Titoni Seascoper

Brief History

Since 1919, Titoni (formally Felca AG) have been based at the foot of the Jura Mountains, Southern Switzerland in a town called Grenchen.

Initialy set up with just 3 employees, Fritz Schluep was seeking a brighter future with WW1 just over. He wanted to reach out further than his competitors, so began the growth, first Germany, America then Japan. Within a year they had 15 employees. 

They continued to grow, manufacturing affordable fashion watches for the masses. By 1945 Felca had secured an order for 30,000 watches for the US Army, to produce a watch that met all the Military criteria.

In 1950 Titoni was formed, with the help from Koh Mui Yew, a businessman from Singapore. They wanted to reach out to the Middle East, with a more expensive, upmarket range. With the addition of the name change, they also decided on their company’s logo, the Meihua, which translates to “Plum Blossom”.

The company thrived in the South East Asian market.

My Thoughts

In 1979 they developed the “Seascoper” a robust, watertight diver watch. This was favoured by divers and sportsmen alike. It’s a distinctive watch that embodies mechanical sophistication and a spirit for adventure. A favourite of many vintage dive watch collectors, early Seascopers make for an exciting yet attractive addition to any collection. The lugs and distinctive bezel really catches the eye and overall makes for a great vintage diver.

The Seascopers wavy text, together with the iconic Meihua and Titoni badge, really make the dial draw you in. They were made with several dial variations and colours. Up close on this one, you can see the ever decreasing circles, looking like ripples on a pond. With the 77 jewels and the diamond at 6 o clock, this Seascoper, for the age is in great shape and keeps excellent time. Like a lot of older watches, it doesn’t have a quick date set, which is a pain i can put up with.

Its great too, to have a couple of watches in your collection that look similar but somehow different. The champagne silver dial really stands out. Paired with this Sand Canvas Nato strap form Stevostraps. Its made from a ‘Mk8 Type B Cargo Parachute Flight Release System’, this is a very nice looking piece.

Mark: I must be honest, when I first saw this watch, it didn’t do anything for me. It was only when i got it behind the camera, i started to like it more. The circular engraving on the dial changes on every light reflection, the slightly crooked ‘Titoni’ lettering and red pop of colour at 3 o’clock with the date window. It has lots of charm and character and works so much better with the SteveO strap Neil has put on it.