Serious Collectors Pay Serious Money!

Posted on August 28, 2014 by sweephand

I try to keep an eye on auctions on Yahoo Japan – it’s clear that there are some serious collectors in Japan! A couple of recent examples, which caused my jaw to drop somewhat, are, first, a watch strap buckle:

(credit to YJ seller for pic)

This buckle sold for ¥80,000, which is just over $770….Why this price? Well the buckle is for the ‘Glorious Citizen’, the top of the range model from the early 1970s. The watch itself is very rare, but the buckle is probably even rarer. It’s a lot of money for a steel buckle!

And yesterday another auction ended – three or four Seiko and Citizen watches, all described as ‘junk’. Yet the final price was ¥480,000 – that’s over $4,600! In the lot was a diver, but no ordinary one – it was a Chronomaster model from the early 1970s. Certified as a chronometer and rated to 500 meters, this is a very special piece, and highly valued as a result even when in ‘junk’ condition. It looked to be in decent condition, but probably not running:

(credit for pic to YJ seller)

My latest Yahoo Japan purchase was at ¥3000, about $29, so I’m not quite in the serious league yet!!

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This Week’s Featured Watch #60 – The Citizen Auto, 1958

Posted on August 12, 2014 by sweephand

Citizen launched their first automatic watch in 1958 – it was something of a stop-gap model prior to the appearance in late 1961 of the Jet range. The ‘Auto’ was made with either 20 or 21 jewels, and the movement was designated the ‘3KA’. Running at 18,000 beats per hour, the movement used a centrally pivoted rotor, swinging in both directions and driving pawls to wind the main spring. My example is a 20 jewel version:

The font used is unique to the Auto, whilst the back is quite deep to house the winding mechanism:

The movement is hidden under a full bridge which holds the auto winder:

One of the pawls can be seen through the left ‘window’in the above image.

This is a rare watch, one of only a very few I have seen. It has been the subject of a full service and restoration by Brian aka ’31 Jewels’. And as I pieced together research material on this model, I uncovered an interesting back story to the movement. This, and the restoration, is fully documented on the Citizen Auto page: https://sweep-hand.org/the-citizen-auto-1958/

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The Stainless Steel ‘Bullhead’ Chronograph – 67-9356

Posted on July 30, 2014 by sweephand

All but one of Citizen’s ‘bullhead’ models, with the 8110A movement, were mounted in ‘base metal’ cases, albeit with stainless steel backs. Some were gold plated or black coated. The only one to use a stainless steel case was the 67-9356 model – and not only was stainless steel notable, the octagonal case shape also gave it a unique look. With either white or black dials, they also feature a larger crown than other 8110A models:

See the Chronograph Page for further information: https://sweep-hand.org/citizens-vintage-chronographs/

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Brian’s 8110A Restoration Page

Posted on July 20, 2014 by sweephand

I’ve just done a final update to Brian’s restoration page – this is to include one more watch, this time a white Speedy which Brian brought back from the very edge of oblivion! It’s in the page as exhibit 3 in the ‘Epilogue’:

https://sweep-hand.org/brians-8110a-restoration-the-speedy-67-9313/

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Citizen Auto, 1958 – Page Published

Posted on July 16, 2014 by sweephand

I’ve just published the new page, on Citizen’s first automatic watch, launched in 1958. I hope you can find time to read it through – it has been an interesting journey for me 🙂

The Citizen Auto, 1958

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New Article – Update

Posted on July 11, 2014 by sweephand

Very pleased to say that the watch returned safely today, only four days to ship from Brian back to me 🙂

In the end I didn’t dare to write the article before the watch was safely back – I didn’t want to tempt fate! So, I hope that in a few days the article should be ready and uploaded….

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New Article in the Pipeline…

Posted on July 4, 2014 by sweephand

It’s been a while since I last published a new reference page, so it’s about time a new one sees the light of day 🙂

The last page I uploaded featured Brian’s superb work on the ‘Speedy’ 67-9313 chronograph, and I’m pleased to say that his work will appear once again. But this time it’s not a chronograph….

The watch I’ll be looking at in the article has been with Brian for repair and full service, but is now finished and will soon be on its way back to me. Once here I’ll be able to complete and upload the article.

I won’t say which model it is just now; it is of course a vintage piece and a rare bird too – it was a first for Citizen and has needed a good deal of research and work by both Brian and myself to really understand its history. The article will reveal a fascinating back story to the model – and one or two surprises!

So please watch this space, and I’ll keep you posted on progress and let you know when the page is published.

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What Goes Well With Watches?…..

Posted on June 22, 2014 by sweephand

How about a good beer?! I enjoy (in moderate amounts of course) well crafted beers, and I’ve been very impressed lately with some of the offerings from the U.S.A., including a couple of porters – this one is the Gonzo Imperial Porter from the Flying Dog brewery in Maryland:

The second one came a long way – in a can – it’s a Coconut Porter from the Maui Island Brewery. Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands. Not one I expected to see in my local beer shop in the UK!:

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Automatic Chronograph Page Updated

Posted on June 17, 2014 by sweephand

With thanks to Mikko, I’ve been able to update the Chronograph page. In particular the section on the 67-9143 (black case / gold dial) model has been amended to clarify that Citizen appears to have used two different case numbers for the same (67-9143) model. At the moment I can’t see any differences – Mikko and I wonder if the coating might have been different but having looked at a number of examples I can’t be sure of that.

The case numbers are 4-901134 and 4-901088. If anyone can help identify any differences, please post a comment

I had previously included this model as an example of a 67-9143 with case number 67-901088:

However, I now think this may have had an incorrect case back. It appears to be a variant of the 4-901096, so I have referred to it in that section, but without verification or case / model numbers:

Here’s Mikko’s 67-9143, a fine example of this model – they haven’t always worn too well over the years!:

 

 

Thanks Mikko 🙂

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A Small Enhancement to the Citizen Highness

Posted on June 7, 2014 by sweephand

One aspect of collecting, besides the acquisition of the watches themselves, is finding little extras – maybe an original box, or some marketing material from the era they were made. Original bracelets are also good to have of course. Much rarer are original leather straps, since used ones will usually wear out and be thrown away. Occasionally however, it is possible to find the original buckle for a leather strap, and recently I found one for my Highness. As far as I can remember this is the only one I have ever seen – much rarer than the already scarce Highness itself! Here’s the watch, which I acquired a little while ago:

The Highness is a 36000 beats per hour high end model, and as far as I know replaced the Leopard Chronometer for a short while in the early 1970s.

The buckle arrived yesterday, and I fitted it to a different, more tapered strap, since it is just 14.5mm wide:

The size and basic design is the same as the original Hisonic buckle, just the logo differs:

Nice to have this as an additional bit of original detail:

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