November GTG - Non Swiss Gathering

In November, we all got together and the two themes were Non Swiss watches and Thematic watches. In Part 1 of the blogpost, I shared the watches for the Thematic genre. In this part 2, what watches represent the non-Swiss?

When we say Non-Swiss watches, two other countries come to mind - Japan and Germany. But here, I feature a Russian watchmaker Stefan Vinogradov and a Singapore watch brand Feynman Watch.

This was the first piece Stefan made for me after visiting Singapore in 2015.

This year, Feynman Timekeepers unveiled their Feynman VI - this being the Founder's Edition.

Feynman is a Singapore brand and much of their work has focused on promoting local talent - not just the timepieces but also straps and accessories too.

Most notable is the promoting of enamel dials handcrafted by Charlotte Teh of Royal Insignia. Below a picture of the enamelling work of Charlotte on the Dragon piece for Feynman.

From Singapore, we head to Japan - plenty of choices here... Let's start with the Kurono Toki

And the new watch in town is this Credor Locomotive. In fact, there were 2 collectors with the Credor Locomotive but then one of them brought the Greubel Forsey instead... lucky us :-)

What about this Orient Star watch?

This is the Orient Star M34 F8 Date with a blue dial.

And this (below), the M34 Diver 1964 Titanium.

Then there is the vintage Seiko... This is the Seiko SCVL001 using the 6810 movement.

Outwardly, it looks like a quartz piece but when you turn over, you marvel at the mechanical movement within - just 1.98mm thin!

The next one is this Seiko with a Swiss 5328A movement. Born in the eighties, this small seconds timepiece created quite a stir when it was released.

And then there is the Grand Seiko... A High-Beat no less.

This is the 4520-8000 model.

Now on to a German. Nope, its not the usual suspect but an equally compelling piece from Dornblueth. This is the reference 99.0

Their signature rose gold plated UNITAS base movement decorated with Geneva stripes.

Le Blues is represented by this Le Forban La Malouine with a blue dial.

This 39mm divers comes with a unidirectional aluminium bezel

Then there are the other two that came off theme...

First, the Bvlgari Diagono Regatta (above) and the Zenith Defy Skyline (below) the timepiece is fitted with the El Primero 3620 high-frequency automatic manufacture movement with the very first 1/10th of a second indicator.

Of course the star of the evening was this Greubel Forsey Double Balancier.

Gorgeous is an understatement.

And then there was the food...

This is the chawanmushi topped with very sweet Dungeness crab meat

And this is the Signature wild caught sword razor shell with fried shallots (above)

And this, the pan-seared "hotate" yesso scallop

And my favourite - the crispy grilled wild caught Steenstrup's bay squid made into a pancake. And while it might be a pancake, no flour was used! What a meal. I missed out the Donabe as I was busy eating and mingling. But miss the table shot? Definitely not!

It was another evening of fun with friends - excellent range of watches and great food. What more can you ask for?

GTG With Special Guest - Romain Gauthier - Part 2 - Dual Time Zone

We hosted four special guests from out of town and this is part 2 of our report...

For those who may not know, we have a theme around our gatherings and they were (1) Independent brands and (2) Dual time zone or Worldtimer. This blog post features all the dual time zone pieces. You may find the report on the Independents here.

What's interesting about this category is the variety on show - yes, you have the usual suspects but you also have some unusual ones like this Harry Winston Excenter Time Zone.

In a 18k white gold case, this is an earlier year Harry Winston dual time zone piece that is not only unusual but also a beauty. Comes with a manual winding calibre too. That's what's fun about these gatherings. You get to see some really unusual pieces... off the beaten track.

Then there are the usual suspects like the Rolex GMT II. But let me start with the more "unusual" GMT II. The GMT-Master II LHD also known as "Sprite".

It was my first time handling this piece and as anyone would have expected, I turned it wrong way round!

Coverted I am sure, but still feels odd for me that an icon like the GMT-Master II looks "upside down"... you know what I mean.

By the way, who comes up with names like "Sprite"? I'm sure Rolex didn't... Then there is the more "recognizable" Pepsi and I can see why they call it the Pepsi

How about 2 Grand Seiko GMT pieces - another brand that has many versions of the GMT

One an automatic Hi-Beat (below) and the other the "normal" GMT (SBGM029), both with yellow GMT hands.

Still on the same theme of double - Nomos Glashutte. First up, the Zürich world time Singapore edition specially made for The Hourglass and Watches of Switzerland. The salmon dial version was limited to 15 pieces and aptly names "The Little Red Dot".

Next is the Tangomat GMT. Simple but functional.

We know of Seiko 5 but Seiko 5 GMT? This is a first for me. If you want to know a little more about Seiko 5 and how the name came about, check out an earlier article I posted here.

Another not often seen timepiece is the Stowa Flieger Worldtime GMT. A pilot inspired timepiece with an added function of a second timezone indication. Comes with either a lime green GMT indicator or an orange indicator.

Now this is something you don't see everyday... a Tissot Navigator Seastar Worldtime - a vintage timepiece no less.

Released in the 60s, this vintage piece has a day/night indicator in the form of darker shade at the bottom half of the dial.

Another under appreciated brand and timepiece has to be Montblanc. This is the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum World Map

Encased in a 41mm steel case, the dial displays the world map and with the world time scale appearing around the dial. This timepiece also comes with an in-house movement to boot. Actually, what Montblanc did to keep cost down was to integrate the world time mechanism into a Sellita automatic movement, rather than build a module on top of the base movement.

It is always good to have fellow collectors bring their prized possessions - price of the piece is not the focus here. It has always been the case with our gatherings - bring out those fun and unusual pieces. Watch collecting has to be first and foremost, fun. And as we mature, we develop a certain style. Not everyone starts their collection with high end pieces - I know there are many of you out there but for lesser mortals like us, we probably start with what we can afford and then slowly move up the "value" ladder. All said and done, watch collecting is very individual and nice pieces don't have to cost of bomb.

Year End Fun with Microbrands and Dials - Part 2

For the definition of special dials, that's simple enough. Enamel, lacquer or any non-traditional dial materials will constitute a special dial.

What was surprising was the appearance of two Pascal Coyon Chronometer.

The first being a rose gold plated movement... with a white lacquer dial.

And the other, a red 12 lacquered dial. When Mr. Coyon launched the Chronometer, he made 60 examples - 20 each in rose glod plated, yellow gold plated and rhodium plated movement. And for those who recognise the movement, it is a UNITAS hand winding movement heavily modified by Mr. Coyon and hand finished by him to a very high standard.

But what was not surprising was the overwhelming presence of Seiko enamel dial timepieces.

Starting with the Seiko SARD007, the dial is made of enamel and has a simple yet modern design reflecting the philosophy of Riki Watanabe, a pioneer of modern Japanese design. This is the JDM version belonging to a huge Seiko collector friend.

Next up is the Shippo Enamel Presage - a blue enamel dial from Seiko. Lovely example.

Above is a special black Urushi (lacquer) dial. And below are two very special Seiko Enamel pieces. Do you know what's so special?

These are earlier year Seiko enamel dial timepieces (Limited Edition) with the red XII and missing the "Presage" model name.

We were talking about how Seiko brought enamel dial watches to the masses just like they brought quartz watches to the world. Up until then, we only knew of Swiss (or European) made enamelled dial which cost quite a fair bit. But honestly, the enamel dials of Seiko cannot be compared to the Grand Feu enamel dials made for the European brands.

The Ming 19.07 Blue has a special Guilloché dial.

While Felipe Pikullik was featured in the microbrand sector, his dial work here qualifies this to also be a special dial - engraved.

Featured here is a special Undone. Not only was the case back engraved with the name of the owner, his name also appears on the dial

Grand Seiko has been of late releasing new timepieces with special dials. Featured above is The Grand Seiko SLGH005 'White Birch' with the New Hi-Beat Caliber 9SA5. And below, the Grand Seiko lacquered dial SBGR261 automatic.

Hublot was also represented with a very special Hublot LABfusion SWC Limited Edition. This was made specially for the Singapore Watch Club and it has a woven dial.

Nobody does Grand Feu enamel like Jaquet Droz.

This is an early year Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde with a two-part two-toned dial. I guess it was too difficult to make and that was why later Grande Seconde with Grand Feu Enamel were "simpler".

And then there were those who did not get the memo... but still some timepiece to be cherished and admired. The Cartier Roadster (above) and the Nomos Glashutte Tangente (below).

All said and done, it was another fun get-together Zing by XiYan @ PLQ. Zing works with the Social Kitchen to support disadvantaged individuals by providing them with employment to sustain themselves. Food was good (as usual) and the service, impeccable. Now we start planning for the next GTG in 2023! May I take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May all your horological dreams come true in the coming year!