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It was not until my friend Perry gave the site of A Chinese Military Forum where I found some old photos of Shanghai Military watches that I began to collect information about Chinese military watches.

I have a vague memory that Chinese people were proud to own Shanghai watches and bicycles when I was a very little girl. And I am sure, like many Chinese families, there must be an old Shanghai watch stopped at a forgotten corner of my house or my grandfather still wears one but I do not pay attention to. As for Shanghai military watches, I will,I certainly will talk with my great uncle, an old military man since 1947. He must know something about that.The following information is mainly collected from http://www.chinesewristwatch.com/ and other Watch forums as I have very little knowledge about military watches. If you are interested in Vintage Shanghai watches,micmicmor.blogspot.com/ is highly recommended.

Well, according the info collected, the first Chinese Military watch-Shang Hai A623  was made in 1965 by  Shanghai Wristwatch Factory, powered by a movement called 623 which was based on Shanghai 581 movement and Rolex Date/shock resistance watch movement. Shanghai A623 was also the first wristwatch made in China with date function.

As far as I known VINTAGE 1978 FENDER TELECASTER MINTY OHSC HANG TAGS of, A623 has two versions. The first version features golden carving “??” (Shanghai) on the dial and the second version has black and white “??” (Shanghai) printed on the dial. The date is displayed in red Arabic numerals. Premier Minister

Produced in very small number, A623 was only given to those High Ranking government & military Leaders that then. The first Premier Minister of PRC also had a second-version A623 and worn it until he passed away. That is why A623 also called “Premier Minister Watch.”

In 1969,Shanghai Wristwatch produced the 114 watches with 29 Jewels SS2 and 24 Jewels SS4 movements. The 114 could be divided into three versions according to the case back : the trial verison  with 6 digits series number,the early version with 7 digits and late version with 8 digits serial number. On the dial of the early version 29J 114, it did not has the “Shanghai” logo it. Different than 29J 114, early version of 24J 114 had “Shanghai” logo on the dial and later version 24J 114 had “Torch” logo on the dial and the crown. Also on the rotor of SS2 29J which manufactured in 1967 had engraving “29 zhan, 29?” instead of “29 zuan, 29 ?.” 1970 version of 24J had “???? gunzhu zidong” instead of “??? quanzidong (automatic)” on the rotor.Totally 30,000 pieces 114 was made before the production was stopped in 1977.

In my humble opinion, the 114 military watches carries some clear design features of Rolex sea dweller watches and Blancpain diving watches. But i Particular love those Chinese elements: home-made movements, Chinese characters, Chinese red and many more.

Since wristwatch was regarded as luxury items at that time, only division commanders (or higher ranking officers) were qualified to purchase SS2 and regimental commanders (or higher ranking officers) were allowed to purchase SS4. But not all of the SS2 and SS4 movements were used in military watches. For example, there were SS4H, SS4H-K (19J mechanical watch), SS4B (19J mechanical watch with date), and SS2C (29J Automatic wristwatch with date)..

In 1978, Shanghai watch factory began to produced model 1220 military watches which could be divided in to regular version and military version. Military version had  “?? (military use)” on the dial and was was used in the Third Indochina War

Jinsheng Clock Manufacture Factory was another Chinese Watch-making power that provided special military watches. Capable to produce Diamond band mechanical stop watch, it manufactured special military watch models included  1/100seconds (model 501), 1/50seconds (model 502) and 1/5seconds (model 503) total 10 model series. 1964, the factory supplied MS1S and MS2S dual stop watches to the Navy. In 1968, the factory changed its name to “Shanghai Stopwatch Factory” and successfully manufactured 511-516 special made stop watch models for the Department of Homeland Defense in China.

When playing a vintage guitar one gets the rush of history that guitar has been through and Fender vintage guitars have over 60 years of rock, jazz, country, and funk to feel. Four of the more famous models are the Stratocaster, the Telecaster, the Mustang, and the Precision Bass.

The Fender Startocaster is a solid body, double-cut electric guitar released in 1954 and still in production today. The original model had a solid maple neck, with 21 frets, 2 or 3 single-coil pickups, and came in a 2-color sunburst finish. This model guitar is the original Strat although because its style and features have been so often copied Strat often refers to similar guitars of any manufacturer. The Startocaster has been played by famous people from Buddy Holly in 1958 to Eric Clapton in 2005 and has had over a dozen other famous musicians endorse various signature models.

The Fender Telecaster, originally called the Esquire and the Broadcaster, was released in 1949 and is still in production. This 1982 Fender Telecaster Sahara Taupe ~OHSC! is the oldest model of the four Fender vintage guitars and hold the title as the longest continually produced solid-body electric guitar. This is a solid-body with two single coil pickups and a fixed bridge. The Telecaster has been played by dozens of famous musicians over the years including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck. Variations of the Telecaster include the Telecaster Thinline with two Fender Wide Range pickups, the Deluxe with two Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups, and the Custom with single-coil pickup in the bridge and a Fender Wide Range pickup in the neck position. All originally released in 1972 and still produced today.

The Fender Mustang is a solid-body electric guitar with 2 single-coil pickups. Originally produced from 1964 through 1982 it has since been reintroduced and continues to be produced. The 1960s models can now sell for over $1,500.

The Fender Precision Bas (P-Bass) was the first mass-produced electric vintage bass guitar. It was released in 1951 and is still produced today. The original model had a single pickup, 20 frets, and was styled after the Telecaster. In 1957 the P-Bass was redesigned to resemble the Stratocaster and in three years later 1960 had its single pickup replaced with a split-coil pickup wired in humbucking mode. The Telecaster like model was brought back in 1968 as the Telecaster Bass.

The Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company was founded by Clarence Fender in 1946 originally based in California. Now called Fender Musical Instruments Corporation it is located in Arizona however it still has manufacturing facility in California as well as Mexico. Other Fender vintage guitars include the Duo-Sonic (1956-1969), the Jaguar (1962-1975), and the Starcaster (1976-1982). Some of these have been reintroduced and are being produced today.