1950s Vintage Hamilton Lyndon Bubbleback "Wings"

Introducing

Hamilton Lyndon Bubbleback "Wings"

Circa 1950s

Wings because lugs. This baby's got one of the most tastefully fancy lugs I've seen on a wrist watch - a stepped horn that looks like wings from an angel. It's the watch of a classic gentleman, with a hint of playfulness. 

Set against a 10k gold-filled case, Wings is actually more than the lugs that make it stand out so much, The manual wind watch possesses a 60-minute track around the perimeter of the dial, along with a detailed minute track before the applied gold-filled arabic numerals. 

Add in the feuille hands and matching gold sweep seconds and you've got yourself an impressive example of the class 1950s. 

Impeccable condition to boot - signed crown, case, dial and movement with nay a scratch.

1950s Vintage Hamilton Lyndon Bubbleback "Wings"

Hour, minute and seconds hands

Signed cream dial with slight patina

32mm 10k gold-filled case

42mm lug-to-lug

16mm lug width

Signed Hamilton manual wind movement @ 18,000vph

Acrylic glass

Aftermarket black leather strap

S$600

Email

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for orders or enquiry

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1970s Vintage Seiko 5 7009-6000 "Modern"

Introducing

Seiko 5 7009-6000 "Modern"

Circa 1970s

Don't we all love a classic? The matte black dial, oar hands and polished makers. Based on the above characteristics, I'm sure you'll chance upon a pretty fair amount of watches.

But once in awhile, you find a wrist piece that bucks the trend, not to levels of absurdity, but in a satisfying way that let's you appreciate the difference in style without wishing the creators hadn't invested so much time in standing out from the crowd.

Modern is the word, and it offers just that - a touch of class on a tried-and-tested design. 

At 12, 6, and 9'O, the hour indices have been replaced with raised pyramids, putting up a little more eye candy in the loupe. At every hour marker is also a rivet, replacing every fifth minute track. 

Even the hour and minute hands have been offered a little change, its oar handles noticeably longer than the typical Seiko 5s'.

Away from the dial, the stainless steel case comes in a two-piece construction, the commonplace straight horn lugs turning into a short, quick cut into the atypical stainless steel bracelet. 

All in, the quirkiness of Modern has accorded it a special place in the store that's not often filled - one that's a step away from obscenity, but not too far as to lose its acceptable place as a dress watch. Truly a compatible watch to be a daily beater.

1970s Vintage Seiko 5 7009-6000 "Modern"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with day/date display

Eng / Rom day display

Matte black dial with gold hour markers

34mm stainless steel case

39mm lug-to-lug

18mm lug width

7009 automatic movement @ 21,600vph with quickset push for day change

Mineral glass crystal

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

S$60

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

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[SOLD] 1979 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-8331 "Seamaster"

Introducing

Seiko 5 7009-8331 "Seamaster"

Circa 1979

As far as dials go, this has to be one of the most impressive ones I've seen on a Seiko 5. It presents itself with a classic majesty, its many elements combining to a very solid wrist presence.

Let's start with the dial. It doesn't get much better than the vertical guilloche trenches cut deep into the dial. It was what attracted me to the Omega Seamaster 150 and it's here again on this very affordable timepiece. 

The designers of this watch knows exactly what they're doing, minimising each element to their bare essentials to not just complement the emblematic dial but to also to let them each have their own moment in the spotlight. 

Gold is naturally the color chosen to complete the jet black dial. Polished hour indexes escape  commonality with indents and spots of lumibrite at their ends, an aesthetically surprising and useful application in line with the Seiko 5 mantra.

Sporty baton hands are in the same gold, also applied with lumibrite. A harsh white day and date display sits beneath the gold window at 3'O, once again a choice of practicality over a fashion decision. Topping it off is the applied Seiko 5 emblem and printed Suma logo on the dial. 

All of that class sits underneath a mineral glass crystal, with a less traditional give-link bracelet completing the sports watch look.  The large stainless steel case melts seamlessly into the links and bracelet, not letting the dial lost its thunder to watch lugs.

I almost feel like keeping this guy for myself.

1979 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-8331 "Seamaster"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with day/date display

Eng / Rom day display

Polished black guilloche dial

36mm stainless steel case

42mm lug-to-lug

20mm lug width

7009 automatic movement @ 21,600vph with quickset push for day change

Mineral glass crystal

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

SOLD

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1962 Vintage Seikosha Sportsmatic 2451 "Bronze"

Introducing

Seikosha Sportsmatic 2451 "Bronze"

Circa 1962

As far s dress watches go, I don't think you can get any better than this. Three hands, a nice crosshair dial with a thin guilloche chapter ring. All this in a rose gold plated case.

Long slender lugs sets the stage for the spectacular dial, housed under a domed acrylic crystal. A 20 micron rose gold plated case complements the bronzed dial, sunburst with a thin crosshair pattern. 

Tracing the perimeter of the case is a guilloche chapter ring, with thin gold hour markers embedded every five minutes. And at 12'O, twin hour markers join chapter ring to the raised dial.

Among the many Seiko watches that I come upon, Bronze has particularly high craftsmanship. legibility aside, the thin printed crosshair marking and its lesser five minute markers are perfectly placed, centered to every individual marker on the chapter ring.

The dauphine hands follow the designs on the dial, a thing straight line splitting each hand into two. Owing to Seiko's mandate to practicality, the minute and seconds hands have been made slightly longer, cutting slightly into the chapter ring. While at first glance it may seem to give OCDs a little bit of a nightmare, it'll actually grow on you.

The judge of a classic dress watch has to be its symmetry. Bronze is an ideal example, its clear lines and elements on the dial presenting an excellent accompaniment to any formal occasion.

1962 Vintage Seikosha Sportsmatic 2451 "Bronze"

Hour, minute and seconds hands

Sunburst bronze dial with guilloche chapter ring

35mm rose gold plated stainless case

44mm lug-to-lug

19mm lug width

Seikosha 2451 automatic @ 18,000vph

Acrylic crystal

Aftermarket leather strap

S$600

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

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1976 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-7090 "Guilloche"

Introducing

Seiko 5 6309-7090 "Guilloche"

Circa 1976

Oh I do like an intricate dial. I'd look at this guy with the loupe and explore all the raised ridges and microscopic curves that make up the face. I'd look at the hour markers and how polished they are, how they are attached to the dial. 

Don't even get me started on the roman numeral XII.

Machine cut solar guilloche patterns greets the owner at every glance, making it's endless rounds on the dial and complementing really well with the white base. 

Printed on the pattern are the minute tracks, once again adding utility to the artistic approached of the watch. Gold always goes well with white, and Seiko applied it conservatively to complete the dial on Guilloche. 

The hands are what you'd see on a lot of Seiko 5s, nice gold trimmed baton hands with a little touch of lumibrite for legibility.

While the three link bracelet gives it a little modern appeal, I'd much prefer a nice black leather strap befitting the dressy dial. 

That said, the dial of Guilloche catches light really well, and will definitely be something you'd catch yourself indulging in. 

1976 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-7090 "Guilloche" 

Hour, minute and seconds hands with quickset day-date

Eng / Rom day display

White dial with solar guilloche pattern

36mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

20mm lug width

6309 automatic @ 21,600vph

Mineral glass

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

S$70

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

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1978 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-8170 "Hulk"

Introducing

Seiko 5 6309-8170 "Hulk"

Circa 1978

Big, green, mean and solid, is what I would use to describe this watch. Presented in a bulky stainless steel case and three-link bracelet, the watch exudes a toughness that places it in sports watch territory for me.

Matched with visible signs of wear and weathering, Hulk stands out with a deep green dial in every sense of the word.

Firstly, the green hue of its face can be seen as one tilts the watch towards a light source. There's a sense of mystery in it that I very much enjoy for watch dials. 

Then there's the tall hour markers that is very clearly defined from the face of the watch, gold in color and polished bright. The markers are matched with the chunky hands that have visible signs of wear.

Because where's a tough guy without touch hands?

It even wears large too, at 36mm with across and 41mm lug-to-lug. Definitely a good vibe from this one. Very manly.

1978 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-8170 "Hulk"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with quickset day-date

Eng / Spn day display

Dark green dial

36mm stainless steel case

41mm lug-to-lug

10/20mm proprietary lug width

6309 automatic @ 21,600vph

Mineral glass

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

S$60

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

Click here for ordering information

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1950s Vintage Vulcain Cricket

Introducing

Vulcain Cricket

Circa 1950s

Mechanical alarm watches strike a chord with me. It's an alarm clock on your wrist, made of more than 100 parts put together by skilled artisans, able to operate accurately on a daily basis, without battery change, for decades.

Isn't that just awesome?

The Vulcain Cricket was birth from its workshops in 1947 after five years of research. The challenge was to produce a wrist-sized movement that had a mechanical alarm function that is loud enough to wake someone up.

With an innovative winding system where one direction wound the watch barrel and the other powered the alarm barrel, the loud shrill of the Vulcain Cricket was so named because of its resemblance to the annoying twilight denizen. 

The watch then gained international fame as the President's Watch when one was presented to Harry S Truman, thus starting a tradition where each head of state was gifted with a Vulcain Cricket.

Whether to wake him up from a nap or to remind him of a meeting, the Vulcain Cricket had found a legendary place in the White House on the wrist of the most powerful man in the world. 

Believe it or not, this piece from my personal collection wasn't my first choice. The Vulcain that caught my fancy was actually a small seconds with date window - a lot dressier than this piece. 

Somehow, the characteristic piece stood out over time, and its multi-faceted dial called out. There's something about that inner ring; there's something about the raised applique arabic numerals, that red seconds hand, the sharp hour and minute hands sitting comfortably inside the gold-filled case.

Long story short, I couldn't have made a better choice.

1950s Vintage Vulcain Cricket

Hour, minute and seconds hand

Multi-layered gold dial with gold appliqued numerals

32mm gold-filled stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

18mm lug width

Vulcain Cricket calibre @ 18,800vph

Acrylic crystal

Aftermarket leather strap

Personal Collection

1970s Vintage Felca Sportsmaster X "Maverick"

Introducing

Felca Sportsmaster X "Maverick"

Circa 1970s

Who doesn't love a sense of adventure? A trial down the beaten track, leaping into the wind and down the wild blue yonder.

And what better way to embrace adventure then with a stainless steel bracelet? The cold hard construct of a thick chain fused to your wrist in shiny defiance of the elements. Heat, cold, rain, then heat again! 

And with the experience come beaten scars and a weather visage. This Sportsmaster X is testament to a lifetime of thrill.

Of all the shots that I take of timepieces, what I find the most revealing is the "mugshot" - upclose with harsh focus and lighting, you get to see the watch for what it is. 

The dial lies exposed, every scratch and dink visible in the all-seeing lens. The crystal and each bumb against the wall. The bracelet and every desk dive it took.

This Felca came to me weather and seasons, a mark of a beater - heck, it took so much beating the dial lost a printed character! But it also functioned well, and what caught me by surprise was the instant date change. Unlike Seikos, whereby you can see the date wheel slowly turn towards midnight, the Sportsmaster X made the date advance with a loud tick. 

In the blink of an eye, you're on to the next day, yesterday a fleeting memory.

In honest truth, I really do like this watch. There's a certain boldness about this piece that makes you stop and wonder how you would spend time with it. It can be dressy, but the gold hands and thick hour batons defy that look. 

It can be sporty, but the jubilee bracelet and fluted bezel gives it the class to carry off a tux.

It rebels, it stands out, it's a class of its own. 

1970s Vintage Felca Sportsmaster X "Maverick"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with quickset date

Seasoned matte black dial

35mm stainless steel case

41mm lug-to-lug

20mm lug width

ETA 2783 automatic @ 21,600vph

Seasoned acrylic crystal

Original Felca stainless steel bracelet

S$300

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

Click here for ordering information

Visit the Catalogue for more selections

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