Today's watch is quite a big model from the brand which started my collection, and is a different style from the others I've covered so far.

That of course means it is by Storm of London, and this model is called the Obligator. I've posted quite a few watches from the British fashion brand Storm now, ranging from their beginning in 1989 through to their more modern designs.

The Obligator is a large watch, but is still pretty light and comfortable to wear. Its base is a large slab of titanium (approx 4cm by 5cm) with a curved back and angled front, and this is where the brown padded and shaped leather strap is connected. On the left side are two small round inserts, one of which is a little floating compass, and the other is a little thermometer dial. The watch module is a square block with rounded corners which is mounted on the right side of the base and connected with screws from the back.

It has an ana-digi design with a 3 hand dial and two rectangular LCD panels. The top panel normally shows the time and has a 6 digit display (with the seconds a tiny bit smaller than the others). The bottom panel also has 6 digits and shows the date and day. The different modes are shown on a combination of the two LCD panels and are day counter (to determine the number of days from/to a particular date), alarm, and stopwatch. The modes are switched with the top left button, with the bottom two buttons used in the different modes.

The back of the watch has the model name and shows this is a titanium case with 50m water resistance and contains a Japanese movement. There are also two numbers, one I think is the serial number, and the other is TC.N4.

The date for this watch is a little confused as the module date starts in 1997 which suggests late-90s, however I've found magazine adverts for this model online which are quoted as being from 2005. As the module only suggests the earliest possible date, I'd guess that this is an early to mid 2000s watch. I think it was one of Storm's more expensive models when it came out, and I've seen suggestions of an original retail price of around $350.

I've concluded that the Body Max watches are full of strange contradictions. They are designed by a famous fashion designer but they feel quite cheap, and their designer is known for his outrageous designs (such as David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust phase) but the watches are pretty plain and normal.

The full title of the range is Body Max designed by Kansai Yamamoto. The designer Kansai Yamamoto is very famous in Japan, especially known for eyewear, and has designed the train from Tokyo to the main airport. The Body Max range encompasses hats and coats as well as the watches, and all of the watches I've seen so far have a sporty feel.

This model is an LCD model which looks like it could be complicated, but is really very simple. It has a large 4 digit LCD display in the centre of the round face, surrounded by the brand name. The bezel around the display has a cog-like design, and the way the button information is printed, it looks like you should turn the cog to activate the indicated option. In reality, the cog design is just for show and it's the buttons on the side which activate the actions. It has a very simple module which only has time, date, and seconds displays.

As mentioned on my earlier Body Max post, there is mention online that the watches were from the 90s or 2000s, and I think that sounds reasonable.

Today's watch is an example of the quartz dial version of a watch line I've only blogged an LCD watch from before.

In the early 1970s, Citizen Watch Co. released a line of quartz watches under the Crystron name. I guess that the name came from them containing a quartz Crystal and being elecTronic.

The watches came in a range of designs with several different movements being used in the range. This one is a 3 hand dial design with both a day and a date marker at the 3 o'clock position. It has a white dial with markers and not numbers, and has the Citizen CQ symbol on the bottom of the dial.

Based on the number on the front, it suggests a  model 7100 module, although on the module itself it has 7300C, 280-18, and TW02. From these the 7100 and 7300C fit the Citizen numbering convention, but I can't be sure which (although my guess would be 7300). The serial number would indicate a 1979 date, but it may possibly be 1969. The model number is either 7100-711685 or 4-730771 with the old Citizens having numbers in both styles.

Watches made for TV series, characters, or films come in all manner of different styles and qualities.

This is a watch for the character Mighty Atom (or Tetsuwan Atomu) who is better known in the West as Astro Boy. This is the third Astro Boy watch, but is at the other end of the scale from the previous watches which were a Seiko AirPro and an GSX limited edition. The Astro Boy /Mighty Atom story is about a scientist who builds a robot boy as a replacement by a Dr Tenma for his son who was killed in an accident. When he realised the robot could never be human, he was given to a circus but rescued by a Prof Ochanomizu and ended up using his power to help fight crime, injustice, and other threats to humanity. The cartoon was created in a Japanese manga in1952 by Osamu Tezuka, who is known as the God of Manga.

This watch is a simple LCD watch for Mighty Atom with a 4 digit LCD, and the usual time, date, and seconds displays. It is a little temperamental so I couldn't get the display to stay on for the post. Around the LCD window is a hologram style sticker with a picture of Mighty Atom, his name, and the copyright to Tezuka Productions.

To get to the insides, you need to take off to tabs from the top and bottom of the case, and then the glass can be removed and the module lifted out. There is no way in from the back which is solid plastic, and only reveals this was made in China.

I'd guess that this was an 80s watch from the styling of the graphics, but is could a a cheap later model instead.

As an extra bonus - The background that the watch is sat on in the pictures is an original drawing used in some of the frames of the Anime.

The LED watch had its heyday in the mid 1970s and so the traditional LED design I think will be forever linked with that era. It was a fleeting technology which gave the original digital display from the time when the electronics became advanced, small, and cheap enough, through to the start of the LCD in the late 70s.

This watch is an original 1970s design with a gold coloured case and red LED display. The display has the traditional LED style with thin lines making up each of the 4 digits, which are made up of many tiny dots of light. This module is a more advanced one than many I've seen as a second press of the button gives the day and date, meaning the LED digit needs to cover the lines for letters as well.
As the LED was a popular fashionable item, many brands and store chains had their own custom versions made, and this is one of those. The back of the watch shows this was made for/by the Macy's brand. Macy's is an American department store chain with over 850 stores across the US (and its territories) and is known for its wide range of products. The company began in New York City in the 1850s and is now one of the most well known American department stores.

The time is shown by pressing the main button at around the 2 o'clock position (or where the 2 would be if this was a dial watch), and a second press gives day and date. There is a seconds button a little below for the time setting which needs something pointy to press.

There isn't much more information on the watch itself. The back states it was made in Hong Kong, is a digital quartz watch, and is both shock and water resistant. Inside, it says the module was made Tele Art Ltd of Hong Kong and has (unsurprisingly) no jewels. Battery wise it takes 2 x LR44 batteries. 

I'd first thought that this watch was a typical Italian sounding Japanese watch, but it's actually a genuine Italian designer model.

The watch is by an Italian designer brand called Vabene. The Vabene brand is designed/owned by Giorgio Grimoldi who is the son of the Grimoldi Milano jewellery dynasty. Giorgio started his own company straight out of design school and with Vabene has mixed his style with the refinement of the family business. The Vabene name is meant to reflect a typically Italian way of life (but translates to O.K) and, according to Giorgio its basic values are those of design, innovation, creativity, sophistication, style and originality, and above all, fun!

The brand releases a new design every 6 months, and as far as I can tell this model is from 2010. It is called the Adesso XS and is part of the Adesso family of watches which all seem to have this rectangular polycarbonate case. According to their website, "the ice-inspired material follows the curve of the wrist to become a modern sculpture connected by a silicon band. With all components stacked and visible in a see-through case, Adesso embodies a harmony between design, art and fashion."

This model is the XS and is primarily a ladies model, but works for men with small wrists. It has the curved clear case of the Adesso models with a two hand dial. Around the outside of the dial are small jewels for hour markers, with the top and bottom (12 and 6) marked by 2 lines. The strap is a thin black silicon material and has the Vabene name moulded into the back of it.

The back of the watch has the Vabene logo and series name, and shows this is 5 atm water resistant. It also says this is an Italian design, but I've found some sources that say the watch itself was made in China.

The model number is ADSSBKXS and is easy to decipher (ADSS Adesso, BK Black, and XS model name).

Today I'm wearing one of the simplest and long lasting Casio LCD watches.

The watch is the F-28W and is an LCD watch with the typical Casio look. The design came out originally in the 1980s (based on the length of time some owners say they have had one), and is still available today (for around $14). The only reported change in the design is that the watch has switched from being made in Japan to made in China, which looks to have happened in the late 90s or early 00s. My one is made in China so is a more modern version. The module inside seems to have changes as well with this model using an 1156 module while the one currently for sale has switched this to a 586 module.

It is an incredibly simple watch with no special functions. It is a little more complex than the F30 I've blogged before, but still, all of the watches available information is one the screen and you don't need to press a button to see anything (and there is no mode button). Even Casio touts the simplicity of the watch. On the Casio website for this model, it refers to it being a watch to the K.I.S.S. principle, saying sometimes simple is better.

Both of the buttons on the watch are inset and just set the watch or switch between 12 and 24 hr display. It has a 2 line LCD display with everything you need to know. The smaller top line has the day and date, while the main line has the time (with an narrow first digit and smaller seconds).

The both the case and strap are black plastic, and the strap has a part number of 151 DL1 1B.

I'm off to the annual NuMusic festival tonight, so wanted to choose something futuristic looking and so picked this watch from the Casio Futurist range.

The Futurist line is aimed at women, but I think they have a lot of good unisex designs. All of the watches have a retro futuristic feel and were designed to give you something fashionable to have on your wrist.

This watch is the LA-2001 and is a square watch with a round inverse LCD in the middle. The edge of the case is in brushed steel which extends to where the black resin strap connects (part number 712 FJ1 19).

The LCD is a little mixed up compared to normal designs. The information is on 3 lines with the top line covering hours, the middle line has seconds and day & date, while the bottom has minutes. The LCD uses custom digits with 13 segments the usual 6 plus one for every joint), while the day and date are a dot matrix array.

Inside is the 2999 module which powers the different modes. The watch has world time, stopwatch, timer, and alarms (x4). Night use is covered by an el-backlight which lights the digits only.

The module has a start date of 2004 and Amazon says it wad first listed there in 2006 which both imply this was a mid 2000s design. The full model number of this variation is LA-2001-6ADF

After the initial peak in the 70s, it seems that the rotating disc style of watch was a popular design through the quartz era too. I've blogged many different makes of watches with the design, and today it's the turn of J-Axis.

The J-Axis brand was started by Sun Flame Co in 1987. They produce a wide range of different watch designs for men, women, and children within the J-Axis line and generally produce low price models. The watches are split into 6 series, but so far I've been unable to work out what differentiates the different groups.

This model is called the Multipledisc Indication Quartz and is part of a group of J-Axis watches marked with iXa. As the name suggests, it uses multiple discs to indicate the time which are powered by a quartz module. This version of the rotating disc has the time on the left side of the centre with the hours on the left and seconds closest to the centre.

The face is rectangular with tapered steps going down to the silver metal strap. The watch is pretty light and so I think it is base metal and plastic with only the back in stainless steel.

The back has the usual J-Axis information - that it is water resistant, has a Japanese movement, and is assembled in China. The back also has the usual description "Modern Timepieces" which J-Axis use for the brand.

The date for the watch is unknown, but this rotating disc watch design seemed to have a popularity spike in the late 90s and early 00s (when the 1481010s and Deadman models were released), so I'm thinking this could be a similar period watch.

I wanted to wear a flashy and noticeable watch today, and I found a Nooka to fit that requirement.

Today's Nooka is shiny! I've posted on of the gold Zirc watches too and both of these have a super shiny reflective gold face making them catch the light like crazy.

This model is one of the Zot watches and was likely part of the V-Series rather than the more common Zub design. I've seen the watch referred to as a Zot-V on some sites. In this one, the watch has a square face with rounded corners and a separate gold leather strap.

The Zot design uses dots for the hours with three rows of four dots. Below are the minutes which are shown as a bar which fills as the hour progresses. At the bottom is the seconds display (in normal digits) and other markers (am, pm, and alarm). The Zot has time and date display options, as well as an alarm and stopwatch. There is also an el-backlight for illuminating the LCD sections.

The V-Series watches are among the smarter designs for the Nookas and tend to be a little more expensive (rrp around $225-275). The watch was released around 2009, but the gold version is not available anymore.

The Nooka brand was started in 2005 by Matthew Waldman. They make many different models of interesting looking and fashionable watches, and have done many collaborations (a lot of which are  limited edition) with all manner of products, events, and artists. They currently have an Indiegogo campaign running for a new limited edition chronograph watch, so if you fancy getting in at the start of a new design of Nooka, I'd suggest you check it out.

Today I decided to blog a watch which fitted with a T-shirt I'd found for sale that was a perfect fit for me - the motif is a vintage LCD with the word Junkie across the face. As I think I have a watch addiction, then I don't know anyone it would fit better.

The watch I chose was a vintage LCD watch by the Seiko brand Alba. The model is a Y446 and is a gold (colour) cased LCD watch with the traditional look. It is an original 70s watch with the Y446 (and this particular watch) appearing in 1979.

It has a 6 digit LCD, which unfortunately has started to fail, but you can still see the numbers from the right angle. The LCD also has a day indicator along the top which doubles as a mode indicator too. The Y446 module is an alarm chronograph model, and just had alarm and chronograph functions on top of the time and date.

The full model number is Y446-4040, which seems to be a less common variation (as there are many more -4020 and -5000 models online).

Yesterday I blogged a vintage LCD, and today, it's a modern version.

This watch is by the Neff brand (properly named as Neff Headwear) and is called the Flava. Neff Headwear was started by Shaun and Joe Neff in 2002. They started as a snow and skate headwear, but expanded later into sunglasses and watches with the Neff Vision and Neff Time collections. They are supported by many sports athletes, and have collaborations with stars like Snoop Dogs, Deadmau5, and Scarlett Johansson. They also have a charity side with a yearly initiative called Neff Hope.

The Flava watch is a modern take on the traditional 80s design of LCD watch. It is an alarm chronograph model and has an el-backlight. The LCD is over two lines with day and date at the top and time (6 digits) along the bottom. The back has the Flava name, a smiley round boys face logo, a sign telling you to not throw it in the bin, and the water resistance (5atm).

This version is the Cyan colour and there are over 20 different colour variations available. The rrp is $20 and the design is still for sale (although the cyan version doesn't appear on the Neff site anymore).

Today I'm wearing a limited edition watch which would have fitted well with the recent street art festival.

The watch is by Firetrap who are a British company specialising in premium menswear and accessories. They started under the WDT (World Design & Trade) group, but are now part of the Sports Direct group (along with Lonsdale and Karrimor).

This particular model is a limited edition release, exclusively designed by Kate Moross. Kate Moross is a designer, illustrator, and art director based in London. She is known for her typography illustrations, and has designed ad campaigns and clothing lines, as well as directing music videos.

The Moross Firetrap watch was released in October 2010 (according to an album of photos from the launch party). The watches came in three colours, black, pink, and the white design I'm wearing. The face features a geometric design in different grey shades and colourful hands. It is a 3 hand dial watch with a quartz movement in a heavyweight metal case and strap. The hands are bright pink (hours), bright green (minutes), and yellow (seconds). The back plate shows the Moross logo (3 concentric triangles) and the usual info on water resistance (5atm) and material of construction (stainless steel).

It was released as a limited edition, but there is some disagreement online as to how many were made. I've seen both 150 and 500 quoted, but haven't got a definitive answer. The model number is FT1009KMW, and the original rrp was around £35.

Today's watch was smaller when I'd put it on my wrist than I'd anticipated, but it just about fits with my small wrists.

The watch is one of the Timex watches from the Triathlon line of watches. Timex watches are made by the Dutch holding company Timex Group which has several watch making subsidiaries within the company. They released the Triathlon range originally in 1984, with the possibly more well known Ironman Triathlon being started 2 years later.

I'd guess that this watch was a 90s or early 00s design from the style, but as they don't have a good model number system, it has to be a guess (although there is the number 465-A on the back). It could well be earlier though as this is a standard design for the Triathlon range.

It has an LCD display with two lines of six equally sized digits. By default, the top line is for day and date with the bottom line showing time. The top line is set up so it can display text though, and describes the mode that is about to be selected. Modes included are chronograph, timer, and alarm, and it has an 8 lap memory.

The layout looks like a hand held stopwatch with buttons poking out of the side of the case at an angle. The stopwatch buttons are on the front of the watch for easy access while doing sports. The buttons are so small though, that I feel this must be a kids version as you need very small fingers to use it effectively. As this is a Triathlon model, it is of course water resistant (to 50m).

On the back is a US patent number D.287.341 which covers this particular design of watch and was filed in 1984 by Gary Grimes of the Timex Corporation.

The original sale price of this model was ¥9,800.

My mother is here to visit at the moment, and as she has a cool watch, so I thought I'd blog that one today.

The watch is another by one of my favourite brands Storm of London. The Storm brand is known for its distinctive styles of watches and accessories. It was launched in 1989 and is the only recognised British fashion watch brand on the market today, and now has stores in over 45 countries around the world.

The watch is a ladies design called the Mooky. It is a small 2 hand design in an oval metal case. The strap is solid metal which curves around the wrist with short links around the connector. Inside, the watch is powered by a Japanese quartz movement.

It was released in the mid to late 2000s, with the first information appearing online in 2005.

The last time I blogged a Boy London watch I mentioned that there was a very common model number, but that one was the first I'd blogged. Well, today is the second!

The model number in question is the BOY-31-W by the British fashion brand Boy London. The Boy London brand was active in the 80s before taking a break and reappearing in the 2000s. During the break, the brand was a popular second hand purchase, but it was when the watches began to appear. As the brand was not actively running, I'm assuming that the watches were made under license (or possibly without licence) to use the name.

The watches with the model number BOY-31-W came in a variety of designs but in a similar style. The watch has a round metal case with the Boy London name in raised letters around the bezel. The strap is two colours of leather (this time brown and black) with the piece connecting to the case having rivets, the Boy London name and the Eagle logo. This particular version has a blue face with a gold (military?) helicopter design above the word "London" in blue. The 9 and 3 hour markers are also gold, but at the 12 o'clock position there is a Union Jack, and the word Boy replaces the 6 o'clock marker.

The watch is a 3 hand dial design with white hands and is run by a Japanese quartz module.

The back just has the Boy London name, model number, water resistance, and materials (base metal bezel and stainless steel back). I think that the back design is what indicates which era of Boy London watch this is, but I haven't completely cracked the code yet.

I like the old G-Shocks from the early lines, especially the 90s models which seem to be quite common in my collection.

Today's watch is another 90s model and this time one of the Foxfire models. The Foxfire models seem to be a Japan only version where the Foxfire text replaces the Illuminator text on the watch face. According to MyGShock, the Foxfire name may come from the fact that Foxfire is a term for the bioluminescence from a certain fungi, and this even featured in a Mark Twain novel.

This model is a special edition with the number DW-8195 and was one of 9 watches under the Crazy Gangsters (or Crazy Gang Stars) name. They were a 90s G-Shock series and were released in June 1995 with an original sale price of ¥15,000. All of the models have a different picture which has a military theme, and this is the purple model with a helmet, wings, and a sword design in the backlight. It has a fabric strap with leather back, and on the part of the case where the strap connects is a metal plate with the word Gangsters imprinted on it. This models specific model number is DW-8195-1A6.

The watch is powered by a 1430 module and has a rectangular LCD with 3 sections. The bottom of the display has the 6 digits of the time, and across the middle are 5 LCD blocks which fill and empty with the seconds. The top of the display has a dot matrix array with quite large blocks. By default, the dot matrix array shows the day and date, but when the light is activated by the button on the front, the dot matrix shows 1 of 7 phrases (or 8 if you include the G symbol). The phrases are slang sayings and are: Hang, Party!, Do it!, 'S up?, Cool!, MEGA, and RAVE!.

Mode-wise, the watch isn't too loaded, only having stopwatch, timer, and alarm modes.

Yesterday, I wore a Casio watch from 1995, and today is another - but with a completely different style.

Today's watch is the DB-2000 Hotbiz Menory Protect 200. The watch is one of the high tech Casio Data Bank models, but unlike earlier models, this had ditched the touchscreen, and ended up with an unusual input method. The watch is controlled by a small directional thumb pad style input with an enter key. To select a mode, you press enter and use the direction pad to choose the option, followed by enter to select it.

There are 8 options on the watch, and 4 of these are different categories for the data bank (business, private, personal and play), with the private one having a password for access. The other 4 options are the watch display modes and are time, alarm (x5), timer, and stopwatch.

Inside is a 1495 module, but there are some with a 1498 module instead (which seem to be more common). It is a high tech module which includes a sensor to tell whether the back is open. This opening sensor requires 2 small springs but if either of them are missing the watch won't work (but you can join the connections with a staple as I found out to get this one working). Power is provided from a CR2016 battery.

The LCD is square with 3 lines of info and 2 lines of modes below. The 3 LCD lines are a dot matrix along the top (for day and year), a 6 digit time display on the bottom, and a smaller 7 digit line in the middle (normally showing the date).

The Hotbiz line was a collection of business watches, but there isn't any information about what the definition of the line was. I'd guess that it was Casio's line for fashionable (hot) business (biz) watches, but that is just my thinking. The Hotbiz name is shown on the face, the back, and on the stainless steel strap (with the part number S-589L).

The Memory Protect name is part of the data bank functions and means that the data bank is protected in a way such that the information is kept even if the battery runs flat.

After the relatively sensible Casio watches of the last couple of days, I decided to wear something a little more outrageous looking.

This watch is by Run New York, or R.N.Y and is very noticeable in its gold and black design. It has a thick black leather strap which is covered in square gold metal studs (1cm square) around almost the whole length. The only bits without studs are either side of the gold metal case. The case is rectangular with a slight rise in the middle and has a rectangular face in the middle. It has a 3 hand dial with a quartz movement, and the hands are gold on a black face. The case is fastened onto the leather strap with screws through the leather squashing the strap between the case and the back plate. Instead of a buckle, this design uses presstuds for the fastener and so only has 2 sizes.

The Run New York brand is another mystery one. I've unsuccessfully tried to find something about them online and have only found reference to 2 Japanese auctions I'm any of my searches. They seem to have a kangaroo as a logo, even though you don't see many of them in New York. There is also an R.N.Y logo on the face with a large R and the other letters getting smaller making a slope which the kangaroo is jumping from.

As well as the name and kangaroo on the back plate, the watch also has a model number of RES-522. The price label which was on the back showed that this wasn't a super cheap watch as it cost around ¥9500 originally. As I haven't found any reference to the watch or brand, I can't pinpoint the date, but my guess would be late 90s or early 2000s (as that's when most of the mystery brands seem to be from).

Today's watch is a promotional model for a brand I'd not seen for years.

The watch is made for the Maxell company, or Hitachi Maxell Ltd to give them their full name. I knew about Maxell as they were a popular brand for cassette tapes and VHS tapes when I was young, but I'd not seen their name so much since the CD and DVD era started.  Their main product is actually batteries and the Maxell name comes from "MAXimum capacity dry cELL". Maxell was formed in 1960 as a manufacturer of batteries but expanded operations and was listed on the Tokyo stock exchange earlier this year. They hit the height of pop culture popular in the 80s with their iconic adverts showing a guy being blow  away by the power of his speakers (of course helped by Maxell tapes).

This watch is a 3 hand dial, or more correctly 2 hands and a disc. It has the Maxell name on the face, and has a design  which features a city skyline on the face and a cyclist on a clear disc for the seconds. It has a rubbery plastic strap and a very lightweight aluminium case.

The watch seems to be made by a brand called SMASH!, and their name is on the back and strap of the watch. The Smash! brand seems to have been asked about a lot online, but there is no concrete information about the brand (but it is not the same as the modern smash-watch brand who are missing the !).

As Maxell were at their most popular in the 80s, but this doesn't feature their popular advertising designs, I'd guess that this is a little later and is maybe a 90s model.