I thought today's watch was a normal vintage Casio, but while researching it, I found it is a controversial model.

The F-91W is a basic LCD watch which came out in 1991. Like many at the time, it has a standard 2 line LCD in a black resin case. The main line is a 6 digit time display, and there are small day and date digits on the top line. There are 3 buttons on the watch which change the mode, light the LED bulb light, or switch between 12 and 24 hr display modes. For the other modes, it has an alarm and a stopwatch. Inside is a Casio 593 module which should last for 7 years on its CR2016 module. The module and the design are the same as the A158W I've blogged before, but that one was with a metal case.

The infamy came in April 2011, when the watch appeared in the news. The Guardian newspaper reported that US Military Intelligence had identified that this model was used by al-Qaeda as the timer for bombs, and that possession of this watch was an indicator that an individual had received bomb making training in Afghanistan by al-Qaeda. I don't know why this model was singled out, but it's a worry for the legitimate owners of an F-91W like myself who've never had bomb making training or been to Afghanistan! Here is a link to a BBC article on the watch (BBC link).

It's really hot here today so I thought I'd wear something silly and summery.

This watch was bought by me when I was living in Scotland (in the early 00s). I was queueing to buy my lunch one day and this was by the counter and caught my eye so I decided I must have it (and it cost me £5).

The watch is made for Crazy Planet who are based in Barcelona, Spain. The Crazy Planet brand was started by the Spanish Chupa Chups S.A. company in the late 90s, famous for their lollipops, to market non-lolipop products.

This product is the Gumwatch Aqua, or as I refer to it, my sweet dispensing water pistol watch. The Gumwatch Aqua has a basic 3 1/2 digit LCD display, and like most novelty watches, has just time, date, and seconds displays. The case is huge, because the majority of the watch is taken up by its special features. On the right side is a button called open, which causes the watch face to flip up, revealing the space for the gum sweets underneath. On the left side is a flip up targeting sight, and the trigger for the built-in water pistol. The nozzle for the spray is at the top/front of the watch so it is easy to squirt people in front of you, and you can get 5-6 squirts from a full tank. The filling hole is on the bottom of the watch, but the water pistol can be detached so you can fill it without getting the sweets wet (or to use it as a separate mini water pistol). This is definitely meant to be a kids watch, but the case is so big, it dwarfs my wrist, and maybe is the largest watch I own!

I've been with my family today so wore another of my children's watches.

This watch is one of my many Pokémon watches, but a more modern one this time.

Today's model is from 2012 and was released to commemorate the unveiling and release of the Pokemon Keldeo. Keldeo was leaked in February 2012 before being fully revealed in that June. The Pokemon Keldeo is a legendary Pokemon and is number 647 in the national Pokedex. It is called the Colt Pokemon and is a combined water and fighting Pokemon and has two forms depending on the situation in the game.

The watch has a picture of Keldeo on the face, and has a blue and white strap with Keldeo's name on. It has a 3 1/2 digit LCD display as with the other novelty watches, with the standard time, date, and seconds displays. It is more unusual in that the button to change the mode looks like a normal crown design.

The watch copyright is to Nintendo and Pokemon as well as something written in Japanese (as this is a Japanese model watch). The back doesn't give much more away and just has a sticker saying 'made in China'.

Today's watch is from a brand I've ended up with a few watches from, but this is the first I've blogged.

The watch is by a brand called Town & Country, or to give the full name that appears on the dial Town & County Surf Designs.

The brand is a world recognised manufacturer of surfboards, and originated in Hawaii in 1971. It was started by Craig Sugihara and was famous in the 80s for their shirt designs featuring cartoon characters such as Thrilla Gorilla.

The Town & Country watches appear on Japanese auctions quite a lot, and judging by the sticker on the back on this one, may have been made by Orient (in 1998). This model is a 3 hand dial design with an extra button for a light. It is a heavy water resistant model (20 bar) with a screw back. The design has a stylized logo on the face with the Town & Country name. There is also a rotating bezel, with the yin and yang symbol used by Town & Country at the 0 position, which can also be found engraved on the back. The watch has a fabric strap, so is suitable for use in the water.

There is a model number on the back of VA03-HO, and inside there is a complicated looking module with a number ELD-005-1(rev 1) for the light sitting over the quartz module for the watch.

Today's watch is one of my ladies watches that fits my wrist, and I liked this one as I think it looks like a wristband from a sci-fi movie.

The watch is by a company called Steltman, who's logo is the Steltman name with a large S across the middle. The Steltman name is mainly linked with a Dutch watch company that works with high end watches, but I don't think this brand is linked with them. The Steltman watches are like many other design brands in that they only seem to appear on sales sites.

This watch is a 3 hand dial design built into a solid metal bracelet. The dial is quite wide and tapers into the shiny metal bracelet, and there are jewel markers at the main  hour marks. The bracelet is hinged and fastens with crocodile clip style fastener on the bottom side. Inside is a Seiko Epson AL55A module, but no other information about the makers.

For the date, I haven't found anything definitive, but the one other I've seen of this model was sold as new in the last couple of years.

Today is one of the collaborations I blogged about last April, but this time, maybe with a hint on their release date.

The watch is one of a series of watches which were a collaboration between the watch maker Bulova and the fashion brand United Colors of Benetton.

The Benetton group was founded in 1965 and named after the Benetton family. The United Colors line is well known for their bright colours, and many of the watches follow this theme. The Bulova brand are an American brand making luxury clocks and watches. It was founded in 1912, but has been part of the Citizen Watch Co. since 2007.

It seems like the collaboration with Benetton may have started in the late 80s, and this watch from 1993. The dial states 1965 - 1993 neo-classic by benetton, so seems to be promoting the 28th anniversary of the Benetton brand. I've seen others online, so know that it came in gold with a green face, or this silver version with a silver face and green writing (and green strap). In the centre of the dial is a stylized version of the Benetton logo, and the Bulova name, and the logo is also imprinted into the rim of the watch face.

The watch is a 3 hand dial design, and inside there is a Swiss made Ronda quartz movement with 1 jewel and a metal construction. I don't know of it's bad luck, but this movement has failed on me more than the Japanese movements, as I've recently found a couple that I couldn't get working. The sticker on the back states that the watch was assembled in Hong Kong, so it isn't an entirely Swiss made watch.

Today's watch is another of my vintage Swatch watches, and this time, or e of their sillier designs.

The watch is from the 2000 Spring Summer collection, and was designed in 1999. It is called Muuhh, and has a model number of GG187. It has a 'sort-of' 2 hand dial design, with one hand (hours) and one rotating disc (with the equivalent of a minutes hand pointer). It is the minute hand which is the silly one though, as it has a picture of a boy which rotates. There is a clue that there is something strange on the dial as at the 6 o'clock position it says Boy, but at the 12 o'clock it says Cow upside down. If you then turn the watch upside down, you see that the picture of the boy is also a picture of a cows face.

My one has had a replacement strap (before I got it), so it doesn't have the cartoon cow and boy strap that this model should have. There is also a Maxi version of the watch with this design, which is the wall clock size watch.

Today, I'm back to one of my unknown Japanese brands which I'm building up a little collection of.

The watch is by Planet Design, and I still haven't found out who they are made by, or really what era they are from (but you can still find some around now). All I know is that you can still buy some models, they have been found on Tokyoflash, and there is a Japanese company called Emit (or as the translation shows aka Emmett) that sells quite a few designs.

This watch is a rotating disc model, with a 2 disc design. The minutes dial is on the inside and the window on the right side, so the minutes are read first and then the hours. It has a rectangular silver face with the rectangular time window in, and the Planet Design name at the bottom. Along the top and bottom and on the segmented matching strap is a white leather (style?) material. The ds it makes it look very like the Rotalog by Nixon, but I don't know which came first. This exact model with the white leather doesn't seem to be available but is most like the model SA-108 which has a wood finish and costs ¥3,675.

Today's watch is a little strange in its description. It has a name which is associated with a mechanical watch, but it's an entirely electronic model.

The watch is another by the watch brand Module which is a Japanese design watch brand made (or distributed) by a company called Poll Position Ltd Co. The Module watches have many different designs, but often have a logo of the Module name, but with a hexagon for the O.

The Poll Position Ltd. Co. is another of these Japanese mystery brands who may be an equipment manufacturer, or may just be anonymous online.

This watch has a rounded square case and a 2 hand dial design. In the centre of the face is an LCD panel which is just used to show patterns of vertical lines in grey, red, blue, and black. There is a button above the crown which I think is for changing the pattern, but it is so subtle, I can't be definite it works that way. Inside, the watch dial is powered by a normal looking movement, but that is hidden under the electronics for the LCD. The battery for the dial is meant to be aligned so that the battery sits under a hole revealed by the LCD battery, but I needed to reverse some of the electronics to make it work right.

The weird part of the description is that on the dial is the text 'Co-Axial Escapement'. This is a method of regulating a mechanical watch, so it is strange to see it mentioned on a quartz module.

Today I'm wearing a surf brand watch, but a different brand than I've used before.

This watch is the Depth Charge by Quicksilver. Quicksilver is a Australian company which was founded in 1969, but is now based in California. It is one of the world's largest surfwear and boardsport equipment manufacturers, which also produces accessories like watches. The Quicksilver logo is a large wave over a mountain and was reportedly inspired by the woodcut The Great Wave off Kanagawa by the Japanese painter Hokusai.

The Depth Charge is a 3 hand dial watch with a model number of M002BR. It has a simple and clean design with a rectangular silver case and black dial and pattern of the dial centre with the hour markers looking like a black shiny sun. The strap is specific for the watch and has a square dot texture with the Quicksilver logo on. On the inside of the strap are all manner of engraved signature/tagging style Quicksilver's. The back tells this has a Japanese movement and is 5atm / 50m water resistant, and also has a large version of the logo.

I found an article about this watch written in late 2006, which was suggesting that this watch was what you should buy for someone wanting to be at the forefront of fashion for 2007.

Today's watch is one from another of the famous designer brands.

This model is one of the watches from the Pierre Cardin watch collection. Pierre Cardin is an Italian-born French fashion designer. He is most know for his space age designs and geometric shapes, and is also a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. His fashion experience started in the 1940s and he worked with Christian Dior before forming his own fashion house in 1950.

This watch is a 3 hand dial design with a model number of CS1933. It is a Swiss made watch with a gold and silver design and a white face with gold hour markers. Inside is a Swiss Ronda metal quartz movement with one jewel (and is the second one of these which has stopped working on me).

This model number doesn't appear in any of the searches I've tried, so I don't know when it is from, but it definitely isn't current (and I'd guess late 90s).

Today's watch is an old model, but it seems a new version.

This watch is the AL-180, and is one of the Casio solar watches. Reading the Casio site, it seems that the AL-180 was one of their milestones, and was their first  Batteryless model released in 1987. The original was released with a 668 module inside, but from reading the Nerd Watch Discussion Board, it seems like a lot of fakes were released around 2003/05. The fakes had a slightly different LCD, but different insides (which did not have the same Casio branded parts and were a lower quality construction).

This model uses a different module, the 2505, and was a later release of the same design and model number as the original. Checking against the genuine original pictures, this has the same internal layout, as well as an identical LCD panel to the original 668 module AL-180s. The manual for the 2505 is available online at the mygshock.com website.

The AL-180 case is rectangular, with the top half reserved for the solar panel (split into a 5x5 grid), and the bottom half housing the LCD display. The LCD is a 2 line layout with 6 digits for time at the top,  and a smaller day and date display below (the fakes have a different bottom line with day, month, and date). It has a 3 button design, and has alarm and stopwatch modes. It says on the display that this is a Batteryless model, but actually there is a type of battery inside which the warning label says should be a GC and not a CR type.

Today's watch is by a brand more known for its underwear than for selling watches.

The watch is by the American company Hanes. The Hanes brand is owned by Hanesbrands Inc (which was spun off from the Sara Lee Corporation in 2006) and was originally founded in 1901. The Hanes name is most associated with clothing essentials such as underwear, socks, and some active wear, so it is unusual to see a watch for that brand. Other companies under the Hanesbrands banner include the sports company Champion, and Wonderbra.

The watch itself is a sporty looking 3 hand dial design, with glow-in-the-dark hours and minutes hands. It has a black plastic case with blue trim, and there is an inset rotating bezel. The back of the watch states it was assembled in China and is 10 bar water resistant. There are also some numbers on the back which will be model and serial numbers. One of the numbers is 2035 which is a common Citizen quartz module, so I'd guess that this may be inside. The other numbers are 0406 and 92-4791. The watch comes with a matching blue and black fabric and velcro strap (so good for outdoors use) which also has the red Hanes logo on a leather patch.

For the date, I don't know definitively, but if my hunch about the 2035 module is right, it'd suggest a late 90s or early 00s date.

Today I'm not wearing anything on my wrist, but something worn on my belt.

The timepiece I wore today has a few names, so I don't know which is the model and which is the brand. On the back is the name Jhonny Blues, and the text says Jhonny Blues presents, which would suggest this is the brand, but I'm not definite on this. The dial has the name Volga which could be a brand or a model name, or just the range.

The case also has a few other bits of text included stating First Class (with a plane image), along with the phrase "Original Since 1956". I've not found any traces of the combinations of Jhonny Blues, Volga, or the date, so I haven't found out the history behind this brand.

The watch is a 3 hand dial on a key fob shaped case. Inside is a Japanese quartz module by Miyota (Citizen). From the case is a shirt leather strip which connects the fastener. The fastener is a heavy duty spring loaded clamp designed to fasten to a belt hook (and seems to thick to be for a chain).

Today's watch is quite a normal looking watch, but it's for an old brand of sneakers/trainers that I remember as a child.

The brand is called pod (all in lower case and rounded font) and is a British shoe brand. They were founded in 1976 in Northamptonshire to make cutting edge unisex shoes with comfort, style, and durability, and produced the original Jean shoe. The first pod shop was in Kings Road London which is also where the Boy London brand was first found.

The watch is a relatively normal looking 3 hand dial design which is a little Swatch-like. It has a very thin edge to the case, with the quartz module sitting in the smallest possible housing behind a screw back. This gives it one of the most space efficient designs I've seen for a standard size quartz module. It is a 50m water resistant construction, and has a rubbery plastic strap. The only other information on the watch are the letters RC on the back, but I don't know what they mean. 

I don't know the date for the watch, but as the pod trainers were not seen so much after the mid 00s, the watch is likely from before then.

Today's watch is a ladies fashion watch from another famous brand which I've not featured before.

The brand is Nina Ricci from Paris which was founded by Maria "Nina" Ricci and her son in 1932, but is now owned by the Spanish fashion group Puig (since 1998). The brand was known for its refined feminine designs, along with the fragrances such as L'Air du Temps (which means Air of Time which is appropriate for a watch blog).

The watch is a dual dial design with two small dials side-by-side in a square case (with rounded corners). The dials are set into a stripe of mother of pearl with bands showing a Nina Ricci signature above and below. The face also has the Nina Ricci Paris title, and in small text says Swiss made.

It is quite a small and slim watch for a dual dial design. Inside are a couple of small Swiss made Ronda quartz modules. The modules are a very small nearly rectangular metal module, and are very unusual in that they are 7 Jewel quartz movements (and the first 7 jewel quartz modules I've seen). Inside the back it repeats the Swiss made text and also says Fond Acier meaning that it is Stainless steel.

On the back it has the Nina Ricci name and the text 'modele depose Swiss made', which means it is a registered design. There is also a model number which is W950 (or W 950), but I've not found this one online. As it's not online, it suggests that it's not available anymore, and total lack of information may suggest late 90s.

Today's watch is a bigger mystery than most so this may end up as a shorter post than I normally manage.

The watch is an ana-digi design with a 3 hand dial and 2 LCD windows. It has a horizontal layout with the dual to the left and LCD to the right in a rectangular face. The case is a little more square than the face and connects with the matched black metal strap. The analogue part is a 3 hand dial and has its own crown for operating. The LCD is an inverse arrangement with the top window showing time (6 digits), while the lower window is for day and date. In the LCD display there are two other modes which are alarm and stopwatch.

The back states the watch is water resistant and made of stainless steel. It also contains the only hint to the origin with a model number, KG0737. Searching for this gives only a few hits and the closest match is from a couple of Korean watch sales sites. These link it to a model/brand called Tigerfox which has an almost identical looking model, however that one has the name Tigerfox written on the strap and back too. This made me think that my version was a cheap copy, but as the price for a new Tigerfox is only $36 then I don't know why anyone would try to make a cheap version. Instead, I think that this design is more likely a relatively generic one which is sold under many names, as I've also seen similar designs without any make or model number.

Today, I'm back with the Rubicon watches. After finding that this was a brand with a wide range of cheap and cheerful watches, I've been noticing them more, so have ended up with a few different designs.

Today's design is called Skull Moon and is the second watch by Rubicon that has an 'XXXX Moon' name. The watch has a shiny black rectangular case with a printed glass. Most of the glass is painted black, but there is a window in the painting in the shape of a skull (along with the Rubicon name). Even with this design, they've managed to squeeze in very discrete hour markers with little dashes around the edge of the skull. Behind the window, the face is covered with a sparkly silver glitter paint so the the overall look is of a sparkly silver skull on a black watch. The look is finished by a shiny black patent leather strap.

In the window you can also see the 3 hands of the watch which is powered by a Japanese quartz module. The model number on the back is LTH-0993, and it also has the phrase "The Great Trick Timepiece" on the back plate.

The Rubicon brand is owned/made by Yazaki Co. Ltd who are based in Tokyo, Japan. I've not been able to find much about the brand, but found a Japanese trademark register site which seems to show the Rubicon name was filed for a trademark in June 2011 and granted in August 2012. This is a little strange though, as I blogged my first one in Jan 2012.

Today I'm wearing one of my retro looking Casio's, but it seems it's not as old as it seems.

Today's model is the Casio F-108WH which is a bright coloured LCD model. It has a two line LCD with large, clear to read digits, with the main 4 digits in the 6 digit time being larger than the others. The default display has the time and shows day and date on the line above. Inside is a 3224 module which gives is the basic alarm and stopwatch modes, but that's it.

The design looks a little like the early G-Shocks with a large square case and a robust look, but it doesn't have the protective features of that range. It is water resistant, but without specifying any amount, so likely only shower-proof. The strap is colour matched but any 18mm strap would work, and the watch was available in a range of different colours (at least blue, red, beige).

Although it looks like an old model, the watch is available now, and may not have been released until 2010. It is a very low cost model which retails new for $15-20.

Today it's the turn of another geek watch.

There is something about calculator watches which inspires/attracts geekiness, and many brands have released their won version.

Today's model is by Paul Frank, and was released at the end of 2005 in a range of colours. The Paul Frank clothing and accessories are made by a company called Paul Frank Industries, which was founded by a Paul Frank Sunich in 1995. It started after he had started making accessories using his cartoon characters which grew in demand amongst his friends before expanding. Paul Frank Industries has collaborated with a range of musicians, bands, and artists over the years, and has supported a range of philanthropic activities supporting children, the arts, and the environment. Paul Frank himself left Paul Frank Industries as an active member in November 2005, and so this may have been one of the last products he was involved with.

The watch has the normal look of a calculator watch with a rectangular case, LCD across the top and 16 rubber keys taking up the bottom half. Looking closer at the keys there is a difference as the main text spells out Paul Frank across 3 lines in light blue and orange characters. The LCD has an 8 character display, with a small line for day markers below. The display modes need a little searching to find as the mode key only switches between the time and calculator display (and is held down to enter alarm and time edit modes). Instead, pressing the right side of the keypad shows the date, and pressing the left side reveals the alarm mode. There is also an el-backlight which is activated by the only button on the watch which isn't part of the keypad.

The back of the watch has a logo with a shadow of a house and line of trees, as well as the phrase "Paul Frank is your friend". It also reveals the inside is a Chinese movement, and the watch model number is BCDG0606.

The strap is a matching pastel blue to the case and also has the tree and house logo on the lower half. The loop for the loose end of the strap also has text and repeats the "Paul Frank is your friend" moto.