Within the watch collecting community there’s various categories of watches outside of their intrinsic functions. Some of them iconic, some unobtainable, and others excellent value choices – when some of these aspects coincide you usually have yourself a really great offering.
Today we’re reviewing one such watch, and that is the Seagull 1963 mechanical chronograph in 38mm. This is a venerable watch within the enthusiast community, and it’s built a name for itself for being a watch with an extensive heritage, using a highly-regarded mechanical movement, while also remaining incredibly affordable.
Quick History Recap
Part of the reason as to why the Seagull 1963 is so renowned is due to its unique authentic heritage within China. The Seagull 1963 was originally based on a watch called the Project 304 which was originally developed for the Chinese airforce in the 1960s. Due to its use within the military, the watch itself needed to meet certain quality standards required by the military. This was the beginning of a military spec watch that wasn’t only quite affordable, but it looked the part as well.
The 1963 was China’s first foray into the watch industry and was one of the first ever chronographs produced in China. Since its debut in 1963 this watch has remained an icon and symbol of Chinese watchmaking.
Appearance and Fit
The modern Seagull 1963 that we’re looking at today has retained its appearance remarkably well since the production of the original. This is a watch that has not changed much, if at all since inception. Don’t forget this isn’t a Swiss watchmaker with a massive budget for minute design changes year over year, we’re talking about a watch that was produced for a functional military purpose that in reality does not require any changes to improve its function or design.
The watch has a really unique cream colored dial, leaning more towards the color of golden wheat than it does towards off-white. It has quite an unusual hue to it, and does not resemble anything I recall going hands-on with from a Swiss, German, or any other watch brand. I’d go as far as to say that this dial color here on the Seagull is its signature trademark if we look beyond the obvious, which is of course its movement.
The indices are actually applied on the dial which is nice, and they have a gold color to them. The minute, hour, and sub-dial counter hands are all blued in appearance. The dual sub-dials are quite small, and are spaced out generously giving the dial a nice airy appearance. The dial in general is tastefully executed and I’m very impressed with the overall layout and thought process behind it, it’s simple and good looking.
Upon initially viewing it from inside the tin that it arrived in, the watch looks true to size at 38mm. As collectors we’re all quite aware that a 38mm chronograph tends to look smaller than a time-only watch in 38mm, so that’s the case here. This is a small wearing chronograph, and when placed on the wrist it looks very period correct for 1963. On wrist its very classy looking, but due to its size it’s also quite comfortable as one would expect for a watch of this size in stainless steel.
One thing that’s quite noticeable is the stoutness of the case, this watch is certainly not razor thin for a hand-wound chronograph. The official thickness comes in at around 14mm which is substantial especially when considering the domed crystal. Nonetheless its quite a minute point when considering the rest of the package that this watch offers. The watch also has an acrylic display back window allowing you to view the very cool Seagull ST19 from the back.
It’s also worth noting that this watch arrived with two khaki/military green Nato straps, one already installed on the watch, and an additional that was inside the packaging. The lug width of the watch is 18mm which is relatively common and should provide some simple compatibility with after market straps if you so choose to switch up the look.
ST19 Movement
I thought I’d save the movement for its own segment at the end here, and it’s really the major selling point of the Seagull 1963. The main aspect that wow’s everyone about this mechanical movement considering the watches price point is the fact that it uses what’s called a column-wheel to function, which controls the start, stop and reset of the chronograph. Most watches that use column-wheels are priced exponentially higher, think more within the $2000 price range for any Swiss counterpart with this type of movement.
Not only is the column wheel a traditional piece of watchmaking history, but it’s also mechanically fascinating to observe in action, and it adds to the overall beauty of the ST19 that we see here through the display back window.
There’s not many watches at the $250 price point that will have you gazing at the mechanical movement for longer than 15 seconds, but the Seagull 1963 is one of them. Chronograph movements in general are more complex than regular time only movements whether automatic or hand-wound, so there’s plenty to observe here. The ST19 goes even a step further to use blued screws and various forms of light decorative touches within the movement, such as engravings and bevelling.
Final Thoughts
This is a watch that stands alone within its own segment of extreme value. The Seagull 1963 excels in nearly every category, even without price as a thought. The Seagull 1963 is offered in a fantastic wearing and proportional case size, and it’s definitely on-trend with its pump style chronograph pushers.
Beyond its external appearance and comfortable wearability it brings along with it a great heritage, and it uses a historical movement that not only functions well but is also fun to inspect. There’s no wondering why this watch has a cult like following, and it’s not simply due to its affordable price point as I would guess these would be just as popular if the price were even higher.
For more information visit the official Seagull website here.
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