Romain Jerome - New Start with Manuel Emch

Romain Jerome is well associated with the Titanic. JR CEO Mr Manuel Emch was in town recently and I manage to catch up with him to have a better understanding of the watches, the brand and the man.

Manuel was candid and he told me about how the brand has moved on from very negative vibes to what he calls positive provocation. To be different, one needs to be provocative but in a positive way. The brand chooses to use different materials like steel from the Titanic and moon dust and blend culture into their products.

I was interested in how the case of the Titanic DNA watches are made. Manuel said a piece of steel used to build the Titanic is the starting point. Melted down and mixed with more steel, the material is then shaped into the case and then treated to prevent further oxidation. Then it is coated with PVD to stabilize the material.

Featured here is the Titanic-DNA Steampunk Red Auto. Measuring 50mm across, the numbers 12 and 6 are "unfinished". Coming in several iterations, I like this one best.

The solid case back of the watch explains the materials used - gold, steel and titanium. I believe the automatic movement beating inside is a Sellita.

The next range is the Moon DNA range and I took to the Skylab. Limited to 99 pieces and coming in three variants, I like the steel version best. Well, Manuel tells me they managed to get their hands on some parts from the Apollo 11 and used it for the case.

The skeleton watch is 44mm with a satin finish. Other than the case, the watch is very unlike RJ. Simple and elegant.

At the six o'clock position is the balance wheel and when beating, looks like a flying tourbillon. The watch is rather well finished.

And now the black PVD version.

And a wrist shot of the black.

One more look at the watch. Notice the lugs - they are hollowed out and see through.

More about lugs and a special collection of Romain Jerome watches in a follow up post. Thanks to the Hour Glass for arranging the interview.

IWC & The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

This year, IWC celebrates the French pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and pays tribute to his book Le Petit Prince - The Little Prince.

The book celebrates its 70th Birthday and IWC is launching 2 Limited Special Edition watches to commemorate this occasion. The book has sold more than 150 million copies and translated into 270 languages. The two watches - Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar and Pilot Mark XVII feature the little boy from the story. IWC hosted the event at the Ion Boutique.

The boutique was decorated with all things The Little Prince…

And a group of us came in a dressed theme of red pants/bermudas with white top and jacket. But some came with other red and white combo for one reason or the other. Here are the brothers on song...

Free flow of good food and Schaffhausen wine… what more could we ask for - a free watch maybe?

And Edouard opened the evening with a speech - explaining to those not in the know the history of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and the collaboration with the brand.

What is the Little Prince event without little princes and princesses? Some bigger than others but many friends of the brand brought their family along. Making a special appearance with a reading of the book was local celebrity Mr. Chua En Lai.

Mr. Chua assisted by Sidney of IWC. And Massi paying special attention to his little princess in the front row.

But to many who turned up, we came here for a reason - to see the watches. Both watches come with blue dial which is reserved for special editions of IWC timepieces. The Pilot Mark XVII is simple enough yet special.

The special feature on the watch is found on the seconds hand. A small star is found at the end of the seconds hand.

The blue dial is a deep midnight blue and as with all IWC Pilot watches comes protected against magnetic fields. The steel watch is limited to 1,000 watches.

And I really like the blue dial - JoKoh, this one is for you!

And the other attraction for the night is the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar edition Le Petit Prince.

Already an icon for the brand, the rose gold limited edition is limited to 270 watches.

Featuring a full perpetual calendar with 4 digit display for the years, the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar has a midnight blue dial and if you look carefully will spot the very special feature.

Coming with a full 7 days power reserve courtesy of the IWC-manufactured 51613 calibre, the Big Pilot perpetual calendar has a definite presence. On the moon phase is where you find the special feature...

The little prince standing on the moon gazing into the star filled sky. IWC did a good job of presenting the moon phase the way they did. An ingenious idea. Awesome!

Edouard mentioned that some of the proceeds of the sale of the watches will go to helping establish a school in Cambodia.

And before long, it was time to go. But I will revisit the boutique again soon to discover more IWC timepieces especially the Portuguese hand wound 8 days. Another beautiful piece by IWC. Thanks to the IWC team for a wonderful night. Well done!

Issey Miyake - A Special Seiko

This is a not often found Seiko watch - designed by Tokujin Yashioka and produced by Issey Miyake.

Minimalist in design, I find this watch very understated. I believe the mechanism is very much similar to the Seiko Disc Burger watch. Only that this one does not have a seconds disc. The watch comes in two versions - a quartz version and the automatic version.

The hour hand is one the outer disc while the minute hand is on the inside - some getting used to. Watch case is about 45mm and slightly thick at about 13mm.

The stainless steel case comes with markings on the bezel indicating the 12 markers. The silver dial is well made to look like one homogenous piece. Pretty well finished I must say. Definitely a watch for the weekend.

Beating inside is the 23 jewel automatic Seiko calibre 6R15. Has 50 hours power reserve.

Oddly enough my watch although hardly worn has rusted. I brought it back to Thong Sia for servicing only for them to tell me they don't service "such" a watch. In the first place, they did not even recognize the watch as being a Seiko. At the end, they took the easy way out and told me they don't service this watch. It's a shame.

I have sent it to another watch repairer and hopefully, it will be ticking again soon. And now, a wristshot.

GPHG 2013 at the L 'Atelier by The Hour Glass

This year, L'Atelier by The Hour Glass is hosting the Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Geneve (GPHG) exhibition in Singapore and this will happen from 22nd November to 28th November.

The cocktail was on the 22nd at the Ion Shopping Centre, at The L 'Atelier by The Hour Glass (Level 3). Our gang of watch enthusiasts were at hand to view the collection.

For those who are not familiar with the L 'Atelier, the set up resembles that of a watch workshop - an actual atelier. Here is a shot of the workbench found inside L'Atelier.

The event started with Dr. Bernard Cheong giving a history of GPHG and the significance.

And then it was off to see the watches on display. Some very significant pieces and worthy winners. The Type 3 by Ressence won the Horological Revelation Prize.

The Tudor Heritage Black Bay won the Revival Prize - another worthy winner.

The Lange 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar won the prize for Grande Complication. I understand this category has many contenders and although Lange won (and I definitely agree they are a deserving winner), I think all the candidates in this category are winners.

A close up of the winner!

Isn't this a beauty? A beautiful complication.

And the biggest winner is the Girard Perregaux Constant Force Escapement which won the Aiguille d’Or prize.

A close up of the Constant Force Escapement. Notice the iconic bridge?

For the ladies category, I always like the complications from Van Cleef & Arpels. They won with the Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée. What an elegant piece featuring a double retrograde minutes and hours.

In total, there are 15 winners and all the watches are on display at the L'Atelier at The Hour Glass at the Ion Shopping Centre (Level 3). I would not spoil the fun for you as it would be better if you had gone down to see it for yourself. And I am sure you will agree with me that all the watches on display are worthy winners!

Congrats to all the winner especially to the Harbrings, Mr. Philippe Dufour for winning why Special Jury Prize as well as Mr. Vianney Halter for winning the Innovation Prize for the Deep Space Tourbillon. The full list is below:

“Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix: Girard-Perregaux, Constant Escapement L.M.

Grande Complication Prize: A. Lange & Söhne, 1815 Rattrapante Perpetuel Calendar

Ladies’ Complications Watch Prize: Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée

Ladies’ Watch Prize: DeLaneau, Rondo Translucent Champagne

Men’s Complications Watch Prize: Romain Gauthier, Logical One

Men’s Watch Prize: Voutilainen, V-8R

Innovation Prize: Vianney Halter, Deep Space Tourbillon

Jewellery Watch Prize: Chopard, L’Heure du Diamant

Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Chanel, Mademoiselle Privé Camélia Brodé

Sports Watch Prize: Zenith, El Primero Stratos Flyback Stricking 10th

“Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize: Habring2, Jumping Second Pilot

Revival Prize: Tudor, Heritage Black Bay

Horological Revelation Prize: Ressence, Type 3

Special Jury Prize: Philippe Dufour

List courtesy of WorldTempus

Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Geneve - L 'Atelier by The Hour Glass

This year, L'Atelier by The Hour Glass will be hosting the Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Geneve (GPHG) exhibition in Singapore.

The exhibition is open to the public from November 22nd to November 28th, 2013 and will be at L'Atelier at the Ion Shopping Centre at Level 3.

70 watches will be pre-selected by the jury and will be on show at the exhibition. Stay tuned for more coverage.

Orange & Durians - What a Sight!

Who says orange and durians don't go? Check this out.

The Orange Grand Cru watch by Blancier with our favorite fruit - the durian! And in this case, the Mao Shan Wang. I had earlier posted about the Blancier.

The Mao Shan Wang is probably the most sought after variety of durians which incidentally is called the King of Fruits. The flesh is creamy and tastes bitter and sweet at the same time. I learnt something new today - the word durian is partly derived from the Malay word "duri" which means thorn (Source - Sunday Times).

Take a look at the amount of flesh on this one. This one happens to have a very small seed - what we call jiu jee.

The durians are of very good grade.

Every fruit was good… and I mean GOOD! Ah Meng is an honest seller - bad ones he does not bring in from Johor. You only get good ones from him.

I had earlier posted another durian session. Also from Ah Meng my regular supplier. Check this out.

Mr. Range - Story of The Singapore Lange Connoisseurs Lunch

The Singapore Lange Connoisseurs Lunch was hosted by Michelle and her dedicated team from Lange Singapore. And the lunch was hosted at Yakitori Enmaru at Ion.

Like they say, some things are lost in translation. For example the name… Mr. Lange became Mr. Range.

I thought it was cute so I took a wrist shot of my companions… venture a guess whose wrists/watches these are?

And then my Range 1 on a Lange stand...

Seated beside me is the owners of a Rose Gold Black Dial Datograph. My preferred combination for the Datograph. Some call it the Dufour Datograph or the Dufourgraph. I absolutely love this watch. Just waiting for the right time when it is available and at the right price. Although it is not a Limited Edition piece, the RGBD version is rather rare.

And perhaps the oldest Lange at the gathering that afternoon. A Lange pocket watch with an enamel dial. Serial number has it dated back to 1908.

And before I forget why we were there, here is the food! Peter ordered the Chirashi sushi.

Larry had the ginger pork.

Terence had the beef. Understand the beef is tender and well cooked.

Kee Siew and I had the yakitori. Good stuff since this is after all a Yakitori restaurant.

And the band of brothers! Chap kor anyone?

Brothers in arms. I love the 1815 - slim and elegant.

And before we knew it, lunch was over and we headed down to the Ion Boutique. Couldn't resist so I asked for all the brothers to lay down their watches…a million dollar tray. Well almost.

A different look at the watches on display.

A trio of Datograph - how often you see so many versions of the Datograph. For a moment, we had more variety than the boutique.

And the highlight of the tray must be the Lange 1 Tourbillon. One can only dream of owning such a rare beauty. So I admire only...

Many thanks again to the team from A. Lange & Sohne. Hope we can do another one real soon. In the meantime, I continue to dream about the Lange 1 Tourbillon and search for the RGBD Datograph.