G Shock on Gear Patrol

Gear Patrol recently published a nice article on G Shock.  Check it out HERE.

Introduction To Watches

I like to follow gear and tech related blogs and sites. I don't have the time to follow these fields closely so its always good to let those more dedicated than I to do the heavy lifting. What you'll quickly find is there's a lot of cross interest between these sites and watch collecting.

I was reading one of my favorite sites called Everyday Commentary, and dropped a comment answering a basic watch related question. The site author, Tony, contacted me and asked if I was interested in writing a basic watch primer for his site. I said sure and this is the product of that exercise. Intended to be very high level, but I thought someone here might find some value in it.

In Depth Article about the Seiko 9F Caliber from SJX

SJK has posted a great article about the Seiko thermocompensated 9F quartz caliber with some great pictures too.  Included are clear explanations of characteristic features of the 9F such as the twin pulse, backlash adjust, independent axis for each hand, instant date jumper as well as some cool pictures of Seiko's manufactured quartz crystals which I've never seen before.

Click HERE for the article.

And the Beat Goes On

A great demonstration of beats per second using various Seiko watches.  See 5 beats per second all the way  to 100 beats per second.  Be sure to turn your volume up.

 

Ready for Summer

This time every year I get G-Shock fever.  I picked up these two pieces recently.  One is a new model while the other is an old one.  On the left in Ferrari red is the 30th Anniversary model GWM5630A-4 and on the right is an old school Stormtrooper Mudman G-9000-8V.  Both are really cool.  I'll have some more pictures and information on each sometime soon.  Like when the sun comes out again.  Now where are my cargo shorts?

Hajime Asaoka -- Independent Japanese Watchmaker

Just read a great article on Purist Pro about Hajime Asaoka who is an independent Japanese watchmaker.  Self taught and a true watchmaker who not only makes all his own parts, but also many of the machines are made by him as well.  He is completely capable of designing, fabricating, finishing, and assembling all parts completely by himself.  Truly an incredible individual.  The post is definitely worth the read.

Click HERE to read the article.

WatchRecon

When you buy a lot of watches, it is inevitable that you will eventually look for opportunities to buy and sell second hand.  Craig's List and other local sites offer great opportunities for face to face cash transactions but have a audience with limited familiarity with watches.  EBay is the exact opposite situation and comes with a high transaction overhead.

Watch forums are a great avenue for second hand sales.  Unlike many other hobby forums, membership is free and no special privileges are required for sales listings.  There is a captive, well discriminating audience.  The problem with forums is the seemingly fanatical popularity of a limited menu of models and brands and also with the large number of forums all over the internet means considerable time required to shop around each one individually.

There's nothing we can do with anal retentive, myopic members, but web crawlers can help scan the forums and create a one stop shopping experience.  There are several crawlers out there, but my favorite is one called WatchRecon.  The website for WatchRecon can be found HERE.   WatchRecon scans all the popular sales sites and presents the user with listings including a picture, price, and seller's location provided that information is in the original listing.  The site search engine allows the user to search for brand, seller's name and location and even filter by price and date of listing.  WatchRecon is also available as an app for Android which can be found HERE.  The Android app offers not only same functions as  the web site, but also allows the user to program to receive notifications when a saved search yields hits.  This feature is particularly useful when you are looking for something rare.

For up to date information on WatchRecon, check out the Facebook page HERE where you will find that an Apple iOS app is in the works.

Just a final note that I don't have any affiliation with WatchRecon.  Just recommending the site to my readers.

Have fun and happy hunting.

Swag

The boys at Arizona Fine Time sent me some free swag.  Contact them if you are interested.  The books make nice coffee table decorations.  Some good history lessons in the Seiko ones too.

Join Jikan Watch Blog on Google+ and Facebook

I've been tinkering around with Google+ and Facebook and made and a page for the blog.

If you're a Google+ or Facebook user, please add me to your circles and likes!

Jikan Watch Blog Google+ Page

Jikan Watch Blog Facebook Page

Next Time Bring a Seiko for Space Travel

Or a Casio.  Or maybe even a Citizen.  Have any Citizen watches been to space?  I don't know.

Anyway. Happened across this video of astronaut Don Pettit making a repair to his Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 while aboard the International Space Station.  Not only did the crown break, but one of the buttons actually detached from the watch and was found later in a filter.

Now the video is a demonstration of Don Pettit repairing his watch under zero gravity conditions with a random assortment of tools.  I think I can hear the Omega fan bois already posturing with the, "Fuck yeah!  Omega X-33 is so cool you can fix it in outerspace with duct tape and a Leatherman!".  However, I may be in the minority which thinks that this the watch should not have broken in the first place and it is not a very impressive demonstration by a watch designed for use in space. Floating debris actually poses a significant risk for critical damage of space station equipment.

Don't get me wrong.  I think the X-33 is a cool watch.  But if I had one and happened to be going to space, I think I'd leave it on terra firma and bring something more reliable instead.

Kudos to Dan Pettit.

Omega Fail.

Some Japanese Domestic Pens

Events have slowed down a bit in my watch world.  Sold off a bunch of stuff earlier to raise funds for something special.  Maybe more on that later if I actually follow through.  I also have a couple more reviews I am working on which I will complete soon.

I've developed a bit of a fascination with EDC (every day carry) lately.   While reading a favorite EDC blog I discovered that like watches, Japan also keeps some of its coolest pens in Japan and there is a site called jetpens.com which is located in California which supplies Japanese pens, paper and other office supplies.

Now I know Japan makes some very nice fountain pens but I'm not interested in those so much.  I'm interested in EDC and daily use material with a budget price.  Here are the four items I selected.

Social Networking

Citizen recently launched Twitter and Facebook pages.  Check them out.

http://twitter.com/#!/CitizenEcoDrive

http://www.facebook.com/CitizenEcoDrive

http://www.facebook.com/CITIZENwatch.jp


While you are at it visit Seiko too.

http://twitter.com/#!/seikowatches

http://twitter.com/#!/SeikoUSA

http://www.facebook.com/Seiko




and Casio

http://twitter.com/#!/GShock_US

http://twitter.com/#!/GSHOCK_UK

http://twitter.com/#!/GSHOCK_OFFICIAL




If I missed something, please drop a comment.

Some Old Commercials

Found some old Seiko and Citizen commercials on youtube.

First up is a 1978 Seiko commercial from Japan featuring a young Kate Bush.  For real.




Five more after the jump!

It Was a Simple Surgery

I took my Seiko SKX007 into the pool a few times last week and soon noticed the normally smooth bezel action had turned very stiff.  Decided to take a look and see what was wrong.

Popped the bezel off with a Swiss Army Knife.  The bezel assembly is composed of three simple parts....the bezel itself including the insert, the bezel spring, and a simple gasket.  I find the bezel spring to be an interesting contraption.  Two posts point down and will attach to corresponding holes in the case.  Two flat springs are elevated above the ring which will engage with the indentations on the underside of the bezel to deliver the measured clicks and will also prevent the backward movement (clockwise) of the bezel.  The gasket provides the smooth feeling of a normally operating Seiko bezel but it requires lubrication with silicone grease.  Since the bezel assembly is not protected from water, this gasket can dry out.

One look at mine and sure enough it was completely dry.  Fortunately it was not torn or otherwise damaged.  A quick application of silicone grease to the gasket, re-installation into the bezel and a simple snap of the bezel back on the case and its good as new.

Total project time took me about 15 minutes including the picture taking and cost me nothing. Perfect.  Sometimes you win.

Anyway, since I had it apart, I decided to snap some pictures and post them up.

Summertime

Functional Clock Shaped like a Japanese Fan

Check out this winner of the red dot design concept award for 2010.

The Spire designed by Sakura Adachi and Ekaggrat Singh Kalsiclock indicates the time with the folding and unfolding of the arms like a Japanese fan. The short arm represents the hour and the moving long arm represents the minutes. Electronics and motor are housed in the base of the clock.

Here' a video showing how it works.

spire_ from ekaggrat singh kalsi on Vimeo.