Zodiac SST 36000 automatic watch

I close February with a featured vintage watch. My brother surprised me with a Zodiac SST 36000 automatic watch. The entire watch is gold-plated and that made for a literally heavy watch. It is a bit on the kitschy side as my first impression was that it was the kind of jewelry that overseas foreign workers (OFWs) from the Middle East would likely wear in the 1980s and 1990s. I would still wear it and keep it  simply because it was from my brother. Zodiac, of course, is a well-known brand and though already acquired by another company have many collectible vintage pieces.

The Zodiac SST 36000 features split day and date complications on a coffee dial.

Side view showing a well preserved watch head and a signed crown

The other side view showing the very good condition for a watch that is around 50 years old.

The bracelet is also gold plated including the clasp.

The entire watch is gold plated. This is indicated on the bracelet.

Case back also showing that the gold plating of the watch is not compromised. Indicated is the watch being water and shock resistant. It also has anti-magnetic features.

Close up of the signed crown

Close up of the dial showing the coffee dial and the day and date displays. The lumes on the hands have faded but the hands are in overall good condition with only slight indication of corrosion. The sweep of the second hand is very smooth.

Wrist shot the first time I wore the watch on my birthday

 

I have not opened the watch to see the movement but I did a quick research on the movement of this watch and inside it is a Zodiac Cal. 86. It runs at 36,000 A/h with a potential power reserve of 40h. The movement is said to be a collaboration of several watchmakers such as Doxa, Eberhard, Favre-Leuba, Girard-Perregaux, and Zodiac. The movement was made in the early 1970s, which places this watch around the time of my birth year.

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Gold and a small collection of vintage LeCoultre watches

Last Friday, we celebrated my 50th birthday. 50 years has long been associated with gold and so I thought I would be posting something about this precious metal. As part of the celebration, I post what I call a trinity of grail watches. This was finally completed just a few days from my 50th birthday when I received a LeCoultre Powermatic (or Power Reserve) after more than 2 months where the watch apparently traveled from the US to Germany and then here. The long route was due to the logistics problems in the US brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

LeCoultre Futurematic, Memovox and Powermatic

 

It was truly a memorable celebration with family and close friends. I am very thankful for all the graces we've received and am hopeful for the future. We have survived and are surviving this Covid-19 pandemic. We pray that the conflict involving Russia and Ukraine will not escalate to bring pain, suffering and grief to the entire world. I think that last one is my wish on my birthday...God have mercy on us all.

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Mug shots: A Mug from Chiang Mai, Thailand

One mug that has much sentimental value is this last, remaining mug from our series of trips to Bangkok in the early 2000s.

The mug has somewhat unusual bumps

The mug and others like it featured a black bird perched on what appears like a water vessel.

The black bird is also featured on the other side of the mug. I have read very little about what this black bird was all about. It is likely not a crow as this bird is usually associated with bad luck among other negative things. There are many other black birds that may have been the inspiration for this. Perhaps I will ask my Thai friends what bird this is.

Mug handle

There is nothing printed or inscribed at the bottom of the mug

The mug on my work desk - I decided to take it and use the mug as a pen and pencil holder.

We got this mug at Chatuchak in Bangkok along with 3 other mugs. Those three were broken and were thrown away without my knowledge (whoever broke them probably thought I was going to be angry so they just made them disappear rather than be explaining what happened). I was a bit upset when I found out about this because all the mugs were still 'in use' at the time and I thought I could put them back and recycle them for other uses such as pencil or pen holders.

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A complete vintage Seiko 6138-7000 'Slide rule'

Some call it the "calculator" but I prefer the name "slide rule" to refer to the Seiko 6138-7000 chronograph. I deliberately included the adjective 'complete' in the title of this post as this watch has all the parts including the hard to find cursor. I previously wrote about a Seiko slide rule I acquired in 2021. That lacked the cursor and was a little more beat up than the one I more recently acquired.

The 6138-7000 features two chronograph registers/sub-dials, day and date complications, rotating outer bezel and a cursor fitted around the crystal.

Side view showing the crown and chronograph buttons

 

The other side view

The back shows the model and serial numbers. The serial number indicates this watch to be older than my other slide rule - July 1974.

Close-up of the dial and bezel

Close-up of the relatively pristine dial and hands

Lume shot for the watch. The watch has not been "re-lumed" so this is a good thing considering this is a 48-year old watch.

Wrist shot

My two 6138-7000 chronographs.

Here's my first wrist shot of 2022.

This is a big watch and perhaps among the biggest in my collection. The biggest might be the vintage Molnja that was originally a pocket-watch. This Seiko chronograph is also a grail piece for me, very rare, and in this condition can easily be in the 1,500 to 2,000 USD price range.

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Landscapes: Distant Mt. Arayat

I love taking snapshots of the landscape or cityscape from our place in Antipolo. There are at least 3 places where you can still get a free view of the surrounding areas including cityscapes of Metro Manila. On a clear day, you can see Laguna de Bai and all the way to Tagaytay. Beyond Metro Manila would be the mountains of Bataan including Mt. Natib and Mt. Samat. A somewhat rare siting for us these days is Mt. Arayat. So one afternoon I was pleasantly surprised to catch this extinct volcano in Pampanga province.

Distant Mt. Arayat during the sunset - the white obelisk-shaped object in the middle of the photo is actually a bell-tower of a nearby convent.

Mt. Arayat is somewhat a lonely mountain. I have been to Arayat town and there are many cultivated lands on the slopes of the volcano itself. It is probably due to the rich soils that people here have benefited from their crops that include many vegetable and fruit varieties.

There used to be another, even nicer view of Mt. Arayat but then a house was built that had something like an observation deck that now blocks the view. I will try to find an old photo of that view and share it here.

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Seiko Hayabusa chronograph 8T63-0030

One watch in my collection is a commemorative one for the 10th Anniversary of the introduction of the Hayabusa shinkansen by JR East and JR Hokkaido. Here's some information about the train, which translates to "Peregrine Falcon":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa_(train)

Unlike many of the watches in my collection, this is a complete set with box, manual, extra links and guarantee. Here are photos of the watch:

The watch inside the box with a photo of the Hayabusa shinkansen

The box with a faux wood appearance

Photo on top of the box

A closer look of the watch released by the JR East

Side view showing the crown and buttons.

The other side view

Case back showing the 10th Anniversary of the Hayabusa shinkansen and the number of the watch as 532 of 5000 produced. The watch has a 100m water resistance and is 'Made in Japan'. Not indicated is the serial number but the watch was released in 2021 (note: the Hayabusa shinkansen service started operating in March 2011).

Close-up of the dial showing the 4 lumed dots above the Seiko brand name. These dots are distinctive of the 4 headlights of the train.

 

First wrist shot after I received the watch

Unlike the mechanical or automatic chronographs, this one's relatively light.

I have another commemorative watch coming in April. That one's for the Doctor Yellow shinkansen inspection train. Both that and the Hayabusa uses Seiko's 8T63 quartz chronograph movement that is also used in other Seiko chronographs.

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Lunch at Tendon Kohaku, Uptown Mall, BGC

We were setting up our new home away from home at BGC a few weeks ago but we had to take a lunch break before purchasing a few items for our unit. And so we went to the Uptown Mall just across from our building and found our way to one of the restaurants that had al fresco set-ups. Without hesitation, I decided for us to have lunch at a Japanese restaurant whose specialty was tendon.

There's a menu outside for people to browse and see what they can eat at the restaurant. You also have the option to dine in or eat al fresco. Health declaration is done via app or manual for those who prefer to write or simply don't have a smart phone or gadget.

There's a big poster outside for their specialties - easy reference to passers-by looking for a place to eat lunch or dinner.

There's a nice view of our condo from the restaurant

Iced lemon tea

I ordered their specialty and namesake of the restaurant. The set includes miso shiru.

Tendon kohaku includes prawns, squid, chicken, shiitake mushrooms, squash and bean pods.

That lunch was followed by another at the same restaurant a week later. As we continued to set-up our condo unit. The service was on the slow side but I thought that was maybe because they had many customers; most of whom opted to dine indoors. We enjoyed our lunches there and will likely come back for future meals whenever we're at Uptown.

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Tea time: tea cup gift set from Japan

I brought back a few sets of glazed tea cups that I acquired while living in Japan. Among these are two that I most likely bought from one of the weekend bazaars I went to with friends in Tokyo or Yokohama.

What's left of the price tag is still on this cup

The cup has some elegant flower design with a glossy finish.

The bottom bears the stamp of the maker. This was probably a Japanese artisan, and they are famous for having many craftsmen make these and similar items.

I brought back a lot of things that have sentimental value from my time in Japan in the 1990s. I have yet to really account for many of these items aside from those that are conspicuously on display as well as those that I use. For example, I have a sake set at my parents' home in Cainta. I also have a rice bowl set that I left in our ancestral home in Cabatuan, Iloilo. I will try to document them and write about these items here.

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Watches and transportation

I have written about my Citizen Homer Second Setting watches, which have been the official watch of Japan National Railways and Japan Railways for their staff. This tie-up between watch companies and transportation goes a long way especially for railways. Watch companies like Mondaine, Ball, Breitling and Omega have long been associated with transportation whether it be road, rail, aviation or maritime. I have a few transport-related watches in my collection aside from my Citizens. A couple of years ago I unloaded my Mondaine railway watch that was a standard issue for Swiss Railways. I retained my Citizen Homer watches though I probably will part with one or two soon.

Here are a couple more I recently acquired, which I am very happy to include in my rotation. Both are Seiko watches with one an automatic and the other a quartz.

Seiko World Timer tie-up with All Nippon Airways (ANA) commemorating the Final Boeing 747 flights

A recent release from Seiko is the Hayabusa chronograph for JR's Hayabusa shinkansen

I will be posting about each watch soon. I have the complete set including the boxes. There's a new one coming out that commemorates JR's Dr. Yellow, an inspection/technical train for the maintenance of shinkansen tracks. That will come out sometime March or April of this year.

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Mug Shots: Starbucks Singapore

The Starbucks part of our collection also includes this mug from Singapore. We lived there for almost 2 years so it was just fitting we also had a Starbucks mug aside from the other souvenir and novelty mugs from the city-state.

Landmarks such as the Singapore Flyer and the National Museum of Singapore are on the mug. 'Singapore' is also on the inside of the rim.

This won't be a Singapore souvenir without the Merlion. There is also the Singapore Flyer in the background.

Colorful buildings of Chinatown on this side of the mug

The handle does not have anything on it.

The price tag is still at the bottom of the mug (showing this to be unused). That's 22.90 SGD and not in USD. The mug is made in China and it is microwave and dishwasher safe.

 

I remember I still have one more Singapore mug in my collection that is in my office. It's a novelty mug about how Singapore is a 'fine' city.

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