Swatch Sistem51 - What Happened?

When Swatch launched the Sistem51 in Baselworld 2013, there was a lot of buzz about a new mechanical calibre made of 51 parts. There was a lot of publicity around the automated manufacture of this calibre and how it is hermetically sealed etc. Alas, due to its construction, one cannot service the movement.

The concept was fun - single constructed mechanical movement with no regulator unlike "normal" mechanical movements but still gives off 90 hours of power reserve. At launch, there were 4 colours to choose from - Blue, Red, Black and White.

My favourite version is the white - the most colourful of the lot.

The single constructed mechanical movement with a peripheral rotor secured by a single screw at the centre.

The watch comes with a 1 year warranty and if it stopped working, Swatch swap it at the Swatch Boutique.

Central seconds and the small date window at 3, the Sistem51 was a compelling buy then at around US$160 if memory serves me right.

The red...

The rotor on the case back is quite psychedelic

And now the black...

But Sistem51 didn't last - at least not for me. Many of my collector friends told me theirs stopped working within 2 years. Even while they came out with new version like this pilot inspired iteration, little changed.

They did not last. Money down the drain as they say. So what has become of my collection of the Sistem51? Well, they sat in my drawer as a stark reminder of never to buy another Sistem51.

Is Travelling With Expensive Watches Safe?

Up until recently, travelling with your expensive timepieces was a no-brainer. However, with the amount of theft and robbery cases on the rise against watch owners, the question of wearing your precious timepiece on your travels have arisen. Is it safe for you to be wearing your precious timepiece when you travel?

There has been several reports of watch theft and even daylight robbery for high value watches in several countries especially in the UK and Europe. Especially those Rolex and Pateks.

Let's start with dual time zone watches... The most famous being the Rolex GMT II Pepsi...

Below the Hermes Arceau Le Temps Voyageur... theft magnet?

For those who travel often, the question is this "Do you (dare) travel with your timezone pieces like this Edouard Koehn Worldtimer or the Harry Winston Excentre Timezone

But first, the question of necessity... Is it really necessary to be wearing a dual timezone piece when you travel? With our ubiquitous mobile phones, they can tell as many timezones as you need. So, actually, the answer is no. In fact, wearing a watch is also not necessary but men today wear them as an accessory. But with watches like this Vacheron Constantin Grand Explorer enamel series in yellow gold - exceptional piece but very visible.

What about this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar White Ceramic? Where can you travel to that is safe enough for you to bring it along?

Or this MB&F LM1 in gold...

Iconing pieces like the Daniel Roth Papillon are so well known and easily recognisable.

There are some cities/countries where wearing high end watches are safe but then there are cities where you definitely be silly to wear an expensive timepiece on your wrist.

Then I have another question... Where do the stolen watches go to? According to a BBC report I read, it is estimated that more than £1 Billion Pounds worth of watches have been stolen. Criminal groups target those wearing high end watches and steal/rob them. One watch dealer in UK was even headlocked while being robbed in his shop. Tragically, the dealer committed suicide afterwards

So where do these stolen watches end up? Many end up in countries where regulations and enforcements are lax. In the case of Singapore, there are laws (and enforcement) where sellers have to leave their National ID details to secondary dealers. This is one way of providing traceability of the item. But Singapore and a few other countries are in the minority. Most countries might have laws but do not have tough enforcement practises making the laws a mute point.

So my question to all you collectors out there... Does wearing travel watches still make sense? Does wearing an expensive watch when you travel something you ought to think about? What do you think? I'd like to hear your thoughts on travelling with expensive watches.

The Legendary Volvo P1800

In a collaboration between Volvo and Leica Akademie, I recently attended the "Exploring the Art of Car Photography" workshop. On display was the 4-seater Legendary P1800 (called the eighteen hundred) which was made famous by the actor Roger Moore in the television series The Saint. I used the Leica Q3 on loan from Leica.

Manufactured between 1961 and 1973, this two-door coupé was originally not targetted as a sports car but rather as a touring car.

Lovely curves and design cues on this vintage beauty...

Early Volvo logo...

A quick fun fact - did you know Volvo designed the now widely used three-point seat belt? Well, instead of registering a patent, Volvo decided to share it with the automotive industry in a drive for safety. Way to go!

I believe this pristine example is the property of a discerning collector in Singapore.

The car is on display at the Volvo Singapore showroom. Head on down to have a glimpse of the vintage car and how this car was once an icon in its time and even now.

Manual Winding or Self Winding? What's your preference?

Throughout my collecting journey, I have never intentionally choosen a particular timepiece just because it was manual winding or otherwise. But oddly enough, my collection has gravitated towards timepieces with manual winding movements.

What are the considerations when choosing a timepiece - for sure, the movement is one of the main consideration. I don't think I have consciously sought a timepiece just because it is manual winding or self winding. But for a geek like myself, the full view of a manual winding movement in its full glory gives me that satisfaction of a well laid out architecture as well as movement finishing. And the winding to give life to the timepiece is a ritual that most of us do with great pleasure - that tactile feel.

For chronograph, I personally prefer the manual winding movement. For instance, both the Lange 1815 Chronograph (above) and the Montblanc Villeret 1858 Vintage Pulsographe (below) featuring the Minerva movement have such a nice movement layout and the finishing on the movements are sublime.

Ask any collectors and most will tell you the Lange 1815 Chronograph or the Datograph movement is to die for. The depth and construction of the manually wound calibre L951.1 for the first gen Datograph is the gold standard.

What about self winding movements?

While there are benefits to having a self winding movement, like the convenience of not having to wind the movement, the view at the back is less appealing, at least for me.

The rotor placement and the size of the rotor obscures part of the movement. To many collectors, half the fun is the ability to be able to see the movement and admire the bridges and finishing of the movement. Imagine such a well finished movement like the one below, the Glashutte Original Senator calibre 36-01... unfortunately, the rotor covers parts of the movement.

Well, that's traditionally true - the obscuring of the movement by the rotor. In come this invention called micro-rotor...

With the micro-rotor, the fact that the rotor sits on the same plane as the main bridge gives us an unobscured view of the movement. Combining fully visibility with the convenience of an automatic calibre. But some will argue the efficiency of the winding mechanism is not as productive as a full rotor.

Take a look at the micro-rotor on the Chopard LUC Lunar One Perpetual Calendar.

The inclusion of the micro-rotor opens up the whole movement, exposing the entire main bridge and the finishing on the bridges... Wow!

Perhaps the micro-rotor is a go-between. A good one at that.

But for now, I think the manual winding calibres are awesome. Take a look at this Roger Dubuis Sympathie Bi-Retrograde Chronograph Perpetual Calendar. Gorgeous movement...

What about the iconic Lange 1?

Or the Duometre range from Jaeger leCoultre...

And a hark back to vintage... the IWC Poruguese Jubilee reference 5441

And the Armin Strom is another beauty... What's nice about the Tribute 1 is that the watch comes with 5 days of power reserve on one full wind.

And if 5 days of power reserve is not enough, what about 7 days of power reserve on the Moser Perpetual One?

Or the Parmigiani Hebdomadaire? 8 days!

Even the "simpler" UNITAS movements can be well decorated beyond recognition. Take a look at these two examples... First the Pascal Coyon Chronometer

And the Felipe Pikullik ZMB1. Both redesigned and finished to the highest level...

Or the Corum Golden Bridge

I think my preference is clearly favouring the manual winding movement pieces. Like I said, I did not intentionally start out that way but along the way, my preference has become quite clear.

I guess there is no right or wrong - it's personal preference at the end of the day. So, what's yours preference? Manual winding or automatic?