Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
- SpaceCowboy
- Posts: 411
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:25 am
- Name: Arne
- Location: Oslo
Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
A lot of immaculate vintage divers on the forum... I did a search on tropical dials but couldn't find much... Wonder how you guys are going to respond to this...
Anywhoo, I've had a crush on the Croton Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver for a while now (Yeah, they covered all the bases with this one...) Croton in the US, Nivada Grenchen in Europe. Same watch either way. Good chrono-calibers, mostly valjoux 23s, 72s and 7733s. I also like tropical dials. Not fucked up, damaged ones, but tropical ones. Exposed to strong direct sunlight for decades preferably, hence the name. You know, it's like patina. A thin line between stunning (or even nice) and damaged goods.
Cut to the chase. Tropical Speedys and Subs are ridiculously priced nowadays. Even the ugly ones. Yeah, some people are crazy... Up til now my vintage collection has been striving towards NOS pieces. But I wanted a watch that's been used (not damaged, mind you), and a tropical diver would be the obvious choice... So, lo and behold, what did I find? A Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver with a tropical dial!
Tried to capture the beauty of the dark chocolate dial on film (or SSD to be precise), but believe me, it looks better in real life (like you haven't heard THAT before). I am still trying to improve my watch photography skills, so bear with me.
First a shot with your standard watch photography lighting:
First glimpse of the chocolate-colored dial:
Direct light should be a no-no, but here it's needed to get a glimpse of the tropics:
Some macro close-ups, pretty dangerous since this is like sitting too close to those old fashioned CRT TVs:
And finally, where the watch belongs, in direct sunlight:
So, there you have it. Croton Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver, valjoux 7733, ca. 1969. Oh. How I wish I lived in the Caribbean somewhere and not on the 59th parallel...
Would love to see other tropical dials in this thread!
Anywhoo, I've had a crush on the Croton Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver for a while now (Yeah, they covered all the bases with this one...) Croton in the US, Nivada Grenchen in Europe. Same watch either way. Good chrono-calibers, mostly valjoux 23s, 72s and 7733s. I also like tropical dials. Not fucked up, damaged ones, but tropical ones. Exposed to strong direct sunlight for decades preferably, hence the name. You know, it's like patina. A thin line between stunning (or even nice) and damaged goods.
Cut to the chase. Tropical Speedys and Subs are ridiculously priced nowadays. Even the ugly ones. Yeah, some people are crazy... Up til now my vintage collection has been striving towards NOS pieces. But I wanted a watch that's been used (not damaged, mind you), and a tropical diver would be the obvious choice... So, lo and behold, what did I find? A Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver with a tropical dial!
Tried to capture the beauty of the dark chocolate dial on film (or SSD to be precise), but believe me, it looks better in real life (like you haven't heard THAT before). I am still trying to improve my watch photography skills, so bear with me.
First a shot with your standard watch photography lighting:
First glimpse of the chocolate-colored dial:
Direct light should be a no-no, but here it's needed to get a glimpse of the tropics:
Some macro close-ups, pretty dangerous since this is like sitting too close to those old fashioned CRT TVs:
And finally, where the watch belongs, in direct sunlight:
So, there you have it. Croton Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver, valjoux 7733, ca. 1969. Oh. How I wish I lived in the Caribbean somewhere and not on the 59th parallel...
Would love to see other tropical dials in this thread!
Last edited by SpaceCowboy on Thu Oct 11, 2012 2:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- rockmastermike
- Feedback Virtuoso
- Posts: 20579
- Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 5:13 pm
- Name: WDE
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
yeah...aviation sea diver does cover a lot of ground
what is the read area on the minute counter for, I've seen it on a few watches - does it have a practical application or just meant to draw attention to the first 5 minutes?
what is the read area on the minute counter for, I've seen it on a few watches - does it have a practical application or just meant to draw attention to the first 5 minutes?
- SpaceCowboy
- Posts: 411
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:25 am
- Name: Arne
- Location: Oslo
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
It's a regatta timer. You know, sailing. Five minutes before start, you set the chrono going. When it reaches the end of the red area... GO!rockmastermike wrote:yeah...aviation sea diver does cover a lot of ground
what is the read area on the minute counter for, I've seen it on a few watches - does it have a practical application or just meant to draw attention to the first 5 minutes?
- rockmastermike
- Feedback Virtuoso
- Posts: 20579
- Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 5:13 pm
- Name: WDE
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
another day, another piece of knowledge passed along - thanks!SpaceCowboy wrote:It's a regatta timer. You know, sailing. Five minutes before start, you set the chrono going. When it reaches the end of the red area... GO!rockmastermike wrote:yeah...aviation sea diver does cover a lot of ground
what is the read area on the minute counter for, I've seen it on a few watches - does it have a practical application or just meant to draw attention to the first 5 minutes?
- rockmastermike
- Feedback Virtuoso
- Posts: 20579
- Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 5:13 pm
- Name: WDE
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
okay, "technically" I have a tropical dial but it's not actually in a watch - it's the original dial that was returned after the service.
Tropical or faded either way here it is:
Tropical or faded either way here it is:
- SpaceCowboy
- Posts: 411
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:25 am
- Name: Arne
- Location: Oslo
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
Yeah, Flightmaster, nice one!
Looks like you did a full restoration? Personally, I like tropical dials on divers. Kinda makes more sense, diving, tropics, and so forth. I think I would've done the same as you with a Flightmaster.
Looks like you did a full restoration? Personally, I like tropical dials on divers. Kinda makes more sense, diving, tropics, and so forth. I think I would've done the same as you with a Flightmaster.
- cali kid
- Unabomber impersonator
- Posts: 8108
- Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:13 pm
- Name: Trevor
- Location: Monterey Bay Area
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
Very Cool.. Nice to see a Croton watch that was built to last. Not like the crap they make in this day!
Trevor
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
One watch that does it all, and fantastic condition to boot. Congratulations. It's a keeper.
Rick
Heuer Monaco 73633G
Heuer Autavia M111.603, 11630T, 1163V,
Heuer Montreal 110.505CH, 110.501PVD
Omega Speedmaster Automatic 3510.50.00, 176.0014
Steinhart Ocean Forty-Four GMT, Triton 30 ATM, Ocean 1 Green
Magrette Moana Pacific Diver, Chronograph and Regattare Bronze
Christopher Ward C70 DBR1, C8 Pilot MK II Automatic, C60 Trident 2012 FLE, C5 B of B and Malvern Aviator MK II, C11 MSL MK I
Girard-Perregaux Olimpico
Halios Laguna
Incoming: CW 2013 FLE, Heuer Autavia 'Siffert'
Heuer Monaco 73633G
Heuer Autavia M111.603, 11630T, 1163V,
Heuer Montreal 110.505CH, 110.501PVD
Omega Speedmaster Automatic 3510.50.00, 176.0014
Steinhart Ocean Forty-Four GMT, Triton 30 ATM, Ocean 1 Green
Magrette Moana Pacific Diver, Chronograph and Regattare Bronze
Christopher Ward C70 DBR1, C8 Pilot MK II Automatic, C60 Trident 2012 FLE, C5 B of B and Malvern Aviator MK II, C11 MSL MK I
Girard-Perregaux Olimpico
Halios Laguna
Incoming: CW 2013 FLE, Heuer Autavia 'Siffert'
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
That looks great.
Personally, I'm down with a tropical dial. I'm not fooling myself into thinking it's anything more than a dial damaged by moisture, but I still like the effect when it's fairly even and mild.
It's cool to see and hear about some of the vintage watches besides the usual suspects (Rolex, Omega, Heuer) sometimes. Thanks for sharing.
Personally, I'm down with a tropical dial. I'm not fooling myself into thinking it's anything more than a dial damaged by moisture, but I still like the effect when it's fairly even and mild.
It's cool to see and hear about some of the vintage watches besides the usual suspects (Rolex, Omega, Heuer) sometimes. Thanks for sharing.
- demer03
- Current Forecast: Vintage Doxa
- Posts: 19625
- Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:41 pm
- Name: Mike
- Location: Lake Michigami
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
Beautiful
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
- homathetes
- Posts: 4196
- Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:01 pm
- Name: Andrew
- Contact:
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
Late to the show here, but awesome vintage chrono! Love the macros and the tropic!
- mattcantwin
- mattcreatestonsofwatchrelateddrama
- Posts: 18569
- Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2009 3:53 pm
Re: Arrived yesterday: Croton Diver w/Tropical Dial
Nice vintage.
I have a Croton, too.
I have a Croton, too.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 87 guests