The Seagull 1963 chronograph has proved to be the most popular Chinese made watch among watch collectors, and presents as excellent value for money.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
The collector who sold us this watch stated he thought it was from 2018, but on the inside of the spare case back is stamped the production date of September 2018 to confirm this date of production.
CONDITION
It is not difficult to see why this watch is popular. Firstly the prices are very keen, and it is cheaper to buy this watch than have a chronograph serviced! But it is not only a price lead thing. The movement is based on a the Venus 175, as used in this Breitling Chronomat, and while facts are thin on the ground the rumour is that Seagull bought the tooling for this movement from Venus’ owner Valjoux. This manual wind movement is a column wheel 21 jewel variant and column wheel chronographs are now mainly replaced by cam driven movements to keep costs down. A column wheel, sometimes called pillar wheel chronograph movement is more sought after as it is deemed better. Finally we have the looks. This watch was based on a 1963 watch, so you have classic looks with new watch reliability. The hands are blue (not blued, as in heat treated) so they do stand out, and the centre chronograph seconds hand is red so you have a nice mix of colour on the dial. The applied markers do shout vintage, as do the pump pushers and acrylic crystal. This Seagull 1963 is a modern watch that vintage watch fans can enjoy equally.
This particular watch has no particular issues to report. The NATO strap is very lightly worn, and this example has the 21 jewel movement (17 jewel is also available) and the upgraded exhibition case back. If you prefer the steel caseback this is also included, and it make the watch a fraction slimmer.
This watch will be supplied with the original presentation tin, spare solid watch case back and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any pictures, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 39.6 mm
Width without crown 37.2 mm
Between lugs 18 mm
Lug to lug length 46.6 mm
Case Thickness 15.3 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.