Feature of The Month - A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph

My fascination with mechanical hand wound movement was pique when I saw the back of the Lange chronograph - many say they would wear the movement side if it were possible. I fully agree. That is why this watch is The Feature of the Month.

The House of Lange is German engineering at its best. I have always admired the brand, technical expertise and the range of watches they have. I yearned for one of their beauties and when I finally got my hands on one, a sense of accomplishment. Here's my favorite Lange piece.

Many thanks to my friend Professor Harry Tan who took these pictures at one of our get-togethers. Over drinks, dinner and a nice cigar came these pictures. This white gold beauty has been discontinued and a newer version of the 1815 chrono has been introduced.

And now for the movement side.

I was contemplating between the rose gold black dial version versus the white gold silver dial version and settled for the latter because of the beautiful blued hands.

Taken at the same dinner was a photo shoot courtesy of Prof Harry Tan. Take a look at the poster of some of the collectors with cigars to boot.

The year end (2012) dinner was held at CHIJMES, Chef de Tables. I shall make another post for our 2013 year end dinner soon.

Omega Speedmaster - Mother Of Pearl Dial

Possibly one of the most recognizable watches around, the Omega Speedmaster is versatile as both a men's and women's watch. Featured here is my wife's well worn Speedy with a Mother-Of-Pearl dial.

Bought this for my wife way back in '05. Runs well despite not being sent for service.

The watch came with a white calf leather strap but I had it changed to a natural python skin which matches perfectly with the MOP dial. Strap customized by JnS Strap.

The MOP dial makes the watch easy to mix and match outfits… very ladylike.

The beautifully textured MOP dial.

Take notice of the embossed markers. Beautifully done! But the wear and tear is also clear...

A classic through and through. Enjoy one more view of the watch.

Time to have the watch serviced and polished back to its former glory.

It's Friday Again - Seven Times a Week!

SevenFriday - a rather odd name for a brand. But I guess if you wanted to make a seriously fun watch, why not give it a fun name too?

TGIF - Thank God Its Friday is probably the most apt description of the philosophy of the brand. Why have one Friday when you can have Seven of it in a week? Hence the name SevenFriday. The watch design gets their inspiration from industrial design - printing machines I believe. Comes in a square boxy shape, they have three lines the P1, P2 and P3. Featured here is the P2-1 Industrial Revolution.

The watch comes in a wooden box with the words "Fresh from the press". Very industrial looking and definitely befitting the design.

The P2-1 comes with a dark grey PVD coated steel case, the ring is rose gold and gives a nice contrast. The seconds subdial (disc) is located at the 5 O'Clock position and the 24 Hours indicator disc at the 9 O'Clock. It also features an opening at 7 O'Clock to show off the balance wheel giving the watch a nice animation feel to it.

The back is closed with the engraving showing the details of the watch. Beating inside is a Miyota 82S7 movement and they are not shy about stating the origins of the movement.

I am rather surprised by the level of finish for a watch in this price category. I think it is great value for money unlike many other Swiss brands who charge substantially more just because it is "Swiss Made".

I also bought the P1-2, the Pure White. To me, it represents the purity of the range.

Not only is the watch case white, the matching leather strap is also white.

As with all the other models, the 7 O'Clock window shows the balance wheel in action.

The steel buckle has the words engraved on the back.

Personally, I prefer the Pure White. I don't normally like white watches but in the case of the SevenFriday P1-2, fell in love with it at first sight.

Somehow, the overall white dial with gold indices and black words work for me.

I also like the Limited Edition P3-2 which comes with a Canadian wood case ring. Long sold out, I continue to hunt this one down. But from a legibility perspective, the Pure White is the one for me. For more information check out their website SevenFriday.

IWC & The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

This year, IWC celebrates the French pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and pays tribute to his book Le Petit Prince - The Little Prince.

The book celebrates its 70th Birthday and IWC is launching 2 Limited Special Edition watches to commemorate this occasion. The book has sold more than 150 million copies and translated into 270 languages. The two watches - Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar and Pilot Mark XVII feature the little boy from the story. IWC hosted the event at the Ion Boutique.

The boutique was decorated with all things The Little Prince…

And a group of us came in a dressed theme of red pants/bermudas with white top and jacket. But some came with other red and white combo for one reason or the other. Here are the brothers on song...

Free flow of good food and Schaffhausen wine… what more could we ask for - a free watch maybe?

And Edouard opened the evening with a speech - explaining to those not in the know the history of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and the collaboration with the brand.

What is the Little Prince event without little princes and princesses? Some bigger than others but many friends of the brand brought their family along. Making a special appearance with a reading of the book was local celebrity Mr. Chua En Lai.

Mr. Chua assisted by Sidney of IWC. And Massi paying special attention to his little princess in the front row.

But to many who turned up, we came here for a reason - to see the watches. Both watches come with blue dial which is reserved for special editions of IWC timepieces. The Pilot Mark XVII is simple enough yet special.

The special feature on the watch is found on the seconds hand. A small star is found at the end of the seconds hand.

The blue dial is a deep midnight blue and as with all IWC Pilot watches comes protected against magnetic fields. The steel watch is limited to 1,000 watches.

And I really like the blue dial - JoKoh, this one is for you!

And the other attraction for the night is the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar edition Le Petit Prince.

Already an icon for the brand, the rose gold limited edition is limited to 270 watches.

Featuring a full perpetual calendar with 4 digit display for the years, the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar has a midnight blue dial and if you look carefully will spot the very special feature.

Coming with a full 7 days power reserve courtesy of the IWC-manufactured 51613 calibre, the Big Pilot perpetual calendar has a definite presence. On the moon phase is where you find the special feature...

The little prince standing on the moon gazing into the star filled sky. IWC did a good job of presenting the moon phase the way they did. Awesome!

Edouard mentioned that some of the proceeds of the sale of the watches will go to helping establish a school in Cambodia.

And before long, it was time to go. But I will revisit the boutique again soon to discover more IWC timepieces especially the Portuguese hand wound 8 days. Another beautiful piece by IWC. Thanks to the IWC team for a wonderful night. Well done!

Markus Lehmann - A New Manufacture?

Markus Lehmann - not a name familiar to me. I was introduced to Lehmann Schramberg watches by a Thai friend and so I started doing some research about the man and the brand.

Lehmann Prazision as it turns out is more associated with ultra-precise mechanisms in the areas of aviation, optics, solar energy and medical technology. Then Lehmann moved into producing parts for watch brands and subsequently established the Lehmann Watch Manufactory in the area of Schramberg, Germany.

What Lehmann wants to achieve is using high precision tools to manufacture watch parts like the dials, hands and base plates. The bridges it seems are made by ultra-precision milling machines that produces accurate engravings. Here I feature the Pointer Date version of the Lehmann Schramberg Intemporal. The watch measures 42mm and this example comes in stainless steel with extended lugs.

The date display is unlike any others I have seen before. It uses a window which moves under the main dial. The hands are precisely cut and so are the markers and the dial.

Another look at the pointer date and the engraving on the dial. Precise, clean cut and clinical.

At the back reveals the Caliber LS 0004 featuring the Vianney Halter invisible rotor. A rather well finished movement.

In a collaboration with Andreas Strehler, Lehmann developed the recessed crown. When not in use, the crown can be pushed into the case for protection. This development is patent pending. Shown here with the crown popped out.

A look at the back bridges shows the same level of clinical finishing - precise but lacking the "hand-finished" feel.

In line with the precision promise, all Lehmann watches come Chronometer Certified. Watches comes with a stainless steel folding clasp of rather high quality and this watch comes with an alligator strap.

The lugs are also rather special - being integrated into the case and extending out. But that is where I have a beef - they make the watch too big for my tiny wrist and the strap does not wrap well around my wrist.

A wrist shot of the watch. See how the lugs extend the watch to the edge of the hand?

Overall, it is a well made watch but lacking in emotion. Clinical is the one word I will use to describe the watch. For more information, visit Lehmann's website.

Mr. Range - Story of The Singapore Lange Connoisseurs Lunch

The Singapore Lange Connoisseurs Lunch was hosted by Michelle and her dedicated team from Lange Singapore. And the lunch was hosted at Yakitori Enmaru at Ion.

Like they say, some things are lost in translation. For example the name… Mr. Lange became Mr. Range.

I thought it was cute so I took a wrist shot of my companions… venture a guess whose wrists/watches these are?

And then my Range 1 on a Lange stand...

Seated beside me is the owners of a Rose Gold Black Dial Datograph. My preferred combination for the Datograph. Some call it the Dufour Datograph or the Dufourgraph. I absolutely love this watch. Just waiting for the right time when it is available and at the right price. Although it is not a Limited Edition piece, the RGBD version is rather rare.

And perhaps the oldest Lange at the gathering that afternoon. A Lange pocket watch with an enamel dial. Serial number has it dated back to 1908.

And before I forget why we were there, here is the food! Peter ordered the Chirashi sushi.

Larry had the ginger pork.

Terence had the beef. Understand the beef is tender and well cooked.

Kee Siew and I had the yakitori. Good stuff since this is after all a Yakitori restaurant.

And the band of brothers! Chap kor anyone?

Brothers in arms. I love the 1815 - slim and elegant.

And before we knew it, lunch was over and we headed down to the Ion Boutique. Couldn't resist so I asked for all the brothers to lay down their watches…a million dollar tray.

A different look at the watches on display.

A trio of Datograph - how often you see so many versions of the Datograph. For a moment, we had more variety than the boutique.

And the highlight of the tray must be the Lange 1 Tourbillon. One can only dream of owning such a rare beauty. So I admire only...

Many thanks again to the team from A. Lange & Sohne. Hope we can do another one real soon. In the meantime, I continue to dream about the Lange 1 Tourbillon and search for the RGBD Datograph.