Best database of vintage watch brands

It would be nice to have the definitive encyclopedia with all watch brands and their connections... Actually it would ruin the fun of trying to dig up information about some obscure brand. Anyway. Important databases:

• Mikrolisk. The horological trade mark index. Great. Super. Indispensable.

• Ranfft Watches. Archive: Watch Movements. Impressive collection of movements and all kind of technical info.

• Watch-Wiki. Great idea. But actually rarely useful in its present form.

To be continued...

Ricoh World Timer GMT

Vintage japanese watches at eBay seems to be a minefield of aftermarket parts, clever paint jobs, heavy polishing, "NOS", western middlemen with cooked up watches, deliberately vague descriptions and smeared pictures.

However this Ricoh World Timer is very nice indeed.

Width without crown: 43 mm (one says 44 mm)

Lug to lug: 51 mm (one says 52 mm)

It has an internal and external bezel. Seems inspired by a lot of European watch designs from the time. Like a Super Compressor with GMT-bezel added.

Ricoh - best known for copiers, cameras etc. - started selling watches in 1962 when they acquired a smaller manufacturer Takano, founded in 1938. More facts here.

I found this interesting picture at a sellers forum. It reads "WARLD TIMER" on the back case. An original error or a copy gone wrong? Source.

UPDATE MAY 2015:

I have been following ads for Ricoh World Timers on eBay for the past year and have only seen a few specimens and some of them totally beaten up. But then a few months ago things changed drastically. Now eBay seems to be flooded with Ricoh World Timer's. And they are all in perfect condition. The sellers are very frank and promotes them as "refurbished" and with "repainted" dials. It smells fishy - but it's difficult to say what is going on...

One way to distinguish original dials from the new "repainted" is to look for the word Japan and a number. The new dials seems to be missing this detail. Furthermore "World Timer" on the new dials seems to be in a thinner font than the original:

CLICK HERE - GO TO THE NEWEST POST ON THIS BLOG ABOUT LARGE VINTAGE WATCHES

Notching - making wide arm bands fit narrow lugs

I have learned a new word: Notching. The art of making a wider arm band/strap fit a watch with narrow lugs by cutting of the corners of the band nearest to the watch.

A really thorough dyi tutorial here.

Also you can buy tools for this job. Totally instructive video from Esslinger here.

Or buy straps already notched. E.g. a 22 mm wide strap that fits 20 mm lug size.

CLICK HERE - GO TO THE NEWEST POST ON THIS BLOG ABOUT LARGE VINTAGE WATCHES

Raketa World Time and Raketa UFO

I read this post from Worn & Wound about Russian watch brand Raketa. And did exactly what it said: Ran to eBay and searched for Raketa. I have no particular desire for russian watches but it was an interesting eye opener.

The brand "Raketa" - or "Pakema" as it reads on the dials in cyrillic - was first introduced in 1961 and has quite an interesting history. They have supplied watches to the Red Army, North Pole expeditions, Gorbachev and the Olympics. The brand is named Raketa in honour of Gagarin's flight in outer space.

It seems some of the Raketa models match the criteria for this blog: From the 60-70s, at least 42 mm and preferably affordable. Actually "cheap" is more the right word - for a large part of these watches the postage will be higher than the price ;-)

The quality is probably questionable but according to Wiki their movements are "considered one of the most durable and reliable in the world". If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true.

Raketa World Time
Width: 43 mm without crown (one listing says 42 mm)
Seems to have been produced from the late 70s to mid 80s. The oldest models can probably be recognized on the italic 'hand written' logo.

Yes, I like wristshots. They give a better impression of the how the watch will present itself in real life. (Apologies for all the $%&# arm hair).

Raketa Nomodelname Day-Date "UFO"
Width: Probably 42 mm without crown. Some indicates 43 mm.
This model is sometimes referred to as "UFO" for obvious reasons. Available in a lot of difference colors and with different bezel designs. However most of the models are probably from the 80s.
Many more wristshots and variations here.

Some of these UFOs are branded Cornavin - a swiss brand founded in the 1920s. Don't let this fool you. In the 70s Cornavin outsourced a lot of their production and even had the Petrodvorets Watch Factory (makers of Raketa) produce complete UFOs for them:

These watches are fun, they are affordable, they are available and they can probably be made looking more contemporary with a wider strap. Only one problem: I really don't like them. Just a round case - no interesting shape - no lugs.

Edox Geoscope GMT WorldTimer

Edox is a swiss watchmaker more than 100 years old and still in operation. Their watches are considered to be in the better half of the quality spectrum. In the 60s they became known for divers like Edox Delfin and Edox Hydrosub.

But what caught my eye on eBay was the Edox Geoscope GMT WorldTimer - this particular item was sold for 400 euro.

The model was introduced in 1970 or 1971. It's colourful and fairly big: 42 mm without crown. It actually has a Super Compressor-case and an inner bezel.

Looks really nice in the wild:

Disclaimer: The word is that a lot of the watches for sale are fake. Thus some of the pictures here could also be of fakes. Supposedely if it says "EDOX SWISS" at the dial is it fake. The original watches has "EDOX GEOSCOPE" on the dial. It seems futhermore that the world map on the fake watches are blurred compared to the original. More info here and here.

The Geoscope was also sold as Eterna and Concord Geoscope. Source.

One eBay-seller claims Edox also made a gigantic model measuring 48 mm. He has one of only 50 models made for sale at 3.800 Euro.

To find a genuine specimen of the Edox Geoscope at a reasonable price will take some serious research...

A post for Google

A few words for Google:
large oversize big supersize
watch watches vintage old 1960s 1970s sixties seventies
GMT World Time diver pilot

Yema Yachtingraf Régate Jumbo 44 mm!

Yema - a french watch brand. See great overview and history here. Even more info here.
And Yemania Vintage - the site of Yema vintage collectors worldwide.

In 1970 Yema introduced the Yachtingraf Régate type 6. The normal case was 39 mm and too small for this blog BUT also a Jumbo version measuring 44 mm was made. The Jumbo should be recognizable on the small ship on the dial above 6 which is in a blue circle.

A super delicious and recognizable watch!

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I seriously want one. Only problem: I have never seen one for sale.