'Ed1963' Homage to 1963 Chinese Air Force Chronograph

Sea-Gull ST1901

Hand-wound Lever Escapement with 30-minute Chronograph, based on the Venus 175

ed1963

In 1963, the Chinese Government commissioned the production of a domestic chronograph watch for air force pilots. Sea-Gull based the movement on the venerable Venus 175. In recent years there have been a number of homages to this iconic watch. By far the most accurate has been the watch developed by 'HKED', from the Chinese Mechanical Watch Forum on WatchUSeek. This watch is pretty much as identical to the original as it is possible to get, with two minor exceptions. First, the original has the word 'Tianjin' printed on the dial, under 'Zhongguo', as the watch was made in Tianjin. The new version was made in Shenzhen and Ed decided not to include 'Tianjin' on the dial. Second, the case back of the original watch was comepletely plain. Ed's watches come with a choice of case back, including a relatively plain one and a display back. I have both of these and I have chosen to install the relatively plain case back.

Although the seconds on this watch do not hack, I have found that the second hand may be induced to stop if the crown is pulled in a particular way. I don't suppose this does the movement any good at all. I suspect that this pseudo-hacking ability is a sign of a poorly-finished movement. The second hand on my black 1963 cannot be induced to stop in this way and I note that the winding of that watch is silky smooth; it's an absolute joy to wind. This 1963, however, has a much rougher winding feel (though not disastrous, by any stretch of the imagination), giving the distinct impression of an inexpensive watch (which, of course, it is).

Parent Company none
Brand none
Model Series none
Model Name 'Ed1963' homage
Model Number none
Case Number none
Serial Number none
Approx. Date of Manufacture 2015
Calibre (mvt maker) ST1901
Calibre (brand) ST1901
Factory SPY n/a
TC Appproach n/a
Frequency (XO 1) n/a
Frequency (XO 2) n/a
Rate Adjustment Intrepid tinkerer
Major Inhibition Period n/a
Minor Inhibition Period n/a
Power Mainspring, hand-wound
Cell Number n/a
Case Back Screw
Water Resistance unknown
Features 5-hand, Arabic numerals at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
  Seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock
  30 minute chronograph sub-dial at 3 o'clock
  Centre chronograph seconds
Timing Results Basic data  &  Further details
Images Photos - Large File Sizes!