Watch Friend GTG @ Diamond Kitchen

How time flies as more than two months have lapsed since we last had our Get Together. It is the month of May and we met at Diamond Kitchen for our GTG.

And the theme this time was around non-round case watches and round case watches. Every time we meet, we want to be double-wristed and hence the double theme. We made a booking for two tables at Diamond Kitchen at Laguna Park (Marine Parade Road) and a total of 17 turned up.

Diamond Kitchen as I was told is opened by people from the diamond trade and the bosses are super fussy eaters - good news for us patrons. We started with the salted egg yolk sotong. Not too salty and cripsy on the outside, the squid is juicy on the inside and done just nice. Not too tough and just the right amount of salted egg yolk.

Next up was the clam broth bee hoon (vermicelli) which IMHO is always the highlight of the meal at Diamond Kitchen. The broth is thickened but very tasty - real taste of clams. The clams were fresh and rather juicy. And the way they cooked it, the bee hoon does not get soggy even after 10-15 minutes in the broth.

Another must try is the steamed sea bass. I was told that the sea bass comes from the sea and not from seafood farms. The meat was succulent and the fish was definitely fresh. Well done! What we had ordered but not featured here in picture is the champagne pork ribs. Another great dish - more so for the children. Tender pork ribs marinated in champagne, floured and lightly fried to seal in the juicy bits. Unfortunately, I was too busy eating I forgot to take a picture of the dish.

Superior chicken soup - boiled for a few hours and not always available (I suggest you order ahead), the soup has lots of dried mushrooms and probably one whole chicken in the pot. Tastes like chicken tonic soup - good for health and the soul too.

Of course one can't do without vegetables and my personal fav is the three eggs spinach in broth. Cooked with three kinds of eggs - century egg, salted egg and the "normal" egg in a delicious broth.

Next up was the cereal chicken. A rather unusual iterate of the dish. Most restaurants will do cereal prawns but this is the first time I had cereal chicken. Done pretty well - not fantastic but the chicken was tender.

Two more dishes - the gan xiang fried rice and the or nee (yam paste). The fried rice was rather normal other than the fact that this is a spicy version fried rice. Nothing special to me.

Another winner for me that night was the or nee (yam paste). Smooth and fragrant, the or nee came with ginkgo nuts and steamed pumpkin. Thumbs up for this one. And then the highlight of the night.

Table shot of the watches present. See anything familiar? As you can seem the left side is all the round case watches including two pocket watches and the right side are the non-round case ones.

A closer look at what was there… The round ones.

The not so round ones… and some interesting pieces I might say. Two JLC Reverso Grande Dates - one in steel and one in gold. First off, some interesting round ones.

An unusual piece - the Urban Jurgensen. Someone said this resembles Kari Voutilainen and it was promptly pointed out that Kari had some connection to the man and the brand.

Next an old Minerva pocket watch. The movement was cleaned by Sean and now working well. In fact, he had done some work on the case - had it polished.

And as usual, we tend to find an IWC pocket watch courtesy of one of our friend.

The Omega Speedmaster Pro made its appearance and in a Nato strap. A wonderful iconic timepiece.

Another unusual piece from Blu. Revolving hour and a rather nice complication.

Not only is this not round, it is eight sided. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak City of Sails.

Next the Panerai Radiomir PAM 231. Not my favorite brand but unusual anyhow as they don't make many gold pieces. They are more well known for their steel pieces.

And two very interesting pieces - one from Roger Dubuis and the other from Lange & Sohne. The Roger Dubuis is the Sympathie three handed watch with central seconds.

This is one of the unique piece of the evening - unique for a few reasons. This is the white gold great dial version. Only 25 pieces were made for the Lange Owner's Group (LOG) and this is piece number One! Elegant and definitely worth it if you can get your hands on it.

And this must surely be one of the highlights of the night - other than the Lange Cabaret LOG. The Limited Edition HM2. On picture, the watch looks big but on the wrist, the watch is rather wearable. And the moon phase and date display on the left with the time on the right. Readable.

The back of the movement featuring the battle-axe automatic winding rotor. And a very unusual rectangular IWC vintage piece below.

We talked a lot more this time around which meant I had less time to take pictures and post them. I would have loved to photograph the two JLC, the Rolex Explorer 2 and the other Habring, Movas, Reed and Seikos.

Next time my friends, I promise more photos. but first things first - when are we going to have the next GTG?

My First Dream Watch - Lange 1

I have always admired Lange as a brand and very much thanks to the Sincere Watch Academy, I learnt a lot more about the brand and the iconic pieces. Lange One was for me the icon of the brand.

The Lange One has always been on my desired list and when one was available at the "right" price, I pulled the trigger. For a three handed watch with a large date display, the Lange One is simple but does not come cheap… at least not for me.

In my opinion, this is the most balanced off-centre display of any watch I know. The large date at one o'clock is the signature of Lange. The power reserve indicator between 2 and 4 o'clock is non-linear.

The white dial with rose gold case definitely works for me - classy! The finishing on the Lange is as one would expect - excellent! The gold markers and indicators are well finished.

And now on to the movement side. Made of "german silver", the patina on this example is great. Finished with Glashutte ribbing, the three quarter plate is another signature of Lange and watches made in Glashutte.

The blued screws and pink jewels add to the beauty of the movement. And the engraved balance cock is also another beauty.

For the longest time, the Lange One was for me a "must-have" watch. Even my wife likes the Lange One - no brainer right? After all, it is a beauty in every respect. The Lange One has many iterations and I was lucky enough to handle the guilloché Mother-of-Pearl dial version. Another feature coming up soon.

Another look at the Lange One during the get-together organized by Lange. Here is the report for that GTG.

GP - Gina Pang and her Girard Perregaux

For the longest time, my wife has her eyes set on Girard Perregaux's Cat's Eye. Not only does GP represents her initials, she likes the unique shape of the watch.

The Cat's Eye comes in different iterations - from simple time only to bi-retro moonphase. I managed to get my hands on the now discontinued Zodiac Annual Calendar.

The white gold version with the 68 diamond bezel comes with a mother-of-pearl dial. The watch comes with a satin strap and that adds a touch of femininity to the whole timepiece.

The watch features an Annual Calendar in the form of the Zodiac calendar. The diamond marker at the 7 o'clock indicates month while the date disc is at the 1 o'clock position. The annual calendar feature is different from the perpetual calendar in that you need to adjust it for the month of February every year. Other than that, an annual calendar watch will automatically take into consideration the 30 or 31 days depending on the month. The moonphase is in a rather unusual position - towards the centre of the dial.

The watch comes with an automatic movement and the rose gold rotor is engraved - with her initials no less!

Overall, a pretty package that my wife is very happy with. And I am happy for her too.

Back to Basics - LM101 MB&F

So Max Busser was in town recently to launch the new Legacy Machine named LM101.

Back to basics is what the LM101 is - the "least" complicated piece by Max Busser and Friends. And what a beauty the 101 is. First. let's start with a comparison - the LM2 versus the LM101, side-by-side.

The LM101 is a very wearable 40mm bearing the hallmark of the LM series - a domed shaped sapphire glass and a suspended balance wheel.

The crown is at the four o'clock position and the dial displays the time and a power reserve. As with all LM art pieces, the dials are beautifully shiny and resembles enamel. But Max says they are not enamel but rather a special form of lacquer.

A closer look at the watch - the bottom dial is the power reserve.

And the case back - the hand wound movement signed by Max and Kari Voutilainen. Level of finish is what you would expect from an MB&F.

Another look at the watch - sorry for the poor quality of the pictures as it was taken in restaurant lighting. The timepiece is in white gold.

A final look at the LM101 in B&W. Understand the pricing is sub 90k SGD. A very beautifully crafted piece and one for the ladies too. Kudos to Max and his back to basics! Thanks to the Hour Glass for hosting the dinner.

That is Max unveiling the LM101 from his pouch. Congrats to a new wonderful art piece by MB&F!

Chopard LUC - Qualite Fleurier

Chopard to me has always been about jewelry - so I when I signed up at the Sincere Watch Academy for a watch colloquium, I was pleasantly surprised by what was in store.

L.U.C - Louis-Ulysse Chopard is the range for the high end in-house developed range of watches from Chopard. So called L.U.C. as it makes reference to the founder of their brand and all L.U.C. watches comes with an in-house calibre finished to the highest standard one can expect from the brand. In the earlier years, Chopard released some affordable classic timepieces and I was lucky enough to acquire one - the L.U.C. QUALITÉ FLEURIER.

The Chronometer certified timepiece meets the Fleurier Quality Foundation (FQF) standards which does not only meet the COSC standard for watch movements but also that of the Geneva seal in decoration. The FQF was set up by three brands Bovet, Chopard and Parmigiani. For more information about the quality standards in the Swiss Industry, please check out the post by my friend SJX.

I believe one of the feature of the FQF standard is the need to test the watch after it is encased. Additionally, the unseen parts of the watches must also be finished to the highest standards. I was once informed by a Chopard executive that all parts of the movement including the undersides that remain hidden from view are decorated.

The finishing on the watch is exquisite for a watch at this price level. The dial is elegant. And the case back… well that is another wonderful revelation.

The first edition of this Limited Edition timepiece came with a closed case back. Limited to 250 pieces, the case back is engraved. This is where it gets even more interesting. The Qualite Fleurier standard is clearly engraved at the bottom of the case back just below the Limited Edition numbering. Later versions came with an exhibition case back.

Then comes the entire logo. The early Chopard family were bee keepers hence the logo. The case back are hand engraved and the bees around the bee hives are individually engraved. No two bee hives are alike - number of bees may range between 43 to 45 (I think) but even with the same number of bees, the positioning is not all identical.

Chopard and the L.U.C. range has come a long way - many firsts and several to-die-for timepieces like the Lunar One Perpetual and the L.U.C. Engine One Tourbillon. And I will find time to honor those.

Something is Brewing - MB&F

Max Busser was in town recently and we had the chance to have dinner with him.

And what for you might ask? Well, something is up for sure. For the time being, enjoy the shot of the LM2 that was on Max's wrist that night.

You may want to check out my blog on the LM2.

Count down… 7 days to go to a new Machine!

Thanks to the Hour Glass!