Omega Baselworld 2014 Preview....

Last week journalists and bloggers were invited to a preview of the Omega Baselworld 2014 collection. The highlight of the evening was the much talked about Seamaster 300 Master co-axial and the Speedmaster Mark II. The evening started with delectable canapes and this was followed by a presentation of the collection and dinner. Enjoy the pics!

Venue: OTTO Ristorante located at Red Dot Traffic building 

A presentation of this year’s collection by David Ponzo 

The Watches...

The Omega Seamaster 300 was first introduced in 1957. The new model pays homage to the original with the “aged” lume to boot. I am glad that Omega bought back this classic timepiece! It is available in stainless steel case and two tone 18K Sedna gold case. Master Co-axial Cal 8400 

    The Speedmaster Apollo 11  45^th Anniversary edition     

One of my favorite in this year's collection is the Speedmaster Mark II Professional 

The Speedmaster Mark II Professional  (Cal  861) was first launched in 1969 as a replacement of the Moon watch. In fact the Mark II is the first of the series of “Marks” as there is no Mark I. Well you can call the Moonwatch  Mark I if you like :)  This re-issue is very close to the original Mark II (145.014) but with a date window. There are two variations, the more sporty grey dial with bright orange markers and centre seconds and another one with black dial/green lume markers. I love the both of them. 

Now, will Omega release a re-issue of the Mark III next year? We’ll have to wait and see : )

The brush pattern on the case was spectacular. The movement is Cal 3330, a column- wheel  chronograph equipped with a silicon balance spring ( Valjoux base). An interesting new feature is the bracelet with pushbutton for easy adjustment (unfortunately I do not have a close up shot of the bracelet )

  

Another timeless classic that I like is this De Ville Tresor using the Cal 8511,Omega’s latest manual wind movement. You can’t go wrong with this piece if you are looking for a nice dress watch. Love the doom crystal too!

De Ville Prestige “Buttefly”

The food at OTTO was excellent !

Montasio cheese gratin white asparagus with parma ham

Seared foie gras with celeriac puree and aged balsamic vinegar. 

Dutch veal ravioli

                                   

Seared yellow fin kingfish with beetroot tatare 

Crispy suckling pig

Warm chocolate cake with Haitian vanilla ice cream    

My sincere thanks and appreciation to the wonderful host from Omega…..David, Fiona, Pauline and Maria for the opportunity to see these lovely timepieces.  

Amazing watches from MCT (Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps)

Depoyant's first ever event was held a few weeks ago. I had the pleasure to view the latest collection from MCT (Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps). Francois Candolfi, CEO of MCT and Jorg Hysek (International Head of Sales) were here to introduce the brand to collectors and journalists at the event. Let me share with you the pics I took that night....

Marina at Keppel Bay.

Venue: Prive Grill at Marina @ Keppel Bay.

My watch loving friends are at it again! :)

A guest engaged in discussion with Jorg Hysek Jr (International Head of Sales)

  

Peter Chong (Editorial Director, Deployant.com) started the evening with a warm welcome speech.

Jorg Hysek Jr (International Head of Sales)

Francois Candolfi, CEO of Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps shares his thoughts with the guests.

A toast from the host.

The Watches

The Sequential Two S200 : This marvelous movement is built entirely in-house. It has an innovative way of telling time. The hour appears one by one on rotating prisms while a single hand points to the minutes.

A micro rotor was chosen to reduce the thickness of the watch instead of the conventional rotor which sits on top of the movement.

At 44.6 mm , it is still very wearable.

                                          

A very good design for a watch clasp.

The Sequential One S110 comes in Titainum, Yellow gold and White gold case.

Mian de Maitre Sparkle...A perfect watch for the ladies.

The Sequential One S110 Ti case case with DLC coating.

Caliber MCT-S1 consists of 471 parts and 81 rubies!

       

Lovely Cotes de Geneve finished on the plates.

The Food

Salmon

Gratinated Maine Scallops

Pan-Roasted Duck Breast

Grill Australian Steak Onglet

Roasted Barramundi Fillet

Passion Fruit Souffle

I would like to thank Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps and Peter Chong for the lovely evening of sumptuous food, excellent wine paring and the pleasure of viewing the exquisite watches from MCT.

You can also read my post here...Deployant event.

 

Press Release: A. Lange & Söhne......Blue Moon

Blue Moon

Superbly precise: moon-phase watches by A. Lange & Söhne

Five timepieces with moon-phase displays are showcased in front of impressive

star atlas images from the “Harmonia Macrocosmica” by Andreas Cellarius.

In English, the term blue moon refers to the second full moon within a given calendar

month, a rare phenomenon that on average occurs only every two and half years.

Most mechanical moon-phase indications must be corrected by one day “once in a

blue moon”. This is because for simplicity’s sake, they round the period of time between

two new moons down to 29.5 days even though it is actually 44 minutes and 3

seconds longer.

Fascinating on both sides: The RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” with its orbital moon-phase display in front of a celestial rendering by Andreas Cellarius.

A. Lange & Söhne moon-phase watches are much more precise. Most of them reproduce

the lunar month with an accuracy of 99.998 per cent. The new GRAND LANGE 1

MOON PHASE is one example. Its display only needs to be corrected by one day every

122.6 years. But Lange’s product developers demonstrated that precision can be further

enhanced: The orbital moon-phase display of the RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL

CALENDAR “Terraluna” presented this year is calculated with such accuracy that it

takes 1058 years to deviate by one day. Additionally, it shows the constellation of the

moon relative to the earth and the sun.

Since 1994, the manufactory has developed 15 calibres with moon-phase displays.

Five models from the current collection that feature this and other complications were

photographed against fascinating backdrops: depictions of the universe from the “Harmonia

Macrocosmica” set the stage for the highly precise timepieces. They come from the

magnificent sky atlas created by German-Dutch mathematician and cartographer Andreas

Cellarius in 1660*. The scenography emphasises the affinity between astronomy

and horology: in timepieces with astronomical complications, watchmakers have always

attempted to emulate the progression of celestial bodies as accurately as possible.

From today’s perspective, Cellarius’ rich illustrations make it clear how fundamentally our

view of the world has changed in the course of the past two millennia: it evolved from

Ptolemy’s geocentric standpoint that placed the earth in the middle of the cosmos to the current

model of an expanding universe.

The Legacy Machine, the LM101.........

Luxury watch retailer The Hour Glass recently hosted a dinner while Max Busser was in town to show us his latest addition to the family of Legacy Machines, the LM101. The embargo was lifted yesterday and I am pleased to share some images of this amazing watch. The LM 101 movement is developed in-house with Kari Voutilainen.

The LM101 comes in a smaller case of 40mm and here is a comparison with the 44mm LM2 that Max brought along. 

The hour and minute subdial is at the 2 o’clock position with the power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock. A huge balance wheel sitting on a V shaped arch bridge oscillates at 18,000vph above the dial. The DNA of the Legacy Machines is evident in this creation, without the complications. At a more wearable size and a lower price point, this is a watch that a collector can start his collection of MB&F timepieces with.  More info can be found here: http://mbandf.com/machines/legacy-machines/lm101/#/collection

A view of the dome shape crystal. Unfortunately the light was poor and it’s a challenge for me to take a good shot. I hope to take pics again when the watch is available in future.

It is indeed an aesthetically pleasing movement with well finished bridges and gold chatons. This movement is developed entirely in-house. Only 30 pieces each in white and rose gold will be manufactured per year. It retails at S$85,200.

Max in a discussion with interested guests.

 My thanks to The Hour Glass for hosting this dinner. It was great meeting Max again and truly a an enjoyable evening seeing the LM101 close-up!