GP Cat's Eye - A Creative Way of Expressing the Annual Calendar

Girard-Perregaux’s Three Bridges Tourbillon is perhaps their signature timepiece but the Cat’s Eye range is their quintessential ladies range. From simple time only to complications to high jewellery, the Cat’s Eye is the epitome of feminine timepiece.

The range has further expanded but what I managed to get my hands on for my wife was an earlier year Cat’s Eye Zodiac with the unmistakable ellipse case. A very novel and creative way of time telling.

Aptly named the Cat's Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendar, this white gold example comes with a white dial. The layout of the timepiece makes it easy to read and very intuitive.

The Zodiac calendar is displayed on the bottom half of the dial with the window stretching from the 8 o’clock to 4 o’clock position. The diamond marker points to the day within the zodiac sign (Pisces below) corresponding to the actual date and you can see the zodiac signs on the rotating disc.

The calendar display found at the 2 o’clock position and shaped like a shell is an Annual Calendar complication which means one needs to only adjust the date when it comes to the month of February. Unlike the perpetual calendar which takes into consideration the leap year, annual calendar timepieces don’t.

Another complication is the moon phase indication found at the 6 o’clock position.

Not only do you find the diamonds on the case, two diamonds are found on the dial as indicators. One is the Zodiac indicator and the other representing the stars in the celestial sky.

Finishing on the dial side is nothing short of phenomenal as can be seen here.

On the backside, the open case back gives you the full view of the automatic movement - base calibre being the GP3300 workhorse with an annual calendar and moon phase module.

A nicely engraved gold GP rotor.

Women's timepieces don't get enough coverage. Many mechanical marvels are made for women timepieces as they are more intricate and being smaller in size, requires a lot more skills and craftsmanship to make them elegant yet functional. The world's smallest mechanical movement (JLC Calibre 101) was made for women's timepiece. And at at time when pocket watches were the norm, that was surely a marvel!

The Swatch Diaphane One - A Revolutionary Timepiece

Every now and then, watch behemoth Swatch comes up with something revolutionary (pun intended) and it was in 2001 when they launched the Diaphane One.

It took watch collectors and Swatch fans by surprise that not only did Swatch come up with a mechanical piece, the "complication" was something different.

Technically not a Tourbillon nor a Carousel, the platform (if that is what you can call it), rotates one full revolution in half an hour.

The Swatch DNA was on the Diaphane One - signature plastic casing. But cheap looking it is not and it comes with a nice leather strap too.

However, the finishing on the bridges could be better. Rough on the edges.

The finishing is rather industrious if I may say so and for that price (think EUR3,300 in 2001), I would have expected better.

The timepiece was release as a 2,222 numbered Limited Edition and was sold out very quickly.

On the back of the timepiece you can see a diamond on the case back.

The back side is quite an eyeful - not typical Swatch with a battery but a nicely crafted movement no less

I believe the movement may be hand engraved

Seems like the back end is finished better than the front

Within the 2,222 limitation was 222 which were a limited-limited-edition for the Place Vendome in Paris. What is the difference you may ask? Well, the case back comes with three precious stones - Sapphire, Diamond and Ruby, signifying the tricolours of the French flag.

Swatch came up with another version of the Diaphane but I am happy with what I have - the Original.

I'd be grateful if anyone can point me to who manufactured the movement for Swatch. I read somewhere that it might have been JLC but very little literature on the actual movement and who made it.

What’s in a Name - Project Coalesce

Unite, combine, merge… but more importantly, coalesce is to bring together to form one integrated body and that’s what Project Coalesce by Feynman Timekeepers did. When YK was planning for the project, little did he know the challenges in bringing concept and design to fruition let alone the need to bring together several masters in their own field to craft one set of 3 timepieces.

From left to right - The Lotus, The Peony and The Peacock

Like a conductor in a symphony, YK had to coax the best out of each individual. Almost two solid years from start to finish, the road was anything but easy. Networking and chance played a key role but it was not as easy as picking up the phone and calling. Even while they manage to find an expert, some masters have turn down the request for collaboration - all for different reasons. But those that agreed contributed to the success of Project Coalesce we know today.

Right from the start, YK worked with Chrono.Design to conceptualise the project (Made in Singapore for Singaporeans) and it was through the suggestion of Minxiang of Chrono.Design that the idea of using the Peranakan theme was born. What better way to showcase local culture than selecting the Peranakan theme. Peranakan or Straits-born Chinese have a rich heritage straddling both the Chinese and Malay culture and in earlier days, many such Peranakan homes were well decorated with elaborate tiles and ornaments. The idea struck and the timepieces were born.

How many parties were brought together to finalise the project you ask? No less than 8 different parties with the movement, case and hands coming from overseas suppliers and the rest are local source befitting of the term Made in Singapore!

The Overall Theme & Design

One person which contributed much to Project Coalesce is Minxiang from Chrono.Design. He is the first ever designer Feynman worked with and has been instrumental throughout the whole design process of Project Coalesce. The concept of Peranakan was actually suggested by him and he was part of the team which designed the watch dial.

The Dial

The Lotus

The centre of attraction is the dial - and the Peranakans are well known to use enamelled tiles for and in their homes. Richly coloured tea cups with intricate motifs adorn many Peranakan homes and many such ornaments are still in existence today. So the search for an enamelist began. Through an introduction, YK got to know Charlotte whose family makes specialised bespoke jewellery. Perhaps one of the few enamelists in Singapore, Charlotte has had several years of experience working with enamel and precious metals like gold and silver.

The Peony

While YK had some ideas of what he had wanted, the consultation with Charlotte went to and fro and the final product was somewhat vastly different from the initial impression. I will be posting a separate post on the journey of the enamelling and the challenges. But what I was told was that they had to go through 20 different dials to finally get to the final product we see today.

The Peacock

I asked Charlotte about the series and which dial was the most challenging one and her response was "Definitely Peacock!". I shall be doing an in-depth post on her enamelling and the journey from concept to actualisation.

The Strap

Leading the charge for the strap is Shuyi of Yi Leather. She worked with YK on the strap concept and how they could further enhance the strap. Beading was the answer. If you think the enamelling journey was difficult, finding someone who can do the beading on the strap was no walk in the park either. Initially having found a master, the discussion came to a dead end as the master does not want to work on watch straps. But all was not dead when he suggested they approach Peranakan Beadworks Maker Raymond Wong. As with the enamelling journey, I hope to be able to do a separate post on the excellent work of Shuyi and Mr. Wong on the beading on the strap and the strap making process. The details of the beadwork and that of the strap is very intricate and compliments well the watch dials.

The Watch Engineering

With the design firmly moving in the right direction, YK needed to find the right movement, case shape, hands etc. In comes Alvin Sim, Feynman resident watchmaker and engineer. First things first - deconstruct the whole into smaller parts and find the source that can be integrated into a whole package. Needless to say, Alvin and YK had to go through several trial and error to ensure the final product works, not just aesthetically but also functionally. When they managed to find a pinion, it could be too short and the hands would be pressing on the dial. Too long and the hands would brush on the top sapphire glass. Just on the pinion alone, they went through 8 iterations finally getting it right. Then came the hands - choosing the right material and hand type was critical as the weight of the hands would impact the power loss and amplitude. 4 iterations and 10 meetings later, they settled for titanium hands made by a supplier in Europe.

Case was coming from China and the movement was chosen as the Peseux 7001 (ETA) manual winding movement. Finished to a higher standard than the normal ETA ébauche, the 7001 was a nice fit for the project.

And if you ask why the crown was set at the 4 o’clock position, that’s in line with the Feynman range - their signature. That will be another post on why that is but in short, it has everything to do with the Golden ratio. Perhaps more of that in a separate post.

The Box and Tray

Not only did Feynman focus on the timepiece, they paid attention to the whole package including the box and the tray. Not only is the timepiece important, the whole embodiment of the entire package must be befitting the effort and telling a compelling story. YK had been a fan of the work of Wanyu (IG Deletrium), having seen her pictures she shot for Bovet. She actually had another client at the time when YK engaged her and it was a coincidence that the client was also dealing with Peranakan products. Wanyu took a leap of faith and took both their products and combined into a photoshoot. The results turned out very well and they decided that they should work together. That picture was subsequently published in "The Watch Annual 2022" magazine too.

The box and tray makers commissioned the work and chose the Marina Bay Skyline as the landscape on the box. But what made it even more special was sourcing the talent from the Pathlight School. Pathlight, as some of you may know, is a school for special needs persons and the school’s Artist Development Programme (ADP) brought forth talent like Glenn Phua who also won the F1-UBS Art competition. The makers commissioned Glenn to draw the skyline of Singapore which appears on the box.

Having spoken with YK, Shuyi and Charlotte about the project, I have just begun to understand the challenges and pain that they have gone through to make Project Coalesce a success. For now, I enjoy the set with my wife and look forward to the next project from Feynman Timekeepers.

Sales & Servicing - What Should You Expect From the Watch Brands?

Buying a timepiece is just the first experience and given the current environment, I can say the experience is not great for many - but that will be for another post. To make matters worse, the servicing and support after sales is also anything but acceptable in many cases.

I have had several bad experiences with salespersons as well as service staff from major brands and that is not only sad but unacceptable. It tells me brands are only interested in pushing numbers - selling watches but when they come back for a service, are treated more as an issue than another chance to enhance the buying decision. Allow me to give some negative personal experience...

Poor Sales Experience 1

Three of us went to an Ion Orchard Boutique on the ground level when the boutique just opened - probably around early part of 2012. I was wearing an "entry" model with an ETA7750 movement. Issue was this - If you had pulled the crown and stopped the watch with the seconds hand at the 60 position and the minute hand was at the 25 marker and you now wound the watch forward 10 minutes to the 35 minute marker, depressed the crown and the watch runs for 60 seconds, should the minute hand be at the 36 minute marker after 60 seconds? No, not this particular piece - the minute hand will be short of hitting the 36 minute marker. I asked the sales lady why this was the case.

She brought the watch to her watchmaker and came back to tell me "All automatic watches are like that" to which I told her my Seiko 5 does not have the same issue. I left the boutique disappointed with such cavalier attitude and response and when I got home, wrote an email to the Brand Manager who told me to return the watch to the Boutique. I thought help was at hand, so, I return the watch. Two weeks later, they told me the watch was ready for collection. The same sales lady greeted me at the Boutique and this is what she had to say - "We compared your watch with those in our inventory and they are all the same!".

I promptly sold my watches from that brand and has never gone back to the Boutique nor wanted to be associated with that brand. No follow up from the Brand Manager. Perhaps it was an "entry" model and not worthy of attention. As a fix, I had done some research and it seems that if you wanted to fix this "feature", wind the watch forward 5 minutes of the intended time and turn it backwards. The gears will engage properly and the minute hand will advance "correctly". This is true for all 7750 movements.

Poor Sales Experience 2

More recently, I had gone to a Boutique at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to ask for the availability of a particular watch - this was December 2021. As I approached the Boutique, I was stopped in track by the Security Officer who asked me if I had an appointment. Just to clarify, the shop had all of ZERO customers and the Boutique salesperson was seated behind the shield "working" on her computer. The Security Officer closed the door, walked in and spoke with the Boutique staff. She came out from behind the desk and looking annoyed, asked me what I wanted.

I asked her for a particular "Octagonal" Chronograph watch to which she said - "This watch will only come in next year but I don't know when." So I asked her if there was any watch available to which she replied "All the watches here are for display only", pointing to all three watches in the boutique. Very effective way of telling me to get out so she can continue her work on the computer.

When brands treat their customers with poor, non-existent service, why then do we want to give them our hard-earned money? The best is to vote with our feet and walk away. After all, there are many more brands out there deserving of our support. I guess with the demand for watches out-stripping supply today, watch brands can afford to take their customers for granted.

Poor Servicing Experience

What inspired me to write this post was the post made by @perezcope on his IG account where he highlighted the experience of sending his Pre Vendôme Panerai for inspection and potential service to Panerai in Neuchâtel. Not only did they damage the watch, they had the audacity to send the watch back in a damaged condition!

I had a similar experience with a Swiss brand years back. I had sent in my 1993 "vintage inspired" rose gold anniversary piece for servicing. I was told by the person handling my watch that they could service it in Singapore and she proceeded to make a quote to me which I promptly agreed to. Two weeks later, I was told they needed to send the watch back to Switzerland. No reason was given but she was "nice enough" to say that since I had accepted the initial quote, they will honour the quote and all additional charges will be absorbed by the brand.

Three months past and I received a call informing me that watch was ready for collection. Bearing in mind this was a 1993 anniversary piece and the patina has developed quite nicely and I sent it in around 2010 for the said service. When I arrived at the servicing centre, the lady took out the watch and had this to say - "Sir, you are so lucky! We changed your rose gold hands for free!"... What? Changed the hands? No one asked me if I had agreed to the change? I asked what the issue was and her response was "The hands were corroded" - what nonsense! I asked for evidence but they could not produce it.

I am sure someone tried to service it locally thinking he/she could do the job. After all, how difficult could it be to service a watch that has a pocket watch movement. But they screwed up the servicing, probably damaged my watch and sent it back to HQ to be rescued. But what was totally unacceptable was "blaming" it on my watch - hands were corroded they said. Even if they were, shouldn't they ask me before they replaced the hands? They should have shown me the evidence of the corrosion and the extent to which they were corroded. Only when I agreed that they can proceed. But no, they went ahead without getting consent from me. The watch came back with brand new hands and a nicely patina dial and markers. Difference in patina between the hands and the rest of the watch was so obvious.

All the experiences I have had so far in this journey is that many brands don't pay much attention to the after sales aspect of watch ownership. They seem to think that their job is done when the watch is sold. They keep pushing numbers out the door without as much as thinking about the servicing that is required post sales.

Having had those experiences, which is by no means the only negative ones, I have also had good experiences too. Brands that pay attention to their customer base knows all too well that the ownership experience extends far beyond the purchase - that is just the start. The ownership experience must be seen as a journey. A constant journey of engagement with the owners. After all, we don't only buy one piece from a brand but a negative experience will surely drive us away. And maybe for good.

Grand Seiko Elegance - Sky Blue SBGW283 Spring

The Grand Seiko artisans in Iwate Prefecture has again come up with another winning blue dial variant - called the Spring. Inspired by the surrounding in the Grand Seiko Shizukuishi Studio in northern Japan, these artisans (Takumi) craft these timepieces to reflect the seasons. In the case of the SBGW283, the light blue hue reflects the skies above Mount Iwate - during a season known as Kishun, the beginning of summer.

Encased in a 37.3mm diameter steel case, the SBGW283 is the perfect size - I can wear it, and so can my wife.

As you can imagine, the Grand Seiko range of timepieces are well known for their fine finishing.

Zaratsu-polished hands and markers give the expected shine on the timepieces as one would expect from Grand Seiko.

Take a look at the side of the 12 o'clock marker above and you will know what I mean.

And the texture on the dial reminds me of fine paper mache.

What I really like about the SBGW283 Elegance range is the clean dial - no date window and no power reserve like those on the Spring Drive. Just a clean and unobstructed view of the dial for you to admire.

The manual winding movement belongs to Calibre 9S64. Comes with an impressive 72 hours of power reserve thanks to a long mainspring.

The 9S series movements uses exclusive Spron alloy for the main and balance spring.

The movements are adjusted by hand of the highly skilled craftsmen at the Shizukuishi Studio. We understand that each watch is tested for 17 days in six different positions and at three different temperatures.

And with the new releases in the GS range, the Seiko Lion motif can be found on the sapphire case back.

The accompanying blue croc leather strap is very supple but a tad too long for a small wrist like mine - time to switch that out for a shorter strap so that wifey can wear that too.

When I first starpped it on, it's a very comfortable timepiece that sits well on my puny wrist. Weighing in at slightly above 60g, you can be forgiven for not feeling the weight.

The authorised dealer will activate your watch warranty at the point of purchase. The warranty card has a QR Code and when you scan the code, it will bring you to a website for you to key in your watch number and they will be able to show you if the watch is still within warranty or not.

The timepieces SBGW283 and SBGW285 (dark green dial) are both not limited editions and are now available at the Authorised Dealers. Hope you enjoy the photos of my SBGW283.