My infatuation with the Green

Every time I have this watch on my wrist it makes me smile as well

Enough said.

Eric Clapton's Patek Philippe 2499 in Platinum to be sold at auction

Legendary guitarist Eric "Slowhand" Clapton is selling his Patek Philippe 2499 in Platinum.  There were only 2 platinum versions of the 2499 made.  One currently resides in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva and the other is in the possession of  Mr Clapton.

Eric Clapton is a known watch collector who favours Pateks and Rolex and in the past sold a large collection of vintage Rolex for at auction to raise funds for his drug rehabilitation centre called Crossroads in Antigua.

A Rolex Daytona previously owned by Eric Clapton sold for $500,000 USD.  For me the main reason the watch reached that price was because of Mr Clapton owning the watch.  

The Patek is in a league of its own in this case.

Picture from http://blog.perpetuelle.com (C)

Picture from http://blog.perpetuelle.com (C)

As you can see from the pictures the estimate on this watch is very high.  With its rarity it should have no problem reaching the estimate and with the legendary Clapton owning the watch, it is a distinct possibly the price will rise even further.

Perfect Strap for Summer and countries with humid weather

What is the best strap for summer?

A Nato Strap!

A Nato strap is essentially a nylon strap that is threaded through the spring bars of your watch.  One advantage of a Nato strap is that if a springbar fails, the watch will not fall to the floor.

The best thing about the strap is that in the summer months, or for countries with humid weather it is a great looking strap and can easily be cleaned.

I just picked up a Olive Green Nato Strap for my Panerai and couldn't be happier!

Honour and Respect where have they gone?

In the world today there are many who would say the old way of doing things is gone in the modern world.  For me the old school way of doing things is always the best as it has lasted the test of time and without these values the right foundations could not have been laid.

Honour and Respect in my opinion seem to be a dying breed in today's society which is a sad thing.   They have been replaced with arrogance and snobbery which has corrupted many people into thinking they are better than most because their status and position.

Two quotes which I feel represent what people should not forget:

"It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles"
Niccolo Machiavelli

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal"
Albert Pike

Check out this blog

This blog is written by world renowned collector Dr Bernard Cheong from Singapore.  His views are his own and I find them very truthful and honest without any bs mixed in.  Plus you get to see his unique collection of watches

Dr Bernard Cheong's Watch Blog

Sothebys Auction of Henry Graves Jr and Pete Fullerton Watches

Sothebys conducted the sale of the last remaining pieces from the collection of the legendary Patek Philippe collector Henry Graves Jr and his grandson Pete Fullerton yesterday.

The most interesting watch in the lot for was this Tonneau shaped minute repeating wristwatch featuring the Graves family coat of arms engraved on the back.

This watch sold for a final price including buyers premium of  US$2,994,500.

Hows it made

This is a video on how a Blancpain Tourbillon is put together.  Gives you an idea of how much work goes into something.

When I have a spare moment

I like to take photos of my watches.  There is something about them that makes me happy and just spending time taking photos of them is a nice way to indulge myself in a hobby which some find plain strange.

My Panerai PAM 320 with a Adidas Vespa Bag

Rolex Milgauss GV bathing in the sunlight

Great Minds Think Alike

I have always liked the advertising campaign from Zegna featuring the slogan "Great Minds Think Alike"

My favourite guitarist of all time and a known watch lover is Eric Clapton aka "Slowhand".  Daniel Craig the current James Bond and another person known to be passionate about watches especially Rolex.  The writer of this blog? A youngster in his 20's and a watch enthusiast still learning everyday. 

The thing we share in common?  The Milgauss GV.

Eric Clapton

Daniel Craig

"Photo appears courtesy of Jake's Rolex World @ www.RolexMagazine.com."

 

Me!

The thing about AR Coating

Sapphire Crystals for wristwatches are synthetic and are used because of their hardness and scratch resistant qualities.

Anti Reflective coating is applied to the crystal to enhance the legibility of the dial under light.  It is a useful feature but there is one downside to its use.  If applied to the underside only the coating is untouched and improves the legibility of the dial.   I cannot fathom out why companies decide to coat the topside of the crystal when the coating does not share the same qualities as the crystal it is applied to.

I have seen many photos of watches with double sided AR coating and the result of it getting scratched doesn't look pretty.

For dress watches AR coating on both sides is acceptable in my opinion because the owner will not be engaging in "tool watch" activities.

There are some brands with certain models that are marketed as a tool watch and still they decide to AR coat both sides of the crystals.  Rolex which for me invented the tool watch in the Submariner does not bother with AR coating at all.  They only recently started to apply AR coating to the surface under the cyclops on models (this area cannot be scratched)

I will finish by posting a photo from a known brand and their instructions on how to take care of AR Coating.

My favourite release from Rolex at Basel 2012

The new Sky Dweller to me is quite ugly looking but kudos to Rolex for creating a great new movement.

I really am tempted to purchase the new No Date Sub now it has finally received its upgrades

One great feature of a Panerai is

Its Luminosity!

PAM in the middle.  On the left a Tag Heuer Monaco and on the right a Ball Engineer Master II Classic