HOROLOGY CRAZY

Yikes, more straps?

2012-02-25T10:31:00.000+08:00

Yes, getting some new straps, this time it is very different as these straps will be custom made and not for the Panerai boys. Can't wait to get them. The straps will be from Gunny Straps and Combat Straps. and they will be for the B&R Airborne II. :)

Sadly no photographs, so it will be a surprise when I get them and I will post them as soon as I get them .

Marathon Navigator Battery change

2012-02-24T22:16:00.000+08:00

This is my (ex) Marathon Navigator battery change. It is pretty simple process.

The watch has a snap back back case design. The slot to open the case back is also pretty large. I suspect you can use a coin to pop out the case back. Well, since the watch was design to be used in the field, where there are no special tools, the watch has to be design to be as practical as possible.

Once you pop open the case back, you have full access to the battery. It is held down by the 'V' shape battery holder. The easier method is to hold down the metal plate and loosen the screw that is holding the plate down. DO NOT remove the screw. Once you have loosen the screw, just slide the metal plate away from the battery.

The Swiss ISA 1198 movement.

The stainless steel case back. Do not forget to lubricate the rubber gasket.

I took the hard way and unscrewed the screw. Well it was not difficult to put it back. :)

The battery, type 395 or 399 can be used.

The screw that hold the 'V' metal plate. Note the 'cut-off' at the 2 o'clock position (of the case back). This is the cut-off to facilitate the case back removal.

The new battery installed. The case back will just snap back in. No need for any special tools.

Adjust the time. If you notice the plastic on the crystal, yes it is new unused. And there you have, how to change the battery on the Marathon Navigator.

My favourite strap...

2012-02-24T18:18:00.001+08:00

I love the strap, the look, the feel and the smell....

Review soon...

What remains (Part 1)

2012-02-22T13:58:00.001+08:00

With the last stage of streamlining ongoing, I thought I start posting the pieces that remains. Lots of pieces have gone to better homes.

Historic Collection.

PAM00000

PAM00003

PAM00111

PAM00183

PAM00337

Contemporary Collection.

PAM00243

Special Edition.

PAM00092

PAM00367

PAM00390

Deep Blue Watches

2012-02-21T00:52:00.001+08:00

Today we will be looking at Deep Blue watches. They are a pretty young company. Their products focus on dive watches, hence the name Deep Blue. They design their products based on four pillars: Customer Service, Quality, Value and Dependability. I have to say that it does show in their products.

The main focus of Deep Blue Watches is of course water resistance. That is the reason why their watches are all designed to withstand depths of 300 meters to 3,000 meters. They also use the best possible components in their watches. This can be seen in the use of 316L stainless steel for their watch case, sapphire crystal and movements sourced from ETA and Miyota.

A sample of their watches.

Deep Blue Men's Blue Water Edition 500 Swiss Automatic Mother-of-Pearl Dial Bracelet Watch

Deep Blue Men's Swiss Divers Swiss Made Automatic Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch

Deep Blue Men's Bluetech Abyss 3D Diver Automatic Limited Edition Bracelet Watch

Photographs: Deep Blue Watches

The best part about the watches offered by the Deep Blue Watch Company is the price. Most of their watches are very reasonably priced; in fact I think they offer great value because for less then USD 500 you can get a watch with a water resistant rating of 1,000 meters. Additionally, some watches are available for just around USD 200. You can find many of these watches at online retailers like ShopNBC, available with convenient product reviews and shipping. If you’re in the market for an affordable yet extremely durable new watch, Deep Blue may be the answer.

Back to normal transmission...

2012-02-21T00:33:00.002+08:00

But first another lume shot. This time it is the Precista PRS-10. This is the modern take by TimeFactors on the Precista G10/W10 watches issued to the British military. I do like the watch. However it has been sold in the recent streamlining exercise.

Another Lume shot

2012-02-17T20:38:00.002+08:00

This time it is the tritium gas tube powered Marathon Navigator quartz watch. This is the NSN 6645-01-364-4042. It is pretty bright for an eight year old watch. I like the orange marker to indicate the 12 o'clock position.

Just a few more....

2012-02-17T20:32:00.001+08:00

One of my favourite quartz watches, the Omega X-33 Gen 1. This watch and the Breitling Aerospace are the two quartz watches that I feel are must have watches.

Anyway the Omega....

The badly scratched external AR coating.

The crown and polished pushers.

The plain and simple case back.

Just a few more...

2012-02-15T19:51:00.000+08:00

I promise. We will go back to our normal transmission soon.... :)

My 1675....

Love the patina.

The twin lock crown.

My favourite watch. Lots of history.

Even more watch photography....

2012-02-15T18:24:00.000+08:00

My Omega Seamaster 300.

The Omega logo on the crystal, right smack in the center.

Clean and simple dial. Easy to read.

The luminous bezel insert (minute markers). Wish more watches had this.

I like this watch.

The case back with the hippo campus.

Feeling fruity?

2012-02-14T17:01:00.000+08:00

Here are more attempts at improving my watch photography. This time the victim is the Sinn U1 lemon or the Juwelier Roberto Limited Edition U1.

I got the lemon version. There is also the orange version.

The company logo? Founded in 1997?

The awesome Sinn crown.

I like the yellow markers on the bezel.

Thank you all

2012-02-12T20:04:00.000+08:00

Half a million page views. Thank you to all of you for making this possible. Hope it does not take another 3 years to reach a million.

One more watch photography

2012-02-11T12:48:00.000+08:00

This time it is the Marathon SAR.

The date wheel has been modified. The cyclops has been removed.

The watch is no safe queen.

Patina

2012-02-10T22:26:00.000+08:00

Some mid week patina love. Just photographs....

Photography, some new ones

2012-02-10T22:09:00.000+08:00

This is the result of my latest attempt. I think I am getting there. Yeah there are a couple of things I need to get right, like cleaning the watch, batter background, etc, but I think I am improving. Any inputs?

The victim is my Omega Seamaster 300 reference 2254. It is one of my favourite watch in the collection.

I love the 'waves' on the dial.

Patina (Week 11)

2012-02-08T22:45:00.000+08:00

Back in Taiwan and the weather has gone bonkers. Hot one day and cold the next, with the temperature fluctuating between 10 to 24 degrees (Celsius) between days. What impact does this have on the watch? Lots. Just look at the photographs. Not only has the watch darken, but it has taken on a greenish hue. I like....

The darker case, with more and more spots developing.

Spots between the bezel and the case.

The reddish tint on the bezel is almost gone.

More spots between the lugs.

Just love the way the patina is developing.

The case taking on a greenish hue.

The patina on the lugs. Looks very worn out.

Lume shot

2012-02-07T17:56:00.000+08:00

It has been some time since I last did a lume shot. Here is the lume shot of the Aristo Navigator XL, reference 3H59H with the hour angle dial. However it is not a true hour angle watch. I like the lume on the watch although there are some loss at the 20 minute mark.

Some good news

2012-02-07T14:12:00.000+08:00

Good news coming out from MKII. It seems that there will be a new Stingray out this year but the best news of all is that the TR (Tornek Rayville) will see the light day in a second issue also sometime this year. I am really looking forward to this. I will keep you updated once I have more information.

The final cut is the deepest....

2012-02-03T23:45:00.000+08:00

I have been busy sorting out the collection. I am currently in the midst of the third and final (?) streamlining process. And I have to say that this is getting tougher and tougher. I am trying to cut down the collection (European makers) down to 18 important (to me) pieces.

This does not include the Casio G-Shock (which is also being streamlined) and other Japanese makers (Seiko and Citizen, wait, I don't have any Citizen). Basically the Japanese makers are pretty much done, I am keeping only 2 Seiko watches, the Orange Monster and the SKX007 diver.

So far, on the European makers, I have decided to cull the Tudor Snowflake and the Omega Seamaster 300M (homage). On the fence are the Longines Legend Diver, the Tutima Military Chrono (with the Lemania 5100 movement) and the Montblanc Timewalker. It is a painful exercise but one that needs to be done.

At the same time, I will be selling off the military pieces as well. Looks like all will be going off to new homes (or so I pray and hope).

After this exercise is over, I realised that my collection has changed since I started. I have swapped some pieces for others, and have sold other to finance new pieces. The collection has also taken itself towards a single brand collection (or focus) and I don't know if this is a good thing or not.

Will there be new pieces or additions to the collection? I don't really know. We will just have to wait and see.

Cute catalogues

2012-02-01T14:47:00.000+08:00

I found these catalogues in Hong Kong recently. I like them as they are the size of a deck of playing cards. I wish more companies would issue these type of catalogues. I find them cute and easy to keep or as a simple reference card. I agree that information is limited but I believe most of these catalogues will list the popular models of the brands.

The catalogues.

Small and easy to carry.

Four pages per side.

Most have the boutique address on them, so don't, but the brand website is usually on it.

The catalogues all stacked up.

Much like a deck of cards.

It's finally here....

2012-01-31T17:41:00.000+08:00

I did not expect the strap to arrive on the day I left for the CNY holiday but I am glad it did. The strap is the Museum Limited Edition strap from Di Stefano Straps. I have to say this is one of the nicest looking strap I have.

From what I read, these straps were made as part of the straps commissioned by the Italian Navy Museum to replace the old and worn out straps on the watches and equipment in their museum. The one I got is the washed tobacco colour, 24 mm width, 130/85 mm length.

I will write more about the strap when I review it. But for now, the strap.

The strap, very very nice and thick.

The buckle end.

Signed.

The buckle, also signed.

The other end of the strap.

There were some leather left in the holes.

Beautiful stitching and great overall quality.

I love the untreated edge.

The watch that got the strap? The PAM00390.

With the new strap.

So what did I get?

2012-01-31T10:33:00.000+08:00

This.... and am loving it. The sad part? Some more watches have to be culled. I am trying to cut the collection to 18 (important) watches.

The dial (skull) it not luminous unlike Airborne 1.

I like the 'worn' effect. The watch is currently fitted on the rubber strap. The package (mine anyway) came with the leather strap, rubber and canvas strap.

The buckle.

Patina (Week 10)

2012-01-31T10:01:00.000+08:00

The pictures speak for themselves, I think. I believe the progress of the patina will slow down a bit as I am back in Taiwan, where the temperature is 14 degrees and it is not hot and humid. Can't wait for the Taiwan summer where it is hot and humid.

Anyway the photographs...

Overall the watch has gotten darker and darker.

You can see more and more spots and streaks developing. I like.

The 'reddish' tint on the bezel is almost all gone.

Another view of the spots and streaks.

The dark spot between the case back and the case is growing. Muahahahahaha....

Patina developing on the lugs.

The case. I am liking it.

OT Not my usual yellow thing but...

2012-01-29T23:20:00.000+08:00

I have to say that it is cute. I was cleaning out the house when I stumbled on the little critter. At 1 inch in size, it is very small and cute.

Like I said in the title, not my usual yellow stuff but it is OK as it has a yellow body.

Look at those teeth.

Actually I don't really know what it is for.

Back in the fold.....

2012-01-29T18:32:00.000+08:00

As much as I wanted to resist, it was not to be. I have always like the brand, but bad experience had left me with a bad after taste. I actually swore off the brand but on this trip I saw a watch from the brand that I never expected to see, or even the opportunity to own it.

The teaser.....

Limited edition of 999 pieces, and a good deal later.....