WATCHES FOR SALE

Selling three of my personal watches, you might be interested in these. Here goes:

Debaufre Nav B 48mm Flieger
Discontinued model from Debaufre. The pilot watch we raved about. Decorated Swiss Unitas movement.
* Stainless steel case
* Diameter 48 mm, including crown 53 mm, 13.8mm thick.
* See-thru case back with blue screws and a special "Cote de Geneve" engraving
* 3 ATM
* Sapphire crystal
* Black dial, and sub dial
* Figures with Super LumiNova
* Leatherstrap 22 mm with thorn buckle with screws.
* Unitas 6497 hand wind movement with 17 jewels
* Nickel plated with blue screws
* "Cote de Geneve" design
* 17 jewels
* Stainless steel case
* Diameter 48 mm, including crown 53 mm, 13.8mm thick.
* See-thru case back with blue screws and a special "Cote de Geneve" engraving
* 3 ATM
* Sapphire crystal
* Black dial, and sub dial
* Figures with Super LumiNova
* Leatherstrap 22 mm with thorn buckle with screws.
* Unitas 6497 hand wind movement with 17 jewels
* Nickel plated with blue screws
* "Cote de Geneve" design
* 17 jewels

Condition is Timezone Scale: LNIB 100% for the watch. Box and papers all intact.

The leather strap is slightly darkened from wear on the inner side (normal), looks new on the outer side.

Price: US$448
Payment: accepts Paypal - fees my burden
Shipping: Registered airmail from Singapore Post (around $12 to $18)
Email: antonc108 at gmail.com

Seiko Orange Monster
So popular and well known even among the wives of watch enthusiasts I got nothing much to say.
Condition is Timezone Scale: Mint 98% Light swirls on the bracelet and thats it!

Time keeping is very accurate however the only issue is the crown is a bit finicky when trying to pull it to position 2 for date changing, sometimes its hard to 'feel the notch' for position 2, but this had never been a problem, you may not even notice it.

No box, no papers. Zulu strap in picture is not included.

Price: Sale Withdrawn
Payment: accepts Paypal - fees my burden
Shipping: Registered airmail from Singapore Post (around $10 to $15)
Email: antonc108 at gmail.com

Seiko 6138-3003 Automatic Chronograph
Vintage Seiko automatic chronograph that dates from February 1978. Needs no introduction for enthusiasts. Folded link bracelet is original Seiko, but I suspect not original to the watch, full sized though.
Condition is Timezone Scale: Good 78%

Please expect dings, nicks and scratches on crystal and watch case, light swirls on the bracelet. Scratches on the dial (probably from past servicing), faded small hands and alga-ed lume from aged. Water resistant not expected. Once again this is a 32 year old vintage watch.

Time keeping is very accurate however, I had it last serviced in 2007. All chrono functions work properly and resets to zero.

FREE: Includes an unused NATO bond strap seen in the picture.

Price: SOLD!
Payment: accepts Paypal - fees my burden
Shipping: Registered airmail from Singapore Post (around $10 to $15)
Email: antonc108 at gmail.com

(PS: Compare prices on ebay, this model usually closes from $200 up for a beat up, to $400 for a pristine mint conditioned one.)
Thanx for the read, drop me an email if your interested.

NEW WATCH

(Click on pic for full size)

New watch in the house. Hamilton Khaki Scuba. Haven't done watch reviews for a long time, so here goes a little first impression review.

Specs:
Model number H64551857
Screw down crown
100m water resistant
Sapphire crystal
Hour, minute, second, day and date function
Swiss Quartz movement - ETA/ESA 255.122-D12D6 (ESA 255.121 is possible but unlikely)

Well this is the same basic quartz circuit board they used in the high end Omega De Ville Prestige, (both Omega and Hamilton being sister companies under the giant SWATCH umbrella). Granted that Omega rhodium coats and modifies the movement further, and thus so they charges 5 to 6 times more. Lume is probably Luminova, it doesn't seem bright enough to be Super Luminova. I like the dial design, hours, military hours, minutes and seconds. The diver styled bezel does not rotate. No problem, ain't using it for diving, not that I know how to dive in the first place!

(Click on pic for full size)

I think it looks really cool and sporty with the splash of orange over silver. The orange markers and second hand's tip comes together nicely. The leather strap is a little bit too orange for leather to be, but the silver dial is really classy. Most of my watches are black dials, so the silver is a nice change of mood. I image with its silver dial it will also double as a pseudo dress watch if its put on a bracelet or a more sombre colored leather strap. But I like it sporty so I guess I might get a bright orange Zulu strap for it.

Dimensions:
Stainless steel case
Case thickness 13mm
Case size 40mm excluding crown, 43mm including crown.
Lug size 20mm
Lug to lug 50mm
Dial size 31mm

Some quick and dirty pics of the unboxing:
Thanx for the read.

MY DIGITAL SPACE WATCH COLLECTION

Well here is my digital space watch collection (non-G Shock, my G Shocks are here instead), most of them are Timex watches though I have some others. I hope to grow the collection over time and add more of those interesting Seikos.

First up is an anadigi actually, the Omega Speedmaster X33 3291.50.00 (Generation 2), one of the four official watches certified by NASA for space flight. There are many well-documented information online about this watch so I shan't waste time talking about it here.

What we've got next here is the Seiko A829 6010 Digital Chronograph. From the 1980s, the A829s are one of the rarest digital Seiko out there and I was lucky enough to land a mint conditioned one many months ago from a very good Hungarian seller.

The unique thing about this movement is that you change mode by rotating the bezel, which is pretty uncommon. This watch was also widely used by NASA astronauts in the 1980s for space missions. The exact one used were A829-6019 and A829-6029, though there are high possibilities that the 6010 was also included. All these cool factors, coupled with the rarity, makes this one of the most collectible vintage digital watch.

For further reading, please refer to this article on Timezone Italia written by my friend and fellow space watch enthusiast Cristiano (screen name Schirra). Its in Italian though so you need to use Babelfish to translate it to English. Cristiano is probably the most knowledgeable guy on the topic of space watches and his website had served as an important learning resource for many collectors.

And here are my Timex Data Link collection. For more information about these Datalink watches and their significance to space travel, please read my article here.

Timex model 70518, worn by Astronaut James H. Newman on STS-88.

Timex model 69737, worn by Cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Expedition 14, on the ISS. Yeah, mine ran out of batteries but I still went ahead and took this pic. Will update with new pic later when I change its battery.

Timex model 78041, one of the four official NASA certified watches for space mission. Widely worn by astronauts.

Timex model 78047, bracelet version of the 78041.

Timex model 78701, essentially the same watch as the 78041 and 78047, but of different color, this one's grey, there's a blue version too, which I don't have yet. Sorry I didn't remove the label on the strap for the pic coz its a collection piece kept new in box.

Timex model 69931, worn by Dr Daniel T Barry on STS-96. This is also known as the midsize model 150S, which was a more desirable model among the technically minded Datalink enthusiasts and programmers, I don't know the reasons why though, these enthusiasts are more gadget fans than watch fans. And indeed this model is much rarer. I was fortunate to get a new-in-box piece.

Timex model 70302, worn by Dr Daniel T Barry on STS-72.

Timex model 70301, essentially the same watch as the 70302, but this one is on a resin strap. There is an interesting Easter Egg on the resin strap, see the 101010 code-like numbers on the strap? Its actually an ASCII code which translate to 'Listen to the Light', how befitting since the watch communicates with the PC via light.

Timex model 69787, this is a not a space watch, but its one of the nicer Timex Datalinks that I decided to keep.

Timex model 69940; notebook adapters for the Datalink watches, both black and white versions. Not watches but I feel its importantly related to the Data Link watches.

Lastly here's there the Belarusian made Elektronika 55 watch. According to Soviet/Russian watch expert Phil (screen name 'ill-phill'), soviet cosmonauts worn these Elektronika watches in space during the 1980s and Phil got a pic on his website of cosmonaut Victor Mikhailovich Afanasyev wearing an Elektronika 52B.

I realized my piece was a remade version though, not a true vintage piece, the Ukrainian seller described it inaccurately. I wouldn't had bought it if it's a remade piece, and the accuracy is very poor. Even mechanical watches are more accurate.

Hope you enjoy the read and the pictures.

MY CASIO G SHOCK COLLECTION

Some pictures of my G Shock collection which I originally posted at WUS Casio G Shock forum a few weeks ago. I bought the Gulfman as a birthday gift for my brother this year, at the same time I bought myself a Mudman too.
The Gulfman.
The Gulfman's caseback, looks like a turtle with some weapons? A Ninja-turtle?
The Mudman.
The Mudman caseback, a mole wearing Oakleys and driving wheels?
First generation Frogman, DW6300.
DW6900, popular watch with NASA astronauts.
DW5900, another popular watch with NASA astronauts.
DW5600C (vintage), certified for space flight by NASA.
DW5600E (contemporary), certified for space flight by NASA.
Another photo of the DW5600E.
And here's a group photo. And yeah, I got 7 DW5600s, for the C version, I have both modules 691 and 901 and both examples of both modules from factory locations both Japan A and Japan H. For the E version, one is Casio Thailand, another is Casio Malaysia.
Last photo.

THE NASA TIMEX DATALINK WATCHES

This is a recent article on The NASA Timex Datalink Watches which I wrote and posted at Watchuseek NASA and Space Topics forum. I am posting it here on my blog as well.

Well we're all familiar with this article at NASAexplores.com about watches used in space and that the Timex Ironman Datalink is one of the four NASA certified watches for space missions. Being the space watch enthusiast that I am, I done some searches on the NASA website, which found me many photos of astronauts wearing Timex Datalink watches. It seems that the Ironman version is not the only nor the first version used. I think it was rather the non Ironman versions were ones first used instead.

Cosmonaut Yuri P. Gidzenko, Expedition One Soyuz commander on ISS wearing the 69931 (refer to Timex 1998 catalog below):



Astronaut Daniel T. Barry on STS-96 wearing the 69931 and the 78041/78047 (refer to Timex 1998 catalog below):



Astronaut James H. Newman on STS-88 wearing the 70502/70518 (refer to Timex 1996 catalog below):



And Cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Expedition 14, on the ISS wearing the 69721/69737 (refer to Timex 1998 catalog below):



Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, Expedition One, on ISS wearing the 78041/78047 (refer to Timex 1998 catalog below):




Curious to know more, I sent an email to the Timex Museum and Ms Cathy Conti replied:

Dear Anton,

We have two Timex Data Link watches on display at Timexpo: The Timex Museum that have been into space with US Astronaut Dr Daniel T. Barry.

The first watch from 1994 - model 70302, was worn by Dr Barry onboard the STS-72 Endeavour in 1996. The second watch from 1998 - model 69931, was worn onboard the STS-96 Discovery in 1999.

I have attached photos of the two watches on display and their information from the 1996 (model 70302) and 1998 (model 69931)catalogs.

Regards, Cat Timexpo: The Timex Museum

She also attached two catalog pictures, and two pictures of the flown watches on display at her museum.

Timex 1996 Catalog




Timex 1998 catalog




And here are Dr Daniel T. Barry's flown Timex watches on display at the Timex Museum; the model 70302 from 1994, worn onboard the STS-72 Endeavour in 1996:



And the model 69931 from 1998, worn onboard the STS-96 Discovery in 1999:



Here's the watch in action:



http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/presskits/ffs_gallery_sfn_image1.html

More (non flight pics):

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-3/html/iss003e6188.html

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-105/html/jsc2001e25819.html

I can't find pics of astronauts wearing 70302 though, there seems to be less photographs of earlier missions. But I did found something else interesting regarding the Timex Datalinks on the crew logs that gave us an insight of how important these watches were to the astronauts then.

From Expedition One January Crew Log:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp1/exp1shepjan.html

"We have been working with the Timex software. Many thanks to the folks who got this up to us. It seems we each have a different version of the datalink watch, and of course, the software is different with each. Yuri and Sergei are able to load up a day's worth of alarms, but Shep has the Datalink 150, and this has a 5 alarm limit. So 2/3 of the crew are now happy."

"Missed a whole comm. pass over White Sands . We need to get the timex watches working so we don't overlook these calls."

"As 5A is now delayed, we would like to request the "timex" watch software if it is available on the ground-a file that can be uplinked to us. This will help us manage our day as we can load comm. passes into the watches."

From Expedition One February and March Crew Log
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp1/exp1shepmarfeb.html

"We copy the request from Houston on the timex watches. We will keep using the ones we have onboard-there are some workarounds we can apply that will help the limited "alarm" situation. We don't request any more watches be sent up on 5A, but thanks to all the crew equipment folks for asking. As a heads-up to Exp 2, any plans to use the timex download capability should include more laptop IR transmitters. We have 1 onboard, but more will be required if the next crew wants to fully use this capability."

If you read the last sentence, hey, they even got a piece of the model 69940 laptop adaptor on board (refer to 1998 catalog), and they wanted more. (They refer to it as laptop IR (infared red?) transmitters.)

Hope this is helpful to fellow enthusiasts.

For more pictures, take a look at my Timex Datalink watch collection, along with other digital watches.