A great piece, classic Caribbean good looks at a marvelous value
Great catch. Sporty and accessible with nice details and a suitably laid-back demeanor

Really liked the time and effort put into the review.

Look forward to seeing more.

First of all: GREAT And 2 remarks
Maybe Nivada did not make the movement, but it says SWISS MADE on it and didn't I read somewhere that Swiss made or made in Switzerland/ Suisse is a protected term? Second is "Schmuck", the German word, just means 'jewelry" Hey well done Ricky!

Re: ..but it says SWISS MADE on it and didn't I read somewhere that Swiss made or made in Switzerland/ Suisse is a protected term?

Oh, sure it's an actual Swiss-made movement, of that I have no doubt!

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James T. Kirk©
Second is "Schmuck", the German word, just means 'jewelry"

I was aware of that.

However, the term has quite a different meaning in Yiddish and that's the root from whence it's usage in American Vernacular grew.

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James T. Kirk©
Hey well done Ricky!

Re: ..but it says SWISS MADE on it and didn't I read somewhere that Swiss made or made in Switzerland/ Suisse is a protected term?
In Yiddish, the term "schmuck" is in fact a derivation of the German "jewel" and is to be taken ironically as in "Oh that guy is such a schmuck" "Oh that guy is such a jewel." It is sarcasm at its best. Yiddish is awesome for sarcasm. A more accurate Yiddish term for the male phallus would be the word "putz". Alternatively, I have heard that the term is explained as "the family jewels" which is just as plausible as the former option. Interestingly, in German the word is pronounced with a long "oo" sound as in "schmook" whereas in Yiddish the word is pronounced with a short "u" sound. The German pejorative equivalent would be pronounced "schmock". Hope this clarifies things!

My father lived in Amsterdam before WW II and he learned a..
..lot of jiddish words and expressions, from which I picked a few. I has actually a lot of German in it. Of course during the war a lot of it's jewish inhabitants disappeared to the death camps and never returned. A very sad thing.

Re: My father lived in Amsterdam before WW II and he learned a..
Well not surprising that Yiddish has a lot of German in it. It was actually developed from German and is incredibly close to what was known as High German. It also has a lot of Polish, some Russian and Hebrew elements in it. Yiddish was developed by European (Ashkenazi) Jews in the 10th to 12th centuries as a way to communicate with each other regardless of what region or country they were living in. Today, a modern Yiddish speaker can make themselves fairly well understood to a German speaker, and vice versa. The dialects are quite different, though. Sadly, largely as a result of the Holocaust, Yiddish was pretty much a "dead language" by the middle of the 20th century. Happily, however, it is making a comeback recently.
Quite a sad event, Jim, I agree. I Lost most of my family as did my wife. Have you ever been to Anne Frank House in Amsterdam? Quite an experience.

Sorry for hijacking this thread like this...

Re: Sorry for hijacking this thread like this.
You certainly haven't offended me by any alleged "hijacking"!

IMHO it makes for a much more interesting thread.

Re: Sorry for hijacking this thread like this.
You are a true gentleman, Ricky!
Thank you.

Re:Have you ever been to Anne Frank House in Amsterdam?
Sure. They have/had even a virtual tour!

Re: Hope this clarifies things!
It does!



Of course, I was originally referring to it in the sense of the first part of the Wikipedia definition: "Schmuck or shmuck in American English is a pejorative meaning an obnoxious, contemptible or detestable person, or one who is stupid or foolish. The word entered English from Yiddish, where it has similar pejorative meanings.."

Obviously I should have actually referred to the source instead of winging it.

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Magnum
Yiddish is awesome for sarcasm.

I've noticed.

Re: Hope this clarifies things!
Well that is the beauty of the etymology of language, Bro Ricky. A simple word can take on so many nuances and subtly different meanings. Have yourself a perfectly zayer gitten evening!

Re: Well that is the beauty of the etymology of language, Bro Ricky.
Not sure "beauty" is the exact term I'd use.. but it does make things.. interesting!

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Magnum
Have yourself a perfectly zayer gitten evening!

Well, there was no icon, so I trust that must be a Good Thing.

Re: Well that is the beauty of the etymology of language, Bro Ricky.
Indeed it was quite clean, indeed it was! (Means have a great evening,) In German: "Sehr gut nacht"

Really cool piece.
Nice work on the review.

A great looking watch and excellent review - looks like a hand-wind which is a deal breaker for me though...  (n/t)

It is. But.. you don't like hand-winders?
I mean.. "De gustibus non disputandum est" and all.

But a blanket dislike of hand-winders is a pretty rare thing amongst WIS, in my experience.

How come you don't hold with them?

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JY
A great looking watch and excellent review

I buy them repeatedly, but then end up selling them myself. I admit it's a little and doublei (n/t)

Great review and a very interesting watch, congrats  (n/t)

Nice review, Ricky, and a nice summer watch. I don't recognize >>
>> the movement. Or more precisely, I don't recognize what the movement is based on.

Cool  (n/t)

A cool fun watch.  (n/t)

I'm really feemin for that auto chrono now bro Ricky!!!
Nice watch.... there are several deal breakers for me though....The auto chrono has to be the model for me!!!

very cool and affordable to boot. (n/t)

Love the orange, Ricky. Congratulations. (n/t)

A well-written review and nice pics. Thank you!
The lack of second hand doesn't bother me a bit and the looks of the watch are gorgeous. Nice, pleasant surprise with the Swiss movement too! But, as you say, the tachy scale would be the deal-breaker for me, both useless and unnecessary, an ordinary 60-minute scale would have been perfect, IMO.

But again, a great review. Thanks for posting, Ricky!

Cheers!
Daniel Z.

--The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
- Bertrand Russell -

Thanks Ricky, great review as usual! Still laughing that you bought it so quick! (n/t)

I like it, and would love one, but I'm afraid I'd scratch a bald (er) spot on my head >
every time my brain tried to accept the tachy scale and no second hand. Were I to find one with a typical bezel suited to the watch, I'd be very tempted.

Looks GOOD!!! You and Moy have me jonesin' for a case like that. (n/t)

Enjoyed the review!  (n/t)

Re: RetroChron Seaserpent model T22674-161-O
Well done, Ricky! That is a pretty and unique timepiece you have there! Congrats!

I think that you got a great deal on a splendit watch, Ricky! And a very good review!  (n/t)

Go with the simple since the dial catches the attention, IMHO (n/t)

If it were me...
I think I would just be looking for ways to remove the black print on the orange part of the original bezel. Is it printed black text on orange background, or orange inverse print on a black background?

Re: I think I would just be looking for ways to remove the black print on the orange part of the original bezel.
Lord, that scares me just thinkin' about it!

I reckon the odds are about 50-1 that I'd simply ruin the OEM bezel if I tried that.

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Chris L
Is it printed black text on orange background, or orange inverse print on a black background?

I just checked, and if I'm interpreting the miniscule clues I'm seein' with the 20X loupe correctly, it's the former - black text on an orange base.

Say you were going to remove that black text. How would you do it?

Re: I think I would just be looking for ways to remove the black print on the orange part of the original bezel.

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Ricky Lee
Say you were going to remove that black text. How would you do it?

Re: Perhaps with very careful application with a solvent.
Call me Chicken, but I'm still a-skeered.

If the solvent will remove the black, what says it won't do the same with the orange?

No, I'd rather keep the pristine OEM bezel insert as Insurance, in the unlikely event that my DIY Job was a total Fail.

Blah, blah, blah.

Re: My eyes are killing' me. you guys with yer beige-on-mauve color schemes. Didn't. See. A. Single. Word.

That's how I did it too.  (n/t)

Well. After all, Great Minds Think Alike.

And I thought you guys had X-ray vision!  (n/t)

Oh, that too! But the simplest ways are frequently the best.  (n/t)

Built with a different bezel, those would be better sellers >
I hate that my laser guy ventured into politics and I no longer have access to his services. I could have you several different variations made within the week.

Re: I hate that my laser guy ventured into politics and I no longer have access to his services. I could have you several different variations made within the week.
Well then, I also hate it that he ventured into politics!



And agreed they'd be much more accepted by the WIS Community sans the tachy bezel. Only reason they did it, I reckon, is that they're lazy sods and figured that what was good for the chrono models would be OK for the 2-handers as well.

and if nothing else, it does prove one thing >
politics generally screw up everything

and also a big +1! (n/t)

That orange bezel would be sweet.......
Maybe you could commission Mr. Murphy barring his schedule permits?

Re: Maybe you could commission Mr. Murphy..
Ahhh.. Dan? Remember that I have access to a state-of-the-art machine shop, too. And I know how to use it!

I don't think I'll need to bother Dr. Murphy with this one.

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dano0
..barring his schedule permits?

Well.. that's a problem for me, too.

Honestly? As much fun as it is to brainstorm and contemplate this mod, 'tis unlikely that it will happen. Not any time soon, at least.

Thats why I thought subbin out the work might be advantageous Ricky!
Its what I do when I'm bogged down......remember the sports matic crystal, right?

Re: Its what I do when I'm bogged down...
Yes, but remember I'm a Poor Man.

I don't think I could afford a Murphy Manufacturing One-Of Custom.

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dano0
..remember the sports matic crystal, right?

Point taken.

An orange Samurai bezel would be cool. Too bad about the size. I could live with the original though. (n/t)

Ahhhh.. but the Samurai uses a "coned" bezel, right? (n/t)

Nothing a handyman with a vise couldn't rectify.  (n/t)

(n/t)

That nearly 40mm OD is going to be difficult to find, I think. >>
>>and they all look okay, but I think that the orange tachy stripe really accentuates the retro look of the thing.

My opinion-- if they had printed "No Decompression" limits on the orange ring, it would have been perfect.

So here's what you can do, it will only take a month or so:

This technique was described to me by Jonathan "Swedefreak" on the forums...

Obtain a "close enough" insert that resembles that of a Yachtmaster. Metal, with raised numbers. Next, fill in around the numbers with orange enamel paint. Lastly, (this is what takes so long) build up multiple layers of varnish, until it is just above the peaks of the metal numbers. You may have to sand between layers. But when you are finished, it will look like a custom acrylic insert.

I have handled this watch, and it is striking.

Photo, mods, and insert by Swedefreak:


Oh, and Re: webwatchworld, that's Rick, he's a nice guy. He also does "webbikeworld", you should check it out.

Re: your other comment, I have made a lot of friends, worldwide. I have sent Vostok bezels to every continent on Earth, except Antartica. There are a lot of us watch folk around the globe! And you could never ask to meet a better bunch of people.

Difficult, yes. But not impossible!
Again, I've already identified a pair of likely donors in The Boneyard. One is a..



.. Commander, and the other an unbraded faux chrono-diver. If the Chase-Durer bezel insert were in just a little better condition, I'd be tempted to give it a go. However, it has pretty oddball markings, too, and I'm not sure it'd make any more sense than a tachy bezel.

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Dave M
..I think that the orange tachy stripe really accentuates the retro look of the thing.

It is a good stylistic match, I think. And, honestly, it really doesn't bug me all that much. Mainly just day-dreaming here.

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Dave M
This technique was described to me by Jonathan "Swedefreak"..

Ah! Sure, we've discussed the "varnish bezel overlay" before. My only reservation about using it in this specific case would be that such bezel inserts tend to be quite thick. I can envision it increasing the overall thickness of the watch by at least a millimeter, and perhaps two. And this watch is already pretty darned thick..

You don't think my idea of a "Trim Ring / Seiko bezel adapter" has merit?

It'd be a piece o' cake to make one. Or a dozen! More'n One Way To skin A Cat, mind, but personally I'd take a chunk o' 316L SS and turn a 39.8mm x 38mm "donut" on the lathe, then start peeling off .50mm thick slices on the Wire EDM machine...

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Dave M
He also does "webbikeworld", you should check it out.

I just might!

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Dave M
I have sent Vostok bezels to every continent on Earth, except Antartica. ..you could never ask to meet a better bunch of people.

I like this one! (n/t)

I was thinking of something similar.

Re: Now get crackin'!

I guess I can you a month or two  (n/t)

What? You're going to can me in a month or two?!

Lol I typrd faster then I was thinking... Left that "give" right out!  (n/t)

{whew!}