Just good ol’ watch stuff
This kind of came out of nowhere. I was in the process of rescuing some estate sale and antique mall finds, and getting straps, when I decided I needed to do some watch writing.
This will be a weird combination of characters, but talking about each of them had to happen at some point. I just got involved with them all within a short time frame. At least for most of those discussed here. The Hamilton has been with me for years, but then I had to add it in now since I have yet to a post on it or any other Hamilton.
One I have discussed before in my Eddie Bauer posts, but I brought it back for this mash up.
They all have another thing in common. They just happened. No planning or searching. I just stumbled into them at various places. All but one, too, just what I call basic watches. Watches that you can rely on for the daily grind.
That’s the thing about watches for me; I like to consider all kinds of watches, from free to $1million, and why they are what they are. They were all created to do a same common thing; to be carried around to let you know quickly what time it is. Each one is just made differently to convey different symbols and meanings.
Wrist watches are somewhat of an anachronism. They are more jewelry, or fashion, or companion, memoir, or political statement, or art, or tool, than they are a time keeping thing. We have phones and browsers and other apps to keep time better. Now, I do think a watch is easier to look at than a phone for telling time, but I am of an age that knows what it was like before mobile phones or desktop computers or the internet.
These were all preowned watches. With preowned watches you get to imagine what the previous owners did with them. You wonder why they chose this watch. You guess why it was heavily or lightly used. Also, you consider what each watch meant at the time that it was new; it a different context than when you find it 30 years or more later.
Boeing
If you have grown up in Western Washington the past 50 years, Boeing has been a part of your life. Its just there, like the landscape. The airplane manufacturer was one of the biggest employers of the region, forever it seemed. Everyone knew someone that worked for Boeing or a supplier to Boeing. Of course, things change, and Boeing has changed, and moved its headquarters away. Now it suffers from bad public opinion as a result of quality control, strikes and crashes.
This first watch, I found at an estate sale, not running, of course. It was in a pile of old, beat up watches, including a Pepsi-bezel Promaster. Someone had carried off two others before I could see what they were. I decided the Promaster was too beat. I was intrigued by this odd watch with a little airplane silhouette.
At first I was dismissive of the cheap little 33.5mm quartz. No watch branding. Just Boeing on the dial and the Greek symbol Pi. Then I took a second look. It was like new, gold, had a cool dial texture. Then I wondered what it would be like to see that little airplane “second hand” move. I paid $15.
At estate sales one sometimes gets caught up in finding hidden value, “a steal”, instead of just appreciating the art or design, or other meaning of a product. In today’s economy “resale” is always on the mind. It always feels good just to like something for what it is other than for its monetary value. Sometimes we don’t know immediately why we like something, but we do. Our mind goes through lots of calculations and assigns lots of different associations and meanings, values to things quickly. Sometimes we buy things we don’t really like just because we think it has value or is trendy. Sometimes we we buy things we like even though we know it has no monetary value.
After some quick research, I guessed it was given to someone who worked at Boeing for a job well done, in the 1980s. There is a clean case back to facilitate inscriptions, but there is none. The Pi symbol, though, represented to Boeing at the time, a way of recognizing excellence. So, people working on a successful project would get watches like this as a token of appreciation from management. I just don’t know what project or aircraft was involved?
I put in a new battery, and got a similar but better quality strap, with less taper. Seeing the plane move around the perimeter of the dial is fun! Its construction is basically a plane printed on a clear plastic disc that replaces the second hand. Amazingly, you don’t see the disc unless you get it at the right angle for the light to reveal slight undulations in the surface. There is no discoloration after 40 years, probably because it has been out of the light? You just see the cool fabric-like texture of the dial; one of my favorite things about the watch.
I also cleaned off some tarnish spots on the case and hit the acrylic crystal with a bit of Polywatch. Like I said I replaced the strap with a 17mm “Movado style” from Allwatchbands. Its not my normal style, but I thought I should keep the same look that the original had.
You have to go back in time to 1983 or so to realize quartz was the thing. This was the time for using this new inexpensive technology to get watches out there with your brand on them. Every fashion brand wanted to start designing seasonal lines of watches to go with clothing. It provided companies with a cheap way to use watches for gifts and promotions. Hong Kong was the place to get them made.
This was early on, so movement was Swiss rather than Japanese. This ETA was made from 1982-86. In late 80s and 90s most watches like this would have Japanese quartz movements. I have not been able to find much on Pilexco or its watch production.
Boeing Wenger
To keep the Boeing theme going, and segue into Wenger, I present this 90s classic. Another estate sale find. This one is pretty beat. It looks like it was a daily wear to the shop floor. Lots of scratches, original strap/bracelet gone, plating worn off in spots. Still working like a champ.
Why did I buy this? I’m not sure, but I thought, this has seen the wars and deserves to keep going. So, call it a rescue. It was filthy, not running, had a nasty aftermarket flex bracelet. Probably owned by a Boeing employee or family member and purchased at the Boeing store at one of the Boeing manufacturing sites. I have Also seen Boeing signed Swiss Army Knife (SAK) pocket knives. A collab before collabs.
This is everyday carry before it was a thing. Pre-911 life; a beater watch and pocket knife. Now, I don’t like the “beater” label, usually, but this was a beater. It is beat. I scrubbed it clean, gave it new battery and put on this 19mm rubber rally because I had it and I’m not sure if it had a leather strap or bracelet? I was out of 397 batteries, too. Now its going again.
These are great watches. There are lots of them out there for sale in much better condition. This was probably in the $85-100 range in the mid-90s? So, it was a nice watch. There were lots of versions of this watch for years; White dial, black dial, two-tone, leather, bracelet. They are still rugged, 100m WR and accurate 30 years later. To me, this in the 90s would be like getting a $250 micro brand today?
They are small. This was before the Late 90s and early 2000s when watches started to grow. You can get other field-like Wengers in the 40mm range from the early 2000s. Another thing about this model; The Swiss cross logo is grey, not red. I don’t think it faded? I feel like I have seen some with grey logos, but don’t know what they signify?
Personally, I love Swiss Army brand watches. If you want a good field watch for cheap, find a preowned one in good condition, get it serviced a with new gasket and you are set for many years. There are hundreds of good designs out there from the 90s til present day. Timex should aspire to be like SAK/Wenger. A collector could spend a career just collecting these watches.
Eddie Bauer Wenger
I’ve written about this one before in my Eddie Bauer posts, but threw it in here as further example of co-branding and to further segue into L.L. Bean. Its like the Boeing signed Wenger above, but a bit newer.
This one has the same case, and bumpers on the bezel, and the date. The dial is done differently without the raised metallic hour numbers. These are black printed flat. The Date window has squared corners, the earlier one rounded. The Wenger logo is off the dial and moved to back. The hands are a bit bolder. Just the Eddie Bauer on dial. It has it’s original bracelet.
Between the mid 90s and 2020 or so a lot of the Wenger/SAK styles got big and ugly, too. So, to me you have to search around for the right balance. I tend to like the smaller, classic, vintage feeling field watches. More subtle less blingy, though I can go for a nice two-tone!
This was a match made in Heaven for Eddie Bauer. What could be a better watch to sell at an outdoors supply store? Eddie Bauer has stopped selling watches, but if they still did the new Wenger products would be still be a good fit. They are owned by Victorinox now, and represent the lower end of current “Swiss Army” lines.
The difference now is that the current lines do not offer this “field” type at the 35mm size. They either are “City Sport” at 50m WR or Seaforce (diver)at 200m WR in 35mm or 42mm. Their Terragraph is a “field” watch at 100m WR, but is 43mm! I would think they would add a 35-38mm Terragraph the way the current watch market is going?
L.L. Bean/Swiss Army Imposter?
Along with Eddie Bauer, the outdoor outfitters L.L. Bean offered watches over the years that their customers could take to the field. Of course there are the classic Hamiltons and some Luminox. Generally, these are a price jump up from the Wenger type watches.
This example of a “Swiss Army type” watch I found at an antique mall. It’s crystal was cracked and its original canvas/leather strap, although cool, was shot. Again, I decided to rescue it. I had a new crystal put in and found this 18mm Hadley Roma (stiff) strap. I was surprised the lug width was not 19mm? The back light/switch works.
I thought this was a SAK/Wenger manufactured watch, but it has some things about it that reveal this to be not so? There are several Swiss Army watches built like this with the red plastic “bumper” bezel and a similar case and crown guards. I have seen a similar model also offered with a black bumper, like Wenger/Swiss Army products. The black one I saw had only date, no back light, but had 100m WR, and Japan movement. This red one has water resistance only to 50m “165 ft”, not 100m.
It does not have “Swiss Made” on the lower dial. It has a backlight, sort of like Indiglo in Timex, but activated from the 2 o’clock push switch, not the crown. The case base back also states Japan, which to me refers to the movement.
I was thinking that it might be a special hybrid Wenger made in Japan for use in these licensing agreements for L.L.Bean branding? With no Wenger branding? I do have a similar lighted, but smaller, Eddie Bauer made by Fossil, so I thought maybe since the movements were from Japan, it was just made there? Another thing is the day and date feature. Not many Wengers have a day feature. Usually it is just a date window.
After opening it, I see it is a Hong Kong made Quintel product with a Miyota movement, made to look like a Wenger? So, not really the usual quality of a Wenger. My old friend Quintel.
Quintel also made watches for Eddie Bauer and other licensed fashion brands, so it makes sense for L.L. Bean to use them, too, for a less expensive watch in the 1990s? I suppose I should have known – all the signs were there, that this was not a SAK/Wenger product. It makes me wonder what the economic considerations were at the time that led to this? What was L.L. Bean looking for?
L.L. Bean Hamilton
This last watch might be familiar to most readers who are watch enthusiasts? I also found it at an estate sale around five years ago, maybe? Time flies, and I can’t remember the year. It was easier to find interesting watches at estate sales several years back.
I had it serviced and the crystal replaced. I still have the original striped fabric strap, too. This was about the time when I started rescuing old, scruffy watches. I can recall the estate sale manager grudgingly letting it go, as if she thought the price should be higher? I can’t remember what I paid.
This reminds me of another recent discovery at an estate sale just this past month. A vintage military Bulova hack, 1950s, I believe. I didn’t get it. I showed some restraint. Probably because my wife was with me!
Hamilton has supplied several kinds of watches to L.L. Bean collaborations. Mechanical, quartz and even autos. This little 32.5-33mm classic, I believe, was purchased at an L.L. Bean store by the previous owner as a outdoor watch. It was well worn, but in good shape. Like I mentioned, it have the original thin, 2-stripe single pass strap, but I gave it a new 3-stripe NATO, that still has a camping feel. Alternatively, a 18mm Haveston grey canvas single-pass gives it a more military look. I must say that these Haveston straps are some of my favorites. They allow a single pass (one layer under case) and still have a sliding keeper to manage the long tail without folding over. Because my wrist is about 6.75 in., many NATO straps are too long
With pretty long legs in proportion to the case diameter; lug-to-lug of 40.5mm, it doesn’t feel too tiny? The NATO style strap also adds some bulk. The fixed strap bars mean a pass-through straps only. I love the way “L.L. Bean” was crammed in side the inner 24-hr track, practically overlapping the 14!
For some reason I always think of this or similar watches when I hear the term “field watch”. I don’t like big watches in general, but to me, field watches should be 40mm or smaller. I know, that’s arbitrary and does not consider people with bigger wrists or limited sight. Another thing I love about this watch is the steel case finish. It has that matte grey, blasted look, that I wish more companies would try to duplicate.
Final Thoughts
So, I went from a 1980s Boeing excellence award Hong Kong quartz watch, through some 90s Wengers and ended with an 80s Hamilton. Sorry, it just went that way. I thought I could get from Boeing to L.L. Bean, but didn’t get the connection I wanted. I still think old Wengers are a great value.
I can reiterate that I like the idea of a durable, 100m, small (sub 40mm) field watch, but they are hard to come by for under $300 curently. I also wanted to talk more about L.L. Bean watches: Currently they offer a 40mm tritium tube field watch with 100m WR with Ronda quartz. It could be a Luminox made product? So, that fits in the Wenger SAK tradition? They also sell a 36mm quartz 50m WR watch, which is probably a China product with Japan quartz? They also offer a Seattle Watch Company/Swiss Delta 42mm chronograph with Ronda movement. Again you are in the $300-350 range. They are L.L. Bean branded, not double-signed collaborations.
Maybe L.L. Bean (or bring back Eddie Bauer watches) should talk to Vaer for some solid 36mm and 40mm field options for a modern collaboration? How about a 38mm solar quartz, 100m, durable work watch from Vaer USA to be the new Wenger of our times?
Leave a Reply