ZENITH ESPADA, JUST NOT MEANT TO BE

Something really disappointing happened to me.

Was going to purchase a Zenith Espada black dial on bracelet.

Price have been agreed on and I have the watch shipped over to my local AD from Kuala Lumpur HQ.

Everything seems to be going well until the sizing of the bracelet.

Due to the length of the bracelet, it either turns out too tight with no space for the wrist's expansion during hot days or too loose.

Even in the air conditioned enviroment, it fits tight.

Add in one more link and the watch is too loose.

And I do mean loose... it will slide up and down too much and the watch can even slide to the downside of my wrist.

Not good.

And there is no half link available (what was Zenith thinking?)

The links were between 8-10mm in length... sigh...

Double butterfly clasp means that there is no micro adjustments.

Such a waste.

Bracelet is nicely constructed and sturdy.

Clasp is a wonder to operate.

All this is useless without a half link.

My AD was kind enough to let me back out from the sale.

All credit to them.

Well, with one watch on my wishlist striked out... which can only mean one thing... on the hunt for something else!! lol

As for Zenith, unless their bracelets come with half links, I will steer clear for the moment and only look at their leather or crocodile strap watches.

Rant over.

SUBMARINER CERAMIC REF:114060

After letting go of 2 pieces in my current collection, I have some extra funds to acquire this piece just in time for Chinese New Year.

The Basel 2012 launched Submariner Ceramic ref:114060.
It's time for a review.

As expected, the markers and the hands of the watch have gone maxi as well as the case.

Notice the thicker lugs. This makes the whole watch appear squarish. Some people hate it. I like it.
Check out the sharp and crisp bezel.

See what I mean about the watch looking squarish?
To some people, it seems like the flow of the case to the bracelet is somewhat stunted... Looks ok to me on the wrist though.

Bezel insert is now ceramic.
Markings and graduations are in platinum dust.
Ceramic is shiny and according to Rolex, will never fade, lose it's luster and virtually scratchproof and indestructible.
I don't buy the indestructible part as ceramic is known to be quite brittle.

Due to the lack of the date feature. Markings on the dial now reads "oyster perpetual"
4 lines of text on the bottom half of the dial.
Movement powering the watch is the Rolex Caliber 3131.
Movement is basically a 3130 but fitted with Rolex's in house developed parachrom blue hairspring.

Clasp is now the new fliplock clasp with the gridelock feature.
Nicely executed. Sturdy in design and function.
The old tuna can clasps are a thing of the past.
As much complaints as there are on the tuna can clasps, they will work flawlessly for 10-20 years without much problems.
Will this new design be the same? I sure do hope so.

The gridelock clasp are a welcomed improvement.
A very ingenious way of tightening or loosening the fit in 2mm increments up to a total of 20mm... all without using any tools at all!! Excellent design.

Folks with small wrists will rejoice with another improvement.
The 6 o'clock side of the bracelet can now be removed leaving a minimum of 3 links. 
Used to be 5... and the problem is this will cause the clasp will rest uneven on the wrist. Not anymore now.
And they also include a half link for you!!
So the uneven clasp resting to the side of your wrist is also a thing of the past. (folks that have small wrists and have owned the previous iteration of this model will understand)
In order to get the clasp centralised, I used 3 and a half link on the 6 o'clock side and 5 links on the 12 o'clock side.
My wrist size? 6.75 inch.
Bracelet links of course are now all solid.

Tadaaa!! Finally... the Rolex people must have been listening.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the watch.
It wears comfortably on my wrist.
The absence of the date means that it will fit into my regular rotation and if it happens to exhaust the power reserve, just wind it up, set the time and go.
To most people, the purest of the Submariner reference will have to be without the date. And I agree completely!

GONG XI FA CAI

Apologies for the late wishes.

Here's a Happy Chinese New Year to everyone.

May the year of the Snake brings prosperity and good health.

Will be rotating between these 2 watches during Chinese New Year.

Was fortunate enough to meet with a fellow WIS from Penang as well.

Had some wonderful time with his family.

The Submariner 114060 is a newly acquired piece 2 days before Chinese New Year.

Will do a review after enough wrist time.

Enjoy the holidays folks!!

STRAP COMPARISONS

I recently received yet a few more straps that I have ordered.
To date, I have owned and tried straps from 3 different strapmakers.
Cheergiant of Taiwan, Peter Gunny of Indonesia and Simona of Italy.
So it's only logical that I would compare them.

The 3 straps that I will be comparing is:-
1. Saree Series Strap by Peter Gunny. USD89.90 shipping not included. (USD25 for shipping)
2. Ultrasoft Brown Calf Strap by Cheergiant. USD75.00 shipping included.
3. Toscano Honey Strap by Simona. USD131.85 (EUR100.00) shipping not included. (EUR35 for shipping)

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1st up will be the Gunny Saree Series Strap.
Taupe colour, 24mm no taper with sewn in flat brushed buckle.

The colour is very nice.
Matches the look of the watch.
Could be just me but when mounted on this strap, the watch markers look a tad cream... like patina.

The strap is 4mm thick, 3 layers.
Lug end part is thin.
Which causes a gap when strap is mounted on.
I don't like this at all.

Stitching work is uniform and clean.
Heavy duty thread. Should be able to last a long time.
Sewn in brushed flat buckle is comfortable.

As I have mentioned, strap is made up of 3 layers.
2 thin layers sandwiching a thicker middle layer.
Raw finishing makes this strap looks tough and vintage.

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Next up is the Cheergiant ultrasoft calf strap.
Dark brown in colour, 24mm taper to 22mm using OEM buckle.

The darker more uniform colour gives this watch a more subdued look. Less brutal.

Strap is 4mm thick, 2 layers.
The lugend part of the strap is thicker thus the fit does not reveal a huge gap when mounted.

Stitching work is very uniform.
Thread is not waxed enough though and after some use, will start to go hairy.
Strap is fitted with the OEM Panerai Buckle.

Edges of the strap is sealed.
A very clean look.
You can notice some of the threads getting hairy.

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Last will be the Simona Toscano.
Honey colour, 24mm no taper with sewn in brushed curved buckle.

The honey miele colour is nice paired with the watch.

Strap is 4mm thick.
Very thick at the lugends so there are no gaps when mounted.

I find the stitching abit uneven.
The tip is also slightly misaligned.
Brushed curved buckle is nice.
Buckle is signed.

The edges are sealed.
I find the seals not as clean as the ones done by Cheergiant as you can see the contact point between the layers clearly.

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Conclusion.

I find the 3 straps comes with pros and cons.
Cheergiant is the cheapest and also most well made.
Gunny strap is the softest and most comfortable to wear.
Toscano is the thickest and I especially loved the thick lugends.

In my opinion.
The perfect strap would have the cost of the Cheergiant strap, the comfortable wear of the Gunny strap and the thickness of the Toscano strap.

But if I had to pick one.
Cheergiant will be it. (Close 2nd would be Gunny)