Kurono Chronograph 3 - Hisui

As many of you may know, I am a big fan of Kurono timepieces. Needless to say, I have the full range of the Chronographs starting with the black and white versions.

The latest release by Kurono (receiving in December 2023) is the Chronograph 3 otherwise named the Hisui.

Hisui in Japanese refers to a special jade stone also known as Itoigawa Jadeite. Apparently, it is unique to Japan but commercial mining for Hisui is prohibited. The only way one can get it is through picking them up as loose stones along streams and the good folks at Kurono has included that as a gift. That's thoughtful of them.

I really love the green hue of the Hisui. Coupled with the white and light green subdial, this is perhaps one of the most attractibe Kurono Chronograph.

Overall finishing of Hisui is also good for a timepiece at this price point.

Here's the Chronograph 1 Mark.2 with a brown and chocolate dial (below)

And this the Chronograph 2 White (below)

And the "original" Chronograph 2 released in 2021.

And now the Hisui...

For me, the Hisui is the most attractive of the lot. I am not one for green but this shade of green is charming.

So which one is your favourite Kurono Chronograph?

Servicing my 1815 Chronograph - Drago Design Timepiece Servicing

Servicing a timepiece is (at least to me) one of the most important aspects of owning a timepiece - if not more so than making the acquisition. I managed to find a service/repair specialist in Drago Design Timepiece Servicing located right here in Singapore.

I have had several timepieces serviced at Drago Design and I have to say I am impressed with the work they have done. My first complication "test" with Drago was the Roger Dubuis Sympathie Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar Chronograph.

The repair shop is what you would expect...

Managed to catch a glimpse of some timepieces awaiting to be assembled (below)

Drago Design won't do a job they are not confident with so I had full confidence in handing over my 1815 Chronograph for service. As what any repair shop will do, they disassembled the timepiece and cleaned all the parts. They were nice enough to let me document this striptease...

The watchmaker was busy with the assembly of my piece when I arrived and was lucky enough to be able to photograph him working on the assembly.

Take a look at some of the parts of the 1815 Chronograph... Pardon the lighting. Could have done a better job...

The results speaks for itself - take a look at the pictures below of the finally assembled timepiece....

Spa trip successful!

Back in my arms again... the A Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph.

If you want to service your timepieces, you may contact Drago Design at

Tel: 6284 8123

Year of the Dragon - Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph

This coming year is The Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar and Tag Heuer has launched the Carrera Chronograph Year of the Dragon.

Coming in two variants - rose gold and steel, the steel is limited to 300 pieces worldwide while the rose gold piece is limited to 50 pieces worldwide.

The red sub-dials and the croc strap are more burgundy than red - and I like it!

I managed to snag one of the steel version. Comes in a nice red leather box with a special inscription.

The back of the case features an exhibition case back with a printed Dragon.

Beating inside is the in-house Calibre Heuer 02 movement offering 80 hours of power reserve

The silver sunburst dial of the timepiece adds a charm to it.

The Chinese calligraphy word for Dragon is inscribed at the 6 o'clock position above the date window.

The chrono hand is colour coordinated.

Side profile of the timepiece showing the signed crown.

Retails for SGD9,000 (inclusive of 8% GST), I think it is a great proposition for those born in the Year of the Dragon.

The steel case is 42mm and the timepiece is rated to 100m water resistance. Reference number CBN201H.FC6553.

If you want want, better go get it soon... it's really limited. By the way, this is my first Tag Heuer timepiece!

Leica ZM11 - New Timepiece Release

The new ZM11 is the second timepiece by camera specialist Leica, the first being the L1 and L2, now renamed the ZM1 and ZM2. The movement for both the ZM1 and ZM2 were made by Lehmann Präzision aka Lehmann Uhren. For the ZM11, the movement is done in collaboration with Chronode SA, Switzerland

The ZM11 comes in three variants - the Launch Edition, the Midnight Blue and the Coffee Black (Kopi-O in local language). First up the launch edition in Titanium. This launch version comes in a Grade 5 titanium case with a rubber strap.

What's interesting about this piece is the dual layered dial... In the words of Leica the dial "is our canvas, where light, shadow and design converge, evoking the subtle charm of sunlight passing through blinds."

Under different lighting conditions, the dial looks black but angle the watch face, you will be able to see the red hues.

The Midnight Blue is easily the favourite piece.

This is a steel case watch with steel integrated bracelet. Nice heft to it, as any sport watch should be.

The last in the line up is the Coffee Black.

A black dial with dark brown gradient. Indices are gold and so are the hands.

The integrated bracelet either in steel or titanium is a nice touch. The movement is made by movement specialist Chronode SA, Switzerland.

The movement is the Leica LA–3001 done in collaboration with Chronode SA. The automatic movement provides 60 hours of power reserve.

Clinical is all I can say about the movement finishing.

A nice feature of the timepiece is a quick release for the bracelet change. Two buttons on the underside of the case on either side are the quick release buttons.

Thanks to Leica Singapore, I was able to handle these timepieces. My favourite is still the blue dial version in steel.

Go to this link for more information on the Leica ZM11. Better still, go to the Leica Singapore store to see it yourself and speak with the specialists there.