WOW, looks impressive! Nice house for your watches! One day a month? How stupid! You can save the money then. The function of a winder is to wind automatic watches. You surely don´t need to let it move all day and night, it certainly has a timer and a presetting. So you can program it to run 10 h a day and bidirectional moving, should be enough to keep the watches winded.
@Henry - is the lume really so blue in the dark on your D-Star? The HyperChrome still seems to be unavailable - you can look whereever you want, nobody offers them and it´s still not listed on the official Rado HP(German version).
@Henry - always nice to see your LE-DiaStars! Great watches and great pics! I really should take the time to take some better pics of some of my Rados - my equipment is definitely good enough but nearly all of my pics are uninspired quickshots. The size difference between the "normal" and the XL case is bigger than I thought.
@RadoFan - I love black dials and I don´t have any idea why you should avoid them. Black dials are not more damageable than others, it´s the wrong way round: Even my oldest Rados from WWII, 1943/44 are still black. White or blue dials more tend to change their colour under the influence of UV-rays. White dials often tend to get yellowish, blue dials tend to bleech. Henry owns a nice 1970s´ DiaMaster/DiaStar 10 with an ex-blue dial, which is grey now. I own an NCC 101 with blue dial - it´s still blue, but you see a large difference to the original colour when the dial is disassembled and you compare to the frame being covered by the case. Here´s a pic of my end of 1970s´ DiaStar Quartz with black dial - still as black as it could be(though it looks lighter on this pic through the reflections of the sapphire crystal):
The D-Star Auto Chrono looks absolutely great with it´s diver design and it´s also a beauty from the back with it´s nicely decorated movement with anchor-shaped rotor. Here´s my favourite of today, the brandnew HyperChrome Chrono:
Very nice! I nearly had bought the same model with black dial, but the seller at WUS didn´t answer and a few days later it was marked as sold. I like the clear dial design with the moving anchor logo above the "6". The original DiaStar exists for 50 years now and must be the best sold watchmodel of the world with the same case design. It´s amazing to see the incredible variety of dial designs it received over the years. I had expected a special edition to it´s 50th anniversary - maybe it still comes.
Yes. Green/Golden/Purple/Sapphire Horses were made in hundreds of variations with different cases, dials and movements. My Purple Horse is from around 1970 with reference 11626/1.
That´s definitely hard to say - a question of personal taste if you ask me. Both looks great, the brown croc as well as the mesh band. I personally almost prefer bracelets. BTW, greetings from my one:
[[File:Leeds Club a.JPG|none|auto]][[File:Leeds Club back.JPG|none|auto]][[File:Leeds Club mvt.JPG|none|auto]]
That´s one of those WWII military Rados, which had been sold to GIs in the PX-shops of the US-Army. All the ones I know have the same military dial with Radium cyphers, Radium hands, back, an all SS case of 30 mm diameter(ex crown) and a manual winded AS 1187 with Incabloc shock protection. All of them with Rado on back and movement and a private label on the dial - already known are Bullock´s, Hudson and Lancair. Here we have a Leeds Club with AS 1220. Here some compare pics of my Bullock´s:
[[File:0 Bullock´s aa forum.jpg|none|auto]][[File:0 Bullock´s b forum.jpg|none|auto]]
BTW, there´s also an Exacto version of the same watch, but with plated instead of SS case.
Mysterious little thing. It has "Swiss" on the dial but if the 14k gold case was Swiss, it would wear the official Swiss hallmark for 14 k gold, the squirrel(since 1880) and a responsibility mark for the maker of the case(since 1934).
This back is from a 1950s´ Rado but the marks didn´t change - left to the gold specification the responsibility mark(hammer-head with registraton no.) and right to it the squirrel-hallmark. If you don´t find these marks on the case, after all it seems to be American with Rado-movement and dial.
That looks absolutely great! That´s really timeless elegance. Thanx for the pics. Any idea about the gemstone? Looks a bit greenish on the last pic, so it could be malachite or crystalline schist. The bracelet is the same as in my SR-D, also the Peseux 7001.
Most Rados were available in SS and GP, but SS watches were almost made in larger quantities. And the GP ones can´t be polished as the SS ones if worn - the plating would disappear. And replating is expensive. That´s why they are rare to find in good condition.
Doesn´t look bad with that Jubilée-style bracelet! It´s a good idea to modify one of them for these special lugs. I would leave it as it is - or have a look for a cheap parts watch to get one of the original bracelets. Your Purple Gazelle also looks brilliant. I can´t see any traces of restauration - the edges of the case seem to be as crisp as the ones of the NOS-case. And they didn´t do a better job than you with the bracelet - they simply mounted one of the original ones - being made for these lugs.
Das ist eine Purple Sabre aus den späten 1960ern, der Boden ist korrekt signiert mit dem Rado Seepferdchen-Logo. Der Modellname befindet sich nur bei einigen Modellen auf dem Boden. Referenz- und Seriennummer sind wahrscheinlich wegpoliert, das kommt bei Vintage-Uhren schon einmal vor. Die Krone ist korrekt mit dem Anker-Logo signiert. Das Zifferblatt ist nicht mehr original, das wurde restauriert, in diesem Fall neu lackiert(schwarz) und bedruckt. Die ursprünglichen Minutenstriche, siehe hier: wurden durch einen Minutenring("Eisenbahnschienen-Design") außen ersetzt und wenn man genau hinschaut, sieht man, dass die Schrift(Purple Sabre, Swiss Made) nicht ganz sauber ist. Die Zeiger sind original. Das originale Metallarmband fehlt. Ein Bild vom Uhrwerk fehlt. Falls beim Angebot eines dabei ist, sollte das Werk mit Rado signiert und sauber sein. Sabre- und ähnliche Purple Gazelle-Modelle werden z.Zt. einige auf Ebay angeboten. Mehr als 70 € sollte die hier abgebildete nicht kosten.
Back and case(on the sides) still wear the blue protective lacquer, so this Rado was recently made with NOS-parts. That´s why it looks like new - it is. In Fareast, there are still some quantities of NOS parts - cases, dials, hands, movements. From time to time, you find those parts in the bay, or watches made of them. As Henry, I never have seen an authentic Gazelle-model without a Gazelle-emblem. So the dial is probably new finished or just printed. When I´m back home, I´ll have a look in my database for the reference 625.7913.4. The first three digits, 625, are correct for an ETA 2789 automatic movement with d/d. Nevertheless, it looks brilliant! I also own one of these NOS-parts-Rados, a Purple Gazelle:
Good luck with your bracelet! In Phillipines, there are some manufacturers of customised bracelets, so if you can´t find a matching one, maybe that´s an option.
The scratched marks are marks from watchmakers, who once serviced the watch. This seems to have been done on 12-08-1944 the first time. Normally, a service(cleaning, oiling, adjusting) is to be done after around five years, which would date the purchase of the watch to 1938/39. So we have a precise dating. A disasembling by a watchmaker just would deliver the caliber mark of the movement - if it´s on the frontside, under the dial. It can be there, but mustn´t be. Some of the AS-movements of that time don´t have one. There´s nearly no info about Schlup & Co., the owner of Rado, from that time. We don´t know when they gave up producing own movements(I know just two Schlup & Co.-signed movements, a pocketwatch- and a ladies´ watch-caliber, look here) and what they did then - producing calibers of other factories in licence or buying ebauches(just part-sets in raw condition), doing the finishing, assembling and adjusting them inhouse(what Rado did up to the 1970s, 1980s AFAIK). If you want the watch to be worn or just functioning, you should give it to a watchmaker and have it serviced/repaired. If you just want to keep it as keepsake, you can leave it as it is.
Interesting watch, thanx for sharing the pics! With your allowance, I will add them to my HP. The Rado Watch Co. was registered in January 1937, so we have an earliest date for the production. To me, only two ladies´ watches are known from 1937 - 1950, both Art Deco style. This one has a classical dial and hands design, hard to date. I haven´t seen this model before. These dial designs already existed on ladies´ watches in the 1910s, 1920s. The movement seems to be an AS 970. There´s no shock protection present. Can you find a number/mark under the balance wheel? What about the mark on the balance bridge? Is it a 3-digit number or 3 letters(that would be a U.S. import code and could identify the importer/maker)? IMHO the watch is either made 1937 - 1950 or it´s older and the Rado-signed movement is a replacement for an older one. Maybe the mark under the balance wheel brings more info.
I fixed the links to the images of your watch in your post, so they are visible now.
It´s a very nice GP Rado 990, from the pics I can´t see anything wrong with it. Everything looks authentic and original except the acrylic crystal, which probably had been replaced at some time(it doesn´t wear the small anchor-logo in the center and I haven´t seen a crystal with date loupe on a 990).
Especially the dial shows some traces of aging and looks 100% original, which indeed leads to the question "who is FIJO?". To be honest, it´s the first Rado I see with FIJO instead of RADO on the dial and I never heard anything about that. A short research in the www delivered nothing except the translation of the Spanish word "fijo", a city in Venezuela called "Punto Fijo" and a foundation in Brazil called FIJO, but that is too young to stand in any relation to this 990, which is made in the middle/late 1960s. There´s just a little bit info to find about the history or business relationships of Rado and nearly nothing about their business in South America. What I know is that Rado made a lot of private labelled watches, which means that the watch is a Rado but with a customised dial, being ordered in smaller or larger quantities by special customers. A few examples: The Italian importer of Rado in the 1950s/1960s, a company called Ticin, offered Rados with "TICIN" instead of "RADO" on the dial. There are also a few other distributors known with their names instead of or additional to RADO on the dial. I know a few examples of Rados with a (not watch-related) company name on the dial, those have been gifted to business partners or merited employees. In Arabia, you find a lot of customised Rados being gifted by nobel houses or official institutions. So my assumption is that Fijo had been either a distributor of Rado in a South Amarican country or just a company/institution, which ordered a number of Rados with their name on the dial. Did you buy that 990 in Venezuela or from another country in South America? Maybe with these infos you can find out a bit more - my Spanish is unfortunately limited to a touristy minimum("una cerviza, por favor!" ). Would be interesting to have this question answered.
The movement is a very nice AS 1789 with 30 jewels, the highest quality standard and it looks to be in top condition. The basic calibers had been the AS 1580 and the AS 1701(= 1700/01). The 1701 and the 1789 use the same base plate, that´s why you often find an additional 1700/01-mark on it. The 1789 came out in 1965, which confirms my dating. The 11764 on the back is a correct reference number for this model, a 990 with edged case and date.
The DiaMaster looks great - but still grey or anthracite, not blue. My impression of the cases is that, analogue to the DS cases, there exist more and less glossy/reflective surfaces. There are caseback variations with DiaMaster 10 and with DiaStar 10 available. Has anybody seen one with DiaStar instead of DiaMaster on the dial? Maybe the DiaStar 10 casebacks had been used for Japan only?
That DiaStar is definitely stunning! For me, it´s a classy Friday and weekend:
Got a "new" car today, the same vintage Opel Omega B Caravan as before, but in better condition, with better interior, less km on the counter and a few HP more. At the moment, I´m very busy transplanting better and special parts like my Recaro seats from the old to the new one. Have a nice weekend!
14.08.2012 00:14
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