NOMOS Glashütte & The Hour Glass Singapore - Zurich Weltzeit Collaboration

Back in 2016, NOMOS and The Hour Glass announced their collaboration and behind the scene, a group of collectors floated the idea of a Singapore special edition. And the fine folks at The Hour Glass started the journey of developing the Zurich Weltzeit Singapore Limited Edition.

And what a beauty was unveiled one year on...

The NOMOS Zurich Weltzeit (World Time) Singapore Limited Edition was unveiled with two variants - a Salmon and White dial versions. The Salmon dial was limited to 15 examples while the White, to 35 pieces. 50 in total.

I took to liking the Salmon dial version immediately. Based on press releases, the colour of the dial was a pinky hue and as described, salmon pink. But the final version was anything but.

In most World Time timepieces, the city in feature "by default" is almost always Hong Kong. The Singapore Limited Edition replaced the city to be Singapore. But the Singapore Limited Edition went one step further - the island state is also known to many as "The Little Red Dot". Instead of the "home" symbol on the regular Weltzeit, they replaced the "home" with a little red dot! Brilliant!

And to keep the theme consistent, the Singapore and the little red dot is, of course, in red! Whether it is a coincidence or by design (pun intended), NOMOS has been awarded several "Red Dot Design Awards". I hope the "Little Red Dot" edition wins a "Red Dot Design Award". What an outcome it would be!

When you look at the timepiece itself, the colour of the dial and the texture changes from angle to angle. The dial has a kind of sandy texture. Not only is the dial having a sandy texture, the salmon hue is the first time NOMOS is using this colour.

The way the dial colour comes across to the owner is a vintage feel - lighter in the centre then slowly getting darker as it radiates outwards.

The colour actually looks more bronze than salmon pink, not that I am complaining. The colour combination with the red dot and red Singapore is a stand out. Great job guys!

I intentionally darken the contrast to bring out the sandy grain and the colour graduation of the dial. Note the lighter hue in the centre of the dial and the darkening effects as it graduates outwards.

The steel case is shy of 40mm - a good size case for a World Time.

The crown is signed and the pusher at the 2 o'clock turns the world city ring. The pusher is firm and exact - exactly what I had expected from the folks at NOMOS. On the case back, one can clearly see the words "NOMOS Glashütte Zurich Weltzeit - Singapore Limited Edition" with the limitation number engraved as the bottom of the case.

Now for the movement - the in-house automatic DUW5201 calibre. The DUW 5201 is the first automatic caliber with the in-house NOMOS swing system which I had written about earlier on my NOMOS Metro.

DUW stands for NOMOS Glashütte Deutsche Uhrenwerke and the power reserve on this piece is approximately 42 hours.

Finishing on this piece is as one would expect - finishing worthy of the timepiece.

A close up of the automatic rotor with Glashütte ribbing.

List price on this piece is S$8,560 for both variants which makes it great value.

I believe all the 50 pieces have been accounted for - not surprising really. And with this first piece, I hope that the folks at The Hour Glass will continue with a few more of the same salmon (bronze) dial versions of other NOMOS models. Perhaps the Metro, Tangente or even Tetra... Count me in for the next release!

The Antiqua Perpetual Calendar in Sketches

Apps are a wonderful tool of the internet age. And I used them recently to convert some photos I had taken into wonderful sketches.

So how would you like the Vianney Halter Antiqua in sketches?

I had featured a few of Vainney's timepieces in a few other posts. But the most iconic of all is perhaps the Antiqua featuring a three part dial with a date window. First, the time...

Then the sub-dial at the 7 o'clock position showing the month and leap year indication.

The date window is found to the right of that indicator.

The last sub-dial is found at the 10 o'clock position showing the day of the week. And the movement side.

Some pretty cool sketches I think. Hope you like them. For more on the iconic piece please check out this post on the Antiqua Perpetual Calendar.

Functionally Pretty - Ulysse Nardin GMT +/-

Ulysse Nardin made horological history when they unveiled the Freak. I love the Freak but I cannot afford one. So the next best thing is to buy another icon of the brand - the GMT.

Unlike other brands, The UN GMT is a very easy timepiece to adjust. Otherwise known as the GMT +/- (plus/minus), this timepiece is just so easy to adjust. And the sunburst dial makes it a lot more attractive too.

The timepiece comes with a big date at the 2 o’clock position and a second window at the nine o’clock position showing home time. The seconds hands is located at 6.

Two push buttons are located on the left side of the case - the top one being the plus (+) and the bottom one being the minus (-). As with many Swiss watches, we are advised not to make changes to the time between 10pm and 4am.

This being a lady’s timepiece is set with diamonds. 8 diamond markers, 12 smaller diamonds encircling the seconds sub-dial and a diamond encrusted Twelve.

At the back is an ETA modified automatic movement that powers the timepiece.

Overall a pretty and functional piece.

The brand is exclusive to The Hour Glass and UN has already developed a new in-house movement for this range.

Vianney Halter - Steampunk Watches

The Vianney Halter range of timepieces evoke very special feelings especially the Antiqua Perpetual Calendar and the simple Classic.

Just like Ulysse Nardin did with the Freak, Vianney created the Antiqua to rousing reviews. Here seen together with the Classic posing amongst my steampunk cufflink collection.

Read more about the Antiqua Perpetual Calendar in my earlier post.

Another look at the yellow gold Antiqua...

And the Classic in rose gold.

De Bethune wins the GPHG Award for DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon

If I had not said this before, I say it again. De Bethune is about one of my favourite brands and deservedly, they won at the GPHG 2014 for their DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon.

This past week, the folks from De Bethune brought an impressive selection of their timepieces and showcased it at The Hour Glass L'Atelier at Ion. Amongst them was the award winning DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon. Pierre and Alessandro were at hand to meet the collectors on this occasion. In the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix (GPHG) 2014, the international and highly qualified jury of this 14th edition chose the DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon to receive the prestigious award of the best chronograph of the year.

Not only is this timepiece a monopusher chronograph, it also comes with a tourbillon and encased with a hunter case. This is one of my Dream Watches... if only I can afford it. On display were also come very technically sophisticated pieces like the DB28ST. The manual winding dead-beat seconds tourbillon timepiece is a sight to behold. Finished to the highest quality, my picture does no justice to the timepiece.

Equally sophisticated is the DB28 Maxichrono. Beautifully crafted and finished as one would expect from the folks in De Bethune.

The movement on the reverse tells you how much work goes into the design and manufacture of the pieces at DB.

De Bethune is also famous for their perpetual calendar pieces - the three dimensional moon being the attraction to me. And the highly guilloche dials are also a beauty. Here is the DB16QP.

And the manual winding movement of the DB16QP.

And speaking of the three dimensional moon phase, the DB25L white grey dial is also on my list of dream watch - but perhaps a little more reachable.

And the open case at the back displaying the beautifully crafted movement.

The folks at De Bethune have this salmon colored dial that I absolutely love. This is Alessandro's piece he was wearing and he told me it is his favourite piece (at least for now) and he has been wearing it for months. You can see why right?

Also showcased at the event was two very elegantly designed enamel inspired dial DB25s. The first piece has blued mirror-polished titanium at the centre and an outer white enamel like ring.

The second version has blued mirror-polished titanium outer ring with a white core. Classic right down to the hands and I believe De Bethune has outdone the folks at Breguet in this respect. The timepiece comes with an automatic movement.

For a classic De Bethune, this is a winner for me.

There were a lot more timepieces there but I was so busy chatting away I did not have enough time to capture them all. We had a good chat and one of the questions stumped Alessandro, seen here trying to look for answers.

Thanks to The Hour Glass, Pierre Jacques and Alessandro Zanetta for hosting us. One day... one day, I shall have my very own DB. Congrats again to De Bethune on the win. Thoroughly deserved!

Sinn U1-D - The Hour Glass Limited Edition

German watch brand Sinn and The Hour Glass collaborates yet again to unveil a new U1 - the Sinn U1-D.

The Hour Glass is the exclusive retailer for Sinn and this year decided to commemorate their 35th Anniversary by unveiling the new U1 - the fourth in the series for The Hour Glass. Limited to 350 pieces, the Sinn U1-D is nicknamed Ultimate 1 - Dune.

I prefer this version of the U1 to previous versions as well as the regular version of the U1. Made with Sinn proprietary technologies, the U1-D case and bezel are fortified with a special coating to improve the scratch resistance.

The special relationship between The Hour Glass and Sinn started 7 years ago when the first installment of the U1 limited edition was conceived for the Tempus watch exhibition. The last was the all-black version and with the U1-D, Sinn and The Hour Glass takes its inspiration from the military giving it a combat look and feel to it.

The hands are "regular" Sinn U1 hands but comes with a sandy color at the base of the hands. The dial is matte grey and the combination is what makes this iteration particularly attractive. Examine the dial and you can see a sandy "coating" giving the watch a little more rugged feel. The watch has a 44mm case.

The watch comes with two straps - a calf leather strap and a Camo Zulu strap. The watch shown here comes with a third party strap.

Sinn watches are made from German submarine steel and water resistant to 1,000 meters. Fitted with an automatic movement, the Sinn U1-D is certified for several standards including shock resistance, anti-magnetic properties and resistance to low pressure at high altitudes amongst others.

The watch is now available at The Hour Glass and will be retailing at S$4,800. Congratulations again to The Hour Glass on the commemoration of their 35th Anniversary!