2nd Chance Watches

A large advt of Mido watch inspired me to talk about the 60s to the 80s. The golden era of Affordable watches. Quartz Culture & Strong Competition changed the Watch Scene later.

In those days, Popular & Economical Swiss Brands were Bulova, Cyma, Enicar, Eterna-Matic, Favre Leuba, Mido, Pagol, Rado, Tissot, Titoni, & Titus. Slowly their market share were taken over especially when consumers are richer. Also some new brands were born. 

Rado, Tissot & Mido are Lucky. Now they belonged to the Swatch Group. Cyma is now under a Hong Kong based holdings firm. Bulova, a subsidiary of Citizen. Titus belonged to a HK based Company. Eterna-Matic now a subsidiary of China Haidian. Enicar believed to be with the Swiss. Favre Leuba is with the Titan Industries. Most Unfortunate must be Pagol, the Coconut Tree brand, reliable information about it is Totally Unavailable. Many watch dealers, new & second hand shops, told me it Closed Shop!

Old Bulova, Eterna-Matic, Favre Leuba & Enicar watches can be found in second hand watch shops. Well if you're a Vintage Watch Collector, will you be keen in them?

  
Happy Watching, 10/8/13, 10.30pm

Old Watch & Condition

1st time visit this mall in Bugis area & found this shop that sells Used Watches. Wow! a dream watch at less than 1k! Upon close examination, Hmmm... the crown & plastic or other material outer case were not original! 1 of the markers half faded! The back & side of the case were poorly polished! Name of the owner, an angpow, was engraved onto this 30 or 40 something years old manual vintage.

The aged owner explained that watch is liked human. Once aged, many parts may need replacement! And don't expect much from old thing! If you want nice watch, get new one! If you can find its original crown, used piece, i pay you $300! And don't expect him to remember exact age of each watch! The replaced crown showed how rough the x owner was. What about the parts inside?

Well, he's soft spoken & acceptable attitude BUT I unlikely will buy it for I've to spend easily another 1k for Restoration etc! This isn't the first time I buy Vintage Watch, uncle, don't try to fool me! 

Photo show a Vintage Watch at its Most Original Condition that I can accept. 
Happy Watching, 19/7/2013, 7.30pm

Rolex, Tudor, Cellini

This Page is Dedicated to Rolex & her Key Founder Mr Hans Wilsdorf  

Sudden idea to put in & explain their Chinese Names! 23/7/13, 6.10pm.

Rolex,   劳力士， laoli means Work that Need Strength, Hardwork, Hardworking. shi is The One. To comfort one Rolex is The Hardworking One!

Tudor,帝舵，帝铊，di is Emperor. tuo could be the part that control the ship or mean old fashion weighing scale (balance). Such could mean the King is in Control or A well-balance Ruler!

Cellini, 吃了你，chileni, Eat You Up my interpretation for humour sense. lol.

TUDOR is affectionately known as the Little Brother of Rolex. Among the Chinese, Little Brother, could also mean 2nd Class! Read in a Western Forum, they called it the Poor Man's Rolex! Well, many very good Japanese Vehicles are known as Poor Man's Benz, BMW etc! How about calling it God Son?

Even in the Rolex Family, some models are King, Son, & Grandson!

The late Founder's objective was to have an equally Reliable & Good watch as the Rolex but at lower price. ETA movement was used. Some older Tudors used Rolex cases, crowns & bracelets. His love of the Tudor dynasty or era, 1485 - 1603, inspired him to use the word Tudor. March 6, 1946, saw the birth of his 2nd Love, Tudor. When Panerai first went commercial, it 'borrowed' Rolex movements. I always feel that many Panerai models looked like Oversize Rolex.

Earlier Tudor watches could be mistaken for a Rolex Precision, Date Just or Submariner. It's long do away with such  'clone'. Its Heritage Black Bay & Pelagos are greatly in demand! Often on waiting list! This year it launched the Fast Rider Black Shield, a beautiful Chronograph. 

This's a 1992 Tudor Half-Gold Mini-Submariner Prince OysterDate, Rolex Crown & Case, Automatic, Date, 34mm. A Vintage Stainless Steel model, 28mm, priced around $2,000. Doesn't it look like its Big Brother, the Rolex Submariner? In the resale market, The Big Bro of the 80s costs around $8,000, one 2010 model costs $15.000 up! A brand new would cost about $22,000! 

Rolex has caused the Resale Market to be Rich! Many 2nd Hand Shops trade Rolex only! 

CELLINI a lesser known series of Rolex. No information (perhaps I missed out) shown who & when Homage was paid to Italian Sculptor, Goldsmith, Draftsman, Soldier, Musician & Author Mr Benvenuto Cellini of the Renaissance period, 1500 to 1571. Rolex classified Cellini as 'Dressy' Watch. I love Cellini too although find it rather 'Feminine'. A new one costs $9,000 up, & a Vintage one costs about $2,000.  Rolex dealers carry few Cellini. Its Prince model is Fabulous!

I'm not a snob or super rich guy to wear Rolex, I'm merely a Fan, who appreciate & admire her Founder's Innovation & Visionary Spirit. Also enjoy Rolex's Style, Elegance & Reliability. Well, Status Symbols, sure, just like Mercedes Benz, it's a Good Car as well. 

Interestingly, a friend asked me to recommend a watch for her hubby's birthday, when i said Rolex, her reply was younger brand preferred! heard of cases that when the old dad wanted to pass on his Rolex to the son, or buy for the son, was refused for as old brand! haha, will they mind if it were the Solid Gold or Daytona models? 

Some new Unbelievable Inventions: 2005 - Blue Paraehrom Hairsprin Movement, unaffected by magnetic fields & up to 10x more resistant to shocks. 2012 - DeepSea Challenge, a watch that went down to the sea depth of 12000m; Brand New Innovation, the Sky-Dweller, a technological masterpiece intended for world travellers.   

Happy Watching, 9/7/13, 3.00pm.

Watch Strap - Exotic Skin & Colour

Black is an universal colour that matches well with any watch material eg Gold, Steel etc for any occasion. But it'd be dull if all your watches come in black strap. Moreover Patek mentioned 'Create Your Own Tradition'. Exotic Skin is beautiful especially Croc or Alligator. Snake, Ostrich, & Lizard are nice too. You'll be a class above.

Following are my Exotic Skin, Exotic Colour Collection:

Snake Skin, Cobra, for Year of the Snake 2013! The exotic skin shop in Bangkok didn't have the right tool to handle Rolex so i went to a watch service shop in Central World Plaza whom i know might be of help. Gosh! The mall was so big that although i remembered it's in the basement, I actually went to the wrong zone & got the wrong shop! Well that guy called Tang did a great job, & FREE he said. To repay his kindness, i bought him an organic drink. He does total Watch Service & Repair. You can look him up at Time Store, Central World, Zen Zone A, B1.   

Brown Monitor Lizard on a Givenchy Classic with Chinese Character Markers

Maroon Croc Skin on a Rolex Vinatge

My 1st Vintage Watch, Brown Croc Skin on a Longines Tank

The salesgirl told me the Green colour matches well with this Limited Edition Green Logo of Frederique Constant. Beautiful Grain of the Croc. 


How about White, Blue, Purple or Silver Strap? Take up the Challenge! Pink is ok too.

Happy Watching, 27/6/13, 6.00pm 

 

Frederique Constant

16/6/13 is Father's Day in Singapore. I'm happy to enjoy the occasion by writing on my hobby.

About 18 months ago, heeling advice by veteran & serious watch collectors, I went for Limited Edition. And I found an impressive one within by budget. A relatively new & unknown brand to me. Decided to understand it better. The following findings convinced me to go for it.

1. Heart Beat Manufacture, Watch of the Year of up to 3000 euro by Horloges Magazine in 2005.

2. Produce Silicium Escape Wheel (1st introduced by PP in 2005) in 2007.

3. Create Silicium Escape Wheel with Tourbillon.

4. Since 1988, the Founders Ms Aletta Bax & Mr Peter Stas believed that:

a. to enjoy hi-quality & timeless yet classical watches at sensible prices.

b. each watch is hand-assembled & is checked & controlled over a long period of time - by both
    humans & special equipment to ensure optimal quality.

c. charity works.  

In addition to my Vintage Rally Collection, they've Manufacture, Ladies Automatic, Runabout, Carree,
Art Deco, Delight, Junior & Jewelry.

Mine comes in 1888 pieces world wide only. It has a beautiful big box & a vintage car in it. A cert signed by Mr Peter Stas. What else can I ask for? Some months later I was in an Exotic Skin Shop. Believe me or not, I saw a Green Croc Leather Strap that matched well with my Frederique Constant Healey Challenge's Logo! Although it can't fit with the original buckle, I don't mind it at all. The Green Croc leather strap brings out the Watch very well. The amount of onlookers & admirers double!

Panerai was relatively unknown but now is in great demand. Hope one day Frederique Constant will enjoy such success too. Haha! Buy now before that dream comes true!

For more information, surf www.frederique-constant.com. Happy Watching, 4.13pm.

 

 

A Rolex Affair

Owning a Rolex is like living in Bukit Timah & drives Benz. Sure you can also live in the East Coast or drive BMW. Equally good. I ain't a Snob or concern of Status Symbol. I merely enjoy this 1905 creation by two Englishmen. 

According to reliable source, Italian giant Panerai used Rolex know-how when she moved into the commercial market! In my opinion, many Panerai watches looked like Over-Size Rolexes! In the resale market, Rolex commands the Best Value! Locally many 2nd hand shops trade in Rolex only! And in the Fake Watch circle, Rolex is widely Copied!   

My first Rolex was her Classic 70s Manual, OysterDate Precision. It's simple with Black Dial & 14k Gold Markers. 30mm. & the cheapest in the 2nd hand shop. haha. (nothing wrong with Used right?). Although the dealer gave it a new black calf leather strap, I felt it deserved better respect. Maroon was the colour i desired. So Rolex watch with Cartier Croc Skin strap! Awesome!

Two years later i'd this urge to upgrade my virgin Rolex. Rome isn't built in a day. Can't afford Gold, White Gold, Platinum, Diamond or Sports Models. Don't like 1/2 gold type, very common. A friend's friend who's in insurance trade, has no less than 10 Rolex watches!

After looking around for some time, also checked my wallet, i traded in for an Oyster Perpetual DateJust, early 1972-3, White Gold Bezel, Automatic, Rolex Buckle in new Black Calf Leather Strap, Dark Grey Dial. 36mm. No intention to change the strap colour for they matched well. Both watches originally came in Metal Bracelet & not strap. Too costly to have it in Bracelet. my no. 26.

I wore this to my recent bangkok trip. The Cobra Skin Strap tempted me well. Moreover it's Year of the Snake.   27/6/13, 7.25pm.


By now you might have noticed that I like Old Thing, haha. Well unlike a dear friend, i can accept any watches that come without Box &/or Cert. Shortly after the trade-off, in a Dream (I always dream of many things), a Voice told me to go for a OysterDate Precision! Hah! That's the model I owned earlier! I Respect Dream & will try to Fulfil it. 

This time round, I got my 2nd Rolex, also to Make Dream Come True! A 1969, Silver Dial, Original Stainless Steel Bracelet, OysterDate Precision! What else can I ask for! I also fulfilled Dream with Omega. Two other brands on the way. In the meantime let me Enjoy All My Watches. my no. 27. other collections in What's The Time, www.mastercheong.blogspot.com.

In www.mastercheong.blogspot com, What's The Time & Timeless Treasure, more news. And if you wish to buy my Collection, please reach www.wonderbowls1188.blogspot.com.

Happy Watching. 7.08pm, 7/6/13.

Water Watch

did u see the Water in the watch? my friend swam with this casual fashion watch in his condo pool! 
according to a Watch Guide, a watch that's marked 10 atm or 100m up is safe for swimming. if your watch has no such indication then Don't ever swim with it. whether it's a casual or hi-end brand, Don't take risk. 
recall a super rich china man murdered his brand new Patek by bringing it to sauna!