rolex day-date....

this new dial was released at basel 07.....



i actually like this one............. the blue waves give the daydate a fresh new look... note the brushed/polished bracelet............ goes very well with the polished case and dome bezel....

not too sure if there is luminova on the arabic numerals.... but certainly no lume on the hands........

overall it's a cool looking piece in platinum.....

bling bling....!

i am sure many of us are fans of the rolex gmt master 2....... recently rolex has been ventured into releasing bling versions of one of their top selling watches......

it came back when the new 116718 was introduced ..... there were 2 versions, the black and the green dial watches..... with the new generation of gmt master 2 watches, the bling floodgate was opened .....



a big chunk of 18k yellow gold greets the customer and the watch is also decorated with jewels and diamonds.....



and if you happen to want more diamonds, you can also choose the above model where the bracelet gets the bling treatment............ power lah.!



this is the new generation of pepsi bezel........blue sapphire and red rubies.......ouch..!



how about this ice ice baby.......?.....if u happen not to like the pepsi as much



in basel 06, rolex also released the WG version of their gmt master 2....... first time in the history of the gmt......maybe it does look like SS from a distance....... but i am sure the weight of the watch will tell you right away it's WG....... pepsi in WG..! go rolex go..!



the ice ice version in white gold...................... so do you like them???



this one is more subtle in the colours but no less bling bling .......full ice treatment on the lugs and bracelet....... and i have no idea how much it costs....

sinn u1....the single best value dive watch (imho)

now this is the single best value dive watch out there.......ok ok that's my opinion....

and let me explain why.....

for S$2680 (list price)..... u get:

a 44 mm watch case....made from a secret-formula german submarine steel, which has a high resistance to salt water corrosion......in addition the material is also anti magnetic....


pic copyright of chronomaster uk

the watch case is also treated with sinn's tegiment process.....making it harder and tougher..... more scratch resistant.....
sapphire crystal with AR coating
screw down crown
1000 m WR.......... yes 1 thousand metres.....
good lume.....
a unique look
can operate in extreme temperatures from -45 to +80 degrees C

i think the u1 looks better with a rubber strap.....more sporty and ready to dive...!.....

the feel on the wrist is hefty, substantial and it looks real good.....what more can you ask for?

breitling

i was never a fan of breitling watches......even though i like what i see from the navitimer range, something that interests me at least........the rest of the range looks like brute machines to me, lacking the design flair of many other designs on the market....

this time round for basel 2007, breitling has gone back to their roots to bring us the superocean heritage......which is pretty nice.....very functional design and pleasing to the eye....



the watch has yet to reach the stores ....at least in singapore.......when i visited the boutique at suntec city last week, i could catch nothing on this new release....



the big crown is a very good match to the knurled bezel...and i quite like the hands as well.......although somewhat similar to the big arrow hands of the omega super ocean, i prefer the way breitling has done it.....

200 m WR is suitable for scuba diving and the date window at 6 o'clock sits very well on the dial.....giving it a symmetrical look.....

the watch is powered by breitling's caliber 17.......i think it's a modifited eta movement that beats at 28,800 vph....

overall a winning design from breitling....

saturday jalan jalan......

weekend routine: sleep until shiok shiok then wake up......

sms alert: friend jio me go suntec....... visit the newly renovated sincere watch outlet........ ok lor, since i got nothing up might as well go down see see look look.......

on the way there........ as usual lah, road hoggers abound.......... ok..... before the speed camera stretch is 80 kph.......... then why slow down to 70....??............. KNN....... pls wake up lah, if u dun wanna go faster then pls keep left......... dun they understand the simple logic? pls keep left unless overtaking...??? sigh....KNN

the sincere outlet is very close to the location before they were closed for renovation....... there's a big section allocated as the breitling boutique area....... well i am not exactly a breitling fan so i cant appreciate why they need a boutique for it..... so far i only like their navitimer watches and recently the superocean classic oso quite nice........ the rest ah........ errr....forget it man....... breitling for bentley.??........*keep quiet*.......

the other displays quite standard lor.......... a. lange, AP...IWC.... chopard LUC.... tag, omega, ebel...... one thing interesting is fp journe......... only 2 watches so see see look look........ they also have a good range of zenith.............haha.......scary designs....:)

interesting choices.......

sick of round and oval watches....??

ha why not try something different................ squarisssssssssshhhhh u say........

one of the more interesting choices for square watches is the bell & ross BR instrument series.... there is the BR01 (46 mm) and BR03 (42 mm)......



the most obvious choice is the black dial with white numerals....... and u get a choice of either the brushed steel case or the black carbon powder coated case.....

judging on looks, the black case wins outright......... but then, the black case is not really scratch resistant and once it's scratched, u r finished..... there is no simple way to touch up the case..... whereas for the steel case, the brushed finish can be really repaired with a fiber glass pen or sandpaper sponge.....

the steel case is also cheaper.......

if u prefer something exotic, they have also launched some LE models..... such as the orange version...... in BR01-92 and 94 versions (chrono).......... both are limited to 250 pcs....



the orange BR01-94 listed for S$9600......

recently they also introduced the phantom and blue LE versions.........ha phantom very stealth hor

annoucement.....our very own club

the singapore rolex owners club is up and running.................pls feel free to join us....

http://www.sg-roc.com/index.php

polar .......watch

going to the north pole.... or south pole.......... but dun wanna buy the rolex explorer 2..???

then how..??

ok.....1 suggestion .....buy this one............. sinn model 203 arktis....... list price S$4150........ can tahan very extreme temperatures........-45 to 80 degree C........ u die the watch also yet to die.....haha



one of the best value watches .....per dollar.......

some key features:..... domed sapphire crystal..... unidirectional bezel.... watch case filled with argon.... WR to 300 m................. wah seh features all like power sia......... ok lah inside is 7750 but no problem with that right...??...:)

monday is working day....F1 US GP

after the weekend .....well it's time to go back to work.....

caught the f1 United States Grand Prix on tv this morning (1 am singapore time)......i must say it's a thoroughly enjoyable race.......FA did his very best to try to pass his teammate at the 1st corner but hey no deal man.......haha........the rookie is not going to let the world champion go past without a fight.......

even KR and FM were fighting for position towards the end of the race.......KR overcame a bad start to leapfrog HK and NH.........but then even if you have a faster car doesnt mean that you can overtake the guy in front easily...................easier said than done.....

GF showed that he was mr nice guy no more when he attempted audacious overtaking moves .......at the same corner....(but on different laps lah).....on 2 different drivers.....alex wurz and antonio liuzzi.......awesome....haha....obviously the renault had much better traction in those tight sections......

i think jarno trulli also had a excellent outing at indianapolis.........quietly doing his work but very nice indeed......6th place and toyota must be elated......at this point, they cant possibly see themselves as title contenders.......so long they beat honda, i think they shd be happy haha......

ferrari are really feeling the heat........the silver mcLaren cars are running away and they cant do anything about it................ferrari are fast no doubt......but the silver cars are faster.....let's hope they can improve at the silverstone test..........if not, very soon gone case........bmw sauber are very close behind u know

sunday: maintenance day....

another slow weekend..... still pretty eventful but no fast stuff....haha

recently an acquaintance contacted me..... see if i could help him.... he's interested to buy a rolex watch but was apprehensive to step into an ADs....... cos he's a student..... still young so maybe abit shy to walk into a store...... u know lah... some salesmen can be quite snobbish and they look at you.... or rather stare at you........ or even look down on you..... as if they were the boss and the customer cannot afford anything in the store........

well a piece of advise for these snobs........ better not judge a book by its cover...... there are filthy rich ppl who simply enjoy dressing in simple clothes and flip-flops..... u never know if the uncle in singlets, bermudas and slippers could be the owner of the ferrari parked outside....... so pls treat all customers with respect and serve with pride........ the young boy that you ignored could be worth millions ....

btw i gave my friendly AD a call...... just to check on the current market prices...... the sea dweller is still selling strong....... difficult to secure a big discount....... about 10% only....... anyway managed to secure a good cash deal for the ss gmt master 2....16710......... this model has been discontinued and it seems that many ADs in other countries are selling it now at list prices...... siao meh....??

so on friday evening, brought this new friend down ..... the black/red bezel model is out of stock..... oni left the pepsi........ at first he was undecided cos his first choice was the black/red.......so he asked me, how ah?......i told him, dunno when the new shipment will come and cant guarantee that can get the same discount....... moreover, pepsi also nice and you might grow to love it.....:P

in the end, he bought the pepsi at a irresistible price......:)

so purely voluntary basis on my part........ arranged and completed a good deal......hopefully everyone is happy haha......

then on sunday........woke up late and did the usual thing........kopi and newspaper.....

after that.......maintenance day:

use the steam cleaner to clean aircon and filter.....
clean bedsheet....
clean and polish all my shoes....
clean the car mats....
wash the bonnet and boot.....(but not the entire whole car).....

i like the idea of using a steam cleaner........ with a jet of high pressure steam, it can clean effectively and kills germs too.....

rolex series 7: the oyster perpetual explorer

The rolex explorer 114270 is the unique model in the oyster professional series.....

the case diameter is only 36 mm.......however it is also the model with a very rich history dating back to the 50s and its crowning achievement was sealed when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.....


interesting advertisement for the explorer......only GBP49...!!!


modern day explorer advertisment

just bring you some pictures that i took of my 114270.......i guess with so much info available, there is really no need for me to write anything more about this very understated rolex oyster perpetual explorer....



the rich glossy black dial is .......beautiful......



i like the 3-6-9 dial especially.......of cos u can get a similar dial with the airking but the mercedes hands match the dial perfectly.....



the explorer comes with a oysterlock bracelet with SEL....the middle links are hollow though....not any fault and it is comfortable bracelet

just some additional pics for u to enjoy.....

and many ways to appreciate this classic rolex.....

panerai pam104

there are mainly 2 types of panerai watches........manual winding and automatic self winding.....

of the contemporary series...the pam 104 is the most common model.....for I series, there are 4000 units manufactured...

the watch case is 44 mm all stainless......and uses a movement based on the valjoux 7750......similar to other watches with this movement, there is a distinct wobble from the rotor at its free spinning state (the movement winds CW).....the most defining feature is of cos the crown protection device, which helps the watch maintain a 300m WR despite the absence of a screw-in crown....

the dial is classic panerai.....luminous stick markers and a small seconds at 9 o'clock position.....there is also a date at 3 o'clock which is magnified with a reverse cyclop lens...

rolex series 6: quick adjustment link

ok so there was another question..... how to use the quick adjustment link........

errr.... easier to answer the question with pictures than with words......

the first pic shows the link in its open position.......... u can see there is a U shaped part in the last centre link.....





ok.....in order to make it shorter, u need to close the link........ first u lift the bracelet up and rotate the last link around the spring bar that attaches the bracelet to the clasp.....



see the spring bar in the picture below...?





the U shaped depression will fit perfectly on the spring bar and it will then look as below







to make the bracelet longer, reverse the procedures.......

very simple huh.....

rolex series 5: rolex clasps

spotted in the rolex forum on www.timezone.com ......... question: are the clasps on the daytona and new gmt master 2 the same???

well.....i posted a reply there but here are more pictures............ and no, they are not exactly the same....

let's look at the daytona clasp...... it's slight shorter in length and comes with the quick adjustment feature....



there are also 3 positions for the minor adjustment holes....



as for the new gmt master 2.....it is also equipped with the quick adjustment feature......which is really cool....



you can see the glidelock mechanism that allows the clasp to close securely yet as smooth as butter....



in comparison, it is also longer than the daytona clasp....



the inner clasp is also different........

you can just see the catch for the glidelock on the inner clasp.....

that's all for now folks....

dream watches 2: panerai

within the short span of a few years, panerai has firmly established their presence in the horological world..... some of their watches have stole the hearts of many a WIS, especially classics like the pam 190.....

let's browse through the range and see if there's anything nice......:)

models i like are...........

pam 252 north pole gmt (2006 limited edition - 500 pcs)


pic by william loi

ha this one is purely about looks......... i like the blue dial and the stick hour markers......... movement wise nothing special cos within is a modified valjoux 7750 renamed as panerai OP VIII.......

features are largely similar to the contemporary range of panerai watches.... 44 mm ss case, 42 hrs power reserve.... list price is S$11500...... which is alot considering that a pam 104/164 retails for S$7220....

therefore it remains as something which is good to have....

pam 92 arktos (2004 limited edition 500 pcs)


pic by copyright owner

almost similar to the 252, this one was released in 2004 as a LE......... this one has no gmt function though........ but see pics enough liao.....haha

actually there is another arktos model..... the pam 186 which was released as a normal production model in 2005 only....... interesting it was not a LE but after 500 units, they have stopped it...... the 186 comes with a gmt hand...... last sold for S$10630

pam 243 submersible 1000 m


pic by william loi

this one is not a limited edition but has a limited production of 500 units each model year..... that means they will only make 500 units for I series then 500 units for J series and so on..... until they decide to stop......

if u take a closer look, u will see a slightly different case being used.... as compared to the cases for pam 24 and 25 (the other 2 submersible watches)....... panerai call this the 1950 case.....it has a slightly different profile with softer lines than the luminor case.....

the 243 also has a smaller dial compared to the 24....... it comes with a helium escape valve and is rated to 1000 m.......... looks pretty stout huh......:)

list price i tink is S$10830.......

pam 190 8 days

this watch is equipped with a manual winding movement sporting a power reserve of 8 days!........ and this movement was made by JLC...... it comes with a transparent case back so that one could admire the gorgeous JLC movement and also the PR display...... cool huh.......

list price S$13720.... ouch ouch......

boring thursday

what a way to start the day............ SOMEONE DRILLING THE WALLS!!!! SO LOUD AND SEEMED SO CLOSE .... wah lao eh, people sleeping so early drill holes for f***....... KNN basket sia........LL lah..... wake up go to work......

hee.....next thing..... which watch to wear? usually i dun have such a problem cos i have a schedule....... every watch takes turn..... but this morning i felt like wearing the new piece.......cool!..... as not to neglect my regular, i oso packed it along in a secure case.... put in my sling back and off we go...!

second best way to start the morning: .... was behind this blue cab 997* when i turned right into upper changi road north from upper changi road east........ he was the 3rd vehicle forming up at the traffic lights........

ok lights turn green....... all moved off...... 1st one i think was a lorry...... so cant go fast and i dun expect ppl to shoot off into the distance.......... so 1st and 2nd vehicles maybe 50-60 kph......ok lah small road i understand.....go so fast for what..... but then this knn cab driver dunno doing what..... either daydream not enuff sleep or what the F***...... taking his own sweet time crawling......... i cant stand road hoggers.......KNN....

all lanes occupied so cant do anything but to follow behind..........s o i blasted my horn.... 2-3 taps ....and quickly switched to the right lane (after the japanese school) when it was free..... so when i went past the cab, i do my usual thing...... turn my head and look lor........ see the F*** face of the driver..... KNNCCB......s till dare to give me that CB face as if what..... cannot horn isit.....

so after i looked at him...... he like damn not happy and suddenly going fast........ he was still in the left lane and there was another car in front........ he speeded up and tried to switch to the right....... for me very simple..... i simply matched my speed to the chevrolet on the left so the CB cant switch lane lor......... and then a lorry came by behind me and blocked the lane as well.......... ha...... F*** care i just went my way and drove off......

alas..... gotta stop cos redlights at the tanah merah besar road junction......... so i saw in the mirror..... the CB came up, moved into the filter lane and of cos i turned my head to LOOK..... see what he want.............. turned out he only showed his CB face and turned left after the filter lane....... CB......... i hate road hoggers....... wanna cruise is not wrong but dun take your own bloody sweet time..... KNN....

a KNN hypothetical question......

this guy asked.....pls read carefully ok....note that i did not quote in verbatim .......would you pay xxxx dollars for this rolex watch if it does not say rolex on the dial?

i scratched my head.....knn.....what are you talking about? ....find me something that's available outside.....looks the same, feels the same, works the same.......that doesnt have rolex etched on the dial.......do u think u can find? of cos no right.....a rolex is a rolex is a rolex by virtue it's a rolex mah........

sigh.....knn.....

maybe can find something that looks SIMILAR.......SIMILAR HOR....NOT IDENTICAL LEH......exactly the same then rolex balek kampung lah........if proton can build a car as good as a toyota......toyota balek kampung eat sushi lah.......if proton can build a car the same like toyota.....then proton also in formula 1 liao lor.........where got so easy......

tolong (meaning help in malay language) tolong.......

for god's sake..... if u dun have the confidence or even the ability to drive, pls stay off the roads..... dun be a road hogger, road hazard and clog up the roads...!!!!!!!!!!!!!..... why do i say that? well.........

almost had a heart attack on my way back home from a meeting this evening.!!!!!!!!.... ok let's not waste time, story is coming up:

meeting was held at a place near novena...... so after the meeting, i got on the CTE (central expressway) towards yishun which would lead to the PIE (pan island expressway) towards changi airport...... as u probably know, there is always a LONG queue at this exit to the PIE.......dunno why, either there are so many cars going that way..... or so many cars slowing down so much that they bunch up the road....... yes, i agree this exit can be quite challenging if u go in at speed and it is also a blind corner...... but then, if u are going at 50 or 60 km/h, there's nothing to fear.......... why do they need to slow down until a horse can outrun a car there.....???

since the exit has a long queue, i decided to bypass this one and left the CTE at braddell road ........... following that, i travelled towards bartley road and finally came onto paya lebar road towards katong.....

first encounter with the F***ER....... at paya lebar/macpherson road junction.........this fellow was in front and i was a couple of car lengths behind (a few vehicles were between us)........ we were on the outer right lane going straight and all were waiting for the red lights to turn green

ok....green lights........ cars in the left and middle lanes began moving off.........so i was thinking, how come the cars in my lane are not moving huh..??.... well, after a few seconds that seemed like eternity, all started to go......... next question in my mind, why are we crawling at a snail's pace??.... is there a traffic policeman (cos TP HQ nearby mah).......boleh....... as my view was blocked by a big lorry, i could not see what was happening in front..........middle lane was busy, so it was quite difficult to change lane........... patiently waiting for a chance so that i could switch lanes and reach home early......

once i seized that chance to switch left, i was able to see this SILVER COLOUR BMW 5 SERIES SALOON CAR CRAWLING AT 40 KM/H IN THE RIGHT LANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS GUY? WHY WAS HE DRIVING AT THAT SPEED IN THE RIGHT LANE?????????

as we moved towards the next junction, the roadworks necessitated a detour and all cars would have to negotiate a simple left curve before stopping at the traffic lights again (the NPC junction)....... so before i could reach the curve, I SAW THE SILVER COLOUR BMW 5 SERIES SALOON CAR TRYING TO COME INTO MY LANE!!! I SIMPLY CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY WAS HE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN LANE DISCIPLINE WHEN HE WAS MOVING SO SLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????? SO SLOW ALSO WANNA CUT INTO MY LANE...???????

i immediately sounded the car horn to give a series of warning and i think he's either deaf, oblivious, cant be bothered or dun wanna do anything..... before anything could happen, i accelerated past the bmw and of cos i turned my head to look........WAH LAO EH....... the driver was an uncle.......SO OLD SO FRAIL SO SHORT that i almost couldnt see him..... now i dun despise him just bcos he was old but his driving was way off........ the next best thing, right beside in the front seat was a woman in her late 30s and SHE LOOKED AT ME as if it was a sin to horn at them....... MY GOSH, i was like........hey, you guys are hogging the road as if it's your damn right to do so..... somemore i was thinking, if you are so smart, you should be one the driving.... .why let uncle take the wheel...????

after the traffic lights turned green, i saw (in my rear view mirror) this clown continuing to frustrate everyone else by moving at a tactical speed........ sigh....... never learn....

sigh sigh.......... here's a simple advise, take the cab if you cant drive .......pls dun crawl at 40 km/h on a 50 km/h road....... 50 km/h is slow enough and quite a agony........... any slower can kill.......... yes you read that right......... speeding (or the lack of it) kills.....

dream watch 1: AP ROO....

one cant possibly buy everything he likes.......so what else can one do?......admire the pictures lor....haha

here are some beautiful watches that i dream (or day-dream) to own...:)

audemars piguet royal oak offshore rubens barichello LE (from left).....in platinum, titanium and rose gold....

i'd handled the watch at an AD.....and i tell you, this watch has presence and it's massive........really like the F1 inspired features......how about the ceramic bezel that's modelled after a brake disc.....?....the very special crown and the chrono pushers......?

this is my favourite ap roo....the ti model is limited to 1650 pieces worldwide and is selling very very fast.......list price is about S$39k.......but actual selling price is a few k above msrp.......good and nice things everybody also want..........haha

there is also another F1 inspired ap roo watch.......the juan pablo montoya LE .....the only roo with a clear display back............

instead of a ceramic bezel, it had a carbon fibre bezel.......between the 2, i like the rb a little abit more....:)

monday evening: casual listening.....

saw the superstar wannabes on channel u......wah cmi sia.......waste time taking part .....and also waste our (the viewers') time.....if such wannabes could get through the auditions......u really wonder what happened at the auditions.....????!!!!

sigh....!... listen to them ....might as well go upstairs.....on my system and let it warm up......with the latest round of power cord upgrades.....it's becoming addictive to listen to music in THE room hehe.....

coincidentally the adcom preamp, msb link 3 and cia d-100 are all designed for continuous standby.....save the user precious time to warm them up.........i need only to on the cd transport...pop in a cd......wait for 13 seconds for it to output a digital signal and viola!.....music pours forth ......

only complaint is ...the aircon noisy leh...........haha my friends have made their comments many a times but i always lazy to do anything to it........see lah, if i free (more free, i mean), maybe get a aircon tech to take a look......such a high resolution system deserves a low noise aircon......so is the mitsubishi starmax the quietest aircon in the market..???...21dB...??......i know it's definitely not the cheapest.....:P

first disc of the evening.......stefanie sun: feng zheng.......first few tracks abit forgettable, somehow cant draw me into the music.......sounded abit stiff and cold.......after the 4th track, things started picking up.......more details, warmer and getting interesting...........i think everything is ready after the entire cd is over......hehe......i dun think i am asking too much cos a 30 min warm up time is quite reasonable....

shimmering cymbals........hmmm.........so clear yet was never harsh...........i have always tot of the scanspeak ring radiator tweeter as a gem and it shows..........many speakers use this tweeter too.....of cos there are better tweeters out there........a few come to mind quickly, namely the focal Be tweeter and the B&W diamond tweeter......both monsters when it come to DETAILS AND SWEETNESS...!!!......

ok lah......the music is getting better and i better go listen......:)

a hot rod for S$100,000

this should be the most exciting car to buy in 2006/2007 for the price of about S$100k.....the honda civic type r jdm (japan domestic model)......

there is also a 3-door civic type r coupe...which is manufactured by honda uk in its swindon plant......however, at least to me, it is a poor cousin of the jdm version......

the coupe is selling at about S$105k at the authorised agent.....and parallel importers are selling the jdm car at about S$98k........for less money, you get more power (225 ps), brembo brake calipers at the front end, versatility of a 4 door saloon, sportier-looking alloy wheels.....and most importantly the jdm car looks much better........well take a look at the 3 door coupe and you will understand........pls look at the awkward rear and you will understand in double quick time....

the cockpit and interior finish are very much similar for the 2 cars though.......it comes with a short shifter, a type r gear knob (the size is just right.......feels just like home).....aluminium sports pedal in the correct size for those heel-toe shifters...:)

i find the steering wheel abit weird looking and not really befitting the type r image........they should put in a momo and sparco-type steering wheel........

the red recaro seats are functional and matches the overall trim ....red seats in a championship white car ......isnt that yummy.........unfortunately if u choose the other 2 colour options (blue and dark grey), then no red seats for you haha......on the other hand, the blue looks solid and i reckon since most users would order car in white, owning a blue type r may be a wise choice......especially if you do not want your car to such a common beast

so far i have seen one type r on the road...and yes, it's a white one.........i believe more will be registered very soon.....when that happens, owners should look towards personalising their cars .....with the mugen kit.....and i tell u.....that's extremely YUMMY.....!!

this latest iteration of the type r looks most domesticated....but i tell you, it is a beast waiting to be unleased...!!!!!!........if i have the money ....i would buy this............or .....my the other favourite car, the mazda rx-8 type s (rear wheel drive, 250 ps!!)...but alas, the rx-8 costs an additional S$10k and above.....