Sunday, January 31, 2010

Ok, so I wanted to get a picture of the movement of my Tag 2000. I had unsuccessfully tried to open the screw down caseback once before, which didn't yield any results whatsoever (other than a few scratches!)
A quick google search for the watch shops around my area, and my brother and I were off. The first store we visited, was a nice fancy shop, about a kilometer from my place. I handed my watch over to the person behind the display case and asked her if she could do the needful. In the meantime, I took the opportunity to browse through the selection of watches they had. They were mostly fashion brands, with Rado being the only exception. Anyway, 2 mins later she returns my watch to me saying that the case back is too tight and they watchmaker was unable to open it. I asked if there was any way around it, and was informed that I could leave my watch with them for a few days while they tried to loosen the case back with some oil. I didn't really want to leave my watch there, so I thanked them for their time and left.
I remembered that there was another small watch shop close by. They're not the kind you take a Tag too, but usually deal in minor repairs and sales of watches under $50. I was a bit hesitant at first, but I decided to go ahead with it anyway. I tried a small shop,



but on looking at the screw down caseback, was instantly directed at an even smaller shop close by.
So, I headed there and unwillingly handed my watch over to the guy behind the small desk. He got his tools out and stared trying his best to unscrew the case back. He tried around 4-5 times, but had no luck. I asked him to try once more and as luck would have it, managed to finally crack it open :w00t:
I took a quick cell phone pic and asked him to close it up. Once done, I asked him how much I owed him for his effort, but he refused to take anything. I tried to offer him some cash, but he kept denying it.
In the meantime, a few local goons, hired by a local political party came by to gather some 'compulsory donation'. The amount was Rs 100 or $2, but that's quite a lot for most people here. All this didn't distract my brother, who managed to spot some HMTs lying in the back somewhere and started trying them on. I got into the act too and we both picked up a HMT each:D
Here's mine...a HMT Kohinoor. Picked up for ~$13


and here's his HMT Sourab ($30)


Overall, it was a great experience and you never know what you might find at such places. A HMT today, maybe a few nice used watches tomorrow...who knows:wink: I'll always keep my eyes open :thumbup1:

Of course, a few pics of the 2 HMTs:
HMT Kohinoor - SS, Manual wind
HMT Sourab - 23ct Gold plated, Automatic



















Also, a few pics of the Tag 2000 and 1000 movement:


2000


1000


Together (2000 to the left)

Friday, January 29, 2010

Ulysse Nardin Clocks at the International Airport in Mumbai

I was pleasantly surprised to find this neat UN clock board at the international airport in Mumbai. I love that these clocks have crowns too!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

REVIEW - Tourby Watches Open Heart Black


What makes a watch beautiful? The dial? The case? The lugs? The crown? The right strap? What if we combine everything? Well, thankfully the guys at Tourby Watches did it for us and came up with the Open Heart. There are two versions of the Open Heart - Open Heart Black like the one above and the Open Heart White which is perhaps more appealing to women. The only difference is the colour of the straps.


Packaging
The watch was well packed in a huge box with a LOT of styrofoam to protect the outer cardboard box of the watch. There weren't any signs of damage which is great :)
The watchbox
Though the review is about the watch, I just have to mention the beautiful Maple wood box that the watch came in. Its by far one of the best watch boxes I have seen. I mean just look at it.....



See what I was talking about?

Of course, opening that beautiful box revels another beautiful object - The Tourby Open Heart. I kid you not when I say this is one stunning watch.

The boxThe box also came with a really nice key to lock it. It just shows the extra effort these guys went through just make people like us really appreciate the watch even more

Case
The watch features a 37mm SS polished case. The size might seem a bit small, but IMO its perfect for what it is - a dress watch. The lugs come with screws instead of spring bars which is a real nice touch the to the overall looks of the watch. This watch also features a sapphire crystal and a screw down crown, which I think is sweet even though its not a diver watch. Here is a pic on my 7 inches wrist:




Dial
The first thing that catches your attention is the stunning guilloché dial with black roman numbers for the hour markings. Of course the main attraction here is the open heart window just under the 12 hour marker. It gives us a small glimpse into the beautiful SOPROD finish movement behind and really does feel like the heart of the watch. The Tourby name is above the 6 hour marker instead of the regular 12 hour place making the open heart window even more special. Even people who just say "nice watch" for my other watches actually said "nice dial" for this one





Movement
This watch is simply so beautiful from the front, but what about the back? Can it match the dial? The answer is yes!!



As their website states, this watch features a SOPROD finish Swiss made ETA 2824-2 automatic movement * 25 jewels * 28.800 A/h * skeletonized * engraved * perlage * sunburst rotor *. And thanks to the display case back, one can really marvel at the beauty of it and truly appreciate the effort and care taken by Tourby while working on this movement.
Accuracy - Although its not a certified chronometer, this beautiful movement keeps the watch at +4 secs a day



Strap
This watch features a lovely black genuine Louisiana Alliagator strap with a deployment buckle which IMO really helps complement the beauty of it. Its pretty comfortable on the wrist too




Lume
The lume on the hands (hour and minute) is not too bright unfortunately, but since its a dress watch, I guess it really doesn't make too much of a difference.




Overall Thoughts
Honestly, I had my eyes set on this watch for a long time and got really lucky to actually win it. The watch has been on my wrist at work, while sleeping and even at times when I have gotten pretty drunk and so far it looks just as beautiful as the the day it arrived . I would again like to add that this is truly a beautiful watch and would make a lovely addition to any collection .


Introduction and what really is this blog about?


Hi, everyone and welcome to India Watch Blog. I am sure you have figured out that this blog is all about watches. I (crazyfingers) LOVE watches and so does my brother (bio). We are members on a few watch forums and were a little disappointed to find no sites in India devoted to watches, so we thought why don't we start one? And here it is.! Its not a big forum or anything but a simple blog where crazyfingers and bio will share with you guys all our view on watches in India. Whether its on a wrist or in a display window, we will try to cover them all.