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.

Authenticity of the Coin

To answer a query, here's the authenticity certificate that was issued by the manufacturer of the watch.

The commemorative coin is a genuine piece minted under authority of Australian government, in 1951 and it was until very much later (another 40 odd years) then the coin was authorised for use as watch dial.

Commemorative Coin Watch

The picture shows an unique commemorative coin watch
The watch was sold in Australia in the late 90s period.

Watch case was plated with 22k gold.

What is most valuable is the commemorative coin that was used for the dial.

The piece of real legal coin (was used as the watch dial) was minted in 1951 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of establishment of Australian Parliament (est. 1901).

The legal tender of the coin is one Florin which is equal to one Australian dollar at that time.

The coin's face was marked with the symbol of Parliament (crossed sword & sceptre), Stars of Australia and a British Crown at 12 o'clock. The word AUSTRALIA was displayed from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock position. On the dial's left portion marked the year 1901 and on its right, 1951.

The coin was treated with silver coating before it was used for the watch.

I don't think there are many such pieces (coins) to be found.

Beijing Olympic Games Commemorative Macau Banknote

This special Bank of China commemorative banknote was issued in May 2008, in commemoration of Beijing Olympic Games.

These are uncut official banknotes with unique serial numbers, Beijing Olympic logo and description of 29th Olympic Games commemoration. My collection contains four linked uncut banknotes.

One of the picture shows its details.

ROLEX California Dial

Rolex collectors would have learned about the special California Dial introduced by Rolex (including Tudor) in its early years.

The California Dial is rather special in that, there are three (3) different types of hour markers on a single Rolex dial; namely, the Roman index (I, II, X, XI, XII), Arabic (4, 5, 7, 8) and bars (at 3, 6 & 9 o'clock position).

This piece of Rolex Oyster dated back to 1940s with handwinding movement. Above the 6 o'clock signed Precision.

GRAND SEIKO

The Grand Seiko is a model that commands great envy and respect from watch collectors all over the world. A serious Seiko watch collector is deemed to have owned a Grand Seiko.

This picture shows a 1970s Grand Seiko model, is one of my Seiko collections.

The GS (Grand Seiko) represents high degree of precision and quality of grand mechanical movement in a watch, made by Japanese watch masters.

In Seiko Company, only a few award-winning watch masters are capable of assembling the Grand Seiko model.

Averaged selling price of normal GS today, is approx. USD5,000 or more a piece.

ROLEX Oyster-Royal

This is a vintage Rolex Oyster Royal circa late 1940s - early 50s

It's bezel is made of 18k solid gold. The hour markers and the Rolex 'Crown' on the dial are gold plated and the dial signed Shock-resisting above the 6 o'clock position, a common feature for Rolexes made during that era.

The hour and minute hands are in the shape of slim pointed 'leaves' - also a special design theme of that time.

It is a rare vintage as the dial and movement are in its original state without modification.

The watch has a handwinding movement, working in excellent condition.

10K Solid Gold Watch - CORUM

This is a product of established Swiss watch manufacturer Corum.

As you can see, it is a vintage watch with plastic glass cover, made of 10k solid gold casing with automatic movement.

Achimedes Spiral

This is one of a kind completely hand-made watch crafted by a Japanese watchmaker.

The watch is made of 925 silver and I was told it contains a Japanese mechanical movement.

On the watch case back it was engraved: Nabe (the watchmaker's name), 2002.4, SMW008-4, handwinding, silver 925

Also, the watchmaker signed the most significant indication - Achimedes Spiral (the watch is called).

On the Achimedes Spiral's skeleton dial, there are two plates signed Nabe (at 12 o'clock) and Handwinding (at 6 o'clock) respectively. The ultra slim hour, minute and second hands are made of blue-steel.

I bought it from a watch shop in Tokyo, Japan. The only piece I was told, created by the Japanese master - Nabe.

How I Got The Bovet?

My answer to Connoisseur's comment:

I got the Bovet Chrono by chance. Many years ago I dropped by this used goods dealer as usual, looking for any thing worth buying.

The dealer showed me this Bovet watch and told me that a banker had placed it in his shop as a consignment piece.

I asked the dealer about the history of the Bovet watch but he was not familiar with it, thus he assumed the watch was probably produced by a Russian watchmaker.

But I remembered that I had read somewhere about Bovet's history and realized that I had come across a rare collectible piece. I knew that it was definitely not a Russian product.

I paid quite a sum for this Bovet collection because the seller (a banker) had placed it on non-negotiable terms. I was told that the banker bought the piece in Europe.

When I was in Switzerland some years later, I told a Swiss watchmaker about this Bovet watch that I own. He was amazed that I could lay my hand on such an old Bovet dated back to 1930s, especially a fully functional chronograph. Most of vintage Bovet watches are in the hands of indulged collectors or with the Palace Museum.

BOVET Chronograph

The Bovet Chrono is dated back circa 1930s...

Bovet, for those who are familiar with this established and very exclusive swiss watchmaker, it has more than 200 years of watchmaking history. Bovet was the first western watchmaker to have made pocket watches ordered by the Qin emperors of China.

To date, many pieces of vintage Bovet pocket watches are still kept as treasures of the Old Palace Museum in Beijing's forbidden City.

In the old days, it was known that Bovet had produced only 12 pieces for each watch model for sales. Waiting time then was long. Therefore its circulation is deemed to be very limited in numbers. The modern Bovet productions are now in higher quantity to meet commercial demands.

This Bovet chronograph should be a very rare piece indeed based on its vintage status... produced in the 1930s. This chrono only caters to 30 minutes time counting sub dial (located at 3 o'clock position) which is common in those days.

By the way, it has a handwinding movement. That is obvious.

OMEGA Speedmaster Special Edition - Aviation

This Omega Speedmaster special edition was sold circa 1990s. Notice that its second hand, minutes and hour counters are marked in red colour.

Another unique feature of the dial is the use of Arabic numbers (e.g. 1, 2, 4 ...) instead of the usual bar indicators. This is rather unusual for speedmaster dial setup.

Also the watch hour and minutes hands are simliar to those used for aviation instruments, they are obviously different from the usual slim pointers for speedmaster.

Apparently this model was specially created for aviation professionals.

ROLEX Turn-O-Graph Sport Watch

This 1970s Rolex Turn-O-Graph is one of my collections, bought in Singapore.

The watch is made of steel casing, automatic movement and topped with white gold bezel.

In Japan, this stainless steel (white gold bezel) model is much more in demand on the collectors market than the gold/steel model, just as the same situation like the Rolex Daytona.

Collectors love to have the old-look on the dial of the Turn-O-Graph as it is... instead of having it cleaned. The marked white gold bezel can be rotated to keep track of diving or sporting time.

This is truly one of the morden classic Rolexes to own. The watch is gaining its pop-vintage status.

Vintage Rolex-Tudor

This circa 1920s 14k gold vintage watch signed Tudor and Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. is one of my vintage watches collection.

It is quite a special piece dated back to Rolex's early productions with hand-winding mechanism. To my surprise the watch has been very accurate in telling time. I was informed by the trader that its previous owner had taken good care and sent it for thorough servicing.

This is apparently a much earlier product of pre 'Rose' logo Tudor period.

The dial and crown including its movement remain original parts by Rolex... this is rare in so far for "very old age" vintage Rolexes.

Honda F1 Racing Team Chrono

The Honda F1 Racing Chronograph (Red markers)

was developed for Honda F1 Racing Team drivers and support crew in 2006-2007.

This model is a limited edition of about 2,000 pieces, mainly sold in Japan.

Now that the Honda F1 Racing is no longer in existence since the new F1 season commencing Jan 2009, as Honda sold away the racing team to its technical director Brawn. The team was renamed Brawn GP.

Therefore, it is clear that this Honda F1 Racing series chronograph would not be continued in future production. Lovers of Seiko chronos should look out for it.

The NIGHT Monster!

A Special Edition, Night Monster

For those Seiko divers' watch lovers I am sure you have learned about the Seiko Monster Watch (diver, 200m) or you might have already own one with either a black or orange colour dial.

This one is a special edition though, it is completely coated in black PVD and if you notice, it also has a tinted top glass. It is nicknamed in Japan and overseas as the "Night Monster". I was told that Seiko was commissioned by a commercial diving company to produce such special model for its divers.

Apparently this Night Monster is not introduced into Asia, except that it is sold in Japan domestic market and in the USA. Only very few pieces were brought into Hong Kong... and I was lucky to have secured this only piece displayed in the showcase at a watchshop in Hong Kong.

Seiko Blue Monster

This is a special custom-made Seiko Blue Monster!

The picture shows the Seiko Blue Monster divers' watch (200m) which is the only piece created with such a special dial, by an expert American watchmaster in December 2007.

The watchmaster intended to keep this piece for his own usage and collection at first. However, I was lucky to have made a deal with him to purchase this rare piece as my X'mas hunting.