Rolex Day Date Yellow Gold 36mm Men's Watch Comparison Ref 1803 and 18038

Ref. 18038

Ref. 1803

These are two major versions of Day date, the former one with plastic crystal, and the later one with Sapphire. The former model Ref 1803 is thinner; the later version Ref 18038 is thicker. The former one is having a dial with a curved and truncated dial at the rim of it. Where 18038 is flat. As far as accuracy is concern, basically they are both the same under the same Rolex quality. As for my preference, I do not see any one is better than others. The 1803 is classic. Slimmer. Warmers and more isometric in the outlook due to the slant dial. The 18038 has a new caliber, more durable, scratches proof, big looks thicker. Less elegant. So I think I will wear new newer 18038 for work and 1803 for meeting my watch collectors during week end. Value, I think all depends on the dial, I like dial with diamond, as they are rarer, and the one with Purple dial is extremely rare… I love it. HK Snob

Breguet's Beautiful Watch Mechanism

I got this watch Ad poster along the long walkway after I touched down HK Airport.
The polishing and carving is magnifcient! This is a Breguet! Inventor of Turbillon.

HK Snob

Rolex Ref. 17000 Date Just OysterQuartz Stainless Steel Men's Watch

This is one of my latest new Collection Item, I bought it at HKD$25,500.00 three hours ago. With all the Original catalogue Booklet, Warantee Certificate, box... How much more you want to get it from!??

Beautiful Version of Rolex Vantage Oyster Pepertual

This is a watch I picked up from Time Zone, a very beautiful version, Original Dial design, Cali Dial with Arabian and Roman Number. Seems the case has been polished a bit, but the overall Elegancy, sleekness and Size keep me dazzling for owning one of this Example. Star hour hand, bubble back, 8 screw design on the bezel like what Royal Oak is doing....Guess this will go to a price of HKD$120,000.00. I am drooling! HK Snob

AUDEMARS PIGUET Royal Oak Boy Size 30mm

Royal Oak (30mm.)
Ref.ST.14470.0.902

Auto. (Solid-Gold Rotor)

S.S.Case.

Grey colour

Auto,Date
S.S. Bracelet with Folding Clasp.
HKD$23,000.00

HK Snob

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Yellow Gold Auto Men's Watch 1972

This is one of my best beloved watches, the Royal Oak, It looks classic, and the same time futuristic as the design is impeccable...
I am using it now for work whilst I am travelling…

It is heavy, ultra thin of total thickness 7mm only. This model has the JLC movement (2120), which is extremely reliable and robust. It's very comfortable and wears nice and thin.However extremely rare and hard to find, especially good condition.

… what do you expect a watch to be after all when it is Beautiful, reliable, water resistant, awesome Jumbo size of 39mm large and paper thin 7 mm!?… bearing the legendary name of Audemars Piguet!
As usual I carry one watch, two pairs of Tiffany Cuff links and one Pilot retracable Fountain pen, a Louis Vitton Bag and a Rockport aircushion shoe for travelling...visiting my customers.

HK Snob

Use Your Rolex Day Date as a Hiking Watch!?

I decided to take my Rolex Day Date for a Hiking Run from Needle hill, Grassy Hill, lead Mine Pass thne runnign to the Shing Mun Reserviour main Dam to end this 9 KM Trail as a serious rugged Reliability test for my Rolex. It was OK and Proven no trouble after the Hiking. So I can confirm that Day Date is as strong as tough as the Submariner and Or Explorer series. As one of my colleague used to wear a Stainless steel, Rolex Date Just for Trailwalker in the past three years. And I am sure that Rolex can be used fo Golf, other likes Patek Philippe and Or AP may not be tough as Rolex in this application field, Correct me if I am wrong. as I dare not use an AP or Patek Pilippe for my Hiking! As I used to say, Rolex Day Date is your everyday Time Piece!
HK Snob

Limited edition Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeaters

When China started to become modernized in 1980’s, the money would be spent for the household necessary goods such as Rice Cooker, a transistorized Radio, nylon panty hose and a watch of any brand.
A Phoenix Bicycle, Color TV, a CD Walkman in 1990’s…

After 3-decades, and the people of Chinese was target for the most exclusive and Expensive luxury goods now.
Yesterday, I went to Louis Vitton Shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, I can say except me and my daughter.. The rest is all Chinese Tourist… They are coming for the best beloved brands.
As for watches, precision instruction made by venerable Swiss companies such as Audemars Piquet, Patek Philippe and Rolex. Along with the fashion brand’s the manufacturers are increasingly looking forwards China as a new source of business.

Audemars Piguet, Roger Dubuis recently opened their flag shop shops in Shanghai.

They are selling the images of the watch traditions, customer can inspect the latest models. See-through the transparent bottom sapphire to the beautiful hand made caliber through a magnifying glass.
Emphasis on tradition and innovation is also a major plank of Rolex’s marketing strategy in China: the Geneva-based company held an interactive show in Beijing entitled the Realm of Rolex, which traced its illustrious past as the watch of choice for sports start, and explorers...

Attached is the limited edition Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeaters.
Manufacture Caliber 2910
manual Winding
Hours / minutes to 3 hours off-center, off center at 7 seconds
Winding stem with 3 positions

Bolt: repeat triggering minutes 7am

Movement dimensions (WxH): 37.90 x 32.90 mm

Casing diameter (WxH): 37.00 x 32.00 mm

Total thickness of movement: 10,05 mm

AP Exhaust Pulse Direct
Balance with weights varying inertia
Beam diameter: 11.90 mm

Double flat spiral

Power reserve: 165 hours
Frequency: 21,600 vph (3Hz)

Number of components: 443 parts
Ruby: 40 stones
Finish: hand-decorated all components: bevelling hand, reentrant corners, snailed, haggard, "Côtes de Genève and horizontal graining on the plate

HK retail price is HKD$3,140,000.00

HK Snob

Rolex Horse Skin Watch Strap!?

This is an old collection, unused Horse skin Rolex Watch Strap. Wow... very rare! I am sure we can not find it anymore in the new stock from Rolex. I have 3 pieces!! White Horse, Brown Hoorse and Black horse, the surface of the strap is very very smooth; like the skin of a young lady's face! People told me they are horse, but how come so smooth? I doubt... HK Snob

A 9CT Yellow Gold Omega Manual Winding Enamel Dial Men's watch

This is a rare Omega with Enamel dial, there is no cracks of any kind of the dial made probably in 1930's. The case is made of 9kt solid Gold by Denison.
The only draw back is the size which is considered a bit too small for us. May be you can consider for a lady.

HK Snob

Where to buy pre-owned watch in Manila?

1. Time will Tell
Inside InterContinental Hotel, Makati City

G/floor, Concessionaires’ area, No. 1 Ayala Avenue, Makati City.

Tel +6327937000 local 291.

2. Relojes Especialles Co.

Inside Hyatt Hotel and casino Manila, Malate.

1588 M.H. Del Pilar Corner Pedro Gil Sts., Malate, Manila
Tel: +6325672047
I have been to these two shops, mostly Rolex, Cartier, Omega, AP, PP and Panerai...

Have seen some of them are really area like AP T3 asking for Peso 1.4M

Rolex with diamond Dial Pt Day Date asking for Pesos 1.45M.

If you have time, check it out.
HK Snob

A Precious Moment for Watch Collector to Watch

This might be one of the moments that every watch collector would like to see... the last day of February whereby his Perpetual Calendar watch will switch from 28th February directly to 1st of March...
Well, the leap year would have to be the precious moment as only one day in four years we can see your mechanical watch would change from 29th February to 1st of March... How do they do that? Well, there is some genius making some small and tricky mechanical switch that allows the date to jump from 29 to 1...

That is a very smart mechanical invention!

HK Snob

Rolex Day Date is Best as My Workhorse?

A Rolex Day Date is best as for my workhorse, as it looks white, and many people would think it is stainless steel watch, so wearing it daily bears no showy intention. It is reliable, durable, water-resistant, shock-proof, beautiful, right size of 36mm matching perfectly with my wrist. And most important Accurate, it might need no adjustment for months. It can be left untouched Saturday and Sunday, and pick up Monday morning for use whilst it keep accurate timing, It reserve power for 60 hours. It is the flag ship of Rolex, and heard from Rolex people that the best calibre was selected and insert into the precious metal gold case of Day Date… Well, this is a few shots of my Yellow and White Gold Rolex Day date whilst I was going to office in Taxi. HK Snob

Platinum, Yellow Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, Crown Gold, Purple Gold and Blue Gold

One of the managers asked me what “White Gold” is? Is that Platinum? I said white Gold is “Gold” mixed with certain percentage of other elements like Zinc, copper. Platinum is another white grey colour element but totally another different element.
Interpretation of “White Gold” is “Platinum”… this is common wrong perception of most of the people.
Platinum
Platinum is a white metal, but unlike gold it is used in jewelry in almost its pure form (approximately 95% pure). Platinum is extremely long wearing and is very white, so it does not need to be Rhodium plated like white gold. Platinum is very expensive, dense (heavy), so a platinum ring will feel heavier than an 18kt gold ring.
Yellow Gold
Pure Gold 24kt is comparatively too soft and is not advised to make watches.
Gold has its own colour that no other metal can replace. The Chinese temple has been painted with gold colour as the paint has blended with powder of gold.
White Gold
White gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals such as silver, Zinc, Copper and palladium. White gold can be 18kt, 14kt, 9kt or any karat. For example, 18kt yellow gold is made by mixing 75% gold (750 parts per thousand) with 25% (250 parts per thousand) other metals such as copper and zinc. 18kt white gold is made by mixing 75% gold with 25% other metals such as silver and palladium. So the amount of gold is the same but the alloy is different. Traditionally nickel was used in white gold, however, nickel is no longer used in most white gold made today as nickel can cause reactions with some people. We do not use nickel in our white gold. When white gold rings are new they are coated with another white metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and Rhodium shares many of the properties of platinum including its white color. The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The natural color of white gold is actually a light grey color. The Rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each 12  months.
Rose Gold
Rose gold is a gold and copper alloy widely used for specialized jewelry. It is also known as pink gold and red gold. As it was popular in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, it is also known as Russian gold, although this term has become somewhat rare.Although the names are often used interchangeably, the difference between red, rose, and pink gold is the copper content – the higher the copper content, the stronger the red coloration. A common alloy for rose gold is 75% gold and 25% copper by mass (18 karat). Since rose gold is an alloy, there is no such thing as "pure rose gold".
A common formulation for red gold is 50% gold and 50% copper. Up to 15% zinc can be added to copper-rich alloys to change their color to reddish yellow or dark yellow.
Crown gold
The highest karat version of rose gold is also known as crown gold, which is 22 karat. 18kt red gold may be made of 25% copper and 75% gold. For 18 karat rose gold, typically about 4% silver is added to 75% gold and 21% copper to give a rose color. 14 kt red gold is often found in the Middle East and contains 41.67% copper.
Purple gold
Purple gold is also called amethyst gold and violet gold is an alloy of gold and aluminum rich in gold-aluminium intermetallic (AuAl2). Gold content in AuAl2 is around 79% and can therefore be referred to as 18 karat gold. Purple gold is more brittle than other gold alloys, as it is an intermetallic compound instead of a malleable alloy, and a sharp blow may cause it to shatter. It is therefore usually machined and faceted to be used as a "gem" in conventional jewelry rather than by itself. In Chang Yi airport of Singapore, there is a gold smith selling Purple Gold, It is purple and shinning, quite attractive for jeweler, but I guess you can not tell it is gold. At lower content of gold, the material is composed of the intermetallic and an aluminium-rich solid solution phase. At higher content of gold, the gold-richer intermetallic AuAl forms; the purple color is preserved to about 15% of aluminium. At 88% of gold the material is composed of AuAl and changes color. The actual composition of AuAl2 is closer to Al11Au6 as the sub-lattice is incompletely occupied.
Blue Gold
Blue gold is an alloy of gold and indium. It contains 46% gold (about 12 ct) and 54% indium, forming an intermetallic compound AuIn2, with a clear blue color. With gallium, gold forms an intermetallic AuGa2 (58.5% Au, 14ct) which has slight bluish hue. The melting point of AuIn2 is 541 °C, for AuGa2 it is 492 °C. AuIn2 is less brittle than AuGa2, which itself is less brittle than AuAl2.
All the AuX2 intermetallics have crystal structure of CaF2 and therefore are brittle. A small amount of palladium, copper or silver can be added to achieve a less brittle microstructure. The intermetallic compounds tend to have poor corrosion resistance. The less noble elements are leached to the environment, and a gold-rich surface layer is formed. Direct contact of blue and purple gold elements with skin should be avoided as exposition to sweat may result in metal leaching and discoloration of the metal surface.
A surface plating of blue gold on karat gold or sterling silver can be achieved by a gold plating of the surface, followed by indium plating, with layer thickness matching the 1:2 atomic ratio. A heat treatment then causes inter-diffusion of the metals and formation of the required intermetallic compound.
HK Snob

Rolex Day Date Model Re. 18238. Solild Gold Watch

A RARE ROLEX, DAY-DATE,  Ref.18238. 18K Yellow Gold case with Bracelet. Caliber: 3155, 31 Jewels, Jubilee {Computer pattern} Dial (Silver Colour) with Ten  Princess-cut Diamond-set hour markers.
Day and Date in apertures, sweep center seconds, Three-part case in 18K Yellow Gold, brushed and polished, sapphire crystal with magnified lens, fluted Bezel, screw down case back,Twinlock crown, 18K Yellow Gold Rolex President (Full-Link) bracelet, case, dial and movement indidually numbered. Diameter 36mm. 


HK Snob

My Rolex Watch...very rare Collection of Rolexes

Rolex is classified a kind of daily useful time piece, yes, they are not Qualified to stamped with Seal of Geneva. The Calibre is not polished to the standard to meet the 12 clauses of Geneva Seal requirement.
But Rolex is the World largest submission for COSC Certification for Chronometers, at 2,000 watches a day!
Well, I understand that Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin has its own standard for certify their watch in time measurement, they need no external Certification Body.
The Chronometers does guarantee certain kind of time taking accuracy in 15 days in 5 positions, yet not so many watches issues from Switzerland can pass the test.

I like Rolex, I like AP and I do like PP, well, Amongst, I wear Rolex for most of the time for just one reason, Durable and very independent working when in air, under watch or in extreme noisy and vibration environment. It never fail and disappoint me, and most of all, its fits my wrist perfectly, and it has a style of Snob… and design for snob like me. I like Only Gold Rolex, but not the stainless steel tool watch. As they are a bit Cheap for old man like I… So I have already replaced all Submariners, GMT-Master, Daytona, Explorer with Day Date!


I don't mind having a stainless steel Day Date, I heard that there have been only Two Actual Samples ever Made with Stainless steel by Rolex. That Must cost us a great Fortune!

The Above is from Left: yellow Gold onyx Dial Day Just Near mint condition, White Gold Square Diamond Champagne Computer Dial Day Date, Yellow Gold 1976 Day Date with Plastic Crystal with original Matching President bracelet, Ultra Rare Purple Blue Dial Day Date with Diamond. These are very rare especially the White Gold and the Purple Dial....

I Love Them All.  Do you have Stainless steel Day Date!? Let me know if you have!

HK Snob