[edrocnoc]

I picked up one of these today, and based on some useful YouTube video and also content in this thread, it appears to be an original unit.

Unfortunately it is missing the bezel and has no band at the moment. The sourcing of the bezel is not negotiable, but the strap could probably be something different than the original.
The watch runs but could do with a good clean / polish / service.

Any pointers in obtaining either of these would be much appreciated.

 

[Dave999]

your best bet is ebay india for a broken watch with a bezel or try to pick up a NOS case. there was a guy in the UK who was selling NOS case and Dial sets from time to time.

also people can't spell ricoh they spell it richo, using the misspelling when searching finds bargains.

couple of watch companies in Eastern Europe also advertise on ebay and seems to be a good source of NOS and reclaimed mechanical parts

your watch shows all of the signifiers of a Japanese domestic market watch
id expect the back to say WARLD Timer or WORLD Timer, rather than DIVER.
if the crowns have R on them then more likely the back has the Misspelled WARLD. with no R on the crowns potentially later version of the first type with WORLD Timer on the back.
no cherry blossom so not a really early export model for US or Europe.
Red Lollipop second hand
dots under numbers and pepsi colours to inner bezel.
You have Ricoh in italics on the dial which is indicator of early model and therefore you would be looking for a Ricoh corporate stainless steel strap with a clasp that has Ricoh in italics on it
compare with my later version (shown above under an old account called David999) with the silver Lollipop second hand my Dial Richo is not in italics But i still have the italic logo on the strap clasp....Mine is some kind of cross over version...

Dave

 

[edrocnoc]

Dave, thank you again for your the concise and valuable info supplied in this and your older posts.
My watch has got the R on both crowns and it does state "WARLD Timer" on the back, so it must be an early model. Once one sees the Ricoh in Italics and no-Italics, you cannot unsee it
I will have to source the corporate stainless steel strap as you indicated, but my first challenge will be the correct bezel, so I will have to work through all the detail to identify exactly what the bezel must look like - thus far I believe this might be the one.

 

[dapellegrini]

I bought a couple of these out of JP, and attempted to disassemble one about a year ago. The crystal appears to have been glued in and shattered from my attempt to remove it. The bezel, which looked old and worn, in fact had a plastic protective sticker over it, as if brand new, and was just bubbling up in a couple of spots....

I am not sure any of these are actual fakes as pointed out earlier... I take that back, the cheap inner bezel with the poor alignment and overprinting does seem fake to me... specifically, this inner bezel:

I will need to take some better photos to share.... Note on this one the numeric day of the week next to the actual abbreviated day of the week.

In the meantime, here are the sales listings for the two I picked up which did not say WORLD or WARLD on the case back, do not have the fine print dial code, or the printed RICOH logo with applied R... Mine are more similar to the photos in the book I shared a few posts back...

リコー ワールドタイマー ワールドタイム ダイバー　 検;　セイコー シチズン | Shop at Mercari from Japan! | Buyee

リコー ワールドタイマー ワールドタイム ダイバー　 検;　セイコー シチズン | Shop at Mercari from Japan, and Buyee will ship your items worldwide!Buyee is a proxy purchase service for Japanese online stores.

buyee.jp

039/ 70's リコー ワールド タイマー ブルー 自動巻き ビンテージ /【Buyee】 Buyee - Japanese Proxy Service | Buy from Japan!

Buyee - Bid for '039/ 70's リコー ワールド タイマー ブルー 自動巻き ビンテージ, 3 Hands & Date, Analog (Self-winding), Men's Wristwatches' directly on JDirectItems Auctions in real-time and buy from outside Japan!

buyee.jp

 

[dapellegrini]

Ok, I forgot I had also sourced a 3rd example with WARLD on the case back, and without bezel. I suspect that one is all original. The others looks like a later revision, thus the A on the model number. One of them is polished to death. Here is a LOT of photos, happy to take more if there are any other points of interest in this lot

Note the differences with the shape of the lugs, at right the 061215, and left the 61215A

 

[dapellegrini]

And more

Small notch at 3 oclock on each dial

 

[dapellegrini]

And the inner and outer bezels

 

[edrocnoc]

That is indeed an interesting collection of these models. There seem to be some franken-models around where parts from different models are intermixed. This one on eBay has the original dial with inner bezel and red lollipop second hand, but unsigned crowns and the back does not state WARLD, WORLD or DIVER - but shows 061215. The band is also showing the non-italic engraved Ricoh name.

Vintage 1970 Ricoh Worldtimer 43mm Automatic Watch | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage 1970 Ricoh Worldtimer 43mm Automatic Watch at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Just to confirm for both models that we are discussing, are the crowns identical in size - 6mm dia and 2.5mm wide excl dome? I have seen another where the crowns are not identical in size, so one must be from another watch.

 

[Dave999]

yes if you put in a movement from another watch and use its crown you have the standard size case crown for bezel rotation and the orginal watch crown for doing watch stuff...

 

[gringosteve]

Hi

I signed up to post this. Saw my first world timer on eBay and have won the auction.. but I have done so thoroughly informed by this awesome thread. I have ordered one of “dubious” provenance.. because genuine ones are like gold dust. But I like a puzzle and have been trying to work out where all these examples are coming from. With a bit of digging you can buy a kit on eBay to build these - it states the dials and strap are genuine. No such claim for the body and bezel.

I am new so cannot post a link but search: “Ricoh World Timer Sports Mens Watch Complete Kit,Blue Dial”

the same place is selling both the black and blue dial versions. I assume people are buying an old movement and building their own.

 

[gringosteve]

I think I want to do some work on the one I bought, is there a guide as to how to take the crowns out so I can remove the mechanism to get to the dial?

 

[dapellegrini]

@gringosteve - the crown comes out like most other movements. With the crown all the way in - find the little button to push in with a toothpick or equivalent - which that depressed, pull the crown and it should come all the way out. I'm pretty sure this is the little point you want to press in - with just enough force to unblock the stem - allowing you to remove it.

 

[edrocnoc]

I just had a look here:

Ricoh World Timer Sports Mens Watch Complete Kit,Blue Dial | eBay Australia

Bracelet: Ricoh genuine stainless steel (22mm). Dial: Original dial. Year of manufacture: 1970s.

www.ebay.com.au

I was hoping to find the correct Ricoh bracelet and a bezel for mine, but like you say - gold dust...

 

[gringosteve]

I just had a look here:

Ricoh World Timer Sports Mens Watch Complete Kit,Blue Dial | eBay Australia

Bracelet: Ricoh genuine stainless steel (22mm). Dial: Original dial. Year of manufacture: 1970s.

www.ebay.com.au

I was hoping to find the correct Ricoh bracelet and a bezel for mine, but like you say - gold dust...

I found this place selling the “new” watches but also different bands that may be the one you are looking for. No inner bezel.. but I’m hunting still

RICOH PRODUCTS

Browse all products in the RICOH PRODUCTS category from CLASSIC TIME PARTS.

www.classictimeparts.co.uk

 

[gringosteve]

Mine arrived from eBay today. The watch head is decent. Still had the thin plastic protector on the outer bezel like someone mentioned here. I am pretty sure it’s an Old ricoh movement and NOS dial with aftermarket body and bezel. Not sure if the bracelet is NOS or copy.. but it feels cheap and nasty. Took that off straight away. Will be going on a nice NATO tomorrow and see if I like it.

 

[gringosteve]

Quick question, is there a way to quick set the day of the week. I can use the button to change the date but to change the day have to use the main crown to go through the full
24 hours.

 

[gringosteve]

i have ditched the crap bracelet and fit a single pass nato. Keeping good time. I opened up the back and the movement looks older than the case and dial.. supporting theory that this is a fresh batch of case and an original movement.

now to work out who is making the cases etc

 

[gringosteve]

The watch is running slightly slow.. like a minute per day. Which bit of the regulator do I move? Looking at the movement it appears to be set slow but not sure which bit to gently push on to move it back