Ol' Blue Eyes - Sinatra 100 by Raymond Weil

Swiss brand Raymond Weil unveiled the Maestro Frank Sinatra to commemorate the 100th year of the birth of the legend.

A friend of mine who is a huge Sinatra fan had been eyeing this Limited Edition timepiece which was just released in June 2015.

The maestro's birthday is December 12th and that signifies the 1212 pieces of the limited edition. To give reference to Ol' Blue Eyes, the markers and windows are in a bright blue hue. Only the twelve o'clock marker is a Roman Numeral giving the significance to the birth date of the illustrious performer.

The transparent case back shows off the automatic Calibre RW 4200 and features a Sinatra Centennial insignia.

The watch is water resistant to 50m and the case is a comfortable 39.5mm.

A nice tribute to the man himself. Available at Watches of Switzerland and all authorised Raymond Weil dealers.

JLC and SG50

2015 marks the 50th Independence of Singapore and several watch brands have released limited edition timepieces to commemorate the significant event. Swiss manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre recently released their own in a Reverso.

From the first look, it seems like any other Reverso...

But when you flip the case, the beauty is on the reverse.

The island of Singapore is engraved on the case back of the Reverso and the finishing in lacquer. The details are well defined and lacquer finishing done expertly as one would expect from the Manufacture.

The steel timepiece is an automatic with a day/night indicator at the six. It comes in the Grande case size - I guess because you need a larger case size for the engraving as well as for the automatic rotor.

The case back of the Reverso. All Reversos are now tested according to the 1,000 Hours Control Test which guarantees the functionality of the timepieces from the Manufacture.

Limited to 50 pieces, this is a Boutique only piece and will retail at $13,900. I suspect it will be snapped up very quickly. By far one of the most attractive SG50 timepieces on offer and priced very reasonably. Gets my vote! Photos captured with an iPhone 6.

Omega Seamaster Vintage - New Old Watch

Omega - one of the great brands of Swiss watchmaking. And the Omega Seamaster is an iconic piece.

Back in the Sixties, Omega made many of these Seamaster 30 timepieces. I managed to pick one of these up for a reasonable price.

In most cases, they are steel examples but in this case I managed to get one in rolled gold - not exactly gold case but gold looking.

As you can see, the hands especially the seconds hand is already corroded. Difficult to find a flawless example.

Simple lightweight piece with a steel case back.

The dial on this one is almost flawless given the age. I like the simple look of this piece.

It is difficult to find pieces in this condition and I am glad I managed to find one. I have another in steel and shall post it another time.

SG50 - An Anniversary Piece

The Orient Watch Company released an anniversary piece marking 50 years of Independence of Singapore.

The Japanese watch maker designed a winner IMHO. Their SG50 watch is a modification of the Bambino series with a special dial. The watch, which is sold in a set, comes with a special leather case too.

The vintage looking watch comes in a set of two - one in steel and one in rose gold plated.

The timepiece comes with an automatic movement Caliber ER48743 which is a Japanese movement. The 40.5mm watch has a rather vintage feel about it and the additional printing on the dial gives the SG50 timepiece more meaning of 50 years of independence.

The dial is a simple printed dial with rose gold coloured markers and hands.

Now for the rose gold plated piece.

A somewhat more warm piece than the steel.

A close up of the dial and the printing.

I find this Orient attractive and well priced. Water resistant to 30m and with a power reserve of about 40 hours, the timepiece comes with a closed case back. Limited to 500 numbered sets, I understand they are fully sold.

Not All Rectangular Timepieces Make It - This One Does!

There are only a few rectangular timepieces that make the mark. The Lange Cabaret is one of them.

For one, they need to have a proper movement - one made for the timepieces and not slapping a round movement in a rectangular case. When Lange Cabaret was first launched in 1997, it came with the "regular" big date version. Later, they added the Moonphase to this timepiece and transformed the timepiece to a beauty!

The timepiece has all the hallmarks of the Glashutte manufacturer - big date and applied markers.

On the right side of the case is where the push buttons are for the adjustment of both the big date and the moonphase.

Lange does not scrimp on finishing - take a look at the big date windows. Finesse!

And the moonphase and the hands are just in perfect harmony.

And now for the movement side. The movement is rectangular - made for the timepiece and not slapping a round movement into a rectangular case and covering up the case back.

Similar three quarter German Silver plate with the rubies and blue screws.

The finishing on Cabaret is top notch as one would expect from Lange. Glashutte ribbing and hand finished.

And the individually hand engraved balance cock.

This beauty of a timepiece belongs to a friend of mine - Dr. Stefan Ma and he absolutely loves it!

The Cabaret is not as illustrious as the Lange One but still a very attractive timepiece. Under appreciated IMHO but for those who own one, they are the few who definitely enjoy the understated beauty. Congrats to Dr. Ma on his ownership of such a fine timepiece.