Rado Golden Gazelle

The Reindeer Gang - Gazelle

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 

Had a very shiny nose 

And if you ever saw it 

You would even say it glows..."

In this Christmas festive mood.... Joy to the World!!! Eeerrrrerrrr we are talking about a type of deer here, but not Rudolph.... Rudolph would be dead tiring after the Silent Night rush. Although, I have been a good boy for the last 365 days, I think he missed my house...... 

This is a 1960's and 70's Rado Golden Gazelle. It is measuring 35mm excluding crown. The chunky stainless steel case is finely brushed. 

The watch has a fluted bezel and with mineral glass. 

This watch has a very gorgeous-looking grey silver gradient dial. It has the famous rotating Rado Anchor logo. There is also a Golden Gazelle emblem at 9 o'clock position. 

The hour and minute hand have a very bold black highlight insert. The second hand is black in colour. 

The bracelet is still the original single solid link with the Anchor logo and Rado embossing at its clasp.

The crown is with the anchor logo signed. It is semi concealed into the case. 

This Golden Gazelle has screw in stainless steel back case. Apart from the word Rado, it has an anchor and double sea horses engraving at the center. 

This watch comes with a 25 Jewels automatic ETA 2789 movement. It is the first calibre with quickset day date function. It runs at 21,600 bph and has a power reserve of 45 hours. 

Looking forward into 2014

Wishing Star....

As 2013 comes to an end.... I am looking forward to 2014, hoping it to be a better year.... a more peaceful year, a more productive year...... When there is wish... there is hope... when there is hope, everything is possible.... We must have faith in ourself, our abilities, our determination, and put our trust in God. 

Watches for my 2014

These are my goals.... my motivation drive...... 

1) Citizen Autozilla 1000m Promaster Diver NH6930

This is considered to be one of the Holy Grail for diving. Very nice Duratect Titanium Casing and super thick sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Very nicely done case back and a reliable movement. 

2) Zenith El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th 

Wearing this El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th chronograph, Felix Baumgartner reached an estimated speed of 1,357.64 km/h (Mach 1.25) jumping from the stratosphere on October 2012. He became the first man to break the sound barrier in free fall and set several other records while delivering valuable data for future space exploration.

Supposed to have bought this back in November 2012 in Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur. Could not agree with the seller on the price and also the issue of the display. See I wanted to purchase the display kit which include a Felix Baumgartner wearing a space suite model and the space shuttle.....

3) Patek Philippe Calatrava 5127J

This is a dream to me...... I would strike for this..... I would not compromise.... 

Titoni full diamond dial

Cosmo King of King

I always love watch that is extravaganza or flamboyant in styling. Something that is eyes-catching, something that is attention seeking..... something that is a lot more bling bling.... Well this is one Titoni Cosmo King that really sparkling well.....

When my Indonesian friend sent me an email regarding this watch, I called him in the middle of the night and asked him to pick up and send me the next day urgently.

This is a vintage Titoni Cosmo King Day-Date from early 1990's era. It is a full gold plated version. What make it differs from common Cosmo King are the full diamond paved dial with ruby hour markers, diamond looking bezel and a displaying caseback. 

The golden champagne dial is fully drenched in diamonds and rubies apart from the Titoni logo just underneath the day function. The hour and minute hands are sword like. The second hand is black in colour and making a good contrast with the ever shining dial. 

Titoni has a secret recipe for the diamond bezel. It is neither make of swarovski stones nor cubic zirconia.... It is a machine engraved bezel with cherry blossom pattern and finally sprayed with platinum colour coating. After a while the coating may faded and it look like a "diamond" fall off from the bezel...... 

This watch comes with solid bracelet which is gold plated as well. Unlike most Titoni bracelet, this one is with the hidden clasp. 

This watch is equipped with mineral glass crystal. This is the transition period before the Cosmo King being equipped with sapphire crystal. 

Another specialty of this Cosmo King is the see-through screw in back case. The back case is stainless steel and without any plating. It display the Titoni self assembled and modified ETA 2834-2 movement with 25 jewels and beating at 28,800 bph. This movement is a highly reliable workhorse with a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. 

This is truly a timepiece that is in a league of its own. I hope to find another one in stainless steel or two tones in the future..... Stay tuned for my endeavour in hunting for Cosmo King of King!!!

Citizen autodater uni

Uni as in university or united or...?

In the early till mid 1960's Citizen used its own circular geared rotor in its automatic watches. This is known as the "Jet Rotor".  Citizen used this design in their ‘Jet’ and ‘Super Jet’ models. In 1963, they began to replace the Jet rotor with the more common oscillating weight, which proved to be more reliable than the Jet rotor. The first model to use the swinging weight was known as the 'Uniauto' and came in several versions, all with a special logo on the dial and in 17 or 19 jeweled versions.

This is a beautiful Citizen Autodater Uni. The casing is smooth, perfectly shaped with domed acrylic glass. The case is measuring 38mm excluding its crown. The crown has pretty good grip and it is signed with the "Uni" logo. 

The dial is slightly curved with darker champagne brown colour. At the dial, it is labelled with a Uni logo, "Citizen" "Auto Dater Uni" "17 Jewels" "Para400Water" "Parashock" Japan. 

This watch is equipped with dauphine hands and a long round second hand which sweep smoothly. At 3 o'clock position is the date window. 

This Citizen Auto Dater Uni has a snap in back case. The whole case is make of stainless steel. What is interesting is that the back case has a Uni logo marking and also a wording STAR in a rectangle frame. I have tried to find up more about this.

This watch used the Citizen in-house movement of cal. 2410 with 17 Jewels and has an amplitude of 18,000 bph. It has a power reserve of approximately 47 hours.

Below is some reference books for Citizen Uni models........

Citizen Parawater casing construction diagram:

Diagram showing the Parashock system:

Seiko Diver 6309-7290

Another day, another diver.... 

With all honesty, I don't know how to swim. Neither can I dive. By every definition, I am a land creature. However I quite like the feeling of the calm and quietness that is under the sea...... I enjoy the pictures of the sea floor flora and fauna and its surrounding habitats..... I enjoy and appreciate watches that are meant for diving.....

The main course for today is the Seiko Diver 6309-7290. I did a write up about the small case Seiko Diver 6309-7920 Here.... As of today it will be a photos presentation of the more ordinary black insert bezel with black dial and Seiko Z22 rubber strap.