GED, an interesting vintage watch from Germany

A recent addition to my collection of German vintage watches is a watch issued by the GED. GED stood for Gewerkschaft Eisenbahner Deutschland (Union of Railroad workers in Germany) so this might have been some sort of standard issue for their members or officers or a retirement watch.

The dial is simple with raised hour markers and no date or day features

Side view showing the crown and the relatively pristine condition of the watch

The other side view

Case back

Here's the obligatory wrist shot

Wrist shot of the watch after I unboxed it and tried it on the first time. The watch came with stretchable, flexible stainless steel band, which was obviously not its original and for me looked a little weird.

Here's a wrist shot the first time I used it after changing the strap.

I have compared the watch against my more dependable and accurate watches (e.g., my Bulova moonwatch and my computer clock) and it does not lose or gain significant time over 24 hours. I have timed it to last 41 hours on a full wind. That's not bad for a watch that, based on the looks of it, was probably issued in the 1970s (1978 according to the previous owner).

-

Aerial photos of Cebu and Mactan

I like taking aerial photos when the opportunity presents itself. On a recent trip to Cebu, I was able to get some nice photos as our plane took of from Mactan Cebu International Airport.  Here are some of them showing present and future landmarks like the Cebu South Reclamation Project (SRP) and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) bridge.

View of the ongoing construction of the 3rd bridge connecting Cebu and Mactan Islands. This will be a toll bridge under the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX).

The South Reclamation Project (SRP) area as seen from our plane as it banked towards Manila. That's SM Seaside with the tower at the north part of SRP.

Photo showing Cebu and Mactan Islands with the SRP on the foreground, the CCLEX project in the middle, and the airport at center right.

-

Vintage Raketa 24-hour watch

An interesting watch in my collection is this 24-hour watch from Raketa from the Soviet era It features 24 hours with numbers displayed every 2 hours(even numbers). But just so you don’t miss the odd number hours, there’s a rotating bezel featuring these. 

So how does it work? The minute hand’s speed is normal. It’s the hour hand that runs more slowly than a conventional watch’s. That means the hour hand will cover 24 hours in one full rotation and not 2 like in conventional watches. Why develop such a watch in the first place? One story goes that these were developed for people who wanted to keep track of the time of day (day or night) while not having the sun or moon as reference (i.e., they don't have a view of the outside world). That would likely include submariners who are literally unable to see the light of day for long periods of time. These 24-hour watches help them to not be disoriented.

Dial showing the 24 hour markers including those on the rotating bezel. There are no day or date features on this watch.

View showing the two crowns - one for adjusting the time and winding the watch, and another for the rotating bezel.

The other side view

Case back

The obligatory wrist shot. This watch is another big one at 38mm excluding the crown. I thought though that they could have made this with wider lugs. It only has 18mm lugs.

Here's a photos of the movement, which is a Cal. 2623.H running at 18,000 A/h and potentially 45 hours on a full wind.

This watch functions well, is in generally good shape for both the movement and the case, and keeps time. It is also something I would likely be keeping in my collection for now.

-