Thursday, October 31, 2013

Hong Kong should be proud of itself, being a small city and is world largest Consumption of Luxury Watches!


Hong Kong consumes about 40% of World's Luxury Watch every year. Being the World's Largest Watch Market.
No wonder why the Swiss watch company would have selected Hong Kong as the 2nd location outside Switzerland for World Watch Fair last month. 

Hong Kong Watch Snob,
Hong Kong Watch Fever

The Evolution of Luxary Watch











This is an interesting website that tell the deveopment of the Luxary watch since 1735 Blanpain...up to the latest watch maker. Of course , this is a simplified one. As we can not see may of the so call luxary watch like 1995's Roger Dubuis...

This is original Website, go and see

http://www.thewatchgallery.com/assets/MAGAZINE/evolution-of-the-luxury-watch.jpg

HK Snob
HK Watch Fever

Rob Brown was accused using a fraudulent Credit card to purchase Movado watch in Macy's NY.





Rob Brown was arrested and handcuffed for using Fake AMEX card buying a Movado Watch At Macy’s
Rob Brown, actor known for his work on the HBO show Treme and from movies like Finding Forrester, Coach Carter, and the recent release, Don Jon, says that he was arrested this summer by officers in Macys in Herald Square after purchasing a $1, 350 Movado watch as a graduation present for his mother.
While making a purchase there, Brown says he was approached by officers out of uniform who arrested him and accused him of using a fake card to buy the watch in Macy’s. He was handcuffed and walked into a holding area for shoplifters inside of Macy’s on an upstairs level.
“They kept telling me, ‘Your card is fake. You’re going to jail,” Brown said in an interview AC360 CNN Yesterday.
After 45 minutes and checking through the actor’s bags, police realized they made a mistake and let him go. Though he was late because of the incident, Brown says he was able to make it to his mother’s graduation (police gave him a ride), but that didn’t stop him from sharing his distaste over the incident on Twitter soon after back in June and the case was on CNN yesterday AC360.
There is many repeated cases that Racial profiling is common in a Country Like USA. What if this case could happened in HK.
I can tell you : NEVER! As Hong Kong Shop keeper look for Money, don't care who you are, of Course if you care Chinese from China would be service like you are emperor.
This is the rank of preferred list of customers from my personal understanding
1.       Mainlander from China, age >45, crew cut men, not necessary well dress up.
2.       Mainlander from China, age >30 women, well Decorated with luxury brands  on the
           body; Bag, Shoes , dress
3.       Singaporean age >50 men wearing Gold Rolex
4.       Malaysian Chinese, Age about 50, walking in with a pretty Young lady
5.       Thai men, age about 50, wearing a massive gold Chain with size like the one to moor
           Star Cruise Ship.
6.       Korean
7.       Taiwanese
8.       Japanese
9.       Kong Tsan
10.  
11. ...
...
...

998. Burundi
999. Zimbabwe
1000. Democratic Republic of the Congo
      1001. HK Snob, Watch fever


HK Snob
HK Kong Tsan, Watch Fever
Sham Shui Po Kong Tsan Watch Snob

This is the guy I met Today.... Firday The Thirty First not Friday The Thirteenth...




This is good friend of mine, Gerrald Boyles who works in a famous Texas Steak house running by a Japanese in Alabang.
This is a restaurant I like going for lunch with Customer.
Picture taken by Samsung Note II LTE 31 Oct 2013


Guess what kind of watch he wears, this is it? Wow! Are you kidding? Yes, of course this is Friday Halloween day, his watch must be black and have a sense of mystery…sharp edges…good contrast!




 Photography Courtesy of  Watch What-If section here on aBlogtoRead.com.


This is Original Rolex Sky-Sweller Design


How do you like this watch design, I think it is nice and I want to get one too if that is available. Definitely not from Rolex as Rolex never product anything Black or Coated with hardened chrome!
No! this is the design work of Beau Hudspeth who does the artwork and concepting after he choose the models and styles to focus on. The Rolex SkyDweller.
Have a Happy Halloween Day!

from
HK Kong Tsan, HK Watch Fever, HK Snob
Sham Shui Po Kong Tsan Snob.
Ap Liu Street Kong Tsan
Tsim Sha Tsui Kong Tsan Snob
LED Fever, HK Snob

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Timepiece history from Water Clock, Hour Glass, Mechanical Wrist Watch, Quartz Watch to the one you are wearing...


A 2- mins, 4 mins, 6 mins modern Hour glass


From Watch Clock, Hour Glass Mechanical Watch, Quartz Watch… A Time measurement History.

Water clocks, also known as clepsydrae, along with the sundials, are possibly the oldest time-measuring instruments, with the only exceptions being the vertical gnomon and the day counting tally stick.

When they first existed is not known and perhaps unknowable. The bowl-shaped outflow is the simplest form of a water clock and is known to have existed in Babylon and in Egypt around the 16th century BC. Other regions of the world, including India and China, also have early evidence of water clocks, but the earliest dates are less certain. Some authors, told water clocks appearing as early as 4000 BC in these regions of the world.

The Greek and Roman civilizations are credited for initially advancing water clock design to include complex gearing, which was connected to fanciful automata and also resulted in improved accuracy. These advances were passed on through Byzantium and Islamic times, eventually making their way back to Europe. Independently, the Chinese developed their own advanced water clocks(水鐘)in 725 A.D., passing their ideas on to Korea and Japan.

From the 15th century onwards, Hour Glasses were being used in a range of applications at sea, in the church, in industry and in cookery.

During the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan around the globe, his vessels kept 18 hourglasses per ship. It was the job of a ship's page to turn the hourglasses and thus provide the times for the ship's log. Noon was the reference time for navigation, which did not depend on the glass, as the sun would be at its zenith. More than one hourglass was sometimes fixed in a frame, each with a different running time, for example 1 hour, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, and 15 minutes.

While some hourglasses actually did use sand as the granular mixture to measure time, many did not use sand at all. The material used in most bulbs was a combination of "powdered marble, tin/lead oxides, and pulverized, burnt eggshell". Over time, different textures of granule matter were tested to see which gave the most constant flow within the bulbs. It was later discovered that for the perfect flow to be achieved the ratio of granule bead to the width of the bulb neck needed to be 1/12 or more but not greater than 1/2 the neck of the bulb.

The word clock (from the Celtic words clocca and clogan, both meaning "bell"), which gradually supersedes "horologe", suggests that it was the sound of bells which also characterized the prototype mechanical clocks that appeared during the 13th century in Europe.

Watches evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were strictly mechanical. As technology progressed, the mechanisms used to measure time have, in some cases, been replaced by use of quartz vibrations or electronic pulses.

Early wrist watch by Waltham, worn by soldiers in World War I (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Inv. 47-3352) A watch is a timepiece, typically worn either around the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket. Wristwatches are the most common type of watch used today.

In 1959 Seiko gave an order to Epson (a daughter company of Seiko and the actual brain behind the quartz revolution) to start developing a quartz wristwatch. The project was codenamed 59A and by the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Seiko had a working prototype of a portable quartz watch which took part in time measurements throughout the event.

The first prototypes of an electronic quartz wristwatch (not just portable quartz watches as the Seiko timekeeping devices at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964) were made by the CEH research laboratory in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. From 1965 through 1967 pioneering development work was done on a miniaturized 8192 Hz quartz oscillator, a thermo-compensation module and an in house-made, dedicated integrated circuit (unlike the hybrid circuits used in the later Seiko Astron wristwatch). As a result, the BETA 1 prototype set new timekeeping performance records at the International Chronometric Competition held at the Observatory of Neuchâtel in 1967.

Quartz Movement of the Seiko Astron, 1969 (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Inv. 2010-006) The first quartz watch to enter production was the Seiko 35 SQ Astron, which hit the shelves on December 25, 1969. As the technology had been developed by the Swiss, Seiko could not patent the whole movement of the quartz wristwatch, thus allowing other manufacturers to benefit from the technology.

All watches provide the time of day, giving at least the hour and minute, and usually the second. Most also provide the current date, and often the day of the week as well. However, many watches also provide a great deal of information beyond the basics of time and date. Some watches include alarms. Other elaborate and more expensive watches, both pocket and wrist models, also incorporate striking mechanisms or repeater functions, so that the wearer could learn the time by the sound emanating from the watch. This announcement or striking feature is an essential characteristic of true clocks and distinguishes such watches from ordinary timepieces. This feature is available on most digital watches.

1990 and onwards, a complicated watch has one or more functions beyond the basic function of displaying the time and the date; such a functionality is called a complication. Two popular complications are the chronograph complication, which is the ability of the watch movement to function as a stopwatch, and the moonphase complication, which is a display of the lunar phase. Other more expensive complications include Tourbillon, Perpetual calendar, Minute repeater, and Equation of time. A truly complicated watch has many of these complications at once (see Calibre 89 from Patek Philippe for instance). Some watches can both indicate the direction of Mecca and have alarms that can be set for all daily prayer requirements. Among watch enthusiasts, complicated watches are especially collectible. Some watches include a second 12-hour or 24-hour display for UTC or GMT. Many new complications with double tourbillon, quad tourbillion, spherical motion tourbillion, digital display driven by servo Quartz system. Differential Liquid pressure to generate power to push for a mechanical watch, and many other weird way to make up a “Watch”- but one thing is unchanged, a device to tell time Hour, Minute and Second.

In my opinion, a Watch with Hour hand, Minute hand, plus a Date is juts good enough, but it got to be made by rather precious metal, and has a perpetual Style that can last.
HK Snob
Kong Tsan Watch Fever
Sham Shui Po Snob
LED Fever

Monday, October 28, 2013

The China Mainlander swipped way 200 Rolex Watches in One Rolex AD a day in Hong Kong!


One Rolex Shop in Times Square sold 200 Rolex in one day back in 2011 to Chinese Big Spenders!


“The Kong Tsan and the Locusts”
Hong Kong, A Dynamic City of no sleep, now is it going to be dead…

Hong Kongers are subtly losing their energy of original Hong Kongers, working style like we were in 80s.

Especially after it was crippled by the bird flu epidemic in 1997 and the SARS crisis in 2003. The Rolex store at Times Square sells 200 watches a day, mostly to mainlanders in 2011.


Where it was once Hong Kong that sent food packages to China in its time of need and supported the Chinese real estate market through investment, the table has turned: It’s China that helps keep Hong Kong afloat these days, the mainlanders flocking to the metropolis to buy its real estate and watches in Auction, often in cash, since credit cards still account for only a fraction of retail purchases in China.

Growing up, we felt superior to the Chinese. In Hong Kong people joke about how the mainland’s nouveau riche mixed Chateau Laffite with 7-ups. In one case a mainlander is said to have toted a bag of cash into a fancy boutique and blurted, “Where’s the most expensive stuff?” Stories like these support the long-held stereotype of the mainlanders as Ah Tsan, or country bumpkins, but as we point out, today the city’s Gucci and Chanel stores have long lines in front, a trail of seemingly endless demand. “There’ll always be the next group of mainland farmers who’ve made it big,”

This shift in economic power has exacerbated Hong Kong’s identity crisis, to the point where it is now the mainlanders who refer to their Hong Kong brethren as Kong Tsan, or Hong Kong bumpkins. Most residents view themselves first as Hong Kongers, not Chinese, underscoring a growing resentment toward mainlanders, who were referred to in a Hong Kong newspaper ad as “locusts” swarming the territory. Nearly half the babies born in Hong Kong’s reputable hospitals in 2011 belonged to mainlanders.

At a Canton Road Dolce & Gabbana store, Hong Kong residents were banned from taking pictures in front of the store’s window display. In response, over a thousand Hong Kongers gathered in the street in front of the store to demand an apology, while venting pent-up frustration that they were being treated as second-class citizens in their own home.

There is a renowned Watch Shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, that one night, one Mainlander came in and started to smoke, one HKer told him not to… and he continued his shopping, the Hong Konger complained o the shop keeper allowing customer to smoke. Well, the shopkeeper signaled the Hong Konger to go away immediately and he would close the door just to serve the Mainlander only as he was intending to buy a Rolex valued HKD$200,000!

Tensions are building, layer upon layer in the floating city. Visitors see Hong Kong as the emerald city on the mountain, but it’s an ailing city. The head is not working right. The limbs don’t work.
Kong Tsan
HK Snob
Watch Fever
Sham Shui Po Snob
Tsim Sha Tsui Kong Tsan

问君能有几多愁,恰似一群太监上青楼…How pathetic it would be like a bunches of eunuchs meeting those pretty young ladies at the brothel."







问君能有几多愁,恰似一群太监上青楼…
English translation is "

How pathetic it would be like a bunches of eunuchs meeting those pretty young ladies at the brothel."
 
This is what I see people wearing some of the best watches I am dreaming, sometimes it is hard to feel that limited resources cannot satisfy unlimited desire to possess something. Like a beautiful dream watch Rolex Day Date Lapis Blue dial platinum…..a beautiful Dream Pen  1929 Patrician Turquoise , a nice dream Car Acura NSX 1993 in Red, a beautiful dream lady… she , she and she…
What can we do?
Just… let it be… and keep dreaming.
As something the pleasure of finding the treasure is more enjoyable to have that treasure found…
Really, sometimes I feel like:
问君能有几多愁,恰似一群太监上青楼…”!
HK Snob
Watch Fever
Sham Shui po Snob
Ap Liu Street Snob

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Rolex Meteorite Dial 隕石面 Watches


Rolex Day Date Yellow Gold with Meteorite Dial

Rolex Day Date with meteorite Dial


Rolex Meteorite Dial 隕石面
Meteorites are bits of a Rock of the Solar System that have fallen onto the Earth. Most come from asteroids including a few that are believed to have come specifically from 4 Vesta which is the second most massive object in the asteroid belt.  A few probably come from comets.

No meteorite dials have the same pattern of crystals as another one and it varies as to what part of the meteorite the rough dial is cut from.  The inside piece where the cooling was slower the crystals are larger and more regular and from the outside of the piece where the cooling was faster, the crystals are smaller and more irregular.  These differences are what make meteorite watch dials uniquely beautiful and rare.  They are a perfect and beautiful one-of-a-kind enhancement for any Rolex watch.

As a Rolex Collector, user, a probably a watch connoisseur, beside the Stella Red, Brunswick green, Turquoise, Yellow, Havana Dial, Lapis Azuli, Onyx, Malachite, Grossular, Aventurine, Coral, Marble, Birch, Oak to make dial…This one seems has not too much being discussed as I had spent time verifying if the dial is really made from Stone that was flown from outer space to the Earth or not, the official reply is YES!

So if you wear a Rolex Daytona and I am wearing the same, that is Daytona, but if the one that has a Meteorite dial that is different. 

Today when you buy Rolex, look for some special dial like this.. in One day, your Rolex might be recalled by NASA for some scientific study; as meteorites are our only material evidence of the universe beyond the Earth.

It probably carries a message from the Alien beyong the human civilization could understand.
The following Rolex with meteorite Dial is available in Rolex AD Hong Kong. Price listed below is Rolex List price. Discount varies from 5% to less 11% depending on availabilty and Rolex AD.


 Ref 178274 Lady 26mm Date Just 31 mm mid size with meteorite dial with Diamond dial


Ref 118238 Day Date Yellow Gold 36mm with Meteorite Dial and Diamonds.


Ref 118235 Day Date in Pink Gold 36mm with Meteorite Dial with diamond on it


Killer Rolex Ref 116519 White Gold with Meteorite Dial with Crocodile strap HKD$230,900

HK Snob
Watch Fever
LED Fever

Saturday, October 26, 2013

National Treasure and Rolex Submariner


Nicolas Cage wears Rolex Submariner in this Movie.

 
National Treasure
National Treasure is a 2004 American adventure heist film. It is the first film in the National Treasure franchise and stars Nicolas Cage. A historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.

Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates, a historian and amateur cryptologist searching for a lost treasure of precious metals, jewelry, artwork and other artifacts that was accumulated into a single massive stockpile by looters and warriors over many millennia starting in Ancient Egypt, later rediscovered by warriors who form themselves into the Knights Templar to protect the treasure, eventually hidden by American Freemasons during the American Revolutionary War. A coded map on the back of the Declaration of Independence points to the location of the "national treasure", but Gates is not alone in his quest. Whoever can steal the Declaration and decode it first will find the greatest treasure in history.

Gates Said" I have this Divers' Watch, It is called Submariner!"

Time showns 2:22 on 100 Dollars Bank note, the Clue of the next Clue for treasure

Well, to find the right time that he had to go to the bell of the church. He recalled the time is printed on the 100 Dollar bank note, Gates had to asked the shopper keeper the bank note…
Gates said “Can I see one the hundred dollars bills I gave you!?
Shop lady said; “No!, Er!”
Gates, “Oh Well, ah, Here I have the diver’s Watch. It is called Submariner! As I dived with it, It is quite a value!

Nicholas Cages wears Rolex Submariner in the movie

There are two scene Gates had showed his Rolex Submariner in the movie, including he passed the watch to the shop lady in exchange of the 100 dollar bill!
HK Snob
Watch fever

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Rolex with Leather Strap




Sometimes, we can use  NATO nylon strap or leather strap to replace the original stainless steel bracelet for those Rolex Sport model such as GMT master II, Submariner, Explorer..etc.

We can buy some of these Stainless steel buckles.


The Original Stainless steel buckle from Rolex is about HKD$1,800 each.
The Solid Gold one is about HKD$4,800

Now the one show in picture are those I bought locally in SSP Ap Liu Street, with mere HKD$180 each.

If I use it on Stainless steel model, It is OK for me... and if that is for those Day Date only, I think I will prepfer the Rolex Original. These buckles are all 14 mm width.

HK Snob
Watch Fever

The Most Iconic Watch in The Watch Making Industry

Released in 2012, Retro APRO 39mm Jumbo in Pink Gold using 2121 Mocement HKD$471,000

Released in 2012 APRO Jumbo Stainless Steel HKD$132,000

AP Movement CaL. 2121 NEW 2012 version

  1972 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 39 mm Jumbo yellow gold with 2121 Movement with serial No.  2x.
The Most iconic Watch in the History

Audemars Piguet has maintained its standing at the forefront of the Watch World in 1980 was simply because of the launch of the Royal Oak in 1972.

Audemars Piguet was nominated as the Top 1 of the Big Four Watches in 1980, followed by Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger LeCoulte. Actually Royal Oak Saved the company going bankruptcy if not for the beautiful and Timeless Design of Royal Oak created by Gerald Genta.

The brand has created the “Concept” watches, with the Royal Oak Concept leading the way from 2002 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Royal Oak, and the Royal Oak Carbon Concept unveiled in 2011.
These massive Complicated masterpieces will be forever remembered in watchmarkng industry, but definitely not the common item that common person like I can even think of owning For the rest of us, a SIMPLE Royal Oak will do, and if you ask me, even a Chronograph is not necessary – whereas a Simple movement of 2121 (1972) or 3120 (current) Automatic watch is more than enough to generate a hefty dose of Watch Envy from your friends or the one next to you!!!

Movement Ca. 2121 was actually developed by JLC’s  Cal.920 in 167, Same movement was being used on Patek Philippe Nautilus Cal. 28-255C and Vacheron Constantin Overseas Cal. 1120.

HK Watch Snob,  HK Snob, Watch Fever, Hi Fi Fever, LED Fever, Kung Fu fever, Pen Fever, Hiking Fever, Vinyl Fever, Gadget Fever, Seafarer Fever, Camera Fever, Food Fever, Sex Fever, Photo Fever,
Patent Fever, Laughter Fever

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Least Appealing Rolex




Least Appealing Rolex
This is purely personal comment on these watches, don’t be feeling uneasy as watch is more or less personal affectionate item. If you like it, that would be OK!

1.Daytona Leopard
Downfall
Ref 116598SACO,  too much of a kind of unique design, seems we are carrying an animal on the arm.
May be good for Lady Gaga, but it might never be an appealing watch for men…try to think when you could wear this watch!?
Second, the price is very unfriendly!



2.Rolex Date Just mid size with full pave diamond
Datejust President Ref 68278 18K Yellow Gold with Full Pave Diamond
Downfall
Hard to wear and too small in nowadays’ requirement 31mm, might be good for lady only, but not for me.



3.Yachtmaster Ref 116681
Downfall
The horse shoe like dial is a burden on the dial.
There are five colour on it, white, Pink, red, black and blue, which seems too many!
The advertisemen  “Yacht Master” on the bezel, it happens only on this model.
Function is useless for me as I do not have a 118 Wally!
HK List Price is HKD$195,900
 




3. SkyDweller Ref M326939-0001
Oyster, 42 mm, white gold, arrived HK Rolex AD Nov 2012.
Since then, the sales was not so good at all
Downfall
The dial is too crowded with too many information such as Roman and Arabian numerals on the same dial.
What if we use strip hour indicators to replace the Roman Numerals, would it be better!?
The original idea of the offset centered 24 hours dial is to create an artistic effect, but the way it gives me a distorted view of the dial.
There Red Triangle indictor under the Rolex Logo could be better if replaced by a gold strip form index, I think.
This carries a price tag of HKD$380,000!  I would not consider, well on the other hand, I believe this kind of watch could be a sought after vintage watch after 25 years, if the current sale record remians low.
HK Snob
Watch Fever

What is Patrizzi Dial and Tropical Dial?



Lamborghini's CEO Stephan Winklemann and His Daytona


"What is a Patrizzi dial?" According to Jake’s Rolex, Osvaldo Patrizzi began his career in Milano, Italia and went on to become the founder of the Antiquorum Auction House. Osvaldo Patrizzi is recognized as the first person to recognize watches as real objects of art, and was responsible for creating the fine watch auction marketplace.

The term "Patrizzi Dial" was originally coined because Osvaldo Patrizzi was the first person to recognize that some vintage Rolex watches had dials where certain parts of them developed a brown patina over time that gave them a beautifully aged character.

Osvaldo Patrizzi was a collector of rare Rolex models and in 2006 he put up his collection for sale which included one of these rare Daytona watches. Osvaldo Patrizzi's Daytona sold for twice as much money, and people started referring to them as Patrizzi Dial Daytona models.

So if you look closely at Lamborghini CEO, Stephan Winkelmann's Rolex Daytona, you notice it has the brown colored sub-dials, commonly referred to as a Patrizzi Dial.

Vintage Rolex watches that have discolored dials that have developed a beautiful patina are typically referred to as "Tropical" dials and if the dial is original, they typically sell for a huge premium. Here is an example of a beautiful tropical dial Rolex.

Paul Newman and the Tropical Dial Daytona. Chocolate Dial!

HK Snob
Watch Fever
Ref Jakes' Rolex 

KISS Principle


KISS Principle
The principle most likely finds its origins in similar concepts, such as Leonardo da Vinci's "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", Mies Van Der Rohe's "Less is more", Occam's razor, , or Antoine de Saint Exupéry's "It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away". Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus Cars, urged his designers to "Simplify, and add lightness". Rube Goldberg's machines, intentionally overly-complex solutions to simple tasks or problems, are humorous examples of "non-KISS" solutions.
KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid" as a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960.
The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complex; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. The phrase has been associated with aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson (1910–1990). The term "KISS principle" was in popular use by 1970. Variations on the phrase include "keep it stupid simple", "keep it short and simple", "keep it simple sir", "keep it super simple"…
Watch itself sometimes goes back to the basic: just to tell time…
Recently there are a lot of features that makes watch super complex to read the time and super difficult to use. Well, if a Watch is Simple enough, I believe that the focus on the watch would be on the dial, Rolex has produced once for all the simple watch with the super dial that is super difficult to make.
Those are no printed one. They are all either precious stone, gems and special rocks. Hmm.,.. go and see, if these are falling into the KISS principle!?
HK Snob
Watch Fever
LED Fever