Air Diver's 200m - SUMO

You won't be able to buy one in Asia other than Japan.

This Air Diver's 200m (Seiko) is only available in Japan domestic market and some shipments to the USA. On its case back it was engraved Air Diver's 200m, Made in Japan.

The automatic movement professional diving watch has another nickname - SUMO !

This is because of its large size as well as it solid stainless steel heavy weight casing.

Collectors of Japanese diver watches are closely tracking the SUMO since its launch in 2007. To buy a new one now will need to take quite an effort; not all stores in Japan carry the item.

As the SUMO was created for scuba diving, its dial was made of non-reflective metal black surface, rounded hour markers and hands are shown in bright illumination in the dark. See for yourself the picture.

This is one of those good calibre Seiko watches that would cost you approximately S$1,000 (initial price) a piece and if you do find one in Japan.

ORIS, Finally...

The above picture shows a vintage-look ORIS mechanical watch (automatic movement).

The watch was released in late 1990s. It reflects the essence of vintage mechanical watches of old era, having the dates markers on the watch dial, 360 degree around the outer ring. Wearer would be able to know how much time in the month has been consumed by looking at the fork's position. Unique feature in those days. The bezel is pink gold plated, same for part of the bracelet.

The watch also features a see-through glass back casing, for you to appreciate its delicate movement inside. The rotor signed ORIS. It is not one of those usual ETA mass produced movements but made by ORIS own manufacture.

It is highly accurate in telling time.

Alarm Watch by Mercedes Benz

This is an early production watch by Mercedes Benz, sold at Merc's own accessory shops in the late 1990s.

It is an alarm wrist watch with fully hand-winding mechanical movement.

The dial still imprint with Mercedes Benz brand. The "Alarm" wording was printed in red colour.

Apparently this piece remains the "only" hand-winding alarm wrist watch manufactured under the Mercedes Benz name.

Military Collection - US Presidential Seal

This is a special collectible piece, ordered by the White House for its staff and secrete agents.

It is made of stainless steel with special black coating to avoid reflection while in use, typical for military (and special forces) operations.

There are many other military watches on the market but this one that bears the Seal of US president on watch dial is rather unusual. Normally such watches comes with special forces unit's emblem.

Vintage Tissot

I bought this watch more than 30 years ago... brand new then.

This is a Tissot automatic movement wrist watch with special treatment of 18k "gold-capping" for its case. Therefore, it still looks excellent in condition.

The watch dial signed SEASTAR which means it is meant for sea sporting activities and sailing.

The design of this watch is vastly different in presentation as compared to current days Tissot sport watches.

TUDOR From the 90s

This is a Tudor manufactured & sold in the late 1990s.

It is made of stainless steel Rolex casing, with gold-plated bracelet and 18k solid gold bezel.

The watch has an automatic movement.

The watch dial signed "PRINCE OYSTERDATE" - A phrase commonly used by Rolex for its Prince and Oyster models.

Tudor progressed through its early days (1900s) as a sub brand of Rolex Oyster models for the UK market initially, using the Rose logo and transformed itself over the last few decades. The late 1990s Tudor models carried with it clear sign of Rolex linage, with the Rolex logo on the watch adjusting crown and case back inscription about its originality.

So this piece is among the last few models made under such unique arrangement.

All Tudor models after year 2000 would only bear the Tudor logo, without any trace of its original roots from Rolex. Surely the change in marketing approach will bring back fond memories of Tudor watches that bear the Rolex logo... and oyster casing.

Black Monster Stealth

This is not one of my collection.

It is another modified Seiko divers watch by a watch master in the USA. It was grabbed immediately once put on the market.

Remember that I got one of those rare pieces as well, mine is a Blue Monster Stealth.

Readers may go and read about the piece which was posted on this blog in June 2009.

FLAGSHIP by Longines

One of the most sought after vintage watches manufactured by Longines.

The Flagship watch carries with it an illustrious history of the great adventurer - Columbus who discovered North American Continent.

Precisely this is the watch made by Longines to commemorate Columbus' historic voyage led to his greatest find in life - North America. Flagship was manufactured in circa 1956 - 57 period, the watch is made of solid 18k rose gold and houses a manual hand-winding movement.

The most interesting part is the18k solid gold watch case back, embossed with the flagship of Columbus' fleet. The detailed and very fine craftsmanship (of the flagship) is among the best in any watch case back design.

Noted that Longines took an initiative to reproduce the flagship model in the early 2000s based on its original vintage, sold on limited edition.

What you see in the picture is the ORIGINAL flagship made in 1950s. It is definitely one of my desired collections.

Rolex Oyster QUARTZ

The Rolex Oyster Quartz is no longer in production for quite a while.

They were steel, gold-steel versions on sales in the 1980s - 90s.

In the past, the Rolex Centre would provide free battery change for Rolex Quartz for life-time (as promised). In recent time Rolex Centre in Singapore has started to charge customer S$35.00 for workmanship (according to them) which includes inspection of the mechanism during battery change. But i enjoyed free-of-charge batter changes in the past.

The quartz movement in this Rolex model is highly complex and premium quality, it is officially certified chronometer. It only uses battery from original source - Rolex.

The watch shown here is made of stainless steel &18K gold. Noted that on the dial it signs OYSTERQUARTZ DATEJUST.

The Rolex Oyster Quartz becomes yet another highly sought after collectible among the enthusiasts. Up till now, this model remains the ONLY watch in which Rolex had manufactured with a quartz mechanism/movement.

Frederique Constant Manual

Frederique Constant is known to be a small Swiss watch manufacturer that makes high quality wrist watches.

The company adopts traditional watch making techniques in making watches that are classic in appearance, complemented with its own mechanical movements.

This piece was made circa late 1990s specially for rich Indonesian market segment. It comes with a hand winding mechanical movement (see case back picture). The dial is of classic white ceramic design, small second hand sub-dial and signed Frederique Constant & Geneve.

Watch case is made of stainless steel & 18k gold plating.

The watch belongs to the range of early models made by FC and still sought after among Indonesian riches.

Big Size Skeleton Wrist Watch by SACOM

This is a piece of classic big size wrist watch made by SACOM, a respectable watch manufacturer that traced back to its origins from making very good pocket watches in the1900s for European market.

The watch dial is in traditional skeleton layout, matched with a small second hand dial at 9 o'clock position; it is manufactured with a manually hand winding pocket watch movement.

This model was sold in Hong Kong in circa 2004, with very limited pieces from the boutique.

Vintage Rolex Pocket Watch

A vintage Rolex pocket watch, circa early1900s.

From the case back engraving, it was originally a collection of a Parry family until it ended up in an antique shop in Perth, Australia. It was in 1999 when I saw it one morning in the shop and bought it straightaway. Later the watch was sent in to the Rolex Centre (Singapore) for thorough check and confirmed 100% original.

The watch dial was made from silver and its case was gold-plated.

A rare piece indeed.

Omega Speedmaster

This is a special model of Omega speedmaster, because of its size & design feature.

Observe carefully, it is slightly smaller than the normal speedmasters and its dial comes with minutes numeric markers, i.e. 5, 10, 20, etc... aligned to the hour bars. (The normal speedmaster models do not have this design feature).

The watch movement is automatic winding.

It is topped with the bubble glass which is the most unique feature of original speedmaster.

IWC Chronograph GST Titanium

This is a rare titanium IWC chronograph model GST (stands for Gold.Steel.Titanium).

The model's production was stopped in 2003.

This piece comes with an automatic movement (there's a quartz movement model apparently) and production numbers are much less than the steel model.

The GST titanium is highly sought after by serious collectors these days due to its rarity and scratch proof titanium material used. It remains one of IWC's most classic chronograph designs. There are stainless steel version being auctioned on the Internet but not the genuine GST Titanium model.

Soviet Union Military Medal

This is a military service medal of the Soviet Union era.

The soldier received this medal in the year 1985.

Not able to understand the Russian wording on the back of this medal though. There's indication of 1941 - 1945 (which is WW II period). It could be a World War II commendation medal for veterans?

I bought it from an antique shop in Singapore, apparently a Russian sailor sold it while passes by Singapore.

AIGNER Diamond Edition

What you see is a special diamond edition of Aigner's wrist watch, large size.

The brand's famous horse-shoes bezel is decorated with genuine diamonds.

Watch movement = quartz.

TAG Heuer Series 1500 Pro

This is the same model (Series 1500 Professional) that was worn by President Obama during his presidential campaign trail.

This Tag Heuer series 1500 Pro was launched circa 1995 by the manufacturer. It received instant world recognition and popularity immediately, by the sporty young generation then.

Noted that the dial has two colour design schemes, the white and the metallic dark grey. The piece shown here is of the dark grey scheme.

This model has become one of the classic Tag Heuer collectibles.

Flying Tourbillon

This is a Flying Tourbillon (hand-winding) wrist watch circa early 2000s, made by Samson watch Co.

Time keeping is extremely accurate so far.

The watch dial is of conventional design theme and reflects high workmanship. Movement winding is very smooth.

Special Micky Mouse Watch

The watch shown above is one of the Micky-mouse design watch circa 2005.

It is different from many other Micky-mouse designs because of,

(a) It is with an automatic movement. (Many are quartz).

(b) Its arms actually move around the dial as the hour & second hands.

Classic Beauty - Omega Vintage Seamaster

This is a vintage Seamaster from Omega, circa 1960s.

The watch movement is automatic winding mechanism.

Stainless steel casing with bubble glass on top.

The dial signed DE VILLE.

It is truly a classic and elegant piece for daily wear.

I found this piece about 10 years ago, in Vietnam.

Fancy A Tiffany?

This is a divers watch made by Tiffany & Co.
No more in production though.


Should be a rare model, as Tiffany & Co. hardly produce such serious sporting models. If you notice, the watch hour & minute hands, as well the time markers followed same design just like the Rolex Submariner!

Rochemont - World's Leading Luxury Brands Group

What you see is a rare chronograph watch produced by the world's leading luxury group's house brand Rochemont in Switzerland.

The watch case houses a high-end sophistication's patented design Swiss quartz movement chronograph, sold in European markets in the late 1990s.

The watch case is made of stainless steel plated with 18k gold.

This brand (Rochemont) does not appear in Asia nor America. I acquired it while I was in Europe.

The business forte is in high-end luxury goods as well as jewellery, for European elites. Brief background of Rochemont:

Richemont owns several of the world's leading companies in the field of luxury goods, with particular strengths in jewellery, luxury watches and writing instruments.
The Group's luxury interests encompass several of the most prestigious names in the luxury industry including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai and Montblanc.

Seiko Chrono - First To the Space

This picture shows an early batch of Seiko chronograph that was a favorite among pilots of USA and Asia.

Apparently a research had pointed out that this Seiko chronograph was among the first batch of chronographs worn by some US astronauts to the space, though the watch was not named officially by NASA. One of the astronauts who wore the Seiko chronograph to the space missions was Colonel Pogue as reported. That's why this Seiko is also called the "Pogue Seiko" by collectors.

I found one of this historical pieces in a dealer's shop in Macau.

It's NOT Panerai

At a glance, watch enthusiasts would say: " A Panerai".

The truth is, this is Not Panerai.

This is a piece of diver watch in almost identical watch case like a Panerai Submersible.

Though the watch is not signed on its dial, it was produced by an independent watchmaker in the USA. The brand is called 'Navale'. I was told that their watches are not in mass production.

The watch dial is specially treated with the look of shipwreck rusted steel, very unique.

It completes with a diving rubber strap.

It is heavy on wrist because of its large size and solid stainless steel case.

The watch movement is automatic winding.

For those who do not want to pay for Panerai's marketing/advertising costs, this is a very good alternative. Mind you, it is accurate enough for sports (and diving) and the feel on my wrist is excellent.

ROLEX Explorer

This is Rolex Explorer, a sporty model that is most popular in Japan's used watch market.

The model shown here is circa late 1960s.

Note that on its dial also marked Tiffany & Co.

Watches like this one that's signed with two brands are very rare.

It is believed that the particular model was ordered by Tiffany and only sold in selected Tiffany & Co. jewery shops.

This piece comes from Japan used market.

MIDO Vintage Watch

This is a vintage Mido watch (Swiss made) circa 1960s.

The watch casing was 18k gold-capped with a specially add-on 12k gold bracelet (signed LENOX) made in the USA.

It contains an automatic movement.

I Bought this watch in Macau from an 70+ year old man who ran an old shabby watch repair stall in the ally. He took out this piece from his drawer to show it to me and told me that this was his collection for many years. Apparently he could tell that I was a collector looking for something special, therefore he was willing to part with this last piece of his collection. He said that he had intended to close his stall as his eyesight was getting from bad to worse, he could not carry out watch repair work anymore.

He had manned the stall for many years in that small ally, rain or shine.

Not long after I bought this watch the old man closed his stall. I never saw him again... I wished him a decent retirement and may God bless him.

This is a beautiful watch on any one's wrist. Simply a nostalgia gold classic piece.

FORTIS Pilot Watch Limited Edition

Some of my friends asked whether I only collect vintage watches.

This is my answer to them - The Fortis Fighter Pilot Watch (Limited Edition).

Fortis pilot watches have long been part of elite fighter pilots' list of equipment in European air forces. Fortis chronographs are also used by astronauts.

This piece of Fortis was issued a few years ago by Fortis to commemorate the manufacturer's 95 years of watch making history.

The dial is of very special design with two tones (Black & Orange). Minutes and Seconds are marked on the outer ring 'loud & clear' and the Hours are placed within the much smaller inner ring. This is typical design pattern used in the early days of aviation development. Fighter pilots react in seconds and minutes, instead of hours.

This watch was produced based on its original design and meant to be a replica, sealed for 200m water resistant, hand-winding movement and limited to 950 pieces world-wide. It's case back was signed with serial number xxx/950.

Vintage HAMILTON Solid Gold Watch

This is an old vintage Hamilton watch made of 9k solid gold casing.

The watch is operated by mechanical hand winding movement.

After service, the watch keeps time with excellent accuracy.

This watch is dated back circa 1920s.