tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:19:13 +0000http://watchinghorology.com/noreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)Blogger495125Watchinghorologyhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-5434541454298046426Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:12:00 +00002009-10-19T13:19:13.201+08:00The ReedsCo Homage (left) and Axis (right) A good friend and fellow collector, Mr Eddie Sng introduced me to a young entrepreneur Mr Reed Tan, a fresh graduate full of drive and energy and a yen for design started a business selling watches with his vision early this year. His own creation called "Axis" designed with his own ideas, working with outsourced suppliers - has yet to take off but its http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/daevdrkikPE/reedsco-singaporean-dream.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/10/reedsco-singaporean-dream.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-1077335770574016946Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:32:00 +00002009-10-11T16:24:09.186+08:00Watch collectors with years of experience know and bemoan about this issue but new collectors have to suffer a severe shock to learn about the real cost of ownership of luxury watches. Even more so if the watch in question features any of the renowned complications such as chronograph, tourbillon and perpetual calendars. Mr Chuang Peck Ming of the Business Times reported yesterday in the Weekend http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/SNeUhMifu1M/beware-hidden-cost-of-ownership-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/10/beware-hidden-cost-of-ownership-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-2232887713423882835Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:49:00 +00002009-10-10T20:09:59.126+08:00The third and final unique piece featured is a second piece from Kari. The salmon dial Observertoire. A model that is no longer available as Kari has filled his order books for this design. A watch that is rated very highly by classic watch collectors who wanted rare and handmade pieces finished to a level that is beyond the mainstream brands. This model is indeed handsome and the salmon dial http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/3dTp_n_468Y/luxury-of-independence-tour-2009-part-3.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/10/luxury-of-independence-tour-2009-part-3.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-8900955234874923672Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:35:00 +00002009-10-09T21:42:25.013+08:00 Kari Voutilainen brought two unique pieces for the Independence Tour this year. This Chronometre 27 in cream dial features very intricate engraving in the middle of the dial as well as throughout the movement. Capturing all the wonderful detail of the engraving is almost impossible. A long watch which does not attractive to some but for those able to wear it, it is an imposing time piece as Karihttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/TlT38eAPK5o/luxury-of-independence-tour-2009-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/10/luxury-of-independence-tour-2009-part-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-4966333490202142462Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:25:00 +00002009-10-09T21:33:50.393+08:00 The Hour Glass Tour of of Independence 2009 kicked off with a dinner party for selected fans and collectors. This year's tour featured Mr Romain Gauthier and Mr Kari Voutilainen who each brought not only their latest models for show but Special Unique pieces to commemorate the Tour. Romain's single unique piece shown below featured a semi-open dial of his watch that showed the time dial as http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/7Ca9VeHODXQ/luxury-of-independence-tour-2009-part-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/10/luxury-of-independence-tour-2009-part-1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-6163883391497496869Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:40:00 +00002009-10-04T21:39:02.823+08:00It was about time that classic and simple watches return to importance in the world of serious horology. The GPdH Asia - unlike its Geneve cousin - has a panel of Asian judges who are renown collectors without any connection to any brands nor to Edipresse - the media organisation that runs this competition every year. The GPdH Asia held its annual gala event on the 25th Sept to coincide with the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/55E0uWos45I/grand-prix-dhorlogerie-asia-2009-watch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)1http://watchinghorology.com/2009/10/grand-prix-dhorlogerie-asia-2009-watch.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-9071172709899857872Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:50:00 +00002009-09-20T19:50:00.671+08:00As promised, here is the beautifully guilloched Lange 1 Japan LE wallpaper. Click on the image above to download a copy.PLEASE NOTE: your act of downloading indicates your agreement to respect and uphold my copyright not to use it in any other manner other than for personal use as a desktop wallpaper. No commercial use; amendments; alterations and editing work is permitted. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/swHbqSHeIHA/japan-lange-1-limited-edition-wallpaper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/japan-lange-1-limited-edition-wallpaper.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-2960083724380906494Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:50:00 +00002009-09-18T23:56:33.881+08:00 On the 16th of September IWC celebrated the opening of its newest boutique in Singapore with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the ION Singapore and a grand gala dinner at the Esplanade. The evening's proceedings were kept a secret and guests were given several pleasant surprises including dining on the beautiful stage of the Esplanade Concert Hall - and having Ronan Keating sing to the guests.For a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/IN_f2c1n4T8/iwc-boutique-opening-gala-dinner-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/iwc-boutique-opening-gala-dinner-at.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-6262451853005543166Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:37:00 +00002009-09-18T12:48:13.224+08:00The Lange 1 has been in the Lange & Sohne stable since the launch of the brand. It has succeeded as a model to bring the German brand to the upper echelons of high horology in terms of innovation in design and finish. One of the early pieces that was highly sought after was the Lange 1A - a yellow gold limited edition that had a yellow gold dial intricately guilloched as with this Japan LE. The http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/qte7Dg0_6q8/lange-1-japan-limited-edition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)2http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/lange-1-japan-limited-edition.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-4649076901526065535Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:02:00 +00002009-09-15T11:12:32.269+08:00Peter Speake-Marin was recently robbed in California of all his belonging during his world tour of Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore (see post below on his visit), Sydney, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami where he was expected to meet retailers and fans of his watches. He had with him several of his prized pieces including one that was meant for his personal collection. To read http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/VZrjKWbnIAQ/peter-speake-marine-robbed-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)2http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/peter-speake-marine-robbed-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-5182058869725143866Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:56:00 +00002009-09-09T23:25:04.081+08:00The new 2009 Zeitwerk from Lange is a completely new caliber and direction from the German marque. By pushing its already revered mechanical movement prowess, Lange designed a watch with large digital window display to tell the time. Each digit moves instantaneously on cue - with renowned German precision. The watch will be one of the catalogue models available in different colour dials and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/QG7-C6ygNrk/wallpaper-of-lange-sohne-zeitwerk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)1http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/wallpaper-of-lange-sohne-zeitwerk.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-4438834517481576972Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:56:00 +00002009-09-07T23:29:17.852+08:00As mentioned earlier in my first Tourbograph post, I was invited by my friend Peter Chong, the Lange Moderator at Timezone to dine with other collectors and to photograph the evening's proceedings. Peter has finally collated my images and filed a report on Timezone Lange Forum. To read and view the images for that report, click on the photo of Fabian Krone (CEO Lange). The Singapore Peer Dinner http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/tBe2j6VoomE/pictorial-report-of-langes-singapore.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/pictorial-report-of-langes-singapore.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-6726910587973567564Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:47:00 +00002009-09-07T22:32:24.367+08:00Lange's chronograph movements are especially beautiful mechines. The Tourbograph is a fine example of Lange's continued excellence in developing beautiful, complex and very finely finished movement. One have to view the details of every screw and lever in minute detail to see how much painstaking effort has been taken to produce a high quality watch. Click on the image above to view the Zoomify http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/96pqZC3lYks/lange-sohne-tourbograph-movement.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)2http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/lange-sohne-tourbograph-movement.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-281719207287348121Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:29:00 +00002009-09-05T17:29:00.178+08:00Since the start of the decade, the tourbillon has become a necessary feature for watch houses to claim to be part of high horology. As a result, tourbillons are now are not as rare as was in the past. Unfortunately many of the tourbillons are not made in house but outsourced and very often they are added onto current designs as a module. Historically, the design, manufacture and assembling of a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/ZPI5ZGGdOig/lange-sohne-tourbograph-tourbillon-cage.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)2http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/lange-sohne-tourbograph-tourbillon-cage.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-4697188826451226816Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:39:00 +00002009-09-03T22:59:18.807+08:00Last week Fabian Krone (CEO of Lange & Sohne), together with Mr Peter Chong (Moderator of Lange Forum on Timezone) hosted a small intimate but gastronomically wonderful dinner at Iggy's Restaurant in Singapore. More of the event and food later (event report by Peter with the aid of my images). The highlight of the evening, as always at watch events are the watches itself and Lange's rare pieces http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/m_a1zQnrXQQ/lange-sohnes-tourbograph-pour-le-merite.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)2http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/lange-sohnes-tourbograph-pour-le-merite.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-2238465359760790824Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:21:00 +00002009-09-03T23:28:27.262+08:00Early this week, Peter Speake-Marin was in town in a whirlwind multi-city tour to meet up with collectors and retailers (probably delivering some bespoke pieces too). He met up with five collectors for coffee and I was on hand with my trusty camera to capture Peter who as always, a right gentleman telling us wonderful stories and news happening in Switzerland and in the watch world.Click on the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/RP7LGW-6jXI/peter-speake-marin-meets-singapore.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/09/peter-speake-marin-meets-singapore.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-5423977010767457599Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:16:00 +00002009-08-02T15:55:23.087+08:00To describe the DBS as an impressive car seems quite redundant. Even at a standstill, it reeks of refined engineering. Clearly designed to move the spirit by moving the body through high speed on tarmac. Its beautiful curved lines and racing engine sounds, it is clearly a car to turn heads as well as spirits.The series of images of the car was put together as a video earlier in my event report http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/F4h_haBXpoU/aston-martin-dbs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/07/aston-martin-dbs.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-3929075726281063087Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:51:00 +00002009-07-25T23:07:49.414+08:00The Amvox sitting on top of the DBS engine - while it was running. The JLC Amvox finally arrived on our shores. Earlier in the year, I reported about the need for such a watch but it appears that my doubt is unfounded because demand from Aston Martin owners have surpassed expectations. The DBS itself is somewhat controvesial being an identical car to the DB9 with an additional substantial tag. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/OJjX1k96nGM/jlc-amvox-aston-martin-dbs-launch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/07/jlc-amvox-aston-martin-dbs-launch.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-3505201263559374684Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:44:00 +00002009-07-24T10:47:18.420+08:00"Distract the wife, avoid talk of price... sell the romance, the emotion" The Wall Street Journal just published a revealing article on how a consultant was hired to train IWC salesmen to sell their watches to walk in customers at their boutiques. It was reported that sales fell by 42% in the US in May compared to same month the year before. This caused some brands to relook at how they are http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/wtSRijCsMpA/how-to-sell-luxury-watch-in-recession.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)3http://watchinghorology.com/2009/07/how-to-sell-luxury-watch-in-recession.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-6882485367893670714Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:02:00 +00002009-07-23T23:12:11.992+08:00For visitors and fans of WH that are members on Facebook, I have created a new page there for fans to obtain latest information on posts and updates as they are published here. At the FB page, there are opportunities for fans to post comments or even engage in discussions. So if you do have a FB account and would like to sign up for this, click on the link below:FB.init("http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/oqrOBnXC2nU/watching-horology-now-has-facebook-page.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/07/watching-horology-now-has-facebook-page.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-6124187807548297262Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:05:00 +00002009-07-30T21:18:02.927+08:00Alan Teo & Michael Tay at L'Atelier The Ion at Orchard Road was one of the most expensive commercial estate deals when it was bought by the developers who had planned something special for that plot of prized land. Planned as the mall for ultimate luxury, it was inevitable that top luxury Swiss watch houses would set up boutiques there. Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Tag Hauer and IWC http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/J2HgY93xePc/latelier-by-hour-glass-opens-at-ion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)2http://watchinghorology.com/2009/07/latelier-by-hour-glass-opens-at-ion.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-698745637826352694Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:08:00 +00002009-07-06T18:24:51.625+08:00 Admittedly, I have had difficulty in liking the Daniel Roth watches due to its unfamiliar case shape. While it sings for some, it some how does not excite me. However, this is not to be confused with my respect for the quality of their handicraft in creating beautiful watch movements. For instance, I felt the limited edition Athys with the IWC caliber 95 was quite a handsome watch with its http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/5Hlel-dGrbI/daniel-roth-athys-moon-hour-glass.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)0http://watchinghorology.com/2009/07/daniel-roth-athys-moon-hour-glass.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-2895030558372698311Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:27:00 +00002009-06-20T12:50:21.639+08:00On Thursday 17th June, Vacheron hosted a small dinner at the Mimolette Restaurant launching its 2009 collection here in Singapore. It was a grand evening of great food, great company and very entertaining jazz trio and singer - Ms Joanna Dong.The food was in great but the true highlight was the new 2009 collection and the long awaited 1921 model with a new calibre that brought the nostalgia back http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/Gxcqp8QPpZU/vacheron-constantin-2009-dinner.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)1http://watchinghorology.com/2009/06/vacheron-constantin-2009-dinner.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-4845983390260776754Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:24:00 +00002009-06-06T15:40:36.888+08:00 This year is the 30th Anniversary of the Hour Glass and to commemorate it, several brands including Gerald Genta are releasing some limited editions with rare combinations. In this case, 30 pieces of the Gefica Bronze with a Grey and Black dial combination. I shot this watch together with a few other limited editions (soon to follow here) and decided that its best appreciated by seeing it in http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/qh6jdQxbndg/gerald-genta-gefica-bronze-limited.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)3http://watchinghorology.com/2009/06/gerald-genta-gefica-bronze-limited.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17358973.post-36381007954638209Sun, 31 May 2009 13:39:00 +00002009-05-31T21:51:14.397+08:00The Hour Glass launched the Sinn Club South East Asia for fans from the region. Intended to be a means for fans of the brand to receive news, updates, information of latest developments as well as be on the mailing list for all Sinn activities in the region.Retailers creating and supporting brand fanbase is not a new development in the region. Earlier last year, Bell & Ross launced its Singapore/http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Watchinghorology/~3/WNG6tWNhlKk/sinn-club-south-east-asia-blog-launched.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Harry SK Tan)2http://watchinghorology.com/2009/05/sinn-club-south-east-asia-blog-launched.html