Sunday 26 November 2023

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.

Saturday 18 November 2023

Kintoshi Kyoto - Elegance Blue

This year I came across a new brand Kintoshi Kyoto and was enamoured by their porcelain dial Elegance series.

The first edition is the Elegance blue.

Enjoy the photo essay

The little details are executed well I must say...

A fume blue porcelain dial

Priced at US$1,750 for this beauty.

The green version is coming out soon. Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Monday 13 November 2023

October GTG at Seafood Shack - Part 2

The Seafood Shack GTG was small and cosy and definitely lots of interesting pieces that I have not seen before. Our gatherings are around two themes (we have two wrists) and this time around they are (1) Coloured Dial (non black or white) and (2) GMT or Second Time Zone pieces. In Part 1 of the coverage, we featured coloured dials. Now, we check out the GMT or Second Time Zone pieces.

Let's explore the first GMT timepiece - the Bvlgari Diagono Professional GMT

This steel 40mm timepiece comes with an automatic movement and a day/night ring around the periphery of the dial.

The Seiko World Time 1964 6217 was first released to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. This vintage piece belongs to one of our vintage collector Ken.

Now on to something more contemporary, the Nomos Zurich Worldtimer Weltzeit "Red Dot" Edition. This piece was made specially in celebration of The Hourglass' 40th Anniversary. Made exclusively for The Hour Glass and Watches of Switzerland, the salmon dial version was limited to 15 pieces, while the white dial version was limited to 35 pieces.

Another anniversary piece is the Grand Seiko GMT 10th anniversary edition. With the lovely royal blue dial, this GMT was limited to 700 pieces.

Up next is the Formex Reef GMT. What's special about this watch is the ability to swap out the bezel yourself. Coming with a special mounting, they sell 6 different coloured bezels.

This one needs no introduction... The 39mm Tudor Blay Bay Pro. Tool watch...

Another Seiko is this Prospex SNR033 GMT featuring a spring drive movement.

Not a GMT but definitely a NWA! HT is on a roll! The customised Ophion Velos 786. Can you tell what's been customized?

The night was made even more wonderful with the food we had at Seafood Shack. We started off with the firefly squid... (food pictures courtesy of Harry Tan)

Then the cold kang kong with lime juice and fried shallots.

Then we each had one chawanmushi (steamed egg) with Dungeness crab meat.

Then came the main course - Fish Soup with somen (below)...

And the signature Hae Mee Tng (prawn noodle soup).