Latest Review
Sometimes I come across watches that fellow collectors own that are so gorgeous, they are hard to let go of. Well… usually I have to, but this time I got to borrow one such watch, a beautifully aged panda-dial Croton Chronomaster Aviator Seadiver. If you’re not familiar with these semi-obscure, amusingly named chronos, go check out our Affordable Vintage article on them. They’re very cool pieces with a surprisingly modern size at 39mm, great build quality and a lot of style. The one shown here is owned and soon to be for sale by our friends at 10:25 Vintage, who focus on more affordable vintage pieces.
What’s striking about it is that it’s one of the more rare panda versions, to start, and in exceptional condition. Things are clearly aged, giving you a great patina, but nothing looks over worn, polished or replaced. And then there’s the lume… that perfect, acid orange tritium that collectors pray to find. It looks amazing against the silvery white surface. Given the handset, it’s from the 60’s, making the condition all the more impressive. And of course, inside is a quality Valjoux hand-wound chronograph movement, the same one you’ll find in Heuers of the time.
So, enjoy this gallery of photos of this gorgeous watch (I threw a couple of my ’69 Hamilton Chrono-Matic in there too, just ’cause they looked next to each other) and be sure to check out 10:25 for more vintage watches.
