Category Archives: Guy Style

The Allure of Military Watches — IDF Eterna KonTiki Super

One of my favorite MilWatches is the early 1970s Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Eterna KonTiki Super, which was issued to Israel’s elite naval commando unit Shayetet 13, some really hardcore Special Forces operatives and essentially Israel’s version of our SEALs. You can read about S’13 history here but suffice to say they were in the thick of it during very perilous and conflict-filled times for Israel and many of these watches have seen genuine naval special forces combat.

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Although the tonneau-style case is not everyone’s cup of tea, I really like it and you can find similar typically ’70s shapes on several other dive watches of the period, including the Aquastar Benthos divers’ chronographs. At 41mm wide x 45mm long x 14mm thick this is definitely a man-sized timepiece and the super-chunky uni-directional elapsed time bezel is easy to get a grip on in wet conditions and when wearing dive gloves.

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Obviously, as with so many military watches, what differentiates the IDF KonTiki Super from its civilian brothers are the issue marks engraved on the back by the quartermaster. In this case, the engravings are primarily in Hebrew, as well as containing the general spec & unique issue number of each individual watch in Roman numerals. Despite the exotic look, the Hebrew writing is essentially standard information translating to “catalogue number” and the “ע” (Tzade) symbol standing in as an abbreviation for IDF (“Tzahal”) (h/t milspectime.com).

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I suggest doing your homework on the correct font and style of these engravings, because like a lot of other valuable commodities in the military watch world the IDF KonTiki is faked and faked often .

With its heavy steel screwed-back construction, screw down crown and high-pressure mineral crystal, the KonTiki Super is tough as nails and was ultra-water resistant in its day. Continue reading →

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — July selection, Pt. III

As July winds down to a close it’s my great pleasure to offer one last watch. And it happens to be one of the all time vintage Rolex icons: An early 1960s GMT-Master with gilt/gloss minute track dial, mini 24-hour hand, pointed crown guards case and beautifully faded “Pepsi” bezel insert, with the excellent caliber 1560 GMT chronometer movement under the hood still sporting its original Butterfly rotor.

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I’m selling this one on behalf of a friend and I’m excited to be able to do so, as this classic two time zone watch is such an unmolested, honest example and with just enough WABI to show that it has lived a wonderfully full life. Among the 1960s steel Sports models, this early reference 1675 is right up there with the pointed crown guards 5512 chronometer Submariner as the most desirable and beautiful on the wrist. Simply put, if you want pure Vintage Rolex style of extremely high original quality, this is your watch. It’s not cheap, but then the best things in life never are.

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Check out the complete ad with many more pictures and full description over at the Vintage Rolex Forum’s Market. SOLD

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — July selection, Pt. II

Here’s an unusual one: A highly sought after 1960s “Jumbo” Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox alarm watch that features a very rare World Time center turntable disc with selected city’s of the world printed to represent the different time zones. As I say in my ad, I can’t say for sure that this disc is correct for this watch — JLC themselves do not have the records to verify that. And some experts maintain that the printing on a World Time disc shouldn’t encroach on the edge of the inner dial one iota. But certainly watch companies back in the day did some very non-standard things when they wanted to sell watches and this disc and the dial as a whole are definitely 100% factory original printing. One thing’s for sure: at a big 37mm and with those exotic cities filling out what would normally be empty space, this is one very cool and classy looking and Memovox.

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Check out the full ad for this Memovox with World Time disc featuring many more pictures and complete description over at Timezone.com’s Sales Corner.  SOLD

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale, July selection

Here’s a cool vintage diver that you won’t see very often, especially not in this kind of condition: a late 1960s/early 70s Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster 1000, also known as the “Baby Panerai”. Why is it called that you might ask? Well, at a nicely proportioned but hardly huge 38mm wide this Depthmaster shares the Oyster-style cushion shape of the Rolex-supplied Panerai cases of Italian naval fame at about 3/4 scale.

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It even has screwed spring bars like many PAMs do. Nivada added a nice chunky elapsed time rotating bezel and the Depthmaster 1000 also features a very heavy screwed steel case and very retro semi-Arabics dial with fantastic patina to the thick Tritium figures, plus there’s that cool splash of red to the 1000. And who doesn’t like red on a dial? With its thick, straight lugs and strong but not overpowering wrist presence, the off-brand Nivada Grenchen went and produced something of a design classic with this watch. Perhaps it started as something of an homage but at this late date it has achieved its own cult status. And unlike a Panerai from the 40s or 50s, you don’t have to break the bank to put this icon of vintage style on your wrist.

Check out the complete ad for this killer Depthmaster featuring many more pics and complete description over at Timezone.com’s Sales Corner. SOLD

Watch Collector’s Notebook — Rolex Milgauss GV

90% if the time I am a 100% vintage watch guy. They have the vibe and design qualities of days gone by that usually make them much more appealing than their shiny modern counterparts. But once in a while I give in to that new watch temptation and fall for something the manufacturers are offering today. The Rolex Milgauss GV is definitely one of those that turned my head and won my ardent affection.

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Like a lot of marques in recent years, Rolex has very cleverly paid homage to designs from their storied past while giving them a modern interpretation, as well as all the technological upgrades available in this era. One of the most successful of these “heritage” pieces is the newest iteration of their famous Milgauss line. Dating back to the mid-1950s, the golden age of Tool Watch innovation, the Milgauss was originally designed to stand up to the large magnetic fields being generated by nuclear and other emerging technologies in the Post War era. This specially designed anti-magnetic timepiece could stand highly magnetic environments of up to 1000 gauss, hence the name, and it was marketed to scientists and technicians whose watches would normally be severely disrupted by such high levels of magnetism. Apparently this watch-buying segment was perceived as significant enough to lead to a plethora of anti-magnetic watches being created, as not just the Milgauss but also IWC’s Ingenieur and Omega’s original Railmaster made their debuts around this time.

Original 1956 ref. 6541 Milguass

Original 1956 ref. 6541 Milguass (Image from Antiquorum)

Despite or perhaps because of the emergence of those competitors, the market was never very strong for the original lightning-hand Milgauss. But Rolex kept with it and redesigned the watch in the middle to late 1960s. With a cleaner, more conventional design, the new 1019 Milgauss seemed a more versatile wristwatch for the professional man of science, while still retaining it’s antimagnetic powers through the continued use of the Faraday cage design. Again, though, the Milgauss line was a poor seller in the overall Rolex catalogue, probably due to its rather specific purpose and slightly premium price over a standard dress model, as well as its then-large 38mm size and thick case. With demand for mechanical watches lagging overall, Rolex discontinued the Milgauss by the early 1980s.

Ref. 1019 with rare double-signed Tiffany Dial (Image from AQ)

Ref. 1019 with rare double-signed Tiffany Dial (Image from AQ)

However, as with so many of the “unpopular” Rolex of their time — such as the original Explorer II, the Tru-Beat, even the Cosmograph Daytona — their very lack of success and smaller production redounded to their later success once they had been removed from the catalog. Continue reading →

tomvox1’s Watches For Sale — June selection, Pt. II

Got another rare watch on offer this month, this time a classic vintage Breitling sports chronograph with a twist. This one is an unusual Co-Pilot model all kitted out for yacht regatta timing. With fantastic added colors to the unique 15-minute register and a color-coded silver elapsed time bezel this reference 7650 has got “late 1960s funky” written all over it. Add to that the very large and chunky 43mm wide case, the distinctive mint green luminous on the dial and the Dayglow-orange hour, minute and counter hands and you’ve got pop art on the wrist.

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Breitling was a pioneer in oversized special purpose tool watches back in the day, a trend they also helped revive in the modern era, and this Co-Pilot “Yachting” chrono is one of their most distinctive and hard-to-find designs — chances are, you won’t see another on anyone else’s wrist.

Check out my ad for this great watch with many more pictures and info over at Timezone’s Showcase. SOLD 

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — June selection

Got a very cool one on offer this month: a rare original early 1960s Hamilton Ventura. This solid 14k gold watch is one of the iconic designs in the vintage watch world, so much so that the modern incarnation of Hamilton, part of the Hydra-like Swatch Group, makes about a million homage versions. But accept no substitutes — this here Ventura is the real deal with it’s then-cutting edge caliber 505 electrical movement inside the gorgeous body, an innovation that prefigured the tuning fork and quartz revolutions to come.

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Ironically, betting the future on their proprietary electrical movement and largely ceasing conventional mechanical watch production essentially doomed the historic watchmaking company from Lancaster, PA. The electric movement, never a particularly precise timekeeper, was quickly rendered obsolete by the Bulova Accutron and the coming of the quartz age and by 1969 the company had ceased all US operations. But they remain one of the legendary names in horology history and the Ventura is a timeless classic. You might say it’s fit for a King.

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Check out the complete ad with many more pics and full description of this rare all-original Ventura over at Timezone’s Sales Corner.  SOLD

Watch Collector’s Notebook — Tissot “Navigator” World Time

The advent of Rolex’s GMT-Master in 1955 was the culmination of a creative arms race in the Swiss watch industry to come up with unique complications for telling time in two different timezones. The newly-dawned jet airliner age enabled intercontinental travel to explode in popularity and created demand for this complication in a wristwatch . A dual timezone watch, therefore, became a tool for the sophisticated world traveling gentleman or international man of action and was marketed by the manufacturers to exactly that putative clientele. Among the most enduring alternatives to an extra fixed 24-hour hand was the concept of rotating time zone discs or bezels with the names of cities representing the world’s different temporal regions. And among the handsomest and most clever produced during this burst of invention was the original Tissot “Navigator” World Time watch, which debuted in 1953 and therefore predates the GMT-Master by a few years.

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Featuring an oversized 36mm x 44mm beefy lug screwed steel case (sometimes also found in gold top or solid gold) the Navigator achieved its dual time capabilities via an inner rotating world time disc that was calibrated to the 24-hour scale on the face of the watch. Continue reading →

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — May selection, Pt. II

The word “rare” gets thrown around a lot when folks are pitching vintage watches. But this circa 1952 Omega Seamaster definitely fits the definition: Jumbo 36mm case (90% are 34mm during this era), rare reference that is extremely hard to find (2521), solid 18 karat pink gold with screwed water resistant case, and Chronometer-certified movement and original signed “waffle” dial (very uncommon for a 1950s Seamaster, as almost all the Chronometers for Omega during this era are in the Constellation line). Run these attributes through the Google and you won’t find many matches. In fact, I’ve yet to see another 2521 in pink gold. So not an inexpensive watch by any means. But, as the old saying goes, find me another.

NOW ON SALE! Rare Vintage Omega ref. 2521 18k Pink Gold JUMBO Seamaster Chronometer — Click here for the Timezone Showcase ad with complete description and many more high res pictures. SOLD 

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — May Selection

Got another cool vintage beauty on offer this month: a 1960s Eterna-Matic KonTiki 20 with stunning blue dial. These Kontiki 20s with classic tapered lug case are terrific value for money: all-stainless steel case with screw down crown & back, good size at 37mm and high grade ETA-based automatic movement with Eterna’s own patented 5 ball bearing rotor mount (hence their logo) and date complication. This example even comes with its original hard-to-find brick link bracelet. All that for well under $1000 bucks? Adds up to an affordable and rugged watch that is frankly still undervalued and represents maximum vintage style for not a lot of money.

FS: Vintage Eterna-Matic KonTiki 20 w/ Beautiful BLUE Dial & Original Bracelet (click for the full Timezone Sales Corner ad with complete description & many more pix) SOLD