No 189 - Tutima Military Chronograph

I had been starting to look more and more for cool chronographs and wasn’t as focused on dive watches as I used to be. I used to hate chronos but when I saw this bead-blasted Tutima military chronograph, a.k.a. the NATO chronograph, that had a screw down crown and was water resistant to 200m, I had to look into it. It had the legendary Lemania 5100 automatic movement that I had heard and read so much about but I had never owned a watch housing it. The shape of the case, its hidden pushers and the president-like bracelet really spoke to me designwise. The list price was quite hefty so I kept looking for a used one. I had also decided that I wanted the destro ("lefty") version with the crown at nine o’clock and mirrored dial. It just looked so tactical and it really felt like the design had a purpose for military use. 

#189 - The Tutima Military Chronograph, ref. 760-22.

I found this one on WUS. It had just been completely overhauled. It was delivered to me on the bracelet, no box or papers, just the service document. I’m not sure from which year it was but it was the steel version with the old block font and not the newer one made out of titanium and with the script logo. I loved this watch. It was badass. I remember wearing it quite much. But absolutely no one knew what it was. Everyone was like “What the hell is Tutima?” Even in watch societies people were asking me about what it was. And I loved that. It was great having a watch that no one knew nothing about and hadn’t seen before. 

On the balcony.

My favorite dish: Janssons frestelse. Potatoes, onions, cream and anchovies. Amazing! Usually a traditional Swedish dish for Christmas but I eat it all year round.

It was really hard selling this watch on a Swedish watch forum. No enthusiasm at all for this type of watches. Christ! It took forever. The good thing about that though was that when I finally sold it it ended up with someone who actually knew what he was buying, knew the Tutima brand and who was aware of its cool history. That felt really good.

Captured at an unforgetable and legendary crayfish party. (borrowed with permission from its owner)

Out having dinner with my wife at Le Pot in Stockholm, August 2013.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 17 & 59 - Timex military by J-Crew

I like the clothes from J-Crew. They are of good quality, elegant and without any company logotypes. As I am very simple I prefer one type of jeans, one type of shirts and one type of knitted sweaters. They can all be off different colors as long as they are from the same type and size. I know, it sounds boring but that’s how I like it. Anyhow, on to the watch story!

As my wife accompanied her father on a business trip to San Francisco in November 2009 she made time for a quick stop at J-Crew for me. Apart from some new shirts I had asked her to pick up their new military inspired quartz watch from Timex. The watch measured about 35mm and felt only slight smaller than a Rolex Datejust. It was delivered on an 18mm nato-strap which also contributed to the overall small impression. It looked good though and wore well with shirts. It blended in but still had a unique look. It only cost about $100 and to me it was worth every penny. But I hardly ever used it. I kept it in the drawer for quite some time before I decided to sell it.


#17 – My first Timex from J-Crew. Bought in San Francisco.

The second one I bought myself in Ft. Lauderdale in November 2010. I was doing some shopping at J-Crew and at the register they had the watches in a display. “You know what, please give me one of those too” I said and pointed at the same Timex my wife had bought for me a year earlier. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted it. I just figured it was better to have one than not to have one. I’m not sure how long I kept it but I can remember I wore it on New Year’s Eve going into 2011 but unfortunately it is not visible on any of the pictures.



#59 – The second one. Bought in Ft. Lauderdale.

Watches manufactured from clothing lines is nothing I usually deal with. They have a tendency to look like cheap copies with just the company logo printed on the dial. What J-Crew has done is to use already existing watch brands and have them to design and sell their own brands in the J-Crew stores instead of having J-Crew printed on the dial. Feels much more genuine. Spending money on a labeled designers watch from let's say Michael Kors is really to throw your cash away. They are usually quite expensive in relation to what you get in return. There are of course exceptions like Chanel and Hermes whos quality is much higher but still you end up paying a lot for just the design.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.