This is the last part of the series of sharing my watch family collection.
I would like to start with the brand that saved the Swiss watch industry...
Swatch SVGK 406 (Chrono Automatic- Right Track White). Swatch continues to come up with innovative watches- in this case, it is an automatic mechanical chrono that costs less than RM2K which can hold its own against many of the other Swiss watches.
Next is a Jaeger-LeCoultre, which is one of the most accomplished Manufacture..
JLC Reverso Squadra Hometime. I wanted my first JLC to be the classic Reverso. I was actually looking at getting the 1931, but I find the watch to be too small when I tried it at the AD. The salesperson then recommended the Squadra Hometime, which I believe has been discontinued. The size is comparable to the other dress watches that I have (range of 38mm to 42mm) plus the GMT complication is always a favourite of mine.
Panerai seems to bring out the extremes in opinion- either you like it or you hate it. I fall into both categories- I like Radiomir for its classic design but I could not get over the crown guard of the Luminor. Recently I came across this...
PAM 425- Radiomir SLC 3 days. The dial is supposed to based on the experiment of the sandwich dial in the 1930s. The minimalistic dial is attractive and the icing on the cake is the SLC torpedo at 6 o'clock. The watch at 47mm is huge, but after a while you get used to the size.
One complication that I am fascinated with is the minute repeater. But browsing through the offerings of repetition watches, one can only dream of getting one....until one fine day I came across this....
Nivrel 5 minute repeater. It seems that Nivrel, based in Saarbrucken, Germany, has managed to get its hands on the 5 minute repeater movements owned by Kelek when Kelek was bought over by Breitling in 1997. Nivrel has been offering the 5 minute repeater at a more down to earth price level. Last year, it came out with a limited edition of 100 pieces of the 5 minute repeater to commemorate 300 years of 5 minute repeater at a much lower price than its regular repeater watches and I managed to get one. The watch is certainly unique. It has two gongs, one gong strike(s) to indicate the hour and two gong strike(s) to indicate every 5 minutes.
The last watch I would like to share is one of my favourites..
Grand Seiko Spring Drive "Snowflake". Much has been written about the watch in this forum- its mesmerizing dial, the smoothness of the seconds hand, its accuracy, its amazing construction etc...and they are all true. I was fortunate to get hold of this watch when I called the AD in Singapore and they confirmed that they have one piece in stock. I made a day trip (fly in, get watch, fly out- thank you Tony F) and got the watch at a reasonable price (after the normal AD discount plus special Singapore sale discount and 7% VAT claim at the airport).
Thank you for reading the stories of my watches. As many of you have experienced, once you get bitten by the bug and the poison seeps in, it is almost impossible to stop. Maybe, one of these days......naaaah!
