A BATHING APE "BAPEX SUBMARINER"

Well, this is unexpected... received this on behalf of a good friend and decided to have a look at the watch.

It's the Bapex Submariner... a homage of the Rolex Submariner by the Japanese fashion brand A Bathing Ape.

The design is lifted directly from Rolex Submariner's iconic design.

Movement is an automatic.

No details on the movement in the manual but I suspect it's a Miyota Movement as the hand winding felt similar to my Laco Pilot which is powered by Miyota as well but without a date.

Cyclops for magnifying the date is not the usual 2.5x but less.

Printing on the dial is crisp, Bapex by A Bathing Ape at the top and Made by Human on the bottom...

Made by Human... erm... ok... :-P

Clasp and diver's extention features the Ape logo.
The clasp mirrors Rolex's double fliplock clasp.
It locks in firm enough but it hurts my nails a little trying to unlock it. Maybe after a period of use, it will be smoother.

Bracelet construction is ok.

After removing some links, i can see that the bracelet is made of solid midlinks.

The screw pins does not sit as flush though...

Finishing of the bezel is acceptable too.

120 clicks uni-directional.

Crown is screwed in.

But I can't feel or see the gasket.

Also the crown sit's below the case and the crownguards as opposed to aligned like the original.

No water resistant rating on the manual as well.

I think it will survive rainwater... I wouldn't risk anything more that that.

Caseback looks to be screwed in as well.

A sticker with the Ape logo.

Being a Rolex Submariner homage, it wears similar to one alright.

But the feel of "solidity" is not present.

Fit and finish could be improved but I doubt the target market of this watch will look beyond the brand.

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!

TUDOR SUBMARINER 94110

This is one of the watch in my collection that I deem "Untouchable"

Reason being these are harder and harder to come by in good condition and with the amount of franken watches out there, it's very hard to determine the authenticity.

And the best reason is, based on the serial number, this watch is actually produced on the same year I was born.

Yes... this watch is as old as I am... born on the year 1979.

Tudor Submariner 94110 "Snowflake"

Often referred to as the "Poor man's Submariner"

They are run on ETA movements but the case, bracelet and design is as Rolex as it gets.

Only thing missing is the crown on the dial.

This particular reference 94110 comes with the Snowflake Dial and Hands. Iconic in looks and design.

This year, Tudor actually released not one but two models paying homage to the Snowflake era.

I happen to come across this watch when a good friend of mine wanted to sell it. Needless to say, I bought it.

It was sent for service at Taipei Rolex Service Centre and verified that the movement and case matched.

When I received this watch, a quick check on the serial number database confirmed that this watch was manufactured on the year 1979!! My birth year!! Totally unexpected!! I am overjoyed.

Watch initially came without any bracelet.

Naturally, the hunt is on for a suitable endlink ref: 308b and a bracelet ref: 9315.

And boy was is hard to find... and expensive!!

This experience have made me wary of going into vintage watches anymore. Likely this will be the only vintage I own.

Bracelet is the older folded link type.

A real hassle to resize. But I did it myself anyway.

Remember the talk about patina on the Rolex Submariner post?

This is what I'm talking about.

Notice the tritium markers and hands colour has aged unevenly.

Some darker than others. This is what I call character.

No other watch will look like mine. This is unique to this watch alone. And alot of people value that.

Check out some of the peeling and cracking tritium.

The "T Swiss T" below the 6 o'clock markers is a sign that Tritium is used as the luminous material.

Shared the "Submariner" name with his bigger Rolex brother but water resistance is only rated at 200m.

Case design and screw in case back is also borrowed from the bigger brother Rolex.

Caseback engraving clearly states "Original Oyster Case by Rolex Geneva"

Crown is also Rolex signed... the Rolex Trip-lock Crown.

Check out the thick domed plexi glass.

Watches back then did not have the luxury of using box formed sapphire crystals... plexi is used.

Minor scratches can be polished off by using toothpaste... yes... toothpaste.

Drilled lugholes for easy bracelet or strap changes.

A little discrepancy I faced with the bracelet though.

Although it is clearly stamped ref: 9315... the width at the lug end is 18mm instead of 20mm... you can see from the picture above.

Now from what I know, Tudor did make some smaller Submariners... even Mini Subs... could this be a bracelet for those watches but stamped as the same 9315 reference code as well?

I don't really know but I suspect so. Not a deal breaker in anyway as the bracelet fit the endlinks.

I find this watch as versatile as the bigger brother the Rolex Submariner. I wear this mostly on nato strap which looks nicer.

Now do I think of this as a "Poor man's Submariner"? 

Definitely not. It can hold it's own even today.

For a 33 year old watch still running at +-4 seconds a day? Absolutely admirable.

Since the release of Tudor's newer models paying homage to this watch namely the Black Bay and Pelagos, demand for these have increased of late together with the asking prices. I am glad I got mine before all this and from a good friend which I consider my horology teacher.

ROLEX SUBMARINER 14060

Today I am gonna talk about one of the most iconic watch of all time. Equally lauded and criticized, loved and hated.

The evergreen Rolex Submariner ref: 14060.

This is a T serial year 1996 model ref: 14060 powered by the Rolex caliber 3000.

This Rolex caliber have been heavily criticized by Walter Odets when he reviewed the Rolex Explorer ref: 14270 fitted with the same caliber. He did marvel at the accurate timekeeping of the movement though.

Models after the year 1999 (A serial and after) have been upgraded to a newer movement which is Caliber 3130 carrying ref: 14060M.

And on year 2007 (M serial and after) the watch is upgraded yet again with the movement Caliber 3130 now being undergone COSC certification. Model ref remain as 14060M.

So, the 14060 and the 14060M before year 2007 is fondly referred to as a "Submariner 2 Liner" (2 lines of text above the 6 o'clock marker reading SUBMARINER and 1000FT = 300M)

Whereas those manufactured on the year 2007 and after is called the "Submariner 4 Liner" (4 lines of text in addition to the SUBMARINER and 1000FT = 300M, there's also SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER and OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED) which adds 2 lines of text hence 4 liner.

All I can say is Chronometer certified or not, my Rolex Submariner definitely kept excellent time with a deviation of +-2 seconds a day!!

Just look at that dial.

This design has been copied so many times and not to mention all the fakes and replicas around that it's actually funny just thinking about it. Have anyone wondered why it's been copied or replicated so much? I would say it's because the design is universally appealing. The design slowly but surely draws you in.

The mercedes hands, the triangular / rectangular / round markers... all work in tandem, the whole package.

One mistake that annoy me is that alot of people refer this to the Submariner No Date or Sub ND.

In actual fact, this is called the Submariner.

And the other one is called the Submariner DATE.

Just something I want to clarify though.

I used to hate Rolex.

Yes... as a brand and everything.

Their watches seemed outdated, bracelets are flimsy, premium pricing and of course, the stigma that came with wearing one.

But I was wrong as I did not know that there are actually less blingy sports / professional stainless steel models like this one.

Understated, iconic, robust and reliable.

This being a 1996 manufactured watch meant that at the time, Tritium is still used as the luminous material.

As you can see below the 6 o'clock marker.

Swiss - T<25 as opposed to the newer Swiss or Swiss made.

The allure of the tritium dial and hands is that in time, the tritium will start to patina, which will cause the colour to change from white to cream and sometimes dark brown.

Rolex collectors seems to like it as it is something unique to the watch. No two watches will have the exact same patina.

Unfortunately for me, when I bought this watch (online transaction), the bezel insert was a fake. So I had to go to my local Rolex Uncle to get it sorted out. Changed to a new original bezel insert but not with a Tritium pearl / pip... it's luminova.

So no patina on the pip for me to look forward to.

But at least watch is now all original.

The most criticism for Rolex watches is targeted at the clasp and bracelet. Fondly called the "Tuna Can" bracelet and clasp.

Reason being the clasp is stamped pieces of thin metal (but strong) sheets and non solid bracelet links.

They rattle, they're lightweight.... but they work... for decades mostly without fail.

And they're extremely comfortable on the wrist.

The holes at the side of the clasp is for micro adjustments.

Can be done easily with a toothpick to adjust the fitting with 5mm increments.

But now, the modern Rolex with 6 digit references have all been upgraded with new solid links bracelet and new clasp construction.

As far as I know, the new ones works like a charm too... and feels sturdier and heavier.

The Rolex Submariner is the only model which comes with drilled lugholes and still comes with non solid end links all the way until it's discontinuation this year (Replaced by the new ref: 114060). It makes it so much easier to change bracelets to Nato straps or leather straps. A toothpick is all that's needed.

The 3 dots on the crown below the erm... crown means that Water Resistance is guaranteed to 300m depth.

This is known as Rolex Trip-Lock crown.

Love it or hate it, it is my opinion that a Rolex have to be present in any serious watch collection. Just wouldn't be complete without it.

Until today, this Submariner is still one of the most comfortable watches I have ever worn.

A good friend of mine have pestered me to sell it to him for ages... and I suspect that I most probably would... only to "upgrade" to a 4 liner or the latest Ceramic Submariner ref: 114060

That is if I can afford it. :-)