The GMT+9 Auction Watchlist #10
Another month has gone by and the watchlist is ready to be renewed. These auctions cover the time period of April 14 - May 20. The funky watch pictured above is a Ettore Sottsass design Seiko. Sottsass was a very famous Italian modern designer. Like the Guigario Seikos, the Sottsass designs also command large prices. This example went for 53,500 yen.
This is a nice early Laurel Alpinist. Price was just a little too high as it did not get an opening bid of 50,000 yen.
Well, it was only a matter of time before we saw a 6319 Seiko diver on Yahoo! Japan. Seiko never made a 6319 diver, but at some point, a faker made up a batch. We’ve seen a few pop up in Europe. Of interest on this example is that it has a different dial than the usual 6319 fakes that are normally seen. This one did surprisingly receive one bid after its second listing and sold for 11,000 yen. Check out that caseback!
I appreciated the nice clean look and condition of this 5740 Lord Marvel. 18,500 yen.
I thought this (probably) custom King Seiko 4520 was very interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “hammered” watch case before. Nice custom caseback too. No bids at the opening price of 90,000 yen.
This is a rarely seen Orient Flash. The bezel actually lights up to aid in low light veiwing. Eat your heart out Casio with your EL technology! As expected, there was a lot of action on this auction. Selling price was 67,000 yen.
These gold Grand Seiko special editions are stunning watches with stunning prices. 501,000 yen.
Here is a fun one. This is a motorized display winder for Grand Seiko Springdrive models. Check out the mirror which allows you to view the movement in action! This novelty item sold for 12,500 yen.
This is just a typical example of one of the dozens of models released under the “Silverwave” brand, many of which are quite interesting. There have probably been more diverse styles released using this name than any watch in Seiko’s history. 16,000 yen.
I’ve never really understood the appeal of our next watch. It’s a Seiko Airpro. The concept was that the band was adjustable in that you could pump air into it to customize the fit by pressing on that black button. These Airpros were released maybe 10 years ago in what seems like dozens of styles. This one would be right at home in a Star Wars movie. They never have really caught on with collectors. 8,250 yen.
The “AutoQuartz” listed on the dial of this very early kinetic diver makes this one just a little more collectible. Sometimes these are called Starfish Divers. Price was 22,500 yen.
Neat pendant watch. 7,750 yen.
I suspect that this Honda dive watch is Seiko based. It’s got a nice tidy design with a definite Seiko vibe to it. Price was 39,900 yen.
This next auction was a surprise. It’s a 6159 diver in mediocre shape with the wrong hands installed. The surprise was the price. It was bid up to over $2,400.00. I would imagine it is next to impossible to find the correct hands for it.
How cool is this? This Casio DW-6100 has been retro-fitted with some kind of transmitting or receiving device. I think it’s legitimate. It was advertised as a spy watch, and its working status was unknown. It sold for $102.50.
I don’t quite understand the allure of these AGS divers. I think because they have a shroud, the collectors like to buy them, but to me, they are more like novelties. The build quality is not up to Prospex standards, and if you like esoteric kinetic divers, there are much more interesting alternatives like for instance, the Autoquartz pictured above. The seller should be thrilled with the $510.00 final price of this one!
That’s it! As always thanks to martback and Dima for their contributions.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:35 am
Hello,
Interesting “Spy watch”… I did some Google search and found the reference of the transmitter, KAV-7021, in a FCC database; this transmitter has been registered in 1993 by “Law Enforcement Associates”. Here are the FCC data:
“KAV-7021 2.00 1.00 TNT 90 150-172 .001 .005 16K0F3E 7/9/93 0:00:00 Law Enforcement Associates Inc PO Box 639 100 Hunter Place Youngsville, NC 27596″
“Law Enforcement Associates” company still exists:
http://www.leacorp.com/
and they do specialize in surveillance items:
“Law Enforcement Associates manufactures and markets a diverse line of undercover surveillance products including a complete line of audio surveillance equipment. LEA currently markets to the Military, law enforcement, security and corrections personnel throughout the world, as well as governmental agencies, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations.” (from their website).
They hace two kinds of products: “products”, you can see the catalog and even buy them online; “secured products”: you need a password, even to read the catalog!
Since the frequency of the transmitter, 159.4675 MHz doesn’t correspond to any of wave controlled reference clocks, and with the kind of business LEA does, the transmitter has been verisimilarly added to the watch to change it, not in a “spy watch”, but rather in a “spying watch”! Just offer this watch to a guy, he will wear it, and you will track him wherever he goes!… like in “spy movies”!
Interesting piece to have in a collection! Much more interesting would be to know who was the tracked “happy owner” of this watch and the related “spy story”!
Best Regards,
MikeNovember.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
Hi MikeNovember,
Thanks for supplying to us this additional information. It only makes me more curious as to what this watch was used for. Too bad it can’t talk!
petew
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Pete,
I look forward to these posts. After all, it saves me a month’s worth of wading through murky waters. That lord Marvel was a gem. My 2 cents worth….
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:06 am
There is something odd with the “Spy Watch”. The front of the module looks exactly like it should look, but the module on the back looks much different than I can remember from mine. It seems that an extra print is layed over the module, in the place where the original back absorber is located. Also a different back is screwed on the case. As you can see, the back is actually still screwed on, but a circular lid is removable. I think this is done to create more spave for the additional electronics.
I have never seen such a hacked module before and am curious what the extra features were.
Cheers,
sjors
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:29 am
Hi Heat,
As always, thanks for reading. I agree, that watch would look great in any collection.
petew
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:31 am
Hi Sjors,
Yes, there are some obvious major modifications made to that 6100. I wonder if the watch actually even contains the original module and functionality. Another mod I noticed was in the strap and the addition of a safety strap integrated into the main part.
Perhaps the winner of the auction is a GMT+9 reader and will leave a comment!
Thanks for reading,
petew
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Hi Petew,
Regarding the face, it seems the original module is still there. I do not know if you have ever took apart a multicolored display model, but the display is actually one piece, with different color backgrounds. The different backgrounds are exactly the same colors. I think the extra print maybe had actually nothing to do with the watch itself, but used the watch as a carrier. Could the extra strap inside the original strap not be there for hiding an antenna? It’s all a bit phishing in the air, but very interesting too. I hope we can track down the buyer.
As Captain Jean-Luc Picard once said: “A lot fo questions number one, a damn few answers…”
Cheers,
Sjors
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Isn’t the round part not maybe a (piezo) microphone and the extra print a wireless short range transmitter?
May 30th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Thanks for the info’ Pete:-)