Sunday 23 December 2007

my favorite APs

this was my response to mtf's giveaway question as to what were favorite AP pics and why... initially it was kept to non-RO and ROO APs but he has since capitulated and it is now open to all APs :)

starwheel...



it was reading Thomas' article of it around 1.5 to 2 years back that piqued my interest in obtaining one but few ever pop up for sale and now I am waiting for the next iteration.

So I don't own it and its a pic from the source.

As to the ONE reason why, I think its because it is one of the non-RO/ROO watches that I believe has a lot of potential to be the next big thing for AP and can be a strong line for the future, if they take it in the right direction. I believe they are in the process of doing that right now and as I say if they get it right, it could be another jewel in the crown.

keepin fingers crossed they get the evolution of this right

Photobucket

but since offshores are now allowed...

my grail one popped up as well. as to why... I would say because of its interesting past, from an undesired LE of 500 pieces obtainable in the US$15k range to a relatively highly desired one in the hot LE market going for about 3-4 times that perhaps? precursor to other LE ROOs and other black ROO LEs (there will be more of course smile trumps that light, black-ish watch every day of the week and twice on sundays wink just mho of course




Saturday 15 December 2007

an afternoon well spent ... full AP SIN Purists GTG report

not many knew this but as of Saturday those in attendance at this wonderful little GTG would know... The AP forum on the purists was the first watch forum that drew me into this crazy addictive hobby of ours. It was there that I learned watches could be so much more than just functional timekeepers and the wonderful history behind Audemars Piguet and some of the amazing and beautiful timepieces they have made through the years.

it was therefore a very happy prospect for me to meet with the founder of this forum and of the purists and with other local afficianados in Singapore. our gtg took place at a nice little restaurant in town, La Strada, and was as the subject line says, was an afternoon well spent. thanks again to Thomas and fellow purists that attended and for bringing some truly droolworthy watches I got to finally appreciate in the metal ;)

my pics for the day below... i just realised how many didn't turn out that well, especially for the lunch companions for the day so do check out MTFs great report for a fuller picture

headed down to the gtg with this on my wrist

its a base model, non-LE and i think its wonderful

it was very quickly off my wrist for the table shot :)

oooohhhhh... love a good watch orgy ;)

my shots of other attendees came out real bad…

gotta thank harry for the following 3.. SJX

jokoh

raphmeister

and to the closer shots of some of the pieces… TA RG

2 rose gold beauties side by side

yummy

a quick closeup

a very interesting RA sunray tourbillon, the thinnest tourbillon wristwatch

a shot of the interesting case back… jewels on it?

a nice RO chrono on bracelet was on harry’s wrist – this shot of it by him

TA forged carbon... no comment

probably the one I liked the mostest : )
la boutique NY in all its stealthy pvd glory

looks super stealthy on the rubber strap…
variations in looks through strap changes
are always good I say

shots of 2 interesting non-APs to end off… a luvly patek pocket watch

and a goldpfeil vianney halter

hope u enjoyed the post.

cheers
raph

teaser pic... my best watch gtg to date...

more will follow but for now...



and it was the best not because of the *bladdy amazing* watches but the most excellent company :) watch this space...

Friday 14 December 2007

Have yr Cake and eat it 2 ... Cake launch 14 Dec 07


I may have expected one kicka$$ party since the invite card did say it was the Christmas party and I still recall the very cool pajama party... but this was a more tranquil affair.
Huge congrats to Revolution for their successes thus far. Having a very impactful watch magazine and introducing a women's mag to complement it. Congrats to Bruce as well on the birth of his 3rd child yesterday. Great news indeed!

On to the photos of the nite then...

Stefano, jus an amazing guy (watch crazy like me) and
someone I am very happy to call a friend
... oh i may be the only guy there who went double wristed...

Both of us with some fine cigars (thanks Wei for pointing
me to the cigar room) NOT hitting on our friend from New York ;)


bumped into an old friend Sharon and her friend Roy

top dude Lawrence whom I will be working with again... very soon ;)

& our watches.... can you say
Royal Oak Offshore? : )

local watch community regulars and horomundians

zach -thankfully not lugging a huge camera around tonight and hopefully enjoying himself, and fiona - great gal who sorts things out on the ground

the only watch group shot for the night sadly... the gorgeous Rose Gold
Royal Oak is Noel's and luverly Patek 5135 is Stefano's and the other 2 be mine :)

it was a nice night all in all and i met up with a couple of new and interesting folks and a fair number of folk working in the watch industry... thats all for this report then.

cheers
raph

Tuesday 11 December 2007

Concord C1 Dinner 10 Dec 2007

First off, I would like to thank Concord /Cortina / Horomundi (in association with Prestige) for hosting this nice event. Great hosts, good time catching up with some WIS mates, meeting interesting new folks and pretty decent food to boot too... oh and there were the watches of course ;)

to start off, some press pics ... the carbon fibre black subdials
version is one of the nicer examples in the metal

i like this image... somehow makes me think of
seahorses and nautiluses ;)

these events are great to catch up with watch loving folks...
the usual suspects...Dick cracking me up with his robot dance moves ;)

Stefano and me with our sporty OVERSIZED watches

love em both of course :)

the dinner setting


made some new friends, my dinner companions...
Ms Anne-Valerie Compain, International Communications Manager for Concord, MGI,
& Ms Arifin, who is beginning to take an interest in horology


by my side was CH and Linda, a great watch loving and collecting couple..
Linda wore a B&R for the nite but do go here for an insight into her acquisition
of the LUC Chrono One
*link* ... CH, thanks again for letting me put my fingerprint smudges on your interesting Corum Golden Bridge

the 2 best looking pieces in the C1 lineup impo
modelled very ably by Anne-Valerie


Movement is an ETA Valgranges (oversized 7750?) i only like em on the
rubber straps...maybe cause of the rubber on the bezel...


a heavy duty monster in RG...the other nice watch of the night
but it does come with a pretty hefty price tag too (excuse the crappy pics
as I am still figuring out my camera settings for low light pics)

I thought this could have been done better...the black criss-cross

net on the orange didn't appeal to me... the other watches,
Big date and the silver faced ones weren't my cuppa

Overall impressions

The positives are that Vincent seems to know what he wants (which is very important) and he is setting out to achieve it with a zeal & passion (which is also very important). He also shared with us on the thinking behind coming up with the C1 and putting all the watches that had gone before in Concord aside and also a bit of a sneak preview on the future lineup with an interesting variation to the tourbillon which was all good.

On the watches itself, the 2 I noted above are pretty decent but the price points are important considerations. The asking price of the rosegold C1 is about that of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rosegold Rubberclad. On the design, I find it somehow overwrought to a degree but this is purely my subjective view and others may like it as it is.

It will be interesting to see how Concord develops over time, as we should be mindful this is just their first salvo, and I am sure there will be more interesting things to come from them. My best wishes to the team there in reviving the brand and to taking it to new heights.

cheers
raph

Monday 10 December 2007

an interlude entitled "how best to spread the love..."

one of the best ways to spread the love (which is most of what this blogs about) is to post some kicka$$ pictures of some really fine watches :) pics and watches aren't mine (VERY VERY SADLY) but they have been used with kind permission. enjoy :)

perfection

he ain't heavy he's my brother ;) he's actually bloody heavy :)

gold & alinghi

RG ROO in the wild

RB2 Ti gone wild

and for something NOT from Audemars Piguet :)
Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712

Source: 'A gentleman collector' Please do not re-use these pics in any form. Thanks.

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