Vintage Cromwel spring watch bracelet commonly used in Rolex Bubbleback, Mido etc Vintage Cromwel spring watch bracelet

Vintage Cromwel spring watch bracelet commonly used in Rolex Bubbleback, Mido etc Vintage Cromwel spring watch bracelet 

Vintage Omega Constellation pie pan black gilt dial Ref 167.005

Omega has one of the most diverse watch catalogs of any modern brand, and one of the classic watches the company still produces today is the Omega Constellation. Omega first released this line in 1952, and it's still a cornerstone of the modern brand. 

There are a wide range of Omega watches and I am currently streamlined and only focus on the unique one. This Constellation example dates to circa 1963 and was given a couple of characteristics that would go on to define the collection. The dial has the Constellation branding on it, of course, as well as an applied star logo. On the case back is a depiction of the Geneva Observatory with eight stars that represent the eight observatory chronometer competitions Omega won in the 20th century. This Constellation was a chronometer-rated watch, and it says so right on the dial.

In addition to the standard features, this is a Vintage Omega Constellation pie pan black gilt dial Ref 167.005 with special dog legs lugs in very good non polish conditions. I used to have a similar one in silver dial but sold  it away with great regrets. The Omega 167.005 is the non date version constellation.

This is one of the rare collectors items as 

1. The case looks simple at first, but there are geometric faceted edges on the rather long extended lugs that make the design interesting from the sides. This shape has picked up the nickname "dog-leg" over the years from collectors due to the distinctive kinked shape of the lugs. More importantly, the dog legs lugs are unpolished , 

2. The Pie Pan cross hair dial is in rare gilt dial and silver lettering 

3. The Plexiglass crystal is with the Omega Ω mark

4. Comes with rice bracelet with Omega clasp

5. The only fault is that the winding crown is the later replaced version. Luckily, I have some spare Omega Octagonal winding crowns to replace and get the watch back to its original factory conditions. 

The watch with serial nos 2033xxxx is from the year 1963 with caliber 551.

The condition is really crisp with sharp facets on the "dog-leg" lugs

I have sent the watch for complete overhaul plus replacement of the crown to the original Omega octagonal crown.

Omega used a few different case manufacturers through these years. You may have heard of "HF" and "CB" as they were trusted to make Speedmaster cases in the 1960s. This Constellation is marked by the third largest Omega casemaker, "SGR," who was entrusted to execute many "dog-leg" Omega cases.

Philips auction for Franck Muller Watch

菲利普斯拍卖行拍卖的法穆兰腕表以HK$660,400港元成交

1970s Glashutte Spezichron with 22 Rubis Automatic watch

I have always love history and this is a 1970s Glashutte Spezichron with 22Rubis Automatic Watch. 

The 

GUB Glashütte Spezichron wristwatch was the successor to the highly successful Spezimatic line and was introduced in 1979 by the state-owned watch conglomerate of the German Democratic Republic (DDR). It represents a period of East German watchmaking focused on in-house mechanical movements, despite the limitations of the era.

Formation of GUB

The traditional watchmaking centers in the east of Germany were more or less destroyed in 1945. The towns of Glashütte and Ruhla were hit particularly hard. Nearly all of the machinery that survived WWII intact was transported to Moscow as part of the post-war reparations. Companies like A. Lange & Söhne, UROFA, and Mühle & Sohn were nationalized and reorganized into publicly owned enterprises (in German: Volkseigener Betrieb, or VEB). Despite these difficulties, watches were once again being produced in Glashütte as soon as 1946. It took Ruhla three additional years to recover from the blow and restart production.

Following World War II, the watchmaking companies in the town of Glashütte, Saxony, found themselves in the Soviet occupied zone, which became the DDR. In 1951, the state authorities ordered all resident watchmaking companies, including A. Lange & Söhne and UROFA, to merge into a single, state-owned enterprise called VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB). The remaining machinery from the original companies had largely been seized as war reparations and sent to Moscow, so GUB was forced to restart production with limited equipment. A year later, a similar demand in Ruhla led to the formation of the VEB Uhren- und Maschinenfabrik (UMF). Some 15 years later, the GUB and UMF joined forces with the VEB Uhrenwerk Weimar to become the conglomerate VEB Uhrenkombinat Ruhla, which was subsequently renamed VEB Uhrenwerke Ruhla (UWR) in 1978.

The Spezichron Era

The Spezichron was developed as an evolution of the popular Spezimatic model, which had a production run from the 1960s to the late 1970s. 

Introduction and Production: The Spezichron debuted in 1979 and production continued until around 1985.

• Movement: It was powered by the new Caliber 11-26 (without date) and Caliber 11-27(with date) movements. These movements were an improvement over their predecessors, featuring a higher beat rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour (bph), which contributed to better accuracy.
• Context: During the 1970s and 1980s, while Western watchmakers grappled with the "quartz crisis," GUB, largely insulated by the Iron Curtain, continued to focus on developing and refining its traditional mechanical movements.
• Market: GUB watches, including the Spezichron, were key export products for the DDR, with most of them sold internationally rather than domestically. 
• Legacy
• After German reunification in 1990, GUB was privatized, eventually becoming the luxury brand Glashütte Original in 1994, which continues the town's watchmaking heritage to this day. The Spezichron watches are now valued by collectors as interesting vintage pieces with a unique historical context from the Cold War era. 
• This Watch is an Honour gift ZK of the SED and it is Made in GDR -DDR East Germany.

HONOUR GIFT DESZK DERSED

Vintage Rolex GMT Master ref 6542 (from 1958) Rolex 1675 (from 1972), 16753 (from 1984) Rolex 16758 (from 1981) 116710LN (from 2011).

Over the years, i have managed to slowly grow my Rolex GMT collection. Vintage Rolex GMT Master ref 6542 (from 1958) Rolex 1675 (from 1972), 16753 (from 1984) Rolex 16758 (from 1981) 116710LN (from 2011).

 #rolexgmt #rolexgmt16753 #rolex16753 #rolex16753nippledial #rolex16753rootbeer #rolex16753brown #rolexgmt 

#rolexgmtmaster 

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#rolexgmt1675mk2 

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#vintagerolex 

#1675 

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#gmtmaster #rolex16758 rootbeer #rolex16758nippledial #rolex16758gmt #rolex16758brown #rolex116710ln #rolex116710lnrolexgmt2

Rolex 5018 with 9 Rolex crowns on dial

This is a rare vintage Rolex Bubbleback watch featuring a special dial configuration with 9 applied Rolex coronets as hour markers, a design that stands out among the many dial variations found on early “Bubbleback” models. 

Such multi-crown dials, sometimes referred to by collectors as “coronet dials,” are exceptionally uncommon and are sought after by vintage Rolex enthusiasts due to their distinctive aesthetic and historic significance. In Hong Kong, these dials were often referred to as 如來祌掌！

Historical Context and Rarity

• The Rolex Bubbleback, produced from roughly 1933–1955, was the first mass-market automatic Rolex and is crucial to the brand’s legacy.

• Bubblebacks are known for their eccentric mix of dial styles—Arabic, Roman, California (“Error Proof”) dials, and special motif dials like yours with multiple coronets.

• The 9-crown dial is notably rare and represents an era when Rolex experimented with bold design choices for both technical and marketing reasons.

Collectibility and Market Value

• Rare dial variations, especially those featuring multiple coronets, command a premium among collectors. Such watches are often spotlighted at vintage auctions and can sell well above standard Bubbleback models due to their desirability.

• The overall value depends on originality, condition, matching reference and dial, and provenance. Unusual features like your 9-crown dial often result in strong auction interest from connoisseurs and specialists. This is a unique Rolex with 9 crowns on the dial and with the special bombe lugs.  I have owned this watch since 1997 and after several decades, the watch is finally out for a complete service by KK Sifu. It is one of my rare find from the late 1990s.

Vintage 1970s Chinese Kongque hand wind watch

Many collector would think that collecting vintage Chinese watches is an easy task as the quantities of these watches must be huge. However, the reality is completely different. Even though the quantities may be huge in numbers, but as these watches were considered "luxury" during the 1970s, only a relatively small group of people was able to own one. Moreover, as these watches were often used daily, not many of these watches survived till now.

History and Era

Liaoning Watch Factory has been in operation since 1958. It is now one of China's largest movement factories. Early on, the factory produced countless movements based on Swiss and Russian movements. 

Its first watches, branded ‘Qianjin’ (meaning Forward) with the SL1 and SL1A movements, were completed in 1960. These were probably made on imported Soviet tooling as they had a design identical to the 2408 movement introduced in the famous ‘Kirovskie’ watch (that was named after the prominent early Bolshevik leader, Sergei Kirov) and the modified 2409 version used in the ‘Stolichnie’ of the 1st Moscow Watch Factory in Russia. ‘Liaoning’ and ‘Wannianqing’ (meaning Evergreen) branded watches followed, until the introduction of the 'Hongqi' (Red Flag) in 1966 with an SL2 movement (unique to Liaoning) built on imported Swiss tooling.Watches made by the Liaoning Watch Factory (which later produced the Kongque brand) in the 1960s were typically branded as "Qianjin" (meaning "Forward") or "Hongqi" (meaning "Red Flag"). The "Kongque" (Peacock) brand was formally introduced in 1978 for both domestic and export markets. Therefore, a watch specifically branded as "Kongque" is more likely a 1970s or 1980s model.

Characteristics

Movement: Early Liaoning watches (1960s) used movements based on imported Soviet or Swiss tooling, such as the SL1, SL1A, or SL2 movements. Later Kongque watches from the 1970s often contained the "Tongji" or Chinese Standard Movement, a unified movement design used across many factories in China.  1970s Kongque (which means Peacock) manual-winder with a 17 jewels 统机 (Tongji) movement (i.e. Chinese Standard Movement) produced by the Liaoning Watch Factory (now Liaoning Peacock Watch Company Ltd) in northeastern China. Stainless steel case back stamped with 辽宁手表 (meaning Liaoning Watch) L (letter code for Liaoning) Kong Que (the watch brand) Fang Ci (meaning Antimagnetic).

Many Chinese standard movements have a code marked on the wheel train bridge (and sometimes also on the base plate under the balance wheel) indicating the factory at which it was manufactured. These codes are generally three characters long, and start with a Z (Zhongguo = China) followed by two characters for the factory. For example, ZLN for the Liaoning Watch Factory. Some Kongque/Peacock brand watches had ‘PEACOCK’ on the wheel train bridge (this was later replaced by the factory code ZLN). Other factory codes used by Liaoning are SL or SZL.

In the 1970s, Liaoning Watch Factory improved upon the Chinese Standard Movement and commenced production of a new watch series, also branded Hongqi, using their SL3 movement. 1978 marked the introduction of the Kongque/Peacock brand. Kongque watches, both hand-winding and automatic, were exported as 'Peacock' brand. The export Peacock automatics were one response to the success of quartz watches, another was to begin selling movements to Hong Kong watch producers. The Liaoning 'ZLN' soon became one of the most commonly used Chinese Standard movements in the watch industry. Chinese mechanical watches at the time were assigned a ‘grade’ of either 1, 2, 3 or 4 as a general indication of quality, with grade 1 watches being the highest quality and grade 4 the lowest. Kongque was regarded as a grade 1 brand in 1983. Despite declining sales on the domestic market Liaoning Watch Factory continued to develop and introduce new designs, products and variants and, in May 2011 the company moved into new headquarters in Liaoning Watch Industrial Park. The Peacock brand, once thought to be consigned to history, was reintroduced in the second decade of the 21st century.

Design: These watches generally feature classic, understated aesthetics, often with stainless steel case backs and various dial designs. The condition, presence of original papers, and unique complications (e.g., date function) influence their value. However, this piece is unique as the designs are very elaborate and loud!

Quality: In 1983, Kongque was considered a "grade 1" brand, indicating a high level of quality within the Chinese watch industry at the time. Many of these mechanical hand-wind watches from the era are still functional today, a testament to their durable construction. 

This is a rather unusual Chinese 1970s watch made by Kongque watch company with a very unique multi layered dials, which still good even now. Many would also think that these vintage Chinese watches should be cheap but the reality is different. With the economic progress for the past decades, many Chinese collectors are paying serious monies for these watches in original conditions. My last serious find for these Chinese watch was in October 2024, about a year ago. Finding these vintage watches are not an easy task.

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