A Couple of New Arrivals….

Posted on September 24, 2015 by sweephand

Been about a month since my last post – grand children and other commitments certainly keep me busy! – I’ve had a couple of pieces arrive this week. And they are very different in character even though only two years separate them. First is a hand winding Crystate Deluxe, a higher quality (and somewhat rare) model using the o2 (‘Homer’) movement. Unusually, it has 22 jewels, a dial uniquely marked with the Crystate font and one applied star, and has ‘second setting’ (usually called ‘hacking’). This one is now on an original bracelet:

It was produced in July 1968, and has the older style model number of HOOS3003:

Moving on just two years and here’s a very different look:

This Custom V2 is one of the first models with Citizen’s black coating on a light alloy case. They were launched in May 1970, with Citizen pioneering this finish and introducing new case and dial designs to appeal to the changing fashions of that era. (NB: the applied ‘Citizen’ logo is polished steel, but the lighting didn’t show this).

These ‘Blacky’ models used the 72 automatic movement with 23 jewels. No model number on this one, just the later style case number. The production date is March 1970:

So two watches of a similar age, yet far apart in terms of design 🙂

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This Week’s Featured Watch #71 – The Super Crystal Date

Posted on August 28, 2015 by sweephand

In the mid 1960s Citizen introduced a new and extensive line of watches, using their 52 automatic movement. This marked the launch of the successful Crystal Seven line, which is one of the better known names from Citizen’s back catalogue. These watches were the first (for Citizen) to use hardened mineral glass rather than acrylic crystals, and this is reflected in the model name.

Also part of the 52 range are the high end Chrono Master automatic models, featuring highly tuned versions including chronometer grade pieces (https://sweep-hand.org/the-chrono-masters/).

The 52 movement features day and date windows, and these carry the ‘Seven’ moniker as a result: https://sweep-hand.org/2011/06/23/this-weeks-featured-watch-8-the-crystal-seven-27-jewels/. But (as with the Chrono Masters) date only models were made, and their movements are designated ’54’. And because they didn’t qualify as ‘Sevens’ they were simply called Crystal Dates: https://sweep-hand.org/2012/05/10/this-weeks-featured-watch-32-the-crystal-date-17j/

In between the standard Crystal Date and the Chrono Master, Citizen also produced the ‘Super Crystal Date’, a relatively rare piece. With the 33 jewel 5410 movement, these were subject to enhanced accuracy regulation at the factory, as was done in the Super Jets, Super Deluxe and other ‘Super’ designated models. Also, like the Chrono Master, they have a second setting (‘hacking’) function.

A good Super Crystal Date is hard to find, so this one is a welcome addition to the collection:

The case, hands and dial markers are very reminiscent of the Chrono Masters. The unique italic font of the model name differentiates it however from all other models, whilst the jewel count is a simple, bold ’33’. And, as is typical of many ‘Super’ models there are three stars above the 6 o’clock marker. Sometimes these are printed, but here they are very nicely applied to the silver white dial:

The crown is signed with the ‘C’ emblem:

The 5410 movement is distinguished by ‘Super’ on the rotor, filled with red paint :

Now to one of the best features 🙂 Although not always found on these, this model has a special case back design used on Super Automatics:

The emblem shows a stylised rocket or jet plane, within a pair of wings and with a gear and the three ‘super’ stars underneath. The older style model number is used – AUDS2803 – and the serial number gives a production date of December 1966.

It is running well, with very accurate timing from its 18,000 beat per hour movement. This model has been on my ‘want’ list for a long time, not least because of this:

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Leopard Chronometer – Trailer…..

Posted on August 27, 2015 by sweephand

My Leopard Chronometer came back from the USA recently – it has been carefully repaired and serviced by Brian Leiser (aka ’31Jewels’). When I first acquired it the watch had a couple of problems  – one in particular was a major issue – but Brian was able to use his skills to sort it out 🙂

The work Brian has done will be shown in detail at a later date, so for now here is a quick look. Brian sourced a new OEM crystal (they were either faceted or flat), and it is now running at no worse than +4 seconds per day, in all positions – not bad for a well used and previously not so well looked after watch from 1970!:

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Original ‘Speedy’ Bracelet – jury still out?

Posted on August 24, 2015 by sweephand

After my last post about the likely original bracelet for the 67-9313 ‘Speedy’ bracelet, Brian Leiser (’31 Jewels’) has pointed out to me that the original would probably have an embossed rather than an engraved clasp. He also observed that the end links would have a better curved fit to the case. So I guess that until a definitive contemporary image is found, the jury is still out!

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The original 67-9313 ‘Speedy’ Bracelet?

Posted on August 11, 2015 by sweephand

The 67-9313 chronograph from the 1970s, known as the ‘Speedy’ was originally sold on a steel bracelet. So far I have not been able to find a clear catalog image so it has been something of a mystery. This is the best I have found!:

Over the last couple of days a guy called Steve, from the USA , and I have been talking about this issue – both of us have white Speedies that came on bracelets thought to be original, so we have given it some thought 🙂

The first point to be made is that the case has been designed for straight ended links. Steve provided this photo, showing how the space between the lugs has been cut out for a straight fitting:

The bracelet on both our Speedies fit this gap snugly:

Interestingly bot our bracelets have a slight dent on the centre of the end link where it presses against the upper case – Steve’s:

Mine:

I’ve found a few more on the internet with this bracelet, and it appears to be the same style as the catalog image. It’s folded link, with no part number, but our conclusion is that this is most likely the original bracelet…..

With thanks to Steve for his input and photos 🙂

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Been thinking about favourite watches….

Posted on July 31, 2015 by sweephand

….and one I often come back to is a ‘UNI’ Auto Dater from 1965, which I’ve been wearing today. The UNI was the first Citizen to use a swinging weight automatic movement – the 1400. Introduced in 1963, it marked the phasing out and ultimate demise of the Jet movement.

Technical details aside, the lovely ‘linen’ dial puts this firmly in the ‘favourites’ category:

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Oops….

Posted on July 24, 2015 by sweephand

Sometimes what otherwise might be a nice dial restoration is spoilt by lack of attention to details like……spelling:

This watch was for sale recently – probably a Homer movement in this ‘Ctizne’ gold-plated hand-winder. Oops!

(credit to the seller for the photo)

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A ‘New’ Diver…..

Posted on July 14, 2015 by sweephand

I’ve been very busy with family commitments lately – good ones 🙂 – so I have not posted too much. Things are settling down at home now, so it’s time for a new post. And it’s time for something a little bit exciting – nothing less than the discovery of a previously unseen diver!

One of the joys of collecting and, more importantly, researching vintage Citizens in the absence of reliable reference material, is that ‘new’ models can be unearthed. It’s important of course to somehow authenticate a ‘new’ model, since it could be a ‘franken’ or an outright fake….

Some time ago I spotted a diver style watch for sale in Japan – I wasn’t convinced at that time that it was correct, so I archived the pics and ‘sat on it’. And then, just recently. I saw another example, also with clearer images. My conclusion is that this is an authentic, original piece, so I am posting about it now 🙂

And it’s unusual! This is a hand winding diver, rated at 120 meters, with an external bezel. What is rather cool is that it is no ordinary hand winder, but a white/silver dialled 25 jewel ‘Super Deluxe’:

Notably this watch features no lume, not even a pip on the bezel, so its practicality as a diver is somewhat limited! It seems to me that the case is a one-piece type – doesn’t look to me to be a snap on type looking at the shape:

The ‘monocoque’ case suggests it was made to a diving specification. The case/model number – D1307051 – is a genuine number, and ‘D’ probably means ‘Diver’. In my case parts manual the data for this model is marked ‘x’, i.e. a one piece case that can’t be opened from the back.

Here is a pic of the first of these I spotted, well two actually:

The case backs both seem to show production in 1965:

So there we have it – the Super Deluxe 120m diver 🙂  Before I add it to the diver page I’d like to hear what people think, so please post your comments.

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Date Flake Movement

Posted on July 4, 2015 by sweephand

Just realised that I had not included a movement shot of the Date Flake in my last ‘Featured Watch’ post. I’ve now rectified that 🙂

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This Week’s Featured Watch #70 – the Date Flake

Posted on June 17, 2015 by sweephand

The Date Flake is one of the more obscure hand winding models – first produced in 1964 it uses the same thin movement as the better known Diamond Flake, which was the thinnest Japanese watch when it was introduced in 1962 (https://sweep-hand.org/2013/05/15/this-weeks-featured-watch-51-the-diamond-flake/) . Citizen also introduced a Diamond Flake Date in 1964, so there is scope here for confusion! The key differences are that the Diamond Flake uses the 0700/0701/0702 movement with either 25 or 31 jewels, the Diamond Flake Date uses the 2700 movement with 25 jewels, and the Date Flake uses the 2710 movement with 22 jewels. The lower jewel count indicates a slightly lower grade of watch and this is also reflected in the steel movement, whereas the Diamond Flake models have gold plated movements. Original retail prices supported this with the stainless steel models selling for ¥9,000, ¥11,000 and ¥8,000 respectively.

This stainless steel example is from 1968. The silvery white dial has simple black centred hour batons and hands, very similar in design to the Chrono Master models:

The back has the model name and the older style case / model number (DAFS2901), along with a June 1968 serial number and a water proof case type code of OR-D-2:

The back is very flat, to help keep the overall thickness to a minimum. From the side the case is clearly slimline:

No applied Citizen logo on these watches, but an elegant cursive script is used:

Here’s the 22 jewel movement, as per the Diamond Flake, but without the gold finsh:

This final shot shows the design of the hands more clearly:

The watch runs at 18,000 beats per hour and is keeping very good time. A classicly simple design, it is a compact 36mm across (excluding the crown) and is very easy to wear.

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