars sometimes do, and it's another authentic military touch. You might also notice the caseback says Orsa, which is a bit confusing if you're familiar with the Orsa Watch Company as this watch doesn't resemble any of their current watches. Apparently Ray Wong used to produce watches or at least provide parts for Orsa that were very similar to this one. This one isn't an Orsa, but for some reason has Orsa on the back along with the pseudo-military markings.

Vintage Birks Ellis Longines

Sorry if I'm boring anybody with all the vintage watches, but I have a number of them that I virtually never wear so I figured it's about time. I'll try to wear something non-vintage tomorrow, but today, I'm wearing this vintage Birks Ellis Longines from about 1933 (according to the dates here and the serial number of 5241951 on the movement.) I think the case looks like a newer case, possibly from the 1940s, and the case is marked "Wittnauer" on the inside, but the movement fits so perfectly that it's possible it is original. Surprisingly enough, and I really did choose this watch at random today, this is another watch that originally came from Canada. Birks Ellis was the name of a large jewelry chain (now just Birks) who sold watches made by major manufacturers under their own name, much like yesterday's Solar watch from Eaton's. Birks (who bought PW Ellis & Co in the 1930s) seemed to sell a number of watches from both Longines and Eterna that also featured "Birks" or "Birks Ellis" on their dials. This is yet another watch that came from my father's collection, so I don't know a lot about it. It has some serious wear on the case, especially on the caseback where the gold plate is worn through and the base metal is pitted. Likewise on the corners on the front of the case (another reason to suspect that this is not the original case as I would think a Longines would be more likely to have a 14k solid case than a plated case.) The watch does seem to run pretty well, although the power reserve is low, less than 12 hours, so it probably needs to be serviced. I actually like the looks quite a bit, so perhaps I can find an original case for it, and maybe my local watchmaker knows something about it as well.

Vintage Solar

No, it's not solar-powered, Solar is the brand. After doing a little checking I discovered that Solar was the "house brand" for watches sold by Eaton's, a Canadian department store chain that is apparently very well known there (although now out of business.) Eaton's contracted with a number of well-known watch manufacturers to provide Solar-branded watches, including Tudor and Gallet. The engraving on the back mentions Hewetson Shoes which is another Canadian company that I've never heard of but were pretty big. Since Gallet was providing watches for Eaton's from at least the 1940s well into the 1960s, and this watch is most likely from 1952, I suspect this one is also a Gallet. I couldn't get the caseback off to satisfy my curiosity, but I did manage to cut myself in the process. I stopped trying at that point. I do know the movement is Swiss and has 21 jewels, as indicated on the dial. It's a pretty typical size for a vintage watch of this era, about an inch across, with a good condition gold-filled case and curved crystal. The dial has some age to it, but the applied gold numerals still look pretty nice. I don't know if it's been serviced as it's another watch my dad got from eBay or the like, but it's been keeping excellent time all day.

Casio G-Shock DW-9800J-1B Wademan

Somehow I forgot about this watch when I was doing the "Non-Stop G-Shocks". It's not like it was hidden or anything, it was just sitting there with the rest. And it's not as if I don't like it, I do, I like both of my Wademen very much and wouldn't mind having more. I think it's a combination of having a whole bunch of yellow watches, and also trying to get the EL backlight working on my Eric Haze 6900 when I got down to only a few Gs. Anyway, I'm wearing it today. It has a compass and thermometer just like my Men in Khaki Wademan and is pretty much identical except for the colors, strap keeper (MIK has a nylon keeper, this has a regular resin one) and no picture in the backlight. This was just a basic version, and it was also available in black with red details. I can't say enough good things about the Wademan (still the only G-Shock with rotating bezel) and I like it a lot. I suppose I should keep an eye out for the other Wademan models, but there are so few that even the "basic" ones are pretty rare.

Marathon MIL-W-46374E Type 2

My watch today is a Marathon handwind mechanical military-spec watch. It was made according to the MIL-W-46374E specs and uses a 17 jewel Swiss mechanical movement. These were part of the first generation of military wristwatches to use glass vials filled with tritium gas (also seen on Luminox watches) instead of tritium paint. Construction is very similar to that of a Swatch as the case doesn't open from the back; the movement is loaded from the front and the acrylic crystal glued in place. It's a fairly small watch, only 34mm across, but the wide velcro cuff I have it on helps to make it feel more substantial. It is water resistant, but no rating is given, so I'd assume swimming with it is not recommended. I suppose there was a time when only a watch meeting military specs could be worn by our armed forces, but I've heard that Casio G-Shock and Timex Ironman watches are very common in combat situations lately. I wouldn't be surprised if in the future mechanical military-spec watches cease to be produced and get replaced by something cheaper and more durable, which will only make the old mechanical versions more prized by collectors. Of course, if the collectors will still pay for them companies like Marathon and Stocker & Yale would be smart to continue production for the private sector.

Vintage Sheffield All Sport

Today I'm wearing another vintage watch, a Sheffield All Sport model. This watch was originally my grandfather's and was probably purchased sometime in the 1960s. It's styled like a diver and says "Waterproof" and "Shock Resistant". I wouldn't consider it a proper diver because it lacks a specific depth rating and the bezel is bidirectional. It probably was more of an all-purpose outdoors watch, suitable for swimming, boating, camping, etc. It is fitted with a Tropic brand strap, but I don't know if it was original or fitted after the watch was purchased. I know that NOS Tropics are relatively expensive these days, so it's nice to already have one on a period watch. It is Swiss Made, but I haven't had it open so I don't know what movement it has. I should probably have it serviced as it does start and stop randomly, especially if it's not being worn. I doubt my grandfather ever had it serviced so it's probably about time.