Hamilton Mechanical Officer

Let's start the year off BIG. 44mm to be exact, but it seems even bigger thanks to the dial that stretches to the edges of the case, big numbers and oversized crown. It's my Hamilton Mechanical Officer H69619533, part of the Khaki Field collection. This one is not self-winding, and uses the ETA (née Unitas) 6497 with an approximately 40-hour power reserve. A unique twist is instead of a full display back, this has only a small porthole over the balance which adds to the industrial look of the caseback. The dial is dominated by the oversized 12 and 6 and small seconds at 9. The little dash of red on the seconds dial does keep the dial from looking a bit drab. The strap is heavy with two rows of holes for the double buckle, a functional touch on such a wide strap. Most of these I've seen have been sold with a large "Bund"-style pad behind the watch, but when I found this one on sale (and most I've seen for sale lately) they omit the pad. Looks like it's probably just a change in the model since it's shown sans pad on Hamilton's site as well. On such a large watch it seems like overkill anyway, I prefer Bund straps on smaller watches that need some bulking up. Shortly after I bought this I also found the matching bracelet on eBay, so after a bit of hemming and hawing, I picked it up (seen here on the Officer Auto Chrono.)

My watch buying has slowed down considerably in the last couple of years, but I still have a number of new ones that I will feature here. As I'm sure many of you have noticed, prices for even lower-end Swiss timepieces (not cheap per se, but the more reasonable offerings from Hamilton, Victorinox and various others) have in many cases doubled in the past few years. I still keep an eye out for good deals when I can, but I find it hard to spend $500-600 on a watch that three years ago could be bought easily for $250. The thought crosses my mind occasionally to thin out my collection, especially since I could sell most of my watches for more than I paid for them, but if I wanted to replace them with something equivalent it will cost more as well. For now I think I'll hold onto them.

I hope everybody had enjoyable holidays and I look forward to bringing more watches to the blog on a regular (if not daily) basis. Happy New Year!

Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph 3573.50.00

Well, I finally broke down and got another Omega. It's been a little over two years since I got my first one, a Seamaster Planet Ocean. I've always been a fan of the Speedmaster, not only for its connection to the NASA space program, but also its connection to motorsports. I've been seriously looking at Speedmaster Professionals for a number of months, trying to decide whether to get vintage or new, and if new, then which one? The 3570.50.00 is the model most like the vintage ones and those worn on the moon, with a Hesalite (acrylic) crystal and solid steel caseback. The 3573.50.00 is virtually identical to the other one but features a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, a sapphire exhibition caseback to view the movement, and a movement that is very slightly modified to look better (a small plastic piece is replaced with a metal one.) Ideally, I would have bought a vintage piece, probably from the late 1960s. Unfortunately, prices for excellent vintage pieces are high, and while eBay has lots of vintage Speedmasters, it's difficult to find one that is authentic, original and in good working condition without spending more than a new one. I was actually leaning towards the more "authentic" Hesalite-equipped model (what Omega refers to as the Original Moon Watch), probably because I saw it as being something closer to the vintage models I wanted, but then I realized I really wanted to see the movement and that I would probably also get a vintage one someday, and none of those have exhibition casebacks. Like my Planet Ocean, it took an excellent deal from a reputable online retailer (the same one I got my Planet Ocean from, in fact) to push me over the edge. It also happened that they had the sapphire-equipped model for less than I had planned on paying for the Hesalite-equipped model. So, I got the watch and it's fantastic. For some reason I expected the sapphire crystal to be shaped differently than the Hesalite one, but it's virtually identical. I'm also very happy with the exhibition caseback since unlike my other automatic chronographs there is no winding rotor to block the view, and I could probably spend hours just watching everything move, engage and disengage as the chronograph is started, stopped and reset. I was a little afraid that I would be disappointed with the size. If you've looked at my other watches you've seen I'm a fan of large watches, but while my Speedy Pro is smaller than my Planet Ocean (42mm vs 44.5mm diameters) it certainly does not feel small. "Sleek" might be a better word. Once again, the lack of automatic winding works well here as it is much thinner than any of my automatic chronographs. It lives up to all my expectations and I don't have any complaints.

Waltham Model 1894 Pocket Watch

Today I have my other pocket watch, a Waltham Model 1894. Based on the serial number this one was made in 1932 or 1933. This was originally owned by my great-uncle and was another watch given to me by my grandfather. Unfortunately, like Friday's watch, this one has stopped working sometime in the last 15-20 years. The gold-filled case is still attractive, as is the dial (which could use a cleaning) but it will need servicing before it keeps time again. This watch has a 12s movement which is considerably smaller than Friday's 18s. It's another nice pocket watch with some family history, and it probably deserves to be made functional again.

Waltham Model 1892 Pocket Watch

Today I have my Waltham Model 1892 pocket watch. This came from my grandfather who I think got it from his father, although it may have originally been owned by an uncle. I believe the original owner worked on a railroad, hence the very basic appearance of this watch. I believe the case material is called Silveroid, which is a mix "of 45% nickel, 54% copper and 1% manganese." I'm also under the assumption the dial is porcelain over metal. There's a small chip at the edge that reveals the layers, but otherwise the dial is in very good condition. The serial number dates this to 1907 or 1908, and as far as I know the leather lanyard is just as old. I actually carried this around and used it for a while when I was in high school (around 17 years ago) but I realized recently that it is no longer working. I will probably take it to my watchmaker to service soon. I've always been amazed at the decoration on the movement in this watch compared to the very plain exterior. I don't know much about pocket watches, far less than I know about wristwatches, so this site was very helpful. The movement on this is marked "Appleton, Tracy & Co." but I'm still unsure what that means, or who Appleton, Tracy & Co. were. This watch is very interesting to me as a piece of American history as well as a family heirloom.

Raketa Calendar

Today I'm wearing my only other Russian watch, a Raketa calendar watch. Raketa is the accepted western-style spelling of "Paketa" as seen on the dial. I've actually seen it on dials spelled either way, with Raketa being used for export models. I bought this in the late 80s or very early 90s at my local Macy's. I remember being drawn to its complicated dial and large size (40mm) and also that it was from the USSR (as this was made prior to its dissolution.) I believe their initial price was $100, but they apparently didn't sell very well and I got it for much less. It came in a nice bright red cardboard box with "Paketa" embossed in gold, very Soviet-looking to a westerner, but I've never seen a Raketa in similar packaging since, so I'm almost positive it was just for the export market. I wore this watch for many years in conditions that I probably should not have, like high humidity. It has no seals to speak of and while the movement still operates well, I can see some corrosion on the crowns and case, and I'm sure it's prematurely in need of a good cleaning and lubrication. I don't wear this much anymore, and I apologize for the rather unbecoming strap it's attached to right now. I haven't had a strap on it in a while and that is the least offensive 18mm strap I own right now. I believe it was on a heavy black leather strap initially, but that wore out long ago. I might try notching a 20mm or 22mm strap to fit the covered lugs as I think 18mm is too narrow for this large a watch. Here's a review or a similar model to explain how the calendar works (mine only goes up to 2000.) I think the dial on mine is much more attractive, and I think the color scheme makes it look like a medical instrument of some sort. Here are some interesting Raketa links including some older speculation about the legitimacy of recent new-looking Raketas bearing the "CCCP" markings. I actually bought a more recent Raketa a couple years back (it was one of their 24-hour models, apparently quite popular in Russia) but it didn't interest me like this one did so I sold it. I don't think I'll ever sell this one as it's a reminder of my earlier days of watch interest before I knew I'd ever become a collector.

Vintage Elgin 21 Jewels

Today I'm wearing this vintage Elgin 21 jewel handwind watch. I couldn't find a reference for the serial number on the movement, but I would estimate this to be from the 1940s or 1950s. The movement looks good, but it's not running well right now. Also the crystal tend to pop out so I've been very careful with it. This is my first Elgin on the blog but I believe I have some more, possibly just pocket watches. Elgin was an immensely popular watch brand so their vintage watches are still very plentiful today. For some reason I can't find as much information on the Elgin 599 movement as for some others I own, but I did notice it shows up in quite a few Lord Elgin models (a more upmarket line) so it is possible it's one of Elgin's better movements. It's a little plain and has a fairly common design for the time, but the dial is actually quite nice with its fancy applied numerals, and the hands, while plain, are in good condition. A nice watch that is probably deserving of a good servicing and a nice leather strap.

Vostok Komandirskie Paratrooper

Today I'm wearing my Vostok Komandirskie (Commander's) watch. These were designed originally for the Soviet military. This is the paratrooper version, hence the planes and parachute on the dial. If you're not familiar with Vostok, here's some good information. I've found that many watch collectors, even if they're not "into" Russian watches, have had one or more Vostoks (or Raketas, the other popular Russian brand.) I bought this one close to 20 years ago, when the USSR still existed. Even so, it's obvious this watch was made for export from its "Made in USSR" engraving on the back. This was definitely my first watch to have a screw-down crown. I don't recall what color strap this originally came on, but I believe it was brown leather. It's long gone so I fitted a red leather strap which coordinates well with the red dial and bezel details. This used to have a more green or teal dial, but it has faded over the years to this brown, olive drab-ish color. It's a neat watch and has held up over time pretty well. The stainless case is much more durable than the chrome plated brass cases of some other Russian watches. Similar watches are still available and can be found with many different dial designs. It's nice to see an item that has been in production since 1965, through the Cold War, Glasnost and the fall of the Soviet Union, and is still being made today.

Vintage Timex

(No, I didn't forget, there was no post on Friday as I was out of the office all day.) Today I'm wearing this Timex from the early 1980s. It was my grandfather's, and I'm almost positive I was with him when he bought it at a local discount store (I'm also almost positive the store was called "Nickel's" but I'm not sure how it was spelled. It was in Mt. Penn, near Reading, PA.) I know I've mentioned my grandfather a lot and I recall looking through his dresser drawer full of watches that either stopped working, had broken bracelets or straps, or were possibly too nice for everyday wear. I'm not sure what prompted the purchase of this one, but I'm almost positive it was cheap, something like $15. Probably because the strap or bracelet on one of his other watches got broken and it was cheaper to just replace the watch with this. I don't know when Timex stopped making watches with mechanical movements, but I doubt they made them much later than this (more recent watches notwithstanding.) Amazingly, it's still running fine and kept excellent time the last 24 hours. The last couple times I've wound it and picked it up it always seemed to run in fits and starts. I really didn't expect it to keep running all day, but I guess the movement of wearing it freed up some sticking gears or something. It's a pretty good looking watch, it looks like the watch you'd get if you handed a kid a box of crayons and said "Draw a gold watch" (and the kid was born in the 1970s, I suppose. These days you'd get a drawing of a digital, or a cell phone.) I'm sure it has no collector value, which is good for me because I would never want to consider selling it.

Vintage Gruen Precision

Today I'm wearing another vintage watch similar to many of my other vintage watches: It's from the 1950s or early 1960s, hand-wound, gold plated, has a non-original but probably also vintage expanding bracelet, and is from a well-known American watch company. This one has a Swiss Gruen 510 movement, but is inscribed inside the caseback with "Cased and Timed in U.S.A. by Gruen Watch Co." I suppose it has a pretty typical design for the time, although it does have a unique "bark" finish to the dial which does add some visual interest. The crystal has some crazing, possibly from some pressure placed on it, but overall it's an attractive watch that has held up pretty well over time.