Vintage Technos Papidary automatic watch

I have a few watches from different Swiss brands, many of which are already extinct such as Cortebert, Omikron and Darwil. Some brands were resurrected or revived after they were acquired by holding companies based outside of Switzerland like Enicar and Titus. The latter, however, have lost some prestige as they are no longer 'Swiss Made'. It is unfortunate that these did not go the way of Breitling, which was acquired by the owner of Sicura, was retained as a brand and endures as a luxury brand today. One watch in my collection that has a similar pedigree and experience is a Technos. The brand was sold sometime in the early 1980s to a Japanese company and then in the mid 1990s to a Brazilian company. The older models are still collectible though and are 'Swiss Made' including the movements. My Technos is an automatic with baton hour and minute hands.

The watch features a dial with slight patina around it and a date complication. There is no second hand for this automatic watch.

Side view showing the signed crown

The other side view also showing the overall condition of the case.

Case back bearing the emblem and serial number

The watch came with the original bracelet, which has a signed buckle.

Close-up of the signed crown

Wrist shot when I first wore the watch

I have not had the watch checked as it is running very well. And so, I have not seen the movement yet to verify the caliber. From what I gathered on the internet, this model runs on an ETA but not the 2638 as suggested in one entry. The watch only has a date feature and does not have a 'second' hand. I will have this checked soon.

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First long drive in a while - an excursion to Quezon

A couple of weekends ago, I found myself doing my first long drive in months. I wasn’t a passenger but the driver when the wife and I went on an excursion with neighbors-friends, one of whom arranged for our lunch at Ugu Bigyan’s Potter’s Garden in Tiaong, Quezon. We had two options to get there – one via the scenic route through Rizal’s backdoor that takes one to Teresa, Tanay, Baras and Pililla in Rizal, Pakil, Pangil, Paete, Lumban, Pagsanjan, Sta. Cruz and San Pablo in Laguna, the other via C-6, SLEX and STAR Tollways taking us through southern Metro Manila, Laguna, and Batangas. We took the latter route as it was faster (shorter travel time by an hour) and it allowed us to test our newly installed Autosweep RFID’s for the two tollways we used along the way.

 

The photo below was taken by my wife upon my prodding. I had not seen an arch as we traversed Sto. Tomas, Batangas and Alaminios and San Pablo, Laguna. These were all along Asian Highway 26 (AH 26) or the Pan Philippine Highway System. The arch marks entry/exit to/from the Provinces of Quezon and Laguna. This one, however, looks like it is Quezon's.

Welcome arch of the Province of Quezon

Arches like the one in the photo used to be the landmarks between towns and provinces. They usually featured history, products and/or attributes of the city/town. I personally liked the big bat in the middle of the arch of Paniqui town in Tarlac and the castle features of Castillejos, Zambales. There are fewer archs nowadays partly because the highways department embarked on a nationwide road widening program that resulted in many arches being demolished. This was simply because the openings under the arches were narrow compared to the widened roads.

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Auro chocolates gift

The wife celebrated her 48th last week and I was thinking about gifting her with something she really liked. I remember promising her all the ice cream and chocolates she could eat while I was courting her. We share a love for ice cream and chocolates (especially the dark variety).

A selection of Auro chocolates - I personally selected these from the website. The box is their sampler package while the individual bars are those I am sure we both like.

The choco sampler box had these items inside. These were the 'basic' chocolates that Auro made from single origin cacao from Davao.

The individual bars came inside this box.

We thought that Auro was a close second to Malagos before. But recently, it has established itself with awards for its chocolates and it is clear they have produced more variants than Malagos. You get to enjoy more as you sample their products and experience the distinct tastes of each bar. Well done and looking forward to the next bar.

Here's the link to their homepage: https://aurochocolate.com/

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Vintage Seiko 6106-8100 First Sports Diver

Perhaps among the low-key watches produced by Seiko is its first sports diver. Apparently, it is not as highly regarded as the company's first diver but it is definitely collectible. I think it is under the radar and doesn't get as much attention, appreciation or respect as the 6217 (62MAS) as its 70m proof rating and the push crown (not a screw down) belies its claim as a 'diver' watch. It is not as rare as the 62 and it is not being replicated or modded as much as the 62 either.

The 6106-8100 has a rather simple dial with day and date complications.

Side view showing the crown at the 4 o'clock position. It is now a screw down crown, which is more desirable for diver watches.

 

The other side view showing a case in good overall condition

Another shot of the side showing the crown

Close up of the case back showing the model and serial numbers. The serial number indicates the watch to have been manufactured in June 1969. That's the same month of the first moon landing!

Photo of the case back also showing the lugs and crown

Close up of the dial showing the correct dial number and the lumes that are still in very good condition.

Wrist shot

The watch right after I changed the straps it came with.

Wrist shot the first time I wore the watch

The watch is powered by a Cal. 6106C, which runs at 21,600 A/h with a potential power reserve of 46h. It has a quick set feature for the day and date. This one's definitely a keeper and a bit interesting for me to look for the other variants of this model. Here is a nice article about Seiko's first sports diver:

https://www.fratellowatches.com/tbt-seiko-6106-8100-a-closer-look-at-the-first-sports-diver/#gref

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When will we be traveling again?

One thing we truly missed this year is traveling. Both the Clairvoyant and I love traveling and we've had more than our fair share of travels, official or otherwise, each year before the pandemic. I read somewhere that one should try to go to a new place each year, whether its local or abroad. I have done so the past so many years as I try to go somewhere where I have never been since I started working in 1995. Last year had so much potential as we had projects in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and Zamboanga as well as a conference in Baguio City. I wasn't sure about an overseas trip but the wife and I could easily go to Singapore or Bangkok (two of our favorite destinations) or other places in ASEAN where we didn't need a visa to travel. In fact, we were thinking about heading to Hanoi together. But that was not to be. Instead my only technically new place I visited was Lipa City. Surprising as it seems, I have only passed through Lipa many, many years ago. In late February 2020, I was able to go there care of an invitation from the city government for us to take a look at the traffic situation there. As such, I was able to go around the city mostly on foot in the city center where we inspected intersections, overpasses and traffic schemes. I guess that would have to count as a new place for 2020.

We miss going to the beach. Every year, we had at least one trip to the beaches. The most recent one was Mactan, Cebu but I wish we could go back to Bohol again. The photo above is over a decade old from our first trip to Panglao Island.

I miss traveling around the country. Perhaps one of the perks of doing projects is the opportunity to go to parts of the Philippines where I haven't gone to. I guess among the more memorable trips are to landmarks like certain waterfalls or beaches. Photo above is of the Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City. What is not seen here is that we had the chance to take a photo of the falls in full flow as the plant manager opened it for a few minutes during the summer when they regulated the flow of the falls to conserve water.

Of course, we miss our overseas trips. We loved our travels in the US, Europe and Asia. The photo above was taken in Napa Valley where we had a wine tasting excursion with friends back in 2011.

 

Our last foreign travel was to watch U2 live in concert at Singapore's National Stadium in late November 2019. That's one thing out of the bucket list. We also celebrated (in advance) our 17th anniversary in a city that we called home for a couple of years after we celebrated our 10th.

With the pandemic still here. I wonder when we will be able to travel like we did before. Perhaps we won't be able to go back to some places. Or maybe we just have to follow protocols just to be safe. Nevertheless, we hope and look forwards to traveling again.

[Note: We actually went on our first long road trip yesterday. I will write about the trip to Tiaong, Quezon soon.]

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Mocha and Boots

Two of our dogs, Mocha and Boots, have been getting a lot of indoor time these days. Mocha or Mokey, as we also fondly call her, is our 7 year-old golden retriever and Boots is our 6 year-old maltipoo. Mocha likes to have her rubs and massages and eventually slumps to take her naps. Boots is even more 'malambing' as he is a classic lap dog. He's content resting on your lap as you work or watch TV. When we're busy with something that requires us to stand or move about, he'll retire under one of the sofas to also take his naps. Of course, one of the benefits of being indoors is they get to ask (not really beg) for snacks. We oblige but are careful not to spoil these two.

These two are the only ones allowed inside the house for long periods of time. They are both house trained and will let you know if they need to answer the call of nature.

Boots will just stare at you as you eat. Mokey will usually just lie down at your feet. If she's really hungry, she will sit up and reach out with her paw to let you know she wants something to eat.

Boots can be sneaky at night and will try to hide where he peed if he couldn't hold it until the morning for someone to let him out. And so we decided to have him stay out at nights. Mocha is the more disciplined one and like our former dog Troy will hold out until the morning. And so we make an effort to make sure she's peed and pooped before she's let it for the night. We had been caring for Mokey as we noticed she lost a lot of weight after nursing her latest litter of puppies (most of whom we re-homed with relatives and friends). She's well now and it shows in her eyes, nose and fur (just some of the things you watch out for that indicate your dog may have a health issue).

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Top chess players of all time?

Still on chess...There was a time when I was quite curious about who the best chess players of all time were. There was an article before (not sure if I can still find it online) that sort of assessed the top players from different eras including when there were no formalities of time constraints to games or number of games played for the championships. Here is an entry from wikipedia for a quick reference to the topic:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_top_chess_players_throughout_history

I screen-capped this image showing the 16 official world chess champions who are among the top players in history. Call me sentimental or old-fashioned but these people with the exception of perhaps the last 3 world champions had little of the advanced tools now available to the so-called super grand masters (ELO rating >2600). Among them, I am personally a fan of Capablanca, Fischer, Botvinnik, Kasparov and Petrosian (in that order).

From top (L-R): Row 1 - Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, Jose Raoul Capablanca & Alexander Alekhine; Row 2 - Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov & Mikhail Tal; Row 3 - Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Robert Fischer & Anatoly Karpov; and Row 4 - Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand & Magnus Carlsen

Not include for obvious reasons are prominent GMs who could have become champion or were recognized as champions but with asterisks on their accomplishments. Viktor Korchnoi is arguably one person who could have been world champion on 2 or 3 occasions. There are also the likes of Paul Morphy and Aron Nimzowitch, who are very prominent for their contributions and were recognized among the strongest if not the strongest players of their time. I think 'classical' would be also be an appropriate word to describe many of them who along with other masters of the game developed the theories and praxis that have come to define many of the variations of the game as its played today.

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Vintage Sicura World Timer

I was surprised to have learned that I haven't posted about my Sicura world timer here. Sicura is supposedly famous for its links with a big brand that is Breitling. As the story goes, Breitling was on the verge of bankruptcy after being greatly affected by the quartz revolution of the 1970s. The owner of Sicura came in to rescue the company and decided to retain the brand. Note that Breitling continued its tradition of producing high quality watches that are now considered luxury models. It does not mean Sicura became Breitling overnight or that their watches and movements were Breitlings. The luxury brand did rub-off to make Sicura's more expensive than they were. But don't get me wrong here...Sicura holds its own with good design and good quality movements. Otherwise, their watches wouldn't even be desirable to collectors over time.

The watch has a date feature and two crowns. One crown is for adjusting the time and the other is for the inner bezel. The outer bezel can be adjusted by directly rotating it.

Side view showing the two crowns. The crown at 3 o'clock is for the winding, and time and date adjustment. The watch caliber does not have a quick set mechanism for the date.

Case back showing the Sicura emblem or coat of arms

The other side view showing other parts of the world time bezel

Close-up of the dial showing the lumes, which are still okay

Wrist shot

The watch is supposed to be powered by a Cal. Sic 40 movement. So far I haven't obtained detailed info about this movement other than it was probably an in-house movement by Sicura. I have a photo of the movement somewhere that I will post here soon.

I still haven't fully figured out what the 400 vacuum tested really meant as close examination of the watch shows it isn't really a diver. For one, the crowns are not screw down and even if this were new, it didn't look like it would survive 400m even when it was new unless this was a compressor watch. I have put this up for sale through a page run by friends as I was consolidating my collection (more Seiko watches these days) but there are no takers. I didn't want to accept the low ball offers because I assume they will just sell it off for a profit.

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Plantito? Not really

There seems to be a lot of interest in plants these days. In fact, a lot of our staff at the office are exchanging plants for their homes. These are no longer the succulents that were in vogue a couple of years ago but various plants including cacti, alocasias, snake plants, palms, herbs and various other ornamental plants. This interest in plants stem (pun intended) from the quarantine and the resulting need to be busy with something. Caring for these plants is a nice hobby and something that probably gives a feeling of accomplishment for people. 

The terms 'plantita' and 'plantito' came into being as referring to a female (tita basically translates into auntie) or male (tito translates into uncle) who is into plants. I assume here that being into plants mean they care for and not just collect plants. Am I one? Not really though we have many plants at home and I generally care for them. I also am the one usually acquiring the plants from friends, neighbors as well as the garden shops where I usually get my supplies.

Rubber tree transplanted to a decorative pot

I will post more plant or garden related stuff on this blog soon!

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Pistachio Sans Rival from Biba Cakes and Pastries Shop

Prior to the holidays, we were happy to see one of our favorite pastries shop at the tiangge set-up at the nearby mall. Many businesses were reeling from the quarantine and there weren't a lot of people as our city and the mall was quite strict with distancing rules so the tiangge was not as crowded as previous ones before the pandemic.

We thought the pistachio sans rival was really good but preferred their cashew sans rival. I think its more a matter of preference though the wife and daughter said the pistachio aftertaste was a bit strong.

Here's their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bibacakesandpastries

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An Antique Waltham watch

I was reading on the definitions of 'antique' and 'vintage' and found that the term 'vintage' usually referred to an item from a certain generation or time. That means something can be of a recent vintage like say a few years ago or last year or even last month (if the term would be used so loosely as it is, for example, used for wines). Meanwhile, 'antique' would refer to something that is at least 100 years old. For watches, 'vintage' is usually taken as older than 20 years though some prefer to be in the "safer" >30 years. I have an art deco Doxa that was likely made in the late 1910's, making it more than 100 years old and therefore antique. Art deco watches though were also made in the 1920s so it is also likely that the watch is only in its 90s and not a century or more in age. And so when I came upon the opportunity to obtain a watch from the 1890s, I took it and acquired this Waltham. I knew the seller was trustworthy as I already got a couple of Seiko World Timers from him including one from my birth month and birth year.

The watch the first time I saw it after unboxing it at home. The watch features a second sun-dial, blued hands and engraved case.

I changed the black nato strap it came with and currently use this dark blue and red strap. I already commissioned a leather nato for this watch.

View showing the crown and other engravings on the case

The other side view

The case back has significant wear or corrosion. The photo also shows what looks like very old spring bars that I am apprehensive to replace.

The blued hands likely meant these went through a certain process for rustproofing. The bluing process creates a protective finish that helps to prevent the hands from rusting. Bluing is also called black oxidizing, which turns rust into a protective layer. This process is also used for other items of steel including firearms.

Close-up of the dial highlighting the blued hands

Side view showing the crown and the engravings on the steel case

Engravings on the other side of the watch

I haven't opened the watch to see and observe the movement. Here is a photo of the movement from the seller.

The movement and the inside of the case back

A clear photo of this antique time piece

Wrist shot one sunny day

I thought it was fitting for my first watch post to be about this 120+ year old Waltham. It somehow symbolizes durability and resilience over time. These are two things we need this 2021 as we hope for better things while we continue to struggle vs. COVID-19.

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