I'm going to be going to a surf and music festival tonight, so thought I'd wear a surf watch for the occasion.

The watch I chose is one of my Nike watches, but this model has been a challenge to investigate.

It is a Nike watch, but only has a small reference to it being a Nike - a little Nike swoosh symbol on one part of the strap, and a tiny one in the middle of the back plate. The rest of the symbols (on the face and large on the back plate) seem to be for something called Harmonix Technology. I've only found reference to this model online on auction sites, so unfortunately I've not been able to get much on its history or timing, or the catalogue number. The model number on the back is WG53-4000.

It is quite a complicated model with lots of information on the LCD. The main part of the display is the time in 4 digits in a special curvy font. Above that is the day and date, which is shown on a small dot matrix array. Below the time are the seconds, and this sits over the unusual part - the surf display. The surf display shows a sweeping curve that fills from fest to right. There are two parts to this with a downwards curve on the left and an upwards curve peaking on the right. This display shows the status of the tide, indicating whether it is rising or falling, and how close to high or low tide you are. For the tide calculation there is a surf mode where you can set the region and then beach, selecting among many locations (for Europe, it covers UK, Ireland, Spain, and Italian beaches). Then you can see the tide status, the high and low tide times, a stopwatch scroll back and forward through the days to see when the high and low tides that were/will be.

The watch has  a very rounded case which is in one piece with the strap and made of a rubbery plastic. It has a metal clip across the face which frames the LCD display. All of buttons are hidden inside the plastic of the case, presumably to improve the waterproof level so this can be used in the sea.

For modes, this watch has the surf mode, a heat timer (for competitions), chronograph, and multiple alarms. Ahead of each mode, text appears explaining which mode is next, and there is a battery level display which is also shown at that time. There is also an el-backlight triggered by a button on the front.

The back shows the usual details, telling this is 100m water resistant and made in China, but also the phrase "Get it when its firing".

Today's watch was a magazine freebie, but seems to be rare enough that is it quite popular on the online auctions!

The watch is by A Bathing Ape, also known as Bape. This is a Japanese clothing brand which was founded in 1993 and makes lifestyle and street wear. They are mainly based in Japan, but have a number of stores worldwide, and is popular among celebrities. Bape has a distinctive two-tone gorilla logo (looking like something from Planet of the Apes), but they also collaborate with other brands, also featuring their characters (such as Nintendo, Marvel Comics, and Hello Kitty).

This particular watch was a giveaway with the Japanese Smart magazine which is a monthly(?) fashion magazine aimed at the youth market. It came with the July 2013 magazine, and is reported to be a limited edition (although this may be because it was only available with the magazine and therefore only sold for 1 month).

The watch is a round 3 hand dial design with a quartz movement. The face is covered with a black and grey camouflage pattern which is made up of a series of shapes, including deformed (squashed and twisted) versions of the Bape gorilla logo. The face also includes the proper logo, the 'A Bathing Ape' name, and an R in a circle instead of the 6 on the dial. I have two of these, and the both have a different pattern of camouflage on the dial, so it is a possibility that everyone of the watches is unique. The strap is a long black fabric design which loops behind the case.

They are seen on the online auctions, where one was recently sold for $42 which is significantly more than the magazine sold for!

Today I'm wearing a watch I don't know the real name of, so Columns was the best I could think of.

The watch is by the British watch brand Storm. The brand started in 1989 and produce a range of interesting designs with a distinctive style. It was the Storm brand that started my collection, and they are one of the largest parts of the collection.

This model is a ladies watch, or at least it is smaller than the normal metal watches.  It is a standard 3 hand dial design in a round metal case. It has a metal strap with the usual links, but the first section is a little different in shape. The back panel on the face has a green furry/wiry texture which makes me think of fake undergrowth. Out of this background come the hour markers which are raised to different heights like silver columns coming out of the undergrowth (which is where the idea for the name came from). The top 5 numbers (10 to 2) have been replaced with the letters STORM, and both halves of the strap have the storm name engraved.

There is no model name on the back, just the Storm name and the reg number (1374971). This model also has a Thailand rather than Japan movement. For date, I think this is one of the 90s models as has some similarities in styles to those models.

Today, it's the turn of another French designer who's on here for the first time.

This time it is a watch by the Guy Laroche brand which is named after its creator. Laroche was born in Paris in 1921, and after starting working in fashion, released his first ready-to-wear collection in 1961 after starting the brand in the late 50s. Laroche passed away in 1989, but the brand lives on.

The watch is either called Oval or part of a range of watches called Oval. Unsurprisingly, it is an oval shaped watch, and has a 2 hand dial, but with a small dial at the 6 o'clock position for the seconds. Inside, is a Ronda 2 jewel quartz movement with a module number of 1069. Ronda are a Swiss brand, but this module only says 'Swiss parts' so I'd guess they have another manufacturing location too. The case is stainless steel, and has a 3 bar water resistance. The watch has a genuine leather strap which is also marked with the Guy Laroche name on the back.

On the back of the watch is the Guy Laroche name, and there is also a holographic sticker with the logo. The back also features the name, Oval, in a curvy stylized font. There are two numbers on the back of the watch, one of which I guess is the model number. The two are 806 0284, and 206.18.

Im not sure of the date for this model as I've not seen it online, but as it isn't found, it must be at least a few years old.

It seems like the Swiss watch brand Tendence has made an impact on watch designs since it was started in 2007. This is the second watch I've blogged which isn't Tendence, but bears more than a passing resemblance.

This watch is by a brand called Red, which is another of the small fashion brands from the Far East which makes cheap but cheerful watches. As seems to be the normal situation for these brands, there doesn't seem to be much of a Web presence, except for sightings on sales sites. I've seen a few watches by Red, and their speciality seems to be extra large watches. The logo features the name Red in front of 3 lines, with the phrase "Made in New York" in the bottom line (although I'm pretty sure that the watch isn't actually made there).

This model is a very large watch with a 3 hand dial set deep into the body. Around the edge of the dial are the hour numbers in 3D which protrude from the sloped sides (and are influenced in style by the Tendence watches). On the face is a yellow skull design with silver sparkly spots on a black background, and the 12, 4, and 8 numbers are in a matching yellow. The thick rubbery strap is also in a matching yellow, and is custom fitted for the watch design.

The back doesn't give any more clues as it just says it is stainless steel, and has the logo engraved in the centre.

For the date of the watch, I'm guessing that this is from after the Tendence brand was started, and as they seem to have become more popular in recent years, it makes me think that this is a post-2010 watch.

Today, I'm wearing a sports brand watch, but one that doesn't feel as sporty as they often do.

This watch is by the German sports giant Adidas. The Adidas company is most known for its footwear, but produces a range of sporting goods including watches. They are the largest sports brand in Europe, and second largest in the world (and are owners of other famous brands such as Reebok and Rockport).

As it doesn't have a particularly sporty feel, I guess this watch is more of an Adidas fashion watch. It is a 3 hand dial quartz powered watch in a metal case (which the back indicates is base metal). The case is silver, and has the Adidas 3 feather 'shuttlecock' imprinted above the 12 o'clock position. The dial is a shiny silver and the centre has the Adidas name repeated all across it. The dial is shiny and polished in a way that it looks like it is bright with darker writing, or dark with brighter letters. Down the centre of the dial is the famous Adidas 3 stripes which is their most recognised logo. It has a leather strap, which the Adidas name printed on the back of the leather and the buckle.

The back has little information about the watch except for the materials, the fact it is water resistant, and the model number which is 10-0031.

I've not found this model online, so I don't know the date. The Adidas watches have been made since the 90s, and so the watch is sometime between then, and I guess probably 2010 (as a more recent model should be easier to find online).

When I bought today's watch, I knew it was a limited edition but not what it was for. After a bit of research, I worked it out, and would definitely have never guessed.

The watch is by the Japanese watch giant Citizen, and is quite a formal looking chronograph watch. It has a rounded square case and face in silver and white/silver, and has a plain black leather strap. It has a 3 hand dial, 3 small dials, and a date marker window arranged on the face for the combination of time and timing. For the time, it is 2 hands on the main dial that are used, with the main dial seconds hand functioning for the chronograph while the bottom small dial provides the seconds (or 1/10th seconds when the chronograph is started). The other two small dials are also for the chronograph giving the minutes and hours.

Inside is a Japanese Citizen 0560 module,  which seems quite a high tech design, and the model number is 0560-S033365.
The watch was cased in China, and is 5 bar water resistant.

On the dial, the watch has the name Deep Impact, which makes it sound like it is a special edition for the space mission or the movie, and the date of 2005 on the back fits with the NASA mission. It's only the tiny writing saying Triple Crown and the engraving of a horse on the back that gave the real answer. There are several lines of Japanese text on the back too, but I don't know what that really says yet. 
The research on this revealed that the watch is a special edition for the Japanese champion racehorse Deep Impact. Deep Impact was a successful racehorse in the 2000s, winning 7 Japanese domestic races during 2005 and 2006. Its biggest known achievement was in 2005 when it became the first racehorse for 11 years to win the Japanese Triple Crown (Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun, and Kikuka Sho), and that is what this watch was released for. Deep Impact was retired to Stud in 2006 and is one of Japan's leading sires, fathering at least 12 race-winning horses.

As the name on the face is directly printed, and the back is unique to the watch (having none of the normal serial numbers), it looks like this was a direct release by Citizen rather than a 3rd party modification. As there is no serial number, it is hard to conclude on how many were released, but I wouldn't expect there to be a large market for high quality horseracing commemorative watches which are a domestic Japanese release only!

Today, I'm back to one of my favourite brands for their combination of cool, fashionable, and unusual - Nooka.

The Nooka brand has been around since 2005 when designer Matthew Waldman took the ideas he'd been working on and started a new watch company. Since then, the Nooka brand has been producing many variations on their concept along with many collaboration models with events, characters, and artists.

They currently have an Indiegogo campaign running for a new limited edition model chronograph (which is a first for the brand). The campaign can be found at this link. So if you like Nooka style, now is a great time to get yourself one!

This model is one of the Nooka collaboration models, and this time with the cartoon series Adventure Time. The Adventure Time story was created by Pendleton Ward and follows the adventures of a human boy called Finn and his companion, a shape changing magical dog called Jake. The series follows their exploits in the Land of Ooo (which are quite Dungeons and Dragons inspired) and its unusual residents such as Princess Bubblegum and the Ice King. The cartoon is in its 6th season and has been a success with the critics and in the ratings. For the watch, Nooka partnered with Cartoon Network Enterprises to produce models inspired by Jake the dog and Finn the human from the series.

This model is the Finn the dog watch (-I'll be blogging Jake at some point in the future) and is in the same yellow colour as the character. On the strap, above the display is Jake's face, while his arms are on the bottom of the strap.

This is a Nooka Zirc design with the hours in a circle of dots, the minutes in a line along the bottom, and a little window for the seconds. The Zirc has a few other modes with alarm and stopwatch as well as the time display. This Zirc design is a a Zub Zirc, and so has the one piece rubbery strap design, and this is a Zub 38 and so has a 38mm wide strap.

The watch is still available from the Nooka website, along with the other 4 Adventure Time designs.

Today I'm blogging a watch which has a design with a lot in common with a watch I've blogged before.

Today's watch bears a striking resemblance to a rare Casio watch I blogged 2 1/2 years ago - the AQ-441. This watch is an ana-digi with a combination of analogue rotating disc and LCD.

It has a rectangular case with a semicircular window for the 3 rotating dials - hours around the outside, next minutes, and seconds in the centre. In the bottom half is the LCD display where the alarm and chronograph modes are displayed.

The watch is by a company called ISI-Tech, who unfortunately, I've not been able to find online. There are many ISI-Tech companies out there, but none seem to sell or make watches. The model is the TI-001 and that implies this is the first watch in their range (or that they had planned more).

I don't know when this is from as I've never seen another one, but the similar Casio is from the 80s.

Today it's a metal watch which looks like it should be something from a steampunk movie.

The watch seems to be called Da Vanci, and there is something imprinted in the case saying what looks like "by Piro", but it could be Pico as the font is hard to read. These names don't give anything in the Web searches I've tried, so this is yet another mystery model.

The watch has a very metallic clockwork look, but it is really a quartz watch with a 3 hand dial. All of the cogs attached to the case and printed on the dial are for show except for two. To the left of the dial is a bronze coloured cog which has the date numbers on, and at the bottom is another smaller cog with the days. Both of those are hand turned so are just for indication and do not change automatically. It comes with a metal strap  which has black and silver alternating stripe pattern.

I've had this watch for a while, so I think it came from the 90s or earlier, but I've no concrete information.

Today, I'm using one of my mysterious Vagary watches again.

The Vagary line of watches are made my Citizen, and are a bit of a mysterious line. Most of the models in this line I've seen in Japan, but there is no Japanese website. Instead, the website is in Italy, and at the bottom of that page is a  note saying Vagary is a trademark of Citizen Watch Italy SpA. Whether this means it is an Italian line, or just that the trademark is held in every country they operate in, I can't say, but it adds a bit more mystery to an already mysterious line. The Vagary watches themselves tend to me a bit different than the regular Citizen lines, and often feature unusual designs or bright colours.

This model is based around a GD00 module and is a quartz dial watch. It has a 3 hand dial in a rounded square case, and a few unusual design elements. The date window is at the 11 o'clock position, which I think is a first for the watches I've blogged, and the crown is at the 2 o'clock position. There is also a 24 hr dial, but this is in the bottom corner and is a retrograde /jump-back design which is also pretty unusual. It isn't the brightest coloured watch they make, but the shiny green and brown combination is different. The strap is a browny creamy leather design with a green felt back, and the buckle has a tiny Vagary V logo.

I've not found this model in any catalogues, but based on the serial number it appears to be from 2005 (or possibly 1995 but I think this is less likely). The full model number is GD00-S030382.

Today, I'm blogging a watch that based on model number that has become familiar in my collection.

The watch is by the brand Boy London, and the model number is BOY-31-W. What is seems is that there are a lot of different BOY-31-W watches by Boy London which have the same basic style, but a different picture. This version has a case similar to the BOY-300 I've blogged before, but with just a silver case with black details. The case has the Boy London name on the bottom left with their eagle design above the 12 o'clock position. It is a 3 hand dial design with black hands against a cream marble textured face. The design on this version is a pattern which looks like a silver sun rising over a curving wave, with a 60s style font BOY below. There are also stars instead of some of the numbers leaving only the 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10 with another of the Eagles at the 12 o'clock position. The strap is black leather with a red section closest to the case and has the Boy London name and a couple of studs.

On this model, there is only the Boy London name and the model number in the middle of the back and it doesn't have all of the other information seen on some of the Boy watches. This could mean it is either a reproduction, or it is an earlier design.

For the date, it seem like the watches were popular in the mid-90s. This is strange as it is supposedly when the brand was in hiatus, but it fits with the dates on some of the watches and original guarantees. From this, I guess that the name was used by a Japanese brand during this time (based on where they are mainly found), either under license or without any interference (as the name wasn't being used officially).

Today it's another watch by a manufacturer more famous for something other than watches.

The watch is made by (or for)  the well known lighter brand Zippo. The Zippo lighters are famous worldwide, and one of the most recognised lighters I know. Many people are collectors of Zippos, but I've not come across so many collectors of Zippo watches.

This model is the ZPW001, which from the model number could be one of their first. It is a 3 hand dial design and has a styling a little like some of the G-Shock dial designs. The case was assembled in China, and has a 10 bar water resistance rating.

For the date, I'd assumed that the previous Zippo I'd blogged was late 80s or early 90s, and this watch seems an older style. That could also be misleading, so I'd guess this is also a late 80s or early 90s release.

I'm wearing quite a plain watch again today, but it is by the o.d.m brand.

ODM or o.d.m is a Hong Kong based brand with a name that stands for Original, Dynamic and Minimal. They began in 1999 and make watches for a range of different tastes.

This model is called Unequivocal and is aimed at the more smart executive style of customer. It has a model number of ST43, but there are also ST44 versions also called Unequivocal.

The watch is a 2 hand dial, but with a seconds hand in a second dial below the centre. There is also a tiny date window at the 3 o'clock position, which you need to look closely at to be able to read. It has a very simple and uncluttered design with a brushed steel case and silvery white dial. The dial also doesn't have much clutter with only small time markers and a silver o.d.m name. It has a 10 bar/100m water resistance.

I'm blogging another Swatch today, but not a 90s model for a change, although this only missed by a couple of years.

This Swatch is called the Time Slider and was designed in 2001. It was then released as part of the 2002 Fall Winter collection in two versions with a model number of YSS148HA or HB. The difference between the versions was the size of the strap which was either the Small (HB) for 16cm wrists or Large (HA) for 17.5cm wrists.

It is a two hand dial design with very small arrows for the hands peeking out from behind a silver circle in the centre of the dial. The case is one of the small ladies cases, but mounted into a solid clear perspex mount surrounded by metal plate. The front plate sits in front of the dial and slides out of the way (to the right) to reveal the time. The rest of the strap is also clear perspex with a metal  connecting section at the back. To open the strap you press the two buttons on the side of the strap above the face, and the front section opens up.

When I spotted today's watch, it confused me quite a bit. It looked exactly like one of the Independent 1481010 watches, but didn't appear to have that name on. As I thought it might have been a special edition I'd not seen before, I bought it. But on receipt it appears to be an almost identical design (even the strap), but with no actual connection to the 1481010s.

This watch is called Future, and on the back it says it was produced by Time Reverse. The model has a full title if Future Electronvolt Digital Model which I've see  used for this type of analogue watch with a 'digital' style display (rotating disc). The back also has two numbers MV 2034 and SR 626, this first I think is the model number, and the second is the battery type. As usual with these watches, I can't find anything online about it!

The design is just like the 6038 module rotating disc models from the 1481010 range. It has a rounded rectangular case with the same shape glass. There is a shiny circle at the centre, and to the left of that is where you read the 3 rotating dials. The strap is a stainless steel link design, with the first couple of sections at each side having a slight v-shape.

As the design is so similar to the 6038 watch, I would guess that the date will be the same at the late 90s.

Today I was spending time with a couple of children, so wanted a kid friendly watch.

The one I chose is another from the Rubicon watch range, but different than the other Rubicons I've blogged so far.

This is a Rubicon Kids watch, and as it says 'kids' on the back where the name normally is, the name may actually be called kids. It has a model number of SIL-881 on the back, along with the usual catchphrase 'The great trick timepiece'. The Rubicon watches are made by Yazaki Co Ltd. from Japan, and the trademark is pretty recent, but I haven't found out much more.

It is a 2 hand dial watch with the seconds having a rotating disc. The seconds indicator is a little weird and looks like a 4 legged squid wearing a helmet.

The strap is a moulded rubbery plastic one with crocodiles. On the strap, the crocodiles are either dreaming of fishes, or chasing after the fish.

I'm back with the Fossil watches again today, and I'm wearing one from their more sporty lines of watches.

The FSL range by Fossil were a set of watches with a more sporty plastic feel than the regular Fossil watches of the time (like the Big Tic). It seems that they came out in the late 90s (as the date for the module begins with 1995), and so fall into the 'late 90s black hole of missing information' (-regular readers will have noticed that there is a severe lack of online information for a lot of different watches released in the late 90s).

This model is the FL 8862, and may have been one of several models with the name Cyclops, which would be appropriate as the display does look like a single large eye. In the 'eye' is a two line inverse LCD display with 6 digits plus the am/pm marker on the main line (which makes up a 7th digit when needed). Above is the day and date, with 10 blocks which fill up with the seconds sitting inbetween. At the very bottom of the LCD is a mode marker with the LCD behind the selected mode turning blank so you can see the black text. For the modes, this has the regular alarm, chronograph, and timer, along with a pace function. Below the LCD is a big black FSL logo which activates the el-backlight (which has quite a loud buzz when on).

The back has the usual FSL black rubber disc with the FSL logo on, and gives the 100m /330ft water resistance info along with the model number. The label that came with the watch also reveals that the watch was cased in China and has a Chinese made strap.

Today I was at an exhibition with lots of people in suits, so I chose something smart and simple.

This is my second watch by Charles Vögele and is quite a plain watch compared to what I normally wear.

Charles Vögele is an unusual designer as he started as a racing driver in the 1950s. Him and his wife started the clothing company in 1955 with motorcycle clothing, but now produces a range of high and low fashion items. The company is Swiss based and has stores across Europe, and it seems the watch arm is Far East based.

This is the CV-7331 which is a very thin gold coloured quartz watch. It is a 2 hand dial design with a Japanese Morioka Tokei VX50D quartz movement. It has a custom silver and gold metal strap which matches to the case.

I haven't worked out when these watches were from as they don't appear online, so it could be anytime from the 80s through to the 2000s.

It seems that a lot of the Japanese fashion brands at some point regale released a watch as a magazine cover item. Today's watch is another of those.

Like the A Bathing Ape watch I blogged earlier this month, this watch was also issued as a limited release on the front of Smart magazine. Smart magazine is a Japanese fashion magazine which caters for youth fashion and seems to be a monthly release. This watch came out on a 2013 issue (sometime earlier than September) and is not for sale on its own.
The watch is a military style watch by the clothing line Head Porter Plus. Head Porter is a Japanese fashion brand which was established in July 1998. It is manufactured by Yoshida Kaban which is a Tokyo based manufacturing company started in 1935 and recognised for its high quality bags and accessories, and best known for its Porter brand. The Head Porter brand is a private brand designed by Hiroshi Fujusawa, which uses Yoshida Kaban as a manufacturing partner. It only has 3 shops - the flagship store in Harajuku, Tokyo, and shops in Osaka and Kyoto.

The watch is a 3 hand dial design with clear to read white hands and time markers. It has a plain black case and camo green fabric strap helping to give the military style. The dial shows the Head Porter Plus name and has a red + sign below the 12 o'clock marker. The back is completely blank, so there is no other information on the watch.