Tomorrow, July 22nd (Friday), I have some unavoidable business,
so I'll be taking the day off.
Let me talk about watches for a change.
↑This is a Seiko Tomony (Seiko's youth-oriented budget brand) model called the Tomony Seagull.
True to its name, it has a seagull illustrated on the dial.
Tomony's positioning back in the '70s was similar to what Alba or Wired are today—
an affordable watch line aimed at young people.
Quartz watches existed at the time, but they weren't yet in the mainstream price range,
so this is a mechanical hand-wound movement.
The time display uses "mechadigi" (mechanical digital) format, and in this case has a center seconds hand.
This model has a square case, but I was looking for one in good condition—either the asymmetrical D-shaped case with the right side rounded,
or the rounded case on both sides called the "iron mask"—and couldn't find one, so I ended up buying this instead.
The green Morellato strap fits it perfectly as if it were custom-made,
but originally it came with a distinctive metal bracelet.
Citizen's original Independents had a similar "iron mask"-style case combined with mechadigi driven by quartz,
but that's long been discontinued.
↑This is the Dual II model from Orient's "Stylish & Smart" series, and it's still in production.
Dual-time watches with two dials aren't particularly rare,
but what's crazy about this one is that the three-hand subdial at 9 o'clock is quartz-driven,
while the mechadigi at 3 o'clock is mechanical (with a micro-rotor automatic movement, no less).
The date is on the mechanical side, so if you don't wear it for two days it stops,
which makes setting the time a hassle.
The disk in the center of the mechadigi rotates once per minute, so its indentation serves as the seconds hand.
Looking at just the 3 o'clock dial, it's a dead ringer for the Tomony, but
if they'd just made the mechanical mechadigi normally, I'd probably buy it—
that's what I thought. What a shame.
so I'll be taking the day off.
Let me talk about watches for a change.
↑This is a Seiko Tomony (Seiko's youth-oriented budget brand) model called the Tomony Seagull.
True to its name, it has a seagull illustrated on the dial.
Tomony's positioning back in the '70s was similar to what Alba or Wired are today—
an affordable watch line aimed at young people.
Quartz watches existed at the time, but they weren't yet in the mainstream price range,
so this is a mechanical hand-wound movement.
The time display uses "mechadigi" (mechanical digital) format, and in this case has a center seconds hand.
This model has a square case, but I was looking for one in good condition—either the asymmetrical D-shaped case with the right side rounded,
or the rounded case on both sides called the "iron mask"—and couldn't find one, so I ended up buying this instead.
The green Morellato strap fits it perfectly as if it were custom-made,
but originally it came with a distinctive metal bracelet.
Citizen's original Independents had a similar "iron mask"-style case combined with mechadigi driven by quartz,
but that's long been discontinued.
↑This is the Dual II model from Orient's "Stylish & Smart" series, and it's still in production.
Dual-time watches with two dials aren't particularly rare,
but what's crazy about this one is that the three-hand subdial at 9 o'clock is quartz-driven,
while the mechadigi at 3 o'clock is mechanical (with a micro-rotor automatic movement, no less).
The date is on the mechanical side, so if you don't wear it for two days it stops,
which makes setting the time a hassle.
The disk in the center of the mechadigi rotates once per minute, so its indentation serves as the seconds hand.
Looking at just the 3 o'clock dial, it's a dead ringer for the Tomony, but
if they'd just made the mechanical mechadigi normally, I'd probably buy it—
that's what I thought. What a shame.