new shoes and some random shots today

and the picture of the day...

Getting it soooo right... the Rubens Barichello II in Titanium

This is the kind of watch you release to shut any critic up. I have offered constructive criticisms in the past on AP and the LE madness with color and strap changes and different casebacks, but this is something else. The association with a second rate driver (but a nice guy) is totally unnecessary impo. The design of the watch speaks for itself. (of course with the brazillian connection the sub-dial pointers can have the cool yellow green and blue of the brazillian flag which is very nice).

Only possible to get list price at the boutique or with a premium at an AD and sold out throughout the world. Expect to pay a high premium on the secondary market for this one as demand is HOT. Whereas some watches dissapoint in the metal compared to the photoshopped press pics, the same can't be said for this baby. This one is getting on my "grail watch" list.

Until the day i get to spend some one on one time shooting this baby, will have to make do with the press pics for now... checkout tz and purists ap forum for live shots taken by lucky owners of this wonderful watch.

Scratch !!! Ding !!! Nick !!! Bang !!!

A bang and a whimper

A story oft heard… a swing of the arm without much thought… the oncoming gleam of the door handle (or that other watch, evil seat belt buckle or the harsh resolute solid brick wall) and … SSSCCCCKKKKRRRR!! (well it wasn't that loud but it certainly seemed like it didn't it? :)

the shockwave traverses the length of your arm, nerves on end screaming, and that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach happens in the next instant. you hesitate to glance down but eventually you have to and you see it there... a ding, a scratch, an unwanted mark on your prized possession... it could be the case of your new fiddylicious 1950, a scratch on your new ceramic doppel, scraping off of the pvd on an end of days or la boutique, gouges on your titanium watch or the marring of the perfection that is the bezel of the royal oak or offshore… or any watch that u may have for that matter...

You then scour watch forums (if you haven't done so before) for advice on what to do next and you find that you are not alone. There are others out there. Others who love their beautiful watches and banged it, scratched it, dinged it and marred its brushed and polished perfections and you tell yourself, lets share with anyone else who unwittingly hurts their watch the information gathered from these searches. So for all the watch lovers who've happened to ding or scratch their watches (which has a higher probability of happening for roo's with a bezel of that size or watches above a certain mm) here are some options as to what you can do :

1. Live with it till you send it in for the next servicing at the original scheduled time(once every 3-5years) at yr watch brand's servicing centre and get it polished then. I did this for my ROO. It had to be regulated cause timing was off a few minutes a day and I asked them to just polish the bezel as it was just the bezel dat was affected, fyi i paid about s$220 or usd140 for this because of what you see in the next shot. the dent above the 12 o'clock and the scar next to the 2. they got it cleaned up thankfully :)

2. Send it in to get it refinished NOW! just get that unsightly mark out of there. Even if its few weeks old or you just got it back from the service centre you don't have to live with that unsightly scratch.

3. Get a watch restorer who knows what he's doing to refinish the watch. For some watches this may work. For the Royal Oak n offshores, e guy mus know how to maintain the original finishes and shapes and textures which may be tricky. Getting a guy outside to do this may also nullify e warranty so i'd totally advise against this option. Its not going to be cheap owning n maintaining an expensive watch yuh.

4. DIY touchups and fixits eg. To touch up light swirlies and hairlines and fine scratches, going at it with an ink rubber for ti, cape cod polishing cloths for POLISHED surfaces. Very bad idea for high end marques though. it is really not an option for me to take a cape code to a >$15K watch. possible for lower end marques or watches below a certain price range depending on yr comfort level yuh

5. For roo owners who have mangled their offshore bezels, I remember seeing one guy who wrecked his safari bezel or if ap says they can't maintain the finishing without taking off too much metal, an option is to change the bezel : most expensive and in my mind not really necessary unless its totally wrecked. price probably around usd$1200 or more n u're gonna bang it n scratch it again anyway. yes u will even if u say u will take such wonderful care of it n u know what not to do.. It is inevitable (voice of the emperor in star wars)

(NOTE: this advice is meant for s/s models but some are generic across other normal metals. Titanium is another matter. Often difficult for refinishers to work with and some will say that they will not refinish yr ti watch which is why i recommend never buying ti as there is a possibility u can't get rid of the scratches once there. The rbii in ti is an exception from this not because it wont scratch but because it looks so damn fine)

There is no right or wrong option of course, most importantly do what will allow you to enjoy your timepiece best. A few little marks here and there shouldn't matter but real unsightly ones may need attention if it takes away from the pleasure you derive from looking at your baby. After the first view virgin scratches, the pain typically lessens, depending on you. have faith that ap, rolex, richemont(keep fingers crossed) will make it like new when you do eventually send it in. most importantly, i stress again enjoy your watches and don't keep them in the safe cause you want to keep them pristine (unless you bought it purely for investment and to resell) wear them and enjoy them. i know someone who does, scratches, warts and all...

disclaimer : its all just advice yuh, listen, take heed or ignore, do what you want with it :) cheers

State of the Collection & Random Pics ...

State of the collection ... be careful if you try this. don't let any of your babies get scratched trying to do these shots

Luminous state... iwc rules with blue and panerais glow is amazing

Oozing pure class... oozing it... coming out of the damn bezel screws

damn if thats not a good design ... to all the derivatives out there... the hublots, baume & mercier rivieras, new concord models and all the copies of copies of this, why even try?

the most well designed fliegeruhren from iwc period :) (I am entitled to my opinion yuh) classic, retro hommage... makes me want to put on a flight bomber jacket and take to the skies...

the 2007 St Exupery power reserve is a joke compared to this baby

historics, handwinds and display backs are the best way to go on pannies... try winding it while looking at the back i say...

10 great years for panerai and most likely many great more ahead with them in the hands of richemont. however please don't repeat the mistakes of this year. 10 day automatics with power reserve indicators! Who needs 10 day automatics with PR indicators? Honestly ... (in my best austin powers voice)

Best of the Basel SIHH shows 2007

It has to be this ... at least I stared the longest and hardest at it out of all them new models :) haha kidding

this looks pretty decent as well if i were inclined to the contemporary range for pannies... i'd so much prefer if they had released a ceramic 47mm 1950 case destro pam... hopefully next year...

i reviewed the range of new releases one last time and thats it actually. nothing i find worthy of a look in the metal other than the few i have already mentioned ... good news is theres no need to save money on new must have pieces. can save it up for the last years or older releases instead :)

to alleviate the sadness, a joke i came across about the difference in definition between "guts" and "cojones" ...

Guts - is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being assaulted by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to ask: "Are you still cleaning, or are you flying somewhere?"

Cojones - is coming home late after a night out with the guys, smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife on the ass and having the balls to say, "You're next fatty."

HAGWE

star light star bright... first star i see tonight

Dissapointed!!!

Damn are the IWC design department and the Rolex boys drinking Zenith kool aid or what??? Have you seen those designs? and whats with having over 5-10 new and not fantastic watches in a year??? Very dissapointed... Why? because I want IWC to do well, just as I want Rolex, AP, Panerai, JLC, Patek and Lange to do well in terms of their new watches as I hope to own watches offered from these watch houses. I am happily 4 out of 7 as of now.

My first thoughts on seeing the da vinci were that they weren't fantastic but not that bad and the ceramic doppel with the top gun thing has always been a bad joke IMO on the holders of the LEs seeing that its larger and a regular production piece. However the top gun emblazoned on it lowers its desirability a fair bit.

But the other new models are just... just ... I give up. The new St Exup power reserve looks like a joke. The one last year was a design winner which is why i dreamt of it and acquired it and they follow that up with this?

Pretty nice Patek

Passable :
- Pilot’s Watch Chrono-Automatic Edition Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
- Pilot’s Watch Chrono-Automatic in RG
The rest don't improve on their 2006 lineup imho

For rolex, only the steel gmt master does something for me...

anyways do take a look at timezones basel sihh 2007 coverage here lots of scary watches but one can hope to find some nice ones...
for the iwc new range, you gotta be a member of the iwc forum... its in the articles section...

I haven't seen all the watches out yet but of those I have seen, bregeut and omega seem to be doing something right design wise based on the press pics, the marques I love have been coming up short so far... lets see what else the next few days bring...

sorry for the rant... it could be the lack of sleep :) I love being a daddy... over and out

Bregeut ... nice

ok this is decent... unlike some of the truly indecent ones they have released this round

New addition to the family

i've been quiet over here all week but its all good as i have got a new addition to the family... pics of my new beauty will follow shortly
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... oops I think i forgot to mention, its not a watch :) Baby Isaac born 3 apr 2007 in the morning

shalom ... peaceful, blessed Isaac ... highly favored greatly blessed and deeply loved



whats a boy got to do to get some rest around here... sigh



chilling at home with daddy... i love mummy and daddy

As a first time dad, all I can say is that it takes a whole lot out of you. My wife is having it much worse of course, being the food source... real tough initial phase for the 2 of us... hopefully we settle into a groove soon but right now its pretty rough going.

Second part of this post is that with the arrival of my son, I will most likely be posting much less for awhile (over here and in watch forums I frequent - see my links section yuh). I hope those of you who have popped by have found some of my ramblings and pictures of interest this past 2 months while I was doing this blog :) That is not to say I will stop posting completely but the output will definitely decrease.

(UPDATE... ABOUT 1 MONTH AFTER ISAAC'S ARRIVAL: I still spend a lot of time on forums and on updating this blog... Guess the passion is too strong. Me and the missus are good and enjoying parenthood now. Its so much fun. Go forth and procreate people ;)

To end off, for all you watch lovers out there, buy what you love and wear and enjoy what you buy. Thats all there is to it really :)

random pics

hot right now and i heard delivery is coming up soon

more publicity pix of the alinghi ... (note: i am still not loving this... not yet anyways :)

carbon up



all that glitters ...







yummy caseback



this one will send you to the poorhouse ...



hope u liked em