Reply With QuoteThat is an interesting watch, I have never heard of Guionnet. Do you have any idea how old it is?
Here is watch that I spotted whilst browsing Yahoo Japan.
It is a P Guionnet HD300 Hydromaster. I bought the watch because I quite liked the colour scheme, the green makes it stand out, i also liked the dial textures and the contrasting yellow hand.
The hours being printed on the crystal seems a neat idea and keeps the dial pretty clean.
The bracelet was unusual as well having asymmetric links.
Guionnet are known for their pretty generic quartz watches, which tend to go for £150-200. This though is an automatic 250m diver. Trying to find another example of this watch or information about it is almost impossible. Indeed trying to find any mechanical watch by Guionnet is very hard.
The movement is a Miyota. I have kept the watch running for more than a month now by winding it once a day and have not adjusted the time at all. It is now less than 2 seconds off. However, this is not because it is super accurate, it has the fortunate habit of losing time crown up and gaining time dial up. So just wind it up, check the time and then place the watch as appropriate and voila always close to the correct time.
The bezel action is very good, turns with 60 clicks and is nicely lined up and tight. The watch is in pretty good condition, it has a few marks here and there but nothing dramatic. I don’t know how old it is due to the lack of information about it but it must be over well over a decade old at least I would think. The watch is 42 mm wide (45 mm to the crown) and 48 mm to the lugs, so a decent size without being huge.
A few wrist shots.
So a very rare watch, with a pretty nice design, in a striking colour, all for pretty much peanuts, got to be happy with that.
Mitch
Last edited by Mitch; 7th March 2021 at 18:05.
That is an interesting watch, I have never heard of Guionnet. Do you have any idea how old it is?
Originally Posted by Wimm
I don't know how old it is exactly. I would have thought it to be around 15 years old. There is little information about Guionnet as a company. It is a Japanese company but I can't find out when it was founded. They seem to be exclusively quartz at the moment and this mechanical must have been a very short term excursion. It does use a 21 jewel Miyota movement and seems to be pretty well made, fit and finish are very acceptable for what I paid.
As I said I got it because I liked the colour scheme and general design and I like to have watches that are hardly seen.
One thing I am pretty sure about, the watch has never seen Paris!
Mitch
Just a bit of info on Guionnet. It is indeed a Japanese brand, of the Ueni Trading Co. based in Tokyo, established in 1989. Officially it describes its business as:
"Import and wholesale of watches, fashion accessories, shoes, jewelry, fragrances, etc"
It had some other brands too, like "Angel Heart" (Women's watch range) and "Sonne" (Men)
Sonne and Guionnet went quiet for a while (years without any watches on sale) but their website https://guionnet.jp was revamped about 5 years ago, and they now sell quartz watches under the Guionnet brand.
The Miyota automatics ended around 2010ish, from what I can make out from a few old blog posts. I think the movement is the venerable 8215, and I've a seen a different case back without the "Paris" too. Quite rare, by all accounts.
Very useful information.
I can wear it happily knowing I will never see another in the wild.
Mitch
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