Sea Gull

Sea Gull of China is the World's Largest Manufacture of Mechanical Watch Movements! Amazing! founded in 1955 in Tianjin. a public listed company.
in Singapore, it's located at level 1, People Park's Complex, Chinatown. (shifted).  friendly staff.
Tourbillons & Chronograph movements are Sea Gull's expertise. many Swiss used it. 
in a dream, i was told to get its Dual Time. so i went. costing less than S$1k, i got this as shown here, Automatic, 40x15mm, 316 S/Steel, Croc grain leather strap, Pusher Date, Movement Shown! Great Watch! 
they've great range eg Sun Yat Sen, Zodiac, etc. it's a brand watch collector should have!

Happy Watching.   1.38pm, 22/2/13.

Which Watch?

in this modern & hi-tech world when mobile phone & computer can show the most accurate time, Do You Still Need A Watch? YES YOU DO coz by having a Watch on your Wrist, it Balances Your Look & Style. & Make A Better You. if you prefer call it Fashion & Status Symbol.

they're few hundred brands & thousands of models so which watch is for you? it's actually very easy to decide.

1. what shape or design you want or attract you?

2. what kind meaning Quartz, Automatic or Hand-Wind type?

3. what function i.e. basic, sports, diving etc? pilots told me they don't wear or need a Breitling Pilot to fly. 
    divers said they don't need a Rolex Deepsea.

4. what other functions? complication, grand complication, dual time, world time, moonphrase, power
    reserve, perpetual, annual calendar etc.

5. what technical details? usually most wearers don't bother about this. it means for eg in mechanical watch
    how many jewels, movement speed, chronometer etc.

6. what brand & $? well here's a tough choice. you might like AP but you only have $1k. save. 

7. what's next? after your first basic watch, you usually will eye for the 2nd one. streamline your choice:
    vintage, limited edition, sports, out-of-production model, investment value etc. if you're curious to 
    know how many watch i've now, haha, 25 is the answer.

VIP you must like & enjoy your watch. Don't Forget your next few generations can benefit from what you own now! Happy Watching.   6.10pm.

 

2013 Snake Watch

each new year watch shops will design Watch of Animal Sign. this year the clear Winner should be the estd in 1884 Italian Luxury Water Maker, Bvlgari. look at the Precious Stones studded Snake Watch! Great Creation from the Snake Head to the Tail! it sure costs a bomb. but you & your next few generations will love it.

Bvlgari although popular with Jewellery, their Watch is a class of its own. infact my 1st Dual Time Watch is a Bvlgari.

Happy Snake Year 2013, 2.26pm.

Quartz Vs Mechanical Watch

Quartz movement introduced by Seiko in the late 60s shocked & swept the Swiss monopolised watch market! its accuracy, new technology & less costly charm the world even till today. 

although among serious watch collectors & 2nd hand watch markets, Quartz watch usually don't fetch a good price, many Big Names who're the authority in the Complicated Mechanical Movement do produce Quartz watch. the pic above shows the highly publicised Patek Philippe 24-Diamonds Lady watch. Happy Fish & Diamond series of Chopard are Quartz watch.

once asked a big fan of Patek of his opinion of a solid gold Rolex Quartz. his reply was 'Quartz! Free also Don't 1'! 

Mechanical Movement is either Manual Wind or Self-Wind (Automatic). an expert watch dealer highlighted that if your job is desk bound then better don't use automatic watch coz such watch depends on your hand movement. he felt a guy who's always on-the-move suits Auto watch better. 

Battery of Quartz watch needs to be replaced once a year. of course some last longer. Don't leave the dead battery in the watch for too long. it'll damage other parts.

Mechanical watch best to be serviced every 3 to 5 years to lubricate its parts, check accuracy etc. watch dealers or technicians also recommend that.

whether it's Quartz or Mechanical Watch, one must Enjoy what he or she owns. 

pic below shows an Automatic watch by the Creator of Quartz movement, Seiko.

Happy Watching!     25/1/13, 8.00pm. 

Big 4 Watch Non-Swiss

this a bold attempt to put Big 4 Non Swiss Origin watch that have made it. also strict not to include brand that make other items eg jewellery. thus sorry to my fav Chopard (Italy), Cartier (France) & Bvlgari (Italy). would luv to add in Hamilton (USA) but it went through many hands.

base on market interest, the list is as follow:

1. A. Lange & Sohne, Germany, 1845, by Mr Ferdinand Adolph Lange.
    this Dream Watch uses expensive materials. insist on the finest design & craftsmanship.

2. Panerai, 1860, Italy, by Mr Giovanni Panerai.
    this highly in demand watch only went into the public market in the 1900s. both its In-House 
    & non in-house movements are nice. known for its big bezel, avg 47mm.

3. Vulcain, 1858, USA, by Ditisheim Brothers.
    The Presidents' Watch for various former USA Presidents wore it. in around 1947 it invented 
    the famous Cricket Alarm Watch.

4. Seiko, 1881, Japan, by Mr Kintaro Hattori. 
    its Quartz invention in the 60s caused a major Watch Revolution! swept many swiss brands out.
    its mechanical movement is good too. without a Seiko, your collection is incomplete. here i've a
    Seiko Limited Edition for her 130th Anniversary in 2012, World Time, Automatic.

22/1/13  4.32pm.

Big 4 Watch - Status

in chinese music scene, we've the 4 Heavenly Kings. interestingly in watch market, internationally marks Patek Phillippe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet & Jaeger-Le Coultre as the Big 4! especially the first 3 brands, each easily commands a 5-figure sum. all are old brands with Great Complications eg Tourbillon, World Time, Chronograph, Power Reserve, Minute Repeater etc.

one who wears any of the above will usually be known as rich, status symbol, know the stuff etc. a friend told me a rich china chinese man in s'pore wore his newly bought Patek to Suana! next moment he questioned the Patek staff that what kind of expensive watch was this that failed him at the health centre! 

i'm glad to own the above, a 5119 Rose Gold Calatrava. hope to have the other 3 brands too. 

21/1/13  6.53pm.

Big 4 Watch - Sales

according to Mr Walter Von Kanel, President of Longines, this 181 years old brand, ranks 4th or 5th after Rolex, Omega and Cartier! he must be referring to Sales Popularity. i'm pleased to own all these 4 Beauties. pic shows my 1st Vintage watch, Longines Tank Quartz of the 70s or 80s. feel it deserves better respect so i replaced the ordinary leather strap to Croc skin type!    21/1/13, 6.22pm.