Monday 24 December 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS

A Christmas wish to all the readers and their families.
May this year's Christmas be filled with warmth and joy.
And nope... no self bought watch as a Christmas present for myself this year... lol

Thursday 20 December 2012

PANERAI PAM000 ON CHEERGIANT STRAP

After wearing my PAM000 on Gunny Saree straps for sometime, decided to change it to another strap that I got from George of Cheergiant.


Ultrasoft brown calf strap.


Remember on my previous posting on Gunny Saree strap that I mentioned about 3 layered straps being thinner on the lug ends compared to 2 layers?
This is the comparison picture.
Top is Gunny Saree Strap and bottom is the Cheergiant calf strap.


The Cheergiant strap have been edge sealed so it is smoother than the rough and raw edges of the Gunny strap.
I liked both equally.
Just personal preference for some.
No advantages of one over the other, just cosmetically more pleasing. 



Remember to use the tubes supplied with the watch... it will protect your screw bars in the long term.
My watch did not come with any tubes.
Fortunately a good friend of mine gave me a pair as a gift.
It was thoughtful of him.


As the strap is thicker at the lug ends, once mounted, there are no gaps on the lugs.
Now THIS I like very much.


As Cheergiant does not have any sew in buckles, I ordered this strap without a buckle and decided to mount the OEM buckle instead. Perfect fit as usual.


Looks really good.



Straps are comfortable and looks really good.
Stitching work is top notch as usual.
I am happy that the threads for this strap is well waxed and it's not hairy like the strap for my Seiko Dracula.


Overall, I am extremely pleased with the strap.
For the price, there are no complaints and there's nothing more than I can ask for.
I have bought 5 straps so far from Cheergiant and each one have been excellent to say the least.
I can see myself being a long term customer of Cheergiant... :-)

Saturday 15 December 2012

ROLEX GMT MASTER II CERAMIC REF:116710LN

Since today is my Dad's Birthday, I am gonna talk about his watch.
This is my Dad's "upgraded" watch.
I think this is THE watch that will stay with my Dad for a long long time.



The Rolex GMT Master II Ceramic Ref:116710LN
This watch can be considered an upgrade as almost everything is new except for the movement, which is the same Caliber 3186 as found in his previous watch the Explorer II Ref:16570.



1st thing that you will notice is the new squarish thicker lugs case called the Maxi Case.



Comparing this case with the Submariner Ceramic's Maxi case, I prefer this one as the caseback is flatter and the watch sits snugly on the wrist.
Due to the Maxi Case, the watch wears bigger than the 40mm case size suggests.



And with the maxi case of course comes with Maxi Hands and Maxi Dial.
The white gold hands are thicker, with more luminova and the same goes for the dial, white gold applied markers are also bigger which makes legibility easy for my Dad's aging eyes.



The Ceramic bezel insert is also very nice.
For this bezel, the fonts are carved into the ceramic and the cavity is filled with platinum dust.
Rolex choose to use Ceramic for the bezel insert as it is scratchproof and also the colour and fonts are not prone to fading.
Rolex purists find this not much to their liking as faded bezels or tropical bezels somehow adds to the character of a watch after prolonged use.



Depending on the lighting conditions, it sometimes carry a greyish tone and sometimes looks pure black.



One thing I like about this watch is that it uses the bigger Rolex Triple Lock crown... but water resistance is rated at 100m only due to the thinner caseback. More fitting for this watch as a smaller crown wouldn't be balanced.



The bracelet is also another improvement.
It still the Rolex Oyster style bracelet but this time, the links are all solid. Which I believe will make stretching bracelets a thing of the past.
One thing that most people disliked is the polished center links.
I for one feel that it is nice as it lends a more classy and elegant look to the watch.
Let the Submariner be the tool watch.




The new clasp is also vastly improved.
Complicated construction but works like a charm.
It still retains the flip lock mechanism that is synonymous with Rolex.



Another new feature with the bracelet is the easylink extension.
During warm days when the wrist expands, you can extend the bracelet for 5mm without any tools.



The dial is of course very nice to look at... everything have been upsized slightly but still looks proportionate to the watch.
A dash of Green (Rolex's Official Colour) blends in and does not look out of place.
The underside of the cyclops have now been treated with anti-reflective coating and it does make for an easier reading of the date.


Overall, I really like this watch... and so does my Dad.
Not being a WIS like me, my Dad do not like many watches and wearing each one on rotation.
To him, one good watch is all he needs to wear 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
And this is the "one good watch"

Friday 14 December 2012

SAREE SERIES STRAP BY GUNNY

Once I got my PAM000, the 1st strap that I purchased was from Peter Gunny.



The Saree Series strap in Taupe colour and black stitching.


Thick and soft.



Raw and rough edges... I like this look.
Strap is 4mm thick in 3 layers.
Meaning the outer layer (Taupe colour) is a rather thin leather sandwiching a thicker middle layer.



Which makes the lug end of the strap thin.
This is the picture with the tubes installed.



And when mounted, there will be gaps on the lugs.
I don't really like that... But that's just me.
From now on, I will stick to 4mm thick straps but only 2 layers.
Lesson learned, moving on.


Sewn in flat buckle.



Straps are really comfortable.
The supple and soft leather does not exude any pressure when wearing.
After wearing a couple of times, it will sort of mould it's curve to your wrist.



Despite the things that I don't like, it remains a very nice strap and I really like it.
I have been wearing the watch with this strap for over 3 weeks now and it's comfortable.
This is my 1st nice strap and I believe there will be more that I will purchase from Peter Gunny.
I also got one B42 waterproof strap for my Brother in Law as a Xmas present and I can't review that because I did not have any usage experience with it.
Overall, I am satisfied with this strap.

Thursday 13 December 2012

PANERAI LUMINOR BASE LOGO PAM000

This is the last watch for me this year... I think.
I like this one more than the PAM005 earlier.
This is more true to the heritage of Panerai watches.



The Panerai Luminor Base Logo PAM000.
Watch is as bare bones as they come.
Only 2 hands... hours and minutes.



Huge 3,6,9,12 sausage style painted numerals.
Legibility is 2nd to none I would suspect.



Case is 44mm and comes with Panerai's famous patented crown guard which locks the crown in place providing a guaranteed water resistance rating of 300m.



I really like the Logo on the dial.
It wouldn't be complete if a base Panerai watch does not have a logo.
The logo itself is stylized OP (Officine Panerai) with arrows pointing up and down means that Panerai watches are made to conquer the highest skies and the deepest depths of the seas... Funny thing is there is no Panerai Pilot's Watch... :-)



Part of the charm of owning a Panerai is the watch's uncanny ability to look good with a variety of straps and colours.
I have the watch currently mounted on a Gunny Saree series strap.
(Will review the strap in a separate post)



I find the watch big and brash.
Well made and well built tool watch.
Movement is of course nothing much to shout about.
Manual winding. Just give it a few twirls, set the time and go.
It does look the part of a tough watch... and also feels like a tough watch.
Alot of complaints are on Panerai pricing strategy... but I think an entry level piece like this is enough.
Let the hardcores deal with the Special Editions and Limited Editions.
I find myself wearing this one when I couldn't care less about having to be careful of scratching it.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

ROLEX EXPLORER II "POLAR" REF:16570

This is the 1st luxury watch I got for my Dad.
I have since upgraded a new one for him (that's for another post)


The Rolex Explorer II ref:16570
This is considered by most to be a stealth Rolex.
Which when worn, is mostly unrecognized as a Rolex from afar.
I true tool watch that is meant to be worn.



Rolex market this watch for cave explorers or spelunkers so that the red GMT hand is to differentiate between night and day.
But most will use it as a 2nd time zone indicator.
The Sunburst brushed 24 hour bezel carries a toolish look.
Movement being fitted to this particular watch (M Serial) is actually a Caliber 3186... which is the exact same movement found in the more expensive Rolex GMT Master II Ceramic ref:116710LN.
Caliber 3186 also comes with the Rolex developed hairspring called the "Parachrom Blu Spring"
Advantage wise is that this hairspring is practically impervious to magnetic fields.



I actually bought the watch for myself as my 1st Rolex but decided to give it to my dad as he liked the legibility of the black hands on a white dial.
During my brief time with the watch, I find it comfortable to wear.
Although this watch was currently upgraded to the new ref:216570 which got upsized to 42mm and an Orange GMT hand, this version is still pretty popular... although tastes and trends may come and go.
It remains as the Rolex that introduced me to the brand and ultimately it's watches and history.



Something worth noting is that besides the Daytona and the Milgauss, this is the only other sports / professional model that have a choice of either black or white dial.
I find that the white dial works more for this particular model as the black is too close in similarity with GMTII.



I believe at the current going prices for this piece, it is easily the best bang for the buck Rolex sports model out there.
You are getting a movement which is robust and proven, a new one that is fitted with the GMTII, and costs way less.
It's stealthy and it doesn't scream Rolex.
Since I have upgraded my Dad's watch... this one is currently on the chopping block.
Will I miss it? Probably will... but there are others calling out my name and something have just gotta go.
Unfortunate that it is this one.

ZENITH HERITAGE PORT ROYAL TAIPEI 101 EDITION

During my recent trip to Taipei, something caught my attention from my favourite brand Zenith.



Funny thing is after googling... I can't seem to find any info on this watch. So I am just repeating what the dealers told me.
It is said that the boss of Cortina Watch met with Zenith CEO Mr. Jean Fredric Dufour and requested that a special commemorative piece be created to celebrate Taiwan Minguo Calendar year 101 as well as Taipei 101... so kill 2 birds with one stone.
The way to calculate the year in Minguo calendar is to subtract 1911 from the Gregorian year.
So 2012 - 1911 = Year 101.



Watch is 38mm in size and full solid yellow gold.
From my observation, dial looked like enamel... I could be wrong.
Chinese characters at 10 o'clock is "One Zero" and the 1 o'clock is "One"
Put them together and you have One Zero One (101)
Nice...


Watch features an exhibition caseback and movement according to the dealer is not from the Elite or El Primero family of movements.
It's a new old stock movement from Zenith's reserves that have been refinished for this watch that carry the ref Caliber 2572.


I really like the watch but unfortunately, I have yet to warm up to precious metal cases.
Somehow I find them difficult to carry.
RRP for this piece is 280k ntd.
If this one comes in stainless steel, it would be an entirely different story. :-)