Congrats Vianney Halter on the Gaia Award!

Vianney posing with the earth... I mean 'Gaia'award :)

& from Vianney and his team

& a trip down memory lane... some wonderful pieces in this look back

& the fave for me from the lot which i once owned... the Antiqua

some other wonderful pieces to me... trio

& the Classic Janvier... a wonderful piece

SevenFriday Q ~ Q1 Q2 Q3 Launch

First off, my quick take on the watches and then some press release info and pix follow. Amongst the 3 new Q models then, I like the Q3 the best just based on looks :) I think I would like a version with a little bit more red in it which may come in future limited edition versions. Of course different folks will have different preferences and it's good to have the options available.  

Press Release: The Q is the 4th series in SEVENFRIDAY’s collection and features a new visual complication with De-central hour ring inspired by regulators. Q-Series watches feature the FSC (Fast Strap Changer) mechanism [Pushers at 9H side], NFC technology which allows registration via the SEVENFRIDAY app and for the first time on a SEVENFRIDAY, date function has been added. Each Q is tied to one of our three industrial universes, the Q1/01 is Essence, Q2/01 is Revolution and the Q3/01 belongs to Engines. Each universe has it’s own set of materials while each watch its own style, strap and of course inspiration.

Launch of the SevenFriday Q... some features noted below. from this pic u can tell the different fonts and markers
across the 3. eg the Q3 has the 24 on the inside track while the Q1 and Q2 have the 24 marker on the outside

 Q1/01 takes inspiration from Music, embracing design features from recording studio equipment.
Recording studios have a unique atmosphere with their vast panels of high-tech dials and crisp
silence. We looked at modern and vintage machines from recording studios throughout the ages to
find inspiration. When the SEVENFRIDAY Tour hit London we paid a visit to the legendary Abbey
Road Studios and got to experience no fewer than seven tourists risk their lives running into
oncoming traffic trying to catch their version of the iconic zebra crossing shot! [PRICE: 1160 CHF/USD (RRP ex. taxes)]

Q2/01 takes inspiration from Travel, channeling key features from vintage steamboats. The height of
luxury in 1800’s, steamboats were industrial masterpieces allowing people to holiday on water. Their
copper and brass equipment has been updated over the years but while the SEVENFRIDAY Tour
visited Amsterdam we found ourselves on a vintage ship where a brass Engine Order Telegraph
(EOT) caught our eye. It was utilized to send a signal from the bridge to the engine room with
instructions about speed and direction (ahead or astern), this copper and brass instrument stuck with us.
[PRICE: 1190 CHF/USD (RRP ex. taxes)]

Q3/01 takes inspiration from Engines, embracing key features straight from the pit lane. During the
annual Gulf Run race event we witnessed the world’s best supercars tearing up the Bahrain
International F1 circuit. We experienced the engine vibes in the pits and watched a McLaren prepare
for the race. Mechanics checking pressures and temperatures with a host of different gauges and
telemetry equipment. This place conveyed the spirit of our Q3/1 time piece. 
[PRICE: 1220 CHF/USD (RRP ex. taxes)]

Q3 ready to go for a drive with an Italian bull

Seiko PADI Turtle ... A Beautiful Watch and some other watches with blue and red in 'em

If you check out some other Seiko posts in this blog, u will know I love the Seiko turtles :) they were a great vintage design 
and now they're a great looking modern watch. some slight differences but overall it's a cool modern version of the vintage... 
my mate Stefano sharing his PADI turtle with me

Some basic math... Seiko Turtle + PADI certification does not equal Seiko PADI turtle :(

the watch barista and his PADI turtle... BIG THUMBS UP!!!

chilling with another watch with red and blue in it... well a very light blue and fuchsia... i love these faded gmt bezels
this is a legit one as verified by my Rolex servicer uncle Lim at Top Hour :)

but I will go for the non-faded ceramic pepsi inserts too! WHHHYYYYY not in STEEL??!!?? WHHHHYYYY??? 

and that's it for now... have a great weekend boyz and girlz. cheers, raph

Singapore Airlines Business Class Food Review by Up & Coming Food Critic... Ms Too

In the words of Ms Too (not so many words cause she's like... little): 

Once in awhile I do take Singapore Airlines SQ Business Class for my holidays and when I do I make sure I have some good eating on it. 

first let me introduce myself, Ms Too here, food critic and world traveller with my man servant, whom I call Papa
(he looks tired coz he was up last night packing for my trip. i pay him in watches :)

it's good to book the cook on business class flights to try out some of the different dishes done on SQ

and some of them as u can guess are done better than others. let's start with some appetisers...

this was yummy to me

next my first main.. LOBSTER! sometimes I pronounce robster... oh well it was delicious! (from sq site: 
Boston Lobster Thermidor ~ A whole lobster sautéed in butter, flambéed in brandy, sprinkled with cheese, 
and served with creamy mushroom sauce, garlic and spicy mustard, and buttered asparagus)

next up the beef and it was well... a bit tough to my liking... I think beef prep is tough on a flight so 
i would skip beef medium rare on flights

sometimes I do want local fare though and there is Nasi Lemak for me! fragrant coconut rice and overall
 it was pretty well done. Great selection of Singaporean dishes can be found here LINK

but my fave of the lot is their... SATAY!!! (from sq site: A popular local fare, these skewered slices of chicken, 
mutton and beef are flame-grilled and served as an appetiser with onions, cucumbers and a spicy peanut dip. 
Satay is available on selected flights, in Suites, First Class and Business Class)

the stewardess calling ahead 'Ms Too wants more satay' and indeed i do... Keep 'em coming

another kind stewardess setting up me and my man servant's seats for sleep mode. SQ service is the BEST!

time for a nap :) i love SQ! 

dreaming of more satay... nom nom nom

Sevenfriday HDB Heavy Duty Box ... Coming soon to an art gallery near you ...

[ Note: No SevenFridays were harmed in producing this report... due to the protection of the HDB ;) ]

Well of course we know the design team there are good. The original P series is excellent, the M in the punk version is wonderfully done too and I nearly pulled the trigger on that. The V was not my cuppa but there may be a version that comes out that will be. but i am not talking about their good design work to date but of the artistic talents of 2 little monkeys aka The Rascals!

Why you do NOT leave your Sevenfriday on your man cave table when you go out to work for the day... 

i'm liking the colors of these paints

hey we missed the back of it!

a little paint will fix that RIGHT up!

and of course their daddy got a good ol'shock on seeing his HDB painted over.. "What did u..!" but a little water should do the trick... 

and it did of course. it was all clean and lookin' new after the paint washed off and they all lived happily ever after :) 

The SevenFriday HDB is of course built to take on nature and the elements and here is some info and pix from the Red Army Watches (LINK)

Going for a dive

At La Tomatina!!! (more pix here LINK)

& at the Songkran water festival 

getting all bubbly

& that's it for the moment but stay tuned as there's more sevenfriday goodness to come soon... very soon. cheers, raph

HYT extends its guarantee to 5 years: a gift from HYT to its customers

I AM IRON MAN!!!

Some quick thoughts. the watch industry is in a challenging state right now and all brands are thinking of ways to differentiate themselves from the others and bolstering their USPs. it's good to see this move from HYT to address one of the more key concerns for folks buying into the smaller, niche brands. Servicing comes at a cost and to have 2 more years of peace of mind is very good thing. On to the press release... 

Press release: When it's your birthday, you normally receive presents. However, HYT doesn't often follow convention! 

To celebrate its 3rd anniversary, HYT has decided to offer something different to its collectors: from 1st July 2016, each new HYT watch will have its guarantee extended from 3 years to 5 years. In addition to this, pieces purchased before this date will also have their guarantees retroactively extended by an additional two years.

"Beyond the gesture, we wanted to make sure all of our customers could benefit from the technological advances we have implemented," explains Gregory Dourde, CEO of HYT Watches. "We wanted to thank our visionary customers who share our passion for creating a new kind of watchmaking, and who have believed in us right from the start. Offering an extra two years on the guarantee is our gift to those who reaffirm their commitment to us every day."