Martin Design - Supernatural Triskel

Watch collecting should be fun and I am all about fun watches. What's more, I am also about colourful watches as evident in some of my choices. Here, I am featuring a new piece from Martin Design with his very playful Supernatural Regulator.

What's nice about this purchase is that it comes with 2 strap options - one bright blue and one grey. What's more? The straps come with the quick change feature which means no need for any special tools.

Launched on Kickstarter, I took to liking the colourful Triskel. There are a total of 6 Supernatural models - Caturix (Grey), Triskel (Multi-clolour), Tonaros (Orange), Trinity (Light Blue), Ogmios (Lilac) and Alaunus (Red).

For me, the printed multi-colour multi-layered dial is the most playful and colourful one i.e. the Triskel. For a timepiece like that, I like it playful and fun.

The steel cased timepiece is made from 316 L stainless steel and measures 40mm.

Given the price point (I paid €299), I must say the finishing while industrial is good for the price point. Take a look at the hands, especially the side which is often neglected. I'd say this is definitely an acceptable level of quality.

But I can't say the same for the Triskel plate which clearly showed it was a cut-and-screw down. But like I said, at this price point, all is forgiven.

Fitted at the back is the Miyota 82S7 Automatic movement with a hacking seconds. Power reserve is rated at 42 hours.

The finishing on the movement is as what one would expect from an entry level timepiece. Nothing to crow about here.

It is interesting to note that the hour sub-dial is rather unusual. It displays a full 24 hours day which means you will really need to get used to hour hand layout to be able to read the correct hour. But I guess this could be intentional? Makes you stare at the timepiece a little longer to "get it right"...

The 40mm steel case is finished with polished and brushed sides.

And the non-screw-in crown at the 2 o'clock position is also signed.

Overall a fun piece and as I have said, at that price point this is a value-for-money.

Watches I Have Come Across - The Parmigiani Fleurier Ovale Pantographe

Throughout my watch collecting journey, I have been blessed to have come across many timepieces and I intend to document them in this photo essay. These are timepieces I don't own but have been fortunate to be able to see, feel, touch and photograph them. This time, I feature The Parmigiani Fleurier Ovale Pantographe.

Had the pleasure of handling this Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe many years ago when it was first launched.

What's so special you might ask? Well, it has got to do with the telescopic hands that extends and contracts with the passage of time. Unique huh? Would not have been possible with a round case watch... think about it.

Mr. Parmigiani's watchmaking background is rich in restoration and it is one of his restoration that he came across this Pantographe. The original was a pocket watch but of course the newer version is made into a wristwatch.

What's also attractive is the milky white dial - almost enamel like but I guess it features some white lacquer. And the timepiece comes with a whopping 8 days power reserve (Hebdomadaire in French means weekly).

And powering this wonderful piece is the in-house PF110 calibre found in the Hebdomadaire series and a module that gives this watch it's unique feature.

Situated at the 12 o'clock is the power reserve indicator.

This example is encased in a rose gold case and I think it looks so lovely and with a quirky complication. What's there not to like about this timepiece!

July GTG - What's Next? Part 3

So, we got together in February for the Leap Year gathering and we saw many Perpetual Calendars and some very unusual ones at that. This time around in July, we had dinner at Setsuri Ishinomaki at Guoco Midtown and the two themes were - Chronographs and Non-Round Case timepieces.

You may find the link to Part 1 and Part 2 but for the last part, I'm featuring the "oddballs", those that do not conform to the theme for the evening. First up, the Kollokium Projekt 01 - Variant "B".

The owner had missed the first purchasing windoww and so determined he was, stayed up till 3am for the opening of the second purchasing window. Bingo! And he scored one of the pieces.

Lots of details on this one...

And overall a very handsome piece that is fully sold out.

Can you believe that this gentleman does not own a Chronograph? Yup, all his pieces are time only including this J&Berg B2 Turquoise.

The B2 is 38.5mmwith a titanium case and brushed turquoise dial featuring a Miyota automatic movement.

One of the highlight was this Cloisonné enamel dial Vulcain Cricket.

The rose gold piece is very apt for the current Olympics Games as it features an athlete doing the discus throw.

Cloisonné enamel is not easy to make - the enameller has to first sketch the picture onto the dial, then lay the wires (usually gold) to create the outline before filling each parcel with the enamel before firing. It's a labourious and time consuming process.

This Vulcain is not only an alarm timepiece but also a GMT watch. Look at the outer ring and you can see the city ring.

Another gathering and another session of great discoveries. Part 1 and Part 2 will feature all the pieces that meet the theme of the night - Chronographs and non-round case pieces.

I hope you like the coverage. Stay tuned for the next report.

July GTG - What's Next? Part 2

So, we got together in February for the Leap Year gathering and we saw many Perpetual Calendars and some very unusual ones at that. This time around in July, we had dinner at Setsuri Ishinomaki at Guoco Midtown and the two themes were - Chronographs and Non-Round Case timepieces.

This is Part 2 of the blog featuring all the non-round case timepieces plus the "oddballs". For the first part featuring the Chronographs, click this link.

For the non-round case category, we start with the Roger Dubuis Sympathie time-only white gold piece.

These original Roger Dubuis Sympathies have a very unique case shape and what's even more amazing is the front sapphire glass being cut to shape. Later iterations of this range had the round sapphire glass in front - perhaps it was too difficult to make.

But the conversation of the night had to go to this Mido Multifort TV Big Date!

Featuring an automatic winding movement with an amazing 80 hours of power reserve. Based on the Calibre 80 (ETA base) the timepiece was developed to celebrate their 100th Anniversary.

Comes with bracelet and rubber strap versions. And if you are a K-Drama fan, lead actor Kim Soo Hyun wore this very model (black dial orange strap) during that series. I was none the wiser until a fellow collector told us about it. And then it was revealed that Kim is the brand ambassador. As I am writing this blog, my mind keeps going back to the Multifort and which version appeals to me the most.

Another big date non-round case timepiece is the Girard Perregaux 1945.

The 1954 Grande Date. My kinds timepiece - Big Date or no date.

Nowadays, Cartier is the brand in the limelight with the Crash and many of their non-round cases.

Crash it is not, but featured above is the equally iconic Tank American. I had wanted to bring my Santos Skeleton but I figured the Roger Dubuis was probably not going to be represented.

Then there were three JLC Reversos... What's even more amazing is the fact that two of the three are automatic movements.

This is a special JLC Reverso (above) - The Reverso Grande Automatique Wempe Limited Edition.

A well worn Reverso Automatique.

And so is this... the SG50 offering featuring a closed case back with a laquered Singapore map.

The other Reverso is the Chronograph. What a winner!

Speaking of lacquer back, what about this enamel Seiko Presage?

And speaking of non-round case, what about this Urwerk 103? Definitely special.

And the Georg by Lang & Heynes. This is another beauty both front and back. But first, the back...

And now for the front... This is the Sincere SHH Edition.

What about this space ship looking piece? The Angles Bastion

A rather interesting time telling machine - the four corners are the hour indicators and where the minute indicator is positioned, it's where we look at the bubble for the hour indication.

I'm sure we have seen many Vulcain Crickets but a rectangular piece? Well, there's one (above)! What about the food and the restaurant?

One of the mains is this Premium Chirashidon... fantastic stuff including uni (sea urchin).

The food at Setsuri was good and the restaurant was very accommodating allocating us one corner for our meals and table shots.

At the end of the dinner, we always have that table shot... where all of us put our prized possessions on the table for everyone to touch, feel and hold. It's not everyday you get to see and touch some rare pieces.

Coming up in Part 3 of the coverage are the oddballs... Some very interesting pices including the Kollokium Project 01 and an enamel dialed Vulcain Cricket Olympics. Stay tuned for that!