The 1963 is a fan favorite and a watch that appeals to many young enthusiasts for many reasons. Once upon a time, this watch appealed to me because of its affordability, mechanical chronograph movement, design, and size.  A few years ago, before many micro brands jumped into this market, the 1963 was one of the few (if not the only) sub $400 mechanical chronograph you could purchase new, at least with a non homage design that use the same movement.  Besides vintage Seikos and other older pieces that usually came with a headache attached to the lack of service history and parts, there really weren’t many affordable mechanical chronographs.  Aside from these points, the heritage was a cool addition to the already attractive package.  It’s with good reason this is such a popular watch, though the allure isn’t without caveats.

The watch:

The watch is sized very well that meets the approval of collectors and fits modest wristed folk, like myself.

• Diameter: 38mm

• Thickness: 14mm

• Lug Width: 18mm

• Movement: Seagull ST19 (Handwound)

• Caseback: Exhabition

• Crystal: Acrylic or Sapphire

There really isn’t much that needs to be said about the design that doesn’t jump at you through a picture.  The gold, red and blue is definitely a unique color scheme that is executed to perfection.  The watch sits a little high on the wrist, because of the “chubby” factor (small diameter to thick ratio), though it wears similar to many vintage pieces.  The exhibition back displays the beautiful movement that, for those who aren’t used to seeing mechanical movements displayed, is extremely visually impactful.

Aside from the aesthetics and specifications of this watch, it carries some historical relevance. The handwound movement is similar to the Project 304 movement, which was developed by People’s Liberation Army Air Force in the 1960’s.  For anyone interested in military watches (there are many of us out there), this is a must own, as there few watches with such a direct tie to history that are being produced today.  The design fits the “military” bill nicely, also.

There are many variants of this watch that have surfaced over the years, including dial, caseback, size, and crystal variants.  This is a difficult arena to navigate if you don’t dive deep into it.   Rather than try to explain all of the details and variants, here is a fantastic guide to this that does a better job at explaining it than I ever could, courtesy of /u/D4nimal on Reddit: it can be found here. 

The big elephant in the room is quality control.  While I haven’t experienced any issues with mine, there has been enough quality control issues reported that it deserves to be mentioned. To me, it doesn’t really surprise me.  When something (mechanical chronographs) is priced well below most counterpart alternatives, corners are going to have been cut to reduce the costs of production. This is a recipe for quality control issues.  To reiterate, I personally have not had issues, but many others have. 

This is definitely something to consider before buying.

Conclusion:
It is rare for a historically relevant watch as attractive as the 1963 to be priced where it is.  This watch packs a lot into a small package, and it does so in an incredibly attractive way. I truly believe most collectors should own one at some point of their life to experience this affordable classic.

Below is an unboxing video that shows what you get when you buy this piece.