In addition to the knife watch from Sicura, strangulation watch from James Bond and the self-Defenseband, this antique novelty lighter watch is the perfect gift for that murderous paranoid arsonist in your family!
"Wrist Lighter is the latest novelty for the smoker. Strapped on the wrist, and outwardly resembling a watch, it lights when the cover is flicked back, as demonstrated above. It is being marketed by Samuel Jones, Ltd., London."
There is a incredible new feature for exploring the upcoming Antiquorum "Important Collector's Wristwatches, Pocket Watches, and Clocks" auction on Sunday December 5th in New York City.
Antiquorum developed a really fantastic online flip-catalog where you can view over 400 lots including some of my favorites like a vintage asymmetric Gilbert Albert Patek Philippe, ginormous Omega Ploprof, iconic Heuer Monaco Chronograph, as well as some really interesting antique 1930's Leon Hatot & Atmos Art Deco clocks, classic Rolex Explorer & Daytona, and modern masterpieces such as the mind-boggling F.P. Journe Vagabondage & Seconde Morte, bizarre Gerald Genta retrograde Grand Complicaton, revolutionary Urwerk Nightwatch, stylish Patek Philippe Nautilus, Pagoda & Bombe, retrograde Vacheron Constantin Mercator, confounding Audemars Piguet Grande Complication, and 1 of only 3 ultra-complicated Breguet 250 year anniversary watches. Go here for the flip-catalog-->Link
Paul Boutros of Timezone also features some of the above in his large intimate four-part photographic reviews-->Link
Check out my $100-$100,000 holiday gift guide!-->LINK
Artist Mike Libby's medium consists of dead bugs and watch-guts. His second series of mechanically enhanced insect art (previously featured here->link) has just been released at his Insect Lab Studio and it includes entirely new specimens like the scorpion above. Also new to the collection are grasshoppers, Praying Mantis, and beetles with their entire wingspans displayed with the rest of their horological augmentations.
I asked Mike about the new series and details about the improvements and new species being offered...
"The quality of the work all around is notably improved due to higher quality insect specimens (larger ones too) and watchparts, also an improvement in insect spreading/handling skills has certainly made the final result more visually pleasing."
"Beetles continue to be a big hit and especially lately since I have learned to include their secondary interior wings (responsible for flight, whereas the first set of wings act as a wing case). "
"Development of new work with new specimens. Like I mentioned, scorpions, hoppers and praying mantis are all great new additions to my repertoire and have really challenged my customizing skills. I am always looking for a very thorough way to integrate the parts and gears to the specimen without overloading or suffocating it's natural form and beauty with technology. "How much is too much and how little is just enough?" is a question I ask myself constantly. All in all, the new hoppers (about 5" long!) and the improved beetles are certainly my favorite developments."
Arachnidae: Name Unknown
Scorpion & steel and brass gears, parts and springs 5” long (8” full length) Displayed in 6" glass dome & walnut base, $850
Cetonidae:Polyphemus Confluens Flower beetle with steel gears & parts - 4.5" width Displayed in 6” glass dome & walnut base, $600
Dynastidae:Eupatorus Gracilicornis
Rhino Beetle with brass gears & parts - 5" width Displayed in 6” glass dome & walnut base, $650
Orthoptera:Tropidacris Dux Grasshopper & steel, copper, brass gears, parts and springs - 5” Displayed in 6" glass dome and walnut base, $900
Mantidae: Name Unkown
Praying Mantis & brass, and copper gears, parts and springs Displayed in 6" glass dome & walnut base, $850
A few interesting examples of vintage watches with off-center discs in place of traditional hands. Above and below are two 1960's Juvenia with this rare deformity.
And below, a vintage Russian Raketa "Rocket" (printed in cyrillic as Paketa) with double disc-hands. One solid sphere for hours and outline disc for minutes. See it here-->Link
Fantastic vintage 1960s television commercials for the Bulova Accutron. The humming transistorized electromagnetic coil tuning fork watches invented by Max Hetzel in the fifties.
Thanks to devout Accutron enthusiasts Horst Knebel and Hummin Georgie Stalzer for digging these out of the dusty vaults.
Max Hetzel - ACCUracy through ElecTRONics
"When the Accutron was introduced in 1960 it was described as the first electronic watch but it also had another revolutionary feature, the time keeping was controlled by a tuning fork. The tuning fork vibrated 360 times per second and the vibrations were maintained at a constant amplitude by means of a transistor, dispensing with the mechanical contact which had been a source of trouble with earlier electric watches. The tuning fork was made of Elinvar, for temperature stability, and Bulova was able to guarantee that it would not gain or loose more than a minute a month thoughout its life. It was designed by a Swiss engineer, Max Hetzel, and manufactured in the USA. It remained in production until 1976, by which time five million watches had been sold." --via Science Museum
"Bulova Accutrons were also subjects of the other famous space era rivalry with Omega Watches for being the first watch on the moon. Ultimately, the Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph wristwatch (known as the "Moon watch") was designated by NASA for use by the astronauts in all manned space missions, becoming the first watch on the moon on the wrist of Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin.
However, all instrument panel clocks and time-keeping mechanisms in the spacecraft on those missions were Bulova Accutrons with tuning fork movements, because at the time, NASA did not know how well a mechanical movement would work in zero gravity conditions. The Bulova company currently manufactures a limited edition "Astronaut" model under its Accutron line of watches." -via Wikipedia
After many opportunities to address my proclivities in my Timewarp column in QP Magazine, I wanted to turn the loupe on people who never fail to impress me, to explore what makes them tick. First on my list was modern pioneer, Maximilian Büsser and his rare & unusual 19th century unsigned laminated iron, gunmetal and steel pocket watches.
You see many types of jump hour watches here at my blog, but these two actually try their best hiding their Swiss mechanics by imitating the popular & new LED and LCD technology of the early seventies. This Fashiontime Instalite Digital has two mechanical discs with printed LCD style bar digits (dark gray on light gray) and a display light activated by the button on the upper right.
This Tegrov Digital took it a step further by creating a fake LED display with red crystal tinting the mechanical jump hour discs. Also with a lamp function to give the full faux emitting diode effect.
I'm proud to announce the launch of the new Watchismo.com! Hundreds of really unusual vintage timepieces have been added and for the first time, a very select group of modern watches from LIP. A French brand I've collected for years and only now had the opportunity to own all the revolutionary Mach 2000 models by Roger Tallon, Jump Hours of Prince Francois De Baschmakoff, and the distinct ladies watches by Isabelle Hebey. And some interesting new directions as well. More about that soon!
A large variety of LIP including chronographs, jump hours, and LED. Most are original designs from the early seventies. See my article about LIP in QP Magazine here.
And of course, my first love, obscure and unusual vintage mechanical and early digital watches from the sixties and seventies. Everything from the Space Age including a mystery dial Mondia Moonstone, a Spaceman Audacieuse, and an Omega Speedmaster 125.
The site is super simple and easy to stroll through, even just for eye candy, it's all part of a hobby gone horribly horribly wrong...Enjoy!
I love being pleasantly surprised and appalled at the same time. It's a particular feeling that can't be summed up with one word, at least not in English. But the need for such a word has never been more appropriate than when laying my eyes on a watch owned by fellow collector Ruud in The Netherlands. He shared this recent purchase of a bizarre 1965 Jump Hour by Jean Chuard. I've found no information about this French brand but photos (or actions, whatever) speak louder than words...
The band is a solid cuff of transparent red plastic, the dial has a plastic guilloche face, the time is displayed in three windows (Heure, Minute, Date) of mechanical digital rotating dials.
A reader of The Watchismo Times and mid-century collector named Kyle Supley has shared a few of his kitschy clocks with me. Featured here are two especially funny models.
First, the Numechron Tele-Visiondigital clock from 1966. Plastic burled wood case with gold trim. Meant for the top of a TV set with low wattage bulb to relieve eyestrain believed to be cause by television in the early days.
A vintage 60s digital clock by Westclox with an unusual display of hours as words. And this 1950s teal lamp which is also a clock (clock face instead of telephone dial), and a cigarette lighter, conveniently hidden in the phone handset. It does not function as a phone. This lamp also comes with a conical desk lamp top instead of the venetian blind metal shade.
1947 Issue of Mechanix Illustrated
