Bulova Accutron 63F77 Automatic

I actually wore this watch (and took the photos) earlier this week but didn't get around to writing about it until today. I picked this up from BlingDaily.com a couple years ago. $150 for a "Swiss Made" automatic is really hard to beat these days. These appeared to be closeouts as original MSRP was $670. I did see them later drop to $100, but I'm sure they disappeared quickly at that price. But looking beyond the price, this is a really nice watch. I'd say the overall quality is on par with most Hamiltons. The design falls between a dress watch and a more rugged "tool" watch, and because of this it makes a really great all-around watch. The case is 40mm with 22mm lugs, so it's pretty substantial. The case has a nice combination of brushed and polished surfaces, once again walking the line between dress and casual. The leather strap is nicely finished and not at all flimsy, and is fastened with a stainless deployant. My favorite part of this watch is the dial (protected by a sapphire crystal.) The white dial has a number of fine details that work really well together. The fine diamond pattern in the center is surrounded by a ridged ring which is then duplicated just inside the seconds track. In between the two rings are the bright silver-tone applied roman numerals, and the open hands share this finish. The second hand also has a Bulova logo on its "tail" which mirrors the applied logo at 12 o'clock. On the other side, the exhibition caseback shows off the engraved rotor and somewhat plain ETA 2892.A2. This is actually a really nice movement and much more modern than the ETA 2824, which I have a number of in my collection. As you can tell, I'm quite fond of this watch, and the more closely I examine it the more things I find to like.

Zodiac Oceanaire ZO8000 Swiss Automatic Diver

It's been so long since I've worn this watch that I forgot it had a bracelet. I think I came very close to buying the rubber strap version a while ago, but bought this brand new one secondhand from a WUS forumer who thought it was too big for him. It certainly is big: 45mm across with 24mm lugs, and the weight to match. At the time of release (about 5 years ago) these were pretty popular among watch geeks. I believe the main reason was that while it was a diver's watch, it had a unique design (while plenty of other watches in this price range were copy of something else.) Also, they seemed to be a little difficult to find since Zodiac didn't have many retailers (probably still doesn't) and initially nobody had these online. It's a great looking watch, as you can see in my pics, as well as here and here. The overall package feels very high quality, as it should in a "Swiss Made" watch, and I've found the timekeeping to be excellent as well. Unlike many Swiss automatic watches, this does not use an ETA movement, but a Claro-Semag CL-888. There has been some minor controversy over this movement and the "Swiss Made" label, but it sounds like it follows a manufacturing process similar to other more well known Swiss movements. They're still making some versions of this watch and the price hasn't really gone down, although occasionally you will see them on sale via eBay or Zodiac's own store. I've been to a few Fossil (owners of Zodiac) outlets and while they've had other Zodiacs, I've never seen this or any other automatic Zodiac there. If I saw another version for the right price I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

Magico 20001-11 Carbon Fiber Automatic Diver

This is a cheap watch. It cost me under $50 brand new, including shipping, and even came with a watch winder. It's made from Chinese parts, almost certainly assembled in China, and is from a manufacturer I had never heard of before.

And it's fantastic.

The first thing you notice about this watch when you pick it up is the weight. I wish I had a scale handy, but I'd say it's something like seven or eight ounces. And solid. The chunky links of the 24mm bracelet are tight and the double-butterfly clasp locks securely, even without a push button mechanism. The case is 46mm wide with broad sides and fancy lugs that integrate well with the bracelet (but would make fitting a strap a bit difficult.) It has a water resistance rating of 200m and a unidirectional bezel, so it would be suitable for diving. The bezel is reasonably tight, although I know some people want them to be downright difficult to turn. This one is tight enough that it won't be accidentally turned by something and there's very little slop in the mechanism. The oversized crown has grooves in it that remind me of gun barrel rifling, with just a slight twist to assist in gripping it. The whole face is kind of similar to a Seiko Monster, although the hour markers are much smaller and lume not as great. The real carbon fiber dial is very attractive and adds some depth to what would otherwise be rather plain. The movement is a 25 jewel Miyota 8215 workhorse and keeps excellent time, as good as many Swiss watches costing ten or twenty times as much. Magico is one of the many brands of The SWI Group, and while I can't go so far as to recommend all their watches, or even all their Magico-branded watches, this particular model is a great buy, even at twice what I paid.

Pirelli P-Zero Tempo Automatic Chronograph

I'm wearing this Pirelli P-Zero chronograph today. I haven't worn it in a while and just realized I never posted about it. I got it a couple years ago and it is very similar to my non-chronograph Pirelli automatic. The main difference (other than it being a chronograph with a Valjoux 7750 movement) is the genuine alligator strap, which I think really dresses it up and complements the Euro look. I took some new pictures today, but then I found these older photos (which are actually better) so I decided to post them. The photos of the packaging and tags are because I was selling an identical watch at the time. I believe these were being discontinued when I bought them because I paid a small portion of the MSRP shown. It's a high quality, solid watch with a unique design and I'm extremely pleased with it.

Bulova Accutron Farnsworth Automatic Chronograph 63B019

Today I'm wearing my new Bulova chronograph for the first time. I actually just discovered that Citizen now owns Bulova and all their brands, including Accutron of course. I'm not sure if this watch was designed and created before or after the Citizen acquisition, nor am I sure if it matters. It's a nice watch, comparable to my Accutron VX-200 in many ways. Build quality seems as good or better overall, but the bracelet on the Farnswoth is not as complex and possibly not as heavy. Although the chronograph is all highly polished stainless steel and very fancy, it's still built like a tank. The crowns and chronograph pushers have knurling on them, but it's just for looks as none of them screw down. Water resistance is rated at fifty meters. The movement is probably the most unique feature to me. Unlike many chronographs that use the Valjoux 7750 or slightly rarer 7753, this one uses a Valgranges A07.211 which appears to have been designed with larger watches specifically in mind. In this case (no pun intended) the watch is a substantial 44mm wide and 14mm thick with lugs that appear to be 24mm wide. It has a similar self-winding mechanism to the 7750 so it also has the characteristic "wobble" if you get the rotor freewheeling with the movement of your wrist. The dial is very attractive, with a subtle raised pattern, black chrome hands and markers and red accents. So far I really have no complaints. I suppose it would be nice if it had a non-reflective coating on the flat sapphire crystal, but sometimes those are more trouble than they're worth (especially if done with poor quality control.)

Pirelli P-Zero Tempo Automatic

I actually got this watch close to two years ago, just never blogged about it. I've always been into cars, even before I was into watches, and a while ago I had a couple MOMO Design watches, but I found them to be too small so I sold them. Since then I'd always been on the lookout for a watch with ties to the car or motorsports world, so even though I lusted after a TAG Heuer Monaco and had an interest in some of the racier Orient watches I hadn't decided on anything. When I saw the Pirelli automatic on sale I couldn't resist. (I actually bought a Pirelli chronograph just before this watch and will post about it in the future.) It appeared that the current Pirelli watch collection was being closed out around that time, so there were some sales around, including this one and the automatic chronograph. This automatic is very nice: Swiss made, ETA 2836-2 movement, anti-reflective coatings on both sides of the crystal and, of course, the signature Pirelli tire tread strap. All of that generation of Pirelli watches were manufactured by Philip Watch which is a brand owned by Morellato & Sector S.p.a, who also make Sector watches. Quality is as expected in a Swiss made watch, and the various materials and surfaces mate almost seamlessly. The look is certainly sleek and European, but also industrial, and reminiscent of the machined and polished surfaces found inside a car engine. The case is not quite 40mm wide, but it wears a little larger because it is long. The caseback says "titanium and stainless steel", but I'm not sure which parts are which. I suspect most of the case is titanium as the watch is relatively light. The dial is simple and legible and also seems to mimic the dials on auto gauges. There is no shortage of Pirelli branding on the watch. I counted eight logos or text on the watch, including the rather clever touch of engraving "Pirelli" around the crown which allows the crown to be a straight cylinder but still have a surface you can grasp for winding and setting. I'm very happy with my Pirelli watch and I would consider getting another one in the future.