Fall Preview: Torgoen's T33 Series

"The T33 was made in commemoration of one of the most successful American planes in the history of the Airforce, the P51 North American Mustang. It was designed by Edgar Schmued and introduced in 1942 to be used in WWII, but it continued to be used in the Korean war and other conflicts. It broke many speed records for piston engine airplanes even decades after its production ended. The Mustang was used for a "fighter sweep" to clear the air for the B52 bombers. When the Mustangs started being used the Luftwaffe lost 17% of their pilots in one week." - Torgoen USA

The T33 is designed in the fashion of the P51 Mustang with features of the cockpit. It's inspiration was drawn from the legendary plane itself and is a striking looking time piece. Like most torgoen watches it was designed with pilots in mind. Clear and easy to read hands and markers are designed to be readable in the blink of an eye. The numbers, hands and markers take design ques directly from the instruments found on the P51. The idea is to not only borrow from the design of the P51 but also recreate the ideal readability. The last thing you need to do while flying is to have to stare at your instruments. You need to be able to tell at an instant exactly wehat is going on. The same is true for the T33 "Mustang" Collection.

On the inside is an all Swiss made Rhonda chronograph movement. Precise, well built and dependable. The case is solid stainless steel and it's available in a wide variety of dial colors and band options. In fact a total of 10 different options of this watch are available. Each has a nicely unique look and feel to it. With a collection this diverse, you would be hard pressed to not find a model that speaks to you personally.

Other key features include a K1 Mineral Crystal, 100 meter water resistance, true 12 hour chronograph and luminous hands and markers for night visibility. It's a truly striking Swiss made watch at a very affordable price. The watch has great fit and finish front and back as do all the newer Torgoen watches of late. Torgoen is really stepping up their game and changes company wide have set them on a new path to deliver the best quality available. The T33 "Mustang" Collection is a perfect example of the new direction and the quality they can produce.

If you would like to see all 10 models together, visit Torgoen USA. TopFlight Watches is proud to be among the first to offer this watch here in the USA. Addition pictures, specs and pricing is also available as usual. If you have any questions, comments or concerns do not hesitate to pick up the phone and give us a call. Our "Watch Guys" are ready to help with anything you might need. Real experts are just a phone call away! You can reach us Toll Free at 1-888-243-6329 or shop online with us at TopFlight Watches, Time4Tritium and Gem of the Day.

Modern Automatics

Once upon a time mechanical watches were the only option for personal time keeping.  During the inception of the personal timekeeping, mankind developed an amazing piece of technology.  Based off the larger, easier to make clocks of the time, we developed an incredibly compact and amazingly accurate (for the time) personal timepiece.  Originally in the form of pocket watches and eventually wrist watches.  These first watches were made entirely of cogs, gears, springs, coils, plates and levers.  There was no power supply like modern watches.  The watches were run off a 'main spring' set inside the watch and you had to wind it up by the stem.  As you wound the watch, tension applied to the spring would force the other parts of the watch to move.  Eventually the main spring would unwind completely and the watch would stop.  Then you simply wound it up and again and away it went.  It was truly a remarkable invention and a testament to human ingenuity.  Even today I an impressed when I look at a mechanical.  I marvel at how well it still works to this day.  No fancy batteries or circuit boards.  Just pure engineering and careful calculations all set to the unwinding of a spring in the center of the watch and managed to keep remarkably accurate time all things considered.

Fast forward a few decades we see a ton of new version and improvements to the wrist watch.  They made them better, smaller, more accurate and durable.  First we saw the invention of the "automatic".  This was the the same basic principal as the first mechanical watches but added a weighted pendulum that would rotate inside the watch case as the owner wore the watch.  The rotation of the weight would "automatically" wind the main spring and keep the watch constantly running as long as the wearer remained active.  This proved to be a major improvement in the overall design and remains the standard for mechanical watches even to this day.  Almost all modern mechanical watches are automatic mechanical watches of some form or another and even the term "automatic" is often used to describe any mechanical watch by the uninitiated. 

But soon came the dark days of mechanical watches with the invention of the modern battery powered quartz watch.  These watches were no longer powered by a constantly unwinding spring but rather by a small replaceable battery.  This provided a constant power supply for longer periods of time and even opened the door to more possibilities then would ever be possible in an "old fashioned" wind up watch.  The technology increased almost as fast as companies could make watches.  1/100th stop watches, multi-time zones, multi-alarms, calculators, altimeters, depth gauges, atomic time, etc...  Greater accuracy and dependability then was ever possible before.  Watch would run better and longer without any required maintenance AND have more features than ever possible.

The automatic mechanical watch was in big trouble.  Companies went out of business and factories shut down.  The modern quartz watch was the future and the older antiquated technology was being left behind.  But it wasn't the only thing left behind.  Something was actually lost in the transition that no one at the time was considering.  Everyone was so concentrated on making a better, stronger, more advanced watch that they lost sight of something very special.  The heart of the watch itself.  Modern quartz watches and very impressive things but they lack... should I say souls?  As impressive as they are technologically speaking, on the inside they have very few moving parts and are controlled by circuit boards and micro computers.  They are boring, dull and lifeless.  No thought to beauty or design.  All function and no form.


Fortunately people eventually started to notice.  Watch collectors and watchmakers at first but eventually the general public as a whole.  The automatic watch movement was helped by some big key player as well.  People like Rolex and Breitling were heavily invested in high-end mechanical watches.  They started to sell the beauty of the movement, the romance.  The precision manufacturing and multi-jeweled movements.  Hand crafted parts and exhibition cases to show off the raw beauty of the mechanical hearts.
Mechanical watches soon became seen more as wearable art.  Beautiful pieces of functional precision.  Something that was to be admired for it's achievement in engineering.  They were elevated to a whole new level that they continue to enjoy even today.  as even today, with all the advances made, an automatic mechanical watch will never be as accurate or dependable as a quartz watch.  But owning an automatic mechanical watch is about so much more.  It's about owning a piece of history, a piece of art.  A precision instrument which can draw direction lines of history back to the very first personal timepieces.  Modern mechanical automatic are better than ever before.  More accurate and dependable but that is not what owning one is all about.

For more information on mechanical watches or watches in general give us a call Toll Free at 1-888-243-6329.  We love watches and love talking about watches.  If you are considering buying a watch or just want some information let us know.  We are happy to help and you get to talk to real watch experts.  You can also check out our online stores Gem of the Day, Time 4 Tritium and TopFlight Watches.  Each is packed with great watches and great deals!

The NEW Seiko Sharktooth Monster

 

As many of our readers know, the original Seiko Orange Monster is a classic staple of watch collectors and divers the world over.  So popular that while originally it was only available in Japanese markets, the demand was so big they brought it to every other market in the world where it continued to sell well for years.  Now there's a new Monster and it is one great looking follow-up.

Featuring a solid black-ion finish and gradient orange to black sun burst dial, the Sharktooth Monster is one impressive watch to behold.  It's roots trace back to the original Orange Monster and you can see the similarities in many aspect of this new model.  First you will notice the case and bezel.  While actually retooled they have a strong resemblance to the original. 

 

Then there is the overall design of the dial and hands.  And once again, while similar, there are slight differences to the new design.  Most notable is the actual hour markers.  The new Monster has sharper angles which lead to it's namesake, the Sharktooth Monster (also referred to as the Sharptooth Monster depending on who you talk to).  This design change coupled with the black on orange color scheme and a few sharper lines end up making this watch a much more aggressive looking design.

 

But the changes don't stop there.  In fact the biggest change is one you can't even see.  The new Monster series from Seiko actually feature a brand new 25-Jewel Automatic/Mechanical movement.  This address the only real short comings of the original series of watches.  You see the original, while legendary for it's durability and dependability, had two flaws holding it back from being an otherwise perfect time piece. One was no stem winding capability and the other was no "hack" feature (where the time stops when you pull out the stem to set the time).  The new movement from Seiko offers both!  You can now fully stem wind the watch as well as the automatic winding from wearing the watch normally and you can also "hack" the time which allows to more specific and accurate timing of event and operations.

What comes as no real surprise is the superior night time illumination.  Now, it's no secret that we are big fans of Tritium watches here on The Watch Guys Blog.  I personally own several and generally preach their superiority at every turn.  But, like many things in life, there is always an exception.  That exception would be the Seiko diver's watches.  Generally speaking these are some of the best illuminating watches available anywhere in the world, at any price.  I mean take a look at the image below.  The effect is so bright you can use it like a flashlight and due to the fact that they apply such a generous portion of paint it can glow all night long.

 

So in the end you really end up with something quite special but what is it exactly?  A new bold design?  The next generation of a legendary series?  The evolution of a true classic?  Yes, yes and yes...  But also so much more. This marks the beginning of a new chapter for Seiko and the future looks bright.  This watch is really an amazing time piece and one of the few times that you get something even more special that the sum of its parts. You really own it to yourself to find one of these and see it in person.  Hold it in your hand and really feel it.  Wind the stem and feel the turn of the movement.  I'm telling you, this watch is special.  Don't miss out.

For more information, pictures and pricing info please visit us at either TopFlight Watches or Gem of the Day.  In stock now and available for immediate shipping.  You can also call us Toll Free at 1-888-243-6329.  we love watches and we love to talk.  Call us for more information or to just talk watches.  Real experts and real world experience is just a phone call away.

The Citizen Navihawk is Back!

The Citizen Navihawk is a classic and beloved watch from years past.  Back before the change to Eco-Drive the Navihawk was one of citizen top-of-the-line model pilots watches.  Actually, it was the equivalent of the modern Skyhawk.  In fact, the Skyhawk directly took the place of the Navihawk. The only real difference between the two models was the Eco-Drive technology.  As such, the Navihawk was phased out in favor of the new Eco-Drive model.  But now the Navihawk has made a triumphant return to the Citizen line-up and does so with style.

The Watch Guys are proud to introduce the all new Citizen Eco-Drive Navihawk A-T (citizen model JY8035-04E). Back with all the trimmings, this new model is once again one of Citizens top-of-the-line watches and comes jam packed with all of their modern tech.  With Atomic Clock synchronization for superior accuracy, this radio-controlled timepiece displays digitally the time in 43 cities, and has a 99-minute countdown timer and Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) display as well as 2 world Time Alarms, Analog/Digital Display and 180-Day power Reserve.  Completely with a back-light for the digital display.

Basically, it's a Skyhawk A-T in new clothes but boy does it look good all dressed up!  The Navihawk features an all black stainless steel case (black ion plating), with a deep embossed black polyurethane strap and orange accents on the dial.  The overall effect is quite striking in person and give the watch a tougher look than it's Skyhawk brothers.  The rotating bezel has a coin-edge finish on the outer ring and provides nice grip when using the E6B Bezel for calculations.

Overall fit and finish is also top notch and really should be seen to be appreciated.  Everything from the buttons to the bezel to the case-back and nicely finished and feel good to the touch.  Citizen really out did themselves once again.  The Navihawk is a welcome edition to the Citizen watch brand and watch fans the world over.

For more information, pricing and ordering information on this model please visit our page at Topflight Watches.   Or for the complete collection of Navihawk A-T's you can visit us here.