Helvetia vintage watch

Many of the smaller Swiss watch companies succumbed to the so-called quartz crisis of the 1970s. Here is what I've found about the Helvetia Watch Company: https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk

The Helvetia featured here is of a more recent vintage, probably the mid to late 1960s to the early 1970s based on its movement, which is no longer the in-house ones Helvetia produced earlier. It is a fine catch as the watch is in overall very good condition.

Simple dial with raised hour indices and second sub-dial

Side view showing the crown

The other side view showing the very good condition of the case

Case back showing the watch to be water and shock-resistant

Hallmark for this gold plated watch

This watch is powered by a Unitas 6310N movement that runs at 18,000 bph with an original reserve of 47h.

Here's the obligatory wrist shot

The watch runs well and keeps time. I will keep this one... for now.

[Note: I let this one go a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully, the new owner will give it more wrist time than I could when it was part of my collection. 7/10/2019]
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Fukurou Nihon Ryori, Marcos Highway

There's this Japanese restaurant we usually spot along Marcos Highway near where we used to reside. The name is interesting as 'Fukurou" translates to "owl"in English. Without th 'u', "fukuro" translates into "bag" or "pouch". It is the latter which first came to my mind as I drove past it on the way home or heading to the office. The kanji on the menu though clearly meant "owl". We had wanted to eat here but just didn't have the chance to do so. One time I checked for lunch, it was a Monday and they were closed. A few weeks ago, we finally were able to eat there after attending to some errands in the area.

Menu - note the kanji at the top

Table set-up - yes, that's a real plant on a small pot

Restaurant interior - I only took photos of the areas where there are no customers as I usually didn't want to intrude into anyone's privacy. There were two other couples at the restaurant including one who seem to be on a date.

More of the restaurant's interiors

The bar showing a nice selection of Japanese wines and liquor including sake, shochu and whiskey

Appetizer - some traditional sweet-covered dilis (anchovies) over minced cabbage and some pickles

Their menu includes kid's meal items

Salmon sashimi

Katsu curry

Tonkotsu ramen

Melon shake and lemonade

Mochi with ice cream fillings

Japanese cheesecake

The food was good and authentic in taste. The presentation was also done very well and the service is also good. We thought this was a nice addition to the growing number of restaurants along Marcos Highway and particularly near Town & Country Executive Village, which had a commercial arcade that's been transformed into restaurants and cafes. It's definitely a welcome redevelopment of the area and we hope it attracts people/customers so they'd be encouraged to continue with business. For this particular restaurant, we hope they can attract more customers, too. I have always maintained that the area needs more authentic Japanese restaurants other than those in the malls (Note: I think Ayala's Feliz Mall has a really good selection of Japanese restaurants. And that's why we like to go there to address our cravings for Japanese food.)

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Zenith vintage watch with Cal. 106-50 movement

Here is another watch that sort of "fell unto my lap". It is a vintage Zenith from the 1950s. Zenith is a well known brand that survived the quartz "crisis" of the 1970s. This looked like a pretty beat up watch and perhaps that's why it was under the radar and those who initially took interest in it didn't pursue it.

I like simple watch faces. This one doesn't have any day or date complications but has a sweep second hand instead of a sub-dial.

Side view showing the crown and the lugs

The other side view

Case back showing the serial number

Here's a wrist shot after I had the leather straps changed.

Inside the case's back cover and the movement

The Zenith Cal. 106-50 runs at 18,000 bph and had an original power reserve of 38h.

 

The watch runs well and I have not had it serviced since I acquired last year. I will probably have it serviced soon but I am enjoying it for now. It gains little time (seconds?) in a day and so is reliable to me. Its currently part of my weekly rotation and is definitely a keeper among the current vintage watches in my collection.

 

[4/7/2021 - I unloaded this watch in late 2019. It wasn't having as much wrist time and a good offer was made for the watch as soon as I put it up for sale.]

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