This is a 1920s Seiko trench watch. Or more accurately, this is my newly acquired 1920s Seiko watch. From my very nominal research, the name Seiko first made an appearance on a wrist watch dial in 1924. Before then, the wrist timepieces Seikosha produced carried the name Laurel from 1913 to 1923. In 1923, the… Continue reading In Which I Inadvertently Celebrate Seiko’s 100th Year as a Brand
Tag: collecting
The Unbearable Lightness of Buying–or Remembrance of (Bought) Things Past
This is the Fossil Belmar three-hand date black stainless steel watch. It's the very first watch I ever bought, believe it or not, at the not-so-tender age of 42. I didn't know anything about watches. I had a general idea of specific brands like Omega, Rolex, and TAG Heuer but I wasn't interested in getting… Continue reading The Unbearable Lightness of Buying–or Remembrance of (Bought) Things Past
Three Questions: Wittnauer
1. What vintage brand would make the best dress watch for the money? At various times I would have answered that question differently. Hamilton, Bulova, and Gruen all make perfectly serviceable “dress” watches. If you want to pay a little more, Le Coutre, Longines, and Omega were great options, but prices have jumped recently. To… Continue reading Three Questions: Wittnauer
Save One: Round Table No. 12
Sherwin: It's been a while since the last round table. Let's get to it: What's the watch you will save if you ever get to a scorched earth situation? Let's say you have to--you don't want to but you have to--what's the one timepiece in your collection that you will keep? And no cheating. You… Continue reading Save One: Round Table No. 12
The Stopper
I haven’t bought a new watch in nearly a year and haven’t bought a vintage watch in nearly three months. The new watch interval is normal. It takes me months to decide what I want and how much I will pay. Vintage is always a more impulse process: see something, research it, figure the costs… Continue reading The Stopper
Little Star: Typical Greg Content
Command economies work so well. One day the big boss decides that the perfect society needs a watch for women, and like Athena from the forehead of Zeus, a new watch is born. This is how we got the Zvezda ("Little Star"), the Cartier of the U.S.S.R. Aggressions in Europe have cooled my ardor for… Continue reading Little Star: Typical Greg Content
Are collectors getting younger?
The Full Story of My Camy Club-Star
I've long talked about this watch, everything from its exact date of purchase to its sentimental value. The whole story is split up in so many different posts and comments that it's probably not the easiest thing to piece together. Nobody asked for this, but here we go... December 31st was slightly overcast if I… Continue reading The Full Story of My Camy Club-Star
Antiques hunting: George and Mossel Bay
I just came back from the postcard-esque southern coast of South Africa. I would have been back earlier if the caravan's right wheel didn't decide to launch itself into some farmer's field. Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted that the wheel and hub are no longer where they should be. The whole side skirt is ruined.… Continue reading Antiques hunting: George and Mossel Bay
Am I good enough to carry the torch?
I found myself in a deep state of thought when wearing my Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Spider recently. The Antarctic Spider is without a doubt a watch with some serious history. The triangulation/spider dial wasn't on the first watch to go down into the Antarctic, but it is one of the rarer configurations of an already… Continue reading Am I good enough to carry the torch?








