How do you repair a mechanical watch?

My father left me a mechanical timepiece - one he wore all his life and was found in my mum's drawers some time back. It is a Rotary. And until recently, I had wanted to find someone I could trust to have it restored and Sean came to the rescue.

Sean is the brand owner of MoVas watches and I had approached him to see if the watch was still serviceable. First issue Sean encountered was opening the case back. No matter what tools he used, the case back could not be opened? Normally, one would abandon the plan but not Sean. He fabricated a tool to open the case - such is his dedication.

This is a picture of the special tool Sean made just to be able to remove the case back.

And the result?

And the dial and plexi glass...

Old unserviced movement...

Unbelievably clean. Sean had it cleaned and regulated and then had it put back again. Sean had tried to clean the dial but I wanted it to be the same condition so it was left untouched. And the final product?

What a nice present from Sean - fully cleaned movement and working in good condition too.

And the case back, cleaned and nicely polished. Next thing I need to do is to find a "correct" bracelet as the one my father had was not the original bracelet.

Many thanks again to Sean for a job well done!

Vacheron Constantin - Singapore Boutique Exclusive

Vacheron Constantin released the Malte tourbillon openworked Singapore ION Orchard Boutique Exclusive.

To celebrate the opening of its new Singapore Boutique at ION Orchard, Vacheron Constantin presents an exclusive Malte tourbillon openworked model. This creation sets the stage for a demanding complication; with the tourbillon within an entirely openworked shaped calibre – all entirely developed and crafted within the Manufacture, and also bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva. A genuine rarity in the realm of Fine Watchmaking; this timepiece is issued in a 3-piece limited edition.

The very special piece has just arrived in their new ION Boutique located at #02-07. If you have not been to the boutique, I urge you to as there are several marvellous pieces there including this new one.

Happy Lunar New Year

Here's wishing all our friends a Prosperous and Successful Year of the Goat!

May your horological wishes come true this year and be as sweet as the mikan tangerines!

Miss Golden Bridge by Corum

I can see why the Corum Golden Bridge is such an attraction for the ladies - and to put it into a small case? Well this is a winner for me!

Right off the bat, my wife loved the Corum Golden Bridge and when they introduced the Miss Golden Bridge, I thought it would be the perfect gift for her. So I managed to capture some shots of the timepiece. Enjoy!

I have to say that it is rather difficult to take this watch as there is no dial and the case is see through.

But don't you think this is so unique? Even the side is see through...

Even I like this timepiece!

Elegant and unique. And with the right amount of bling too.

For more reading about what my wife thinks of the watch, read her article published in Deployant.

Enjoy this one last shot. I like this one a lot.

Here's wishing all of you Happy Lunar New Year! May you have a Prosperous and Successful Year of the Goat. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Traveling with my JLC Reverso

This post documents my travel with my JLC Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Duo Bleu. One year ago I was traveling to the US and here I am back again. But this post documents my travels last year.

Whenever I travel overseas to places with a different time zone, I have to decide which timepiece to take with me. In many cases, I ended up with the JLC Reverso. So I would like to share some pictures of the watch traveling with me.

Here with me on a flight.

Here with the main course.

After a meal settling back for a glass of wine.

On this trip, I had visited Monterrey Beach.

Monterrey beach is really breath-taking and I am planning to return some time. On that trip I also visited Napa Valley - that one to come in another post.

Pepsi - The Rolex GMT Master

Rolex fans have a way to name their favourite timepieces - and in this case the GMT Master is called the Pepsi.

I guess it is self evident how the name came about. The bezel is two toned, blue and red.

Just in case you ask why the red is more pinkish than red, well my friend who owns this watch had gone to the pool and this is the work of the chlorine. Blue is still blue, but the red...

A close up view of the watch.

Seen here with my Grand Seiko dual time piece the SBGM003.

The GMT Master is truly a utility timepiece. And an iconic one at that.