ABOUT BUCHERER WATCHES

Carl F. Bucherer watch
  
The Bucherer name first appeared over the doorway of Carl F Bucherer, jeweller and watchmaker of distinction, in the centre of the cosmopolitan Swiss city of Lucerne in 1888. Established as a family business along with his wife Luise

Carl-Friedrich and Luise Bucherer advanced their business at the same time as becoming popular, conscientious and hard-working philanthropic members of Lucerne society.

With continuity and self-governance of the successful business in mind, the couples’ two sons, Carl-Eduard and Ernst, were inducted into the family company. Both men had followed their parents’ passion and, having travelled and worked internationally and learned their respective trades as goldsmith and watchmaker, set about expanding the business which bore their fathers’ name.

Bucherer Company logo c.1900

Following the bleak years of the Great War, with the business operation now consolidated and the footings for continuity in place, the company C. Bucherer was formally established in 1919.

To coincide with the official launch of the company, a collection of ladies wristwatches was unveiled bearing the C. Bucherer name. This was the first Bucherer collection and reflected the changing direction of watch design. Up until this era, most watches had been manufactured as pocket watches, as it was believed that such fine and delicate instruments should be protected from the elements – and envious, unscrupulous eyes! The popularity of the new, modern wristwatch was on the rise as the Bucherer watches were announced.

From the first Bucherer collection

  A large, dashboard-mounted manual-winding watch with eight-day power reserve proved the versatility of the Bucherer company, and a canny eye for opportunity.

Bucherer Automobile Eight Days

1933 brought sad news in the announcement of the death of the founder Carl Friedrich Bucherer (b.1865). His two sons, by now long since returned to Lucerne to oversee the spectacular growth of their fathers’ business.
Carl-Eduard and Ernst Bucherer the company also began to manufacture watches for men. Their post-war chronograph and big date watches were an immediate hit with the sporting type, and in true Bucherer form, not only were the watches functional, they also bore the attention to styling which had previously been a signature of the early collections. A Bucherer watch was a very desirable item indeed.

1948 Big Date Chronograph Incabloc

Some years later, in 1964, Bucherer had a tremendous PR boost when US President Richard Nixon, on a state visit, paid a visit to the Lucerne shop and left as the owner of a new Bucherer Chronometer!

1967 began with the acquisition of the respected Credo manufacture of chronometer movements and by the following year, Bucherer chronometer watches were leaving the production facility at a rate of 15,000 pieces a year, seconded in volume only to Rolex and Omega!

The 1975 Bucherer Chronometer

When the quartz wave crashed over the Swiss mechanical watch industry at the end of the sixties and through the seventies, Bucherer were in a strong position, having joined forces with ten other watchmaking companies as the Centre for Electronic Watchmaking way back in 1962, to develop the famed Beta-21 quartz movement, which would end up powering the watches of no less than 15 different manufacturers!

Bucherer quartz with Beta-21 movement

The company moved into its’ third generation of family involvement in 1976 with the announcement that Jörg Bucherer would assume the running of the business, which over the following years would evolve into the Bucherer Group. Today he remains the owner.

As the 1990s once again Bucherer quickly stepped up to the mark with innovative creations which included multiple complications such as the Archimedes Perpetual Calendar, which uniquely featured the ability to set each function through the single crown.

Bucherer Archimedes Perpetual Calendar

New models were presented at the major watch fairs, such as BaselWorld, to glowing reviews, and little wonder either. The watches produced by the Carl F Bucherer manufacture are distinctive, attractive, functional, complicated and as individual as any watches ever made by the family company.

The Carl F Bucherer Patravi T-Graph

ABOUT SEIKO DIVERS 6309-7290/729A/729B

HISTORY:

The Seiko 6309 series of diving watches is the third generation of Seiko’s (normally aspirated) professional/recreational diving watches (this does not include Seiko’s deep diving shrouded divers). The 6309 line of divers replaced the 6105 in 1976 and ran until 1988, when it was replaced by the 7002 line of divers. The 6309’s are largely an economizing and further modularization of the 6105 movement, which allowed for greater robustness, longetivity and ease of maintenance. The 6309’s (especially the second generation of them) introduced many design changes to Seiko divers that are with us to this day.

- The 6309 divers come in two case variations: an earlier “cushion-cased” variant produced from 1976 to 1988 and a later “slimed-down case” variant produced from 1982 to 1988. As you can see production of the first generation continued after the second generation was introduced, and overlapped the second generation models, though in reduced number.


6309-7290/729A/729B:

The second generation of 6309’s abandoned the cushion style case in favor of a revised round “slimed-down” case-style, which continues to be used almost unchanged by Seiko’s basic line of divers to this day. Other than the case, there are not many differences between the two generations of 6309’s. Besides the case, the only other differences worth noting were in the style of the dial. According to the Seiko Diver’s reference, the slimed down models were as follows:

- 6309-7290: first model to use slimmed-down cases, black-bezel version
- 6309-7290 with "17 JEWELS" written above 6:00 on the dial: Japan-made version, with black bezel
- 6309-729A: identical to 6309-7290 except with blue and red “Pepsi” bezel
- 6309-729A with "17 JEWELS" on dial: Japan-made version, with blue and red “Pepsi” bezel
- 6309-729B?: very rare orange dialed model.
  

6309-7290

CASE:

6309-729A

This generation comes in a smaller and thinner stainless steel case measuring approximately 41mm in width (47mm including the crown); 45mm in length (lug to lug); 13mm in thickness; and 22mm in lug width.

The main difference between the cushion style and the slimmed-down cases is that the slimmed-down cases do away with the excess metal protruding from the case, outboard of the bezel edge, making the watch appear thinner. These cases also incorporate a small blister shaped guard which protects the crown and is somewhat reminiscent of the much larger guard found on vintage 6105 divers. Otherwise, both generations see little by way of physical changes.

 

DIAL:

The faces of this version are characterized by rectangular hour markers at 1,2,4,5,7,8,10 & 11; Larger rectangular hour markers at 6 & 9; a two-piece pointed triangular 12:00 marker that is divided by a line; and a tiny rectangular 3:00 marker just to the right of the day/date window. All hour markers are lumed. However, it must be noted that the lume is relatively flat and does not occupy the entire hour marker.

All second generation 6309’s have the words SEIKO AUTOMATIC written in whitish silvery paint one above the other, directly below the 12:00 marker; and the words WATER150mRESIST just above the 6:00 marker. Unlike first generation 6309’s the Suwa symbol is not prominently displayed on the dial. It is worth noting that in original condition, the words WATER & RESIST where painted red, while the 150m was painted in whitish silver paint. However, over the years the red color tends to fade, turning anywhere from orange to yellow over time (don’t stress too much about finding them in perfect red condition). Below the 6:00 marker, stretching as far as between the 7:00 & 5:00 markers is written in tiny letters, the dial code. These dial codes tell us where the dial was made and what market the watch was originally destined for, be it Japan, the Americas, or everybody else (Arabia, EAU, etc.). There are two different dial codes for this variant and they correspond with the last two dial codes mentioned for the 7040/7049, above. In addition another dial code, also made in Singapore, but for a market other than America reads:

“6309-735M R” (with a very small Suwa symbol at the right)

Attention MUST be paid to the size of the Suwa symbol, as reproduction dials have a slightly larger symbol.

6309-729A

It’s worth mentioning that in the 6309-729B dial, besides it’s being orange, the words WATER & RESIST are blue, not red. The words SEIKO, AUTOMATIC, 150 and the dial code are written in black. 

A Quick Watch Guide

Quartz Watches

Quartz watches are the most common kind of watches. Under the conditions in a watch quartz crystals vibrate over 32,000 times a second. Monitoring these vibrations ensures really accurate time keeping. Quartz watches lose only about 10 seconds of time a month. Quartz watch batteries also only require replacing once every one or two years.

Analog Quartz Watches
Analogue watch faces have numbers, Roman numerals, or tick marks indicating intervals of time while digital faces provide an exact readout in hours, minutes and seconds.

Digital Quartz Watches
Digital watches often have extra features such as depth sensors, Global Positioning System (GPS), altimeters, calculators, phone books, and compasses. 

Get Ready to Wind Mechanical Watches
Mechanical watches run from a spring called the mainspring. This powers an oscillator which usually vibrates 28,000 times an hour. Mechanical watches often require more skill and time to build than Quartz watches and so cost a little more. Mechanical watches can be manual where you wind the watch yourself or automatic. 

Automatic Mechanical Watches
Automatic mechanical watches use a rotor swing which responds to motion, winding the mainspring running the watch. Automatic mechanical watches often come with a transparent or partially-transparent display so you can see the rotor in action. If you wear an automatic mechanical watch for more than 12 hours per day, your motion will keep the watch mechanism running. You'll need to wind your watch if you don't wear it for a few days. 

Regards,
JAM OTAI.

ABOUT SEIKO DIVERS

ABOUT SEIKO DIVERS

Seiko diver’s watches are very popular. Not just for diving, but for everyday use as well since in terms of looks, functionality, quality and prices it is really hard to beat them. Dive watches are made to endure almost any given situation of the deep. Specially engineered time pieces are required for dives up to 900+ feet to endure the high pressures present. Many solutions have been come up with by several manufacturers to counteract this problem. In spite of this, one watch that has stood out from the rest is the Seiko dive watch. Seiko was formed in 1881 with only a single shopkeeper, since then Seiko has become Synonymous with high quality watches.


Dive Watch Technology : Numerous elements are to be considered in dive watches. Such as the crystal dial covering, the dials, and the strap. The external elements should also be taken into account such as the crown and so on. Legibility is also vital as light conditions worsen once the diver reaches any real depth. The watch is required to have the ability to endure the differing atmospheric conditions including helium environments and so on. When the basic elements and features are met, the style and appearance comes next. Seiko has always been at the forefront of new technologies and design. Seiko has pioneered some of the newest technologies in watches. Some of their best dive watches are part of the Seiko Professional Diver Collection. These can handle at saturation diving and go to depths of at least 200 meters. They feature special made Seiko gaskets.

AUGUSTE GALAN WATCHES

ABOUT AUGUSTE GALAN

The Auguste Galan automatic watch collection is a blend of classic and contemporary design. The mechanical watch has been around for more than 400 years, and today is experiencing a rebirth thanks to the creative and innovative designs of our collection. From a basic dress automatic featuring a center view of the skeleton movement, to the sport look of a rubber strap watch with power reserve, to the ultimate in craftsmanship of the Tourbillon, the collection is replete with styles to suit every occassion. Auguste Galan watches use the finest materials like surgical stainless steel and genuine leather straps. Each of our watches is extensively tested to be sure the qualtiy is built in to deliver the type of performance you expect . Packed in in handsome gift box, every Auguste Galan watch comes with a warranty.

TREMONT WATCHES

ABOUT TREMONT WATCHES

Tremont watches were designed from the inside out. Recognizing the intricacies of the mechanical movement and the beauty of the interaction of more than 120 parts, the Tremont line was assembled with a variety of styles to display this finely crafted mechanism at work. Throughout our product line, the accent is on the movement. Always visible through our exhibition case back, we have also added visibility through the top, either by cutouts in the dial or by showing the full movement, often referred to as a "skeleton". The Tremont collection uses both automatic and hand winding movement, depending on the model and the function. The movements are finely finished making a handsome presentation whether viewing from the top or the back of the watch. The automatic watches are powered by the movement of your wrist, eliminating the need for batteries.

Telling the date on TIMEX watches....

Lots and lots of questions on this.

Timex, fortunately, is one of the few makers which left a code allowing identification of the watch.

See picture below. Timex had a code. The code is printed on dial in very small numbers above six o' clock. The last two numbers (all the way on the right) correspond to the year, 65 is made in 1965, etc. The next two (or sometimes three) numbers, moving leftward, are the movement number. The first four numbers are the catalog/model number.

Yes...very interesting knowledge.

THE HISTORY OF MONDAINE..

Mondaine Watch Ltd. was founded in 1951 by Erwin Bernheim and is managed today by his sons Ronnie and André Bernheim. It unites the brands Mondaine, Camel Active, M-Watch as well as Luminox. The assembly of these watches takes place in the Mondaine factory in Biberist/Switzerland, where also private labelled watches are assembled.

History
Key Developments in Mondaine Watch Group's history

08/2009
Building of new Mondaine factory in Biberist/Switzerland

21st Century
2003 Opening of the new Mondaine builidng in Zurich
2004 Swiss Logistic Award
2006 Acquisition of production of Luminox wristwatches and their sale in Switzerland and Germany

1990s
5'000'000 M-Watches sold in Switzerland
1993 worldwide licensee for Camel Trophy Adventure Watches
License agreement with Bally for watches in the luxury range
Official time-keeper of Tour de Suisse (1992-1994) and CSI (1997-2000)

1980s
Introduction of Mondaine International Service Organization
Development of M-Watch and market launch with Migros
Exclusive license agreement with Swiss Federal Railway (SBB)
Founding of Mondaine Watch Far East Ltd. in Hong Kong

1970s
Development of digital watches (LED) and world's first digital watches with LCD

1960s
Remonta & Bernheim is established. A factory is built in Biberist/Switzerland to manufacture lever watches

1950s
Mondaine Trademark is established.

1951 - 2006 Anniversaries
1993 - 2003: 10 years of the Camel Trophy/camel active license
1986 - 2006: 20 years of the Swiss Railways Watch
1983 - 2003: 20 years of the M-Watch Brand
1975 - 2005: 30 years of cooperation with Migros
1965 - 2005: 40 years of its own production in Biberist
1954 - 2004: 50 years of the Mondaine brand
1951 - 2001: 50 years of the Mondaine Watch Ltd. company


source from mondaine website :www.mondaine.ch