Evergreen Orients - Part 3

This week I bought an evergreen classic in a heartbeat! Luckily I had my loupe with me to check and verify that the watch is ok. The dial is a faded brown gold tone that gives her an aged vintage look. The case is quite big for this type of watch and measures 40mm including crown. The 20mm lug width holds the Orient stainless steel folded oyster bracelet perfectly.

ORIENT 3-Star Automatic

Caliber 469 Twenty-One Jewels

English/Kanji Day wheel

The shopkeeper pasted the price tag over the Orient QC sticker and when she removed it, some of the hologram came off. Nothing serious about this little imperfection though.

You can read about my other evergreen Orients here and here.

A Rare Vintage "Coconut Tree"

PAGOL M6 Handwinder (NOS)
Caliber SW526 Twenty-one jewels
Incabloc - Antimagnetic - Waterproof

Sometime ago, I wrote about my vintage craze and one of my kills - the Pagol 1000. The condition of that Pagol 1000 was not perfect at 80% or so. As I cleared my vintage collection, I thought I will never buy another vintage timepiece but I spoke too early.

Take a look at this mint new-old-stock example I chanced upon at an old watch shop:


How can one resist when everything on this Pagol is mint and near perfect? It is as though you have walked into a watch shop in 1970 and bought her then and there. The protective enamel coat is still on the caseback unblemished.

The brushed stainless steel bracelet is spotless. Even the clasp, which is the scratch magnet of any watch, is clean.

The original gold crown signed Pagol's trademark - the Coconut Tree.

Even the inner clasp is stamped "Pagol", all original and no after-market parts!

Such a rare find is hard to come by so I grabbed it immediately, unaware that I did not have my loupe with me. But I am lucky - under the loupe, the ageing is consistent and not detrimental to the watch's cosmetic appearance. With a full wind, the movement is crisp and resonant with a good power reserve of close to 48 hours!

Preparing for Photo Shoot

Always setting the time to 10:10 before a photo shoot. This is to achieve an overall balance on the dial layout.

This is a good position where you will not block the brand name at 12, the date window at 3 and the dial wordings at 6. 10:10 also looks like a smiley :) as compared to 20:20!

The Seiko "TUNA"

SEIKO Prospex Marine Master 300m "TUNA"
Caliber 7C46-7011 Seven jewels
Professional He-Gas Diver 300m

When news of the Tuna being discontinued came about, I thought as a Seiko collector (especially since I am into their Divers line), I should own one. But the price tag of US$500 for a quartz, yes, QUARTZ, watch is really hard to justify to myself and to my wallet!

In a spat of good timing, I received my annual bonus during end March. On 30-Mar, I ordered online from Seiya Japan and the EMS parcel arrived 1-Apr.

When I opened the parcel, I was greeted by an awesome watch in full chunky steel! It is a massive diver at 46mm with lug width 22mm. I have a small wrist but the Tuna wears and sits perfectly balanced, another bonus point to the Seiko designers. It is interesting to note that the shroud design is inspired by the humble barnacle. The shape of the barnacle is able to withstand the harsh pounding of the sea waves. See the similarity?

I am never a fan of Seiko's vented rubber straps so the first task was to change to an Oris-inspired rubber with deployant clasp. This thick black rubber gives the Tuna an elegant masculine appearance.

The caseback shows the year which the first battery change is due, Q1'2014, for my Tuna. This is a professional diver watch rated "He-Gas diving 300m". Note the sturdy constructed screw-down crown.


Randall has a very well taken shot of the 7-jewel 7C46 caliber. Take a look at the full metal gear and rate trimmer that one can regulate the watch. Not for the faint-hearted nor the amateur, like me! Thanks Randall for sharing this rare photo!

I will definitely wear this as my regular watch rotating with my other 7N42 Sports 200. The Tuna is a watch with subtle presence yet not screaming for attention. For those folks still hesitant, think no more as it is getting harder to find in brand new condition. Pre-owned ones are not cheap either. Get your Tuna before they swim away!