The Cartier Drive and some watch browsing

A fellow watch enthusiast and an AD for some big brands, Irfan, invited us watch lovers in Mumbai for the launch of the new Cartier Drive watches. In case you're not familiar with them, these are new time pieces by Cartier that have their design inspired by vintage automobiles. From the car grill inspired guilloché dial to a crown that resemble a nut, you can see the attention to detail. Add to it a beautiful 41mm cushion shape case and the classic Roman numerals that Cartier has perfected, you get a watch thats simply stunning!

Stainless Steel

Pink Gold

I tried on the stainless steel and the pink gold variants and honestly couldn't decide which one I liked more (I really wanted to wear one on each wrist). I feel the Drive can switch from a dressy look to a sporty one seamlessly.

The launch was done in partnership with Ducati, so they also had two fantastic bikes on display, which went in sync pretty well with the concept of the Drive watches.

I really wish I had my good camera, but I had to make do with my not-so-good camera phone once again.

Since Irfan had more watch brands available, we went crazy trying on as many watches we could lay our hands on. Apart from the Cartier, I tried on watches from IWC and JLC. He even graciously let us try on the gorgeous (with the price tag to match) IWC Portuguese Tourbillon!

IWC Portuguese Tourbillon

IWC Big Pilot

I took some more pictures, but they didn't come out too good :(

So a fun afternoon spent with wonderful fellow watch enthusiasts and of course some amazing time pieces. Thanks to Irfan for the invite and ensuring that we all had a great time :)

Trying the Submariner on a leather strap

For a lot of Rolex Submariner fans, putting it on a leather band/strap is a big no-no. While I agree that it probably looks the best on the bracelet it came with, I still think that it can look wonderful if paired with the right leather strap or even a NATO (hell, James Bond wore it like that).

I actually got the idea after seeing a pic of the new Oris Divers Sixty-Five. I instantly fell in love with the brown distressed leather strap with the classic looking diver.

pic taken from online, not mine

I got in touch with a local strapmaker by the name of Javid, who came with quite a few references and sent him the pic above. After a quick chat explaining with what I had in mind, he said his will work on my strap and send it to me after a week. Fast forward to today and it finally arrived. I couldn't wait to put in on the Submariner and check it out. So this is what it looks like...

Rolex Submariner 14060m on a leather strap

I understand different people have different likes, but I personally love the combination! The strap is completely handmade and the leather is really soft and comfortable. I feel this isn't coming off my wrist for a while now. What do you guys think?

So I decided to check the power reserve on my Submariner

Last week, I decided to wear the Sub to work and since I hadn't worn it for a few day, gave it a little shake to get it ticking. After setting the time, I immediately put it on my wrist - I did not wind it a few times as I normally do. After work I came back and took the watch off as I wanted to play a little badminton. Nothing interesting so far, until I got up the next morning to see that my watch had stopped.

Honestly it was quite a bit scary at first. I tried recalling what I did the previous day and whether I had moved my wrist enough or not. I then realised that I probably hadn't (didn't drive either and took a nap on the way home). Regardless, I was still very concerned and immediately started searching about the power reserve on Rolex watches. I found that the Sub 14060m (Cal. 3130) should ideally have a power reserve of 44-48 hours and if it was significantly lower, it could mean it's due for a service.

Now I'm one of those people who believe in servicing my watches only when required, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? I am not very up to date with the servicing cost for a Sub, but started getting myself mentally prepared to shell out about Rs. 40000+ (~USD 600) - not a very pretty thought. However, before I take it to the service centre, I wanted to be sure about it and decided to test out the power reserve properly.

From what I've read, the right way to do this is to fully wind the watch using the crown and then leaving it untouched till whenever it stops ticking. So I did just that and left it on my beside table at 11:10 am. A day passed and I nervously glanced at the watch, still ticking....30 hours, all good, 36 hours, still going strong.

The next morning when I woke up, the watch had stopped at exactly 9am, which according to my calculation is a solid 45 hours and 50 mins! I was so relived and kind of impressed with the Submariner. It's still going strong as ever and ticking beautifully!

Watches Enthusiasts of India Get Together, New Delhi

So it finally happened! My first GTG with watch enthusiasts. I honestly never expected one in India and always thought it would only be possible somewhere abroad. So I'm really glad when this was planned and actually took place. The GTG was scheduled for the 30th of March in New Delhi at a place called Cafe Delhi Heights. Here is my trip report:

1) Mumbai to Delhi: I was pretty excited about this meet up so made sure I reached the airport on time and not miss my flight (it's happened before). Since I was a little early, I had sometime to spare and decided to grab a light bite.

blurry time check at the airport

waiting for my plane while enjoying a snack

After a little delay in the boarding, we were finally off to New Delhi!

deciding what to order on the flight

arial shot of Mumbai from my window seat

first course

There was an Indian sportsman/celebrity on the flight and the guy next to me literally jumped from his seat to go and greet him. He then went back to his seat and fell asleep within two minutes.

2) New Delhi: On reaching the capital, I quickly got out of the airport and tried calling for an Uber. Unfortunately the location on my app was wrong and after 15 mins of trying to find me, the driver gave up, so I had to cancel the ride and go with another cab service.

3) The GTG: I met my parents for a couple of hours before heading to the meet up place. We agreed to meet up at 7pm, so I left at around 6:15pm, thinking I'll get there on time, but I was wrong. I got caught in the rush hour traffic and finally reached at 7:20pm.

At first there was only one person waiting there Nishant (WUS username: nishant_ucms_doc), but soon we were joined by the guy who got us together and planned the GTG - Karan (WUS username: phoenix844884). Next came another WUS member Vandit (WUS username: vkalia) and soon enough everyone was there. A super quick introduction later (after chatting so much on the group chat, we realised everyone already knnew a lot about each other), the watch boxes were opened, and boy-oh-boy, what an absolute delight it was! Other WUS members present were Rohan (beeman101), Eesh (eeshdewan) and Aman (amankathuria).

the early birds, from left to right: Rohan, Gaurav and Karan

from left to right: Gaurav, Vandit, Eesh, Rohan, Karan and Nishant

Now, I have to admit that I was the only one who came without a watch box. I came with just two watches - the Submariner and the Laco Pilot, whereas everyone else came with their entire collection (or almost the entire collection).

You know how it is when you go to a watch showroom and want to try everything on display there, but hesitate to? Well, this was like a dream come true - it was like an all access pass to the whole watch store. I don't have an exact count, but there were easily over 50 watches, maybe over 60! Each one better than the next and of all various styles.

We had Rolex, IWC, Seiko, Panera, Omega, Sinn, Tudor, Breitling, Ball, Casio, Citizen, Orient, HMT...you name it, it was there - all in front of us to try on!

It was so amazing to finally talk to people about watches in detail. We spoke about brands, styles, straps, Basel World, movements and everything one could think of.

4) Wrist shots and pictures: Apologies for the mediocre picture quality as my phone camera isn't too good and my other camera has been borrowed by a friend. The wristwatches are in the order I tried them.

Karan's American + Swiss collection

my favourite Hamilton - the Khaki X-Wind (Karan's collection)

Rohan's Speedy Chrono

Nishant's Victorinox - surprised me with the build quality

some Monster love

Nishant's Seiko (almost bought this model once)

Nishant's Orient Star - the picture really isn't doing justice to the beauty 

Karan's Seiko - never seen it before. Loved it!

another amazing Seiko by Karan

this one can make for an elegant dress watch

the first Sinn I've tried - drool worthy! (Vandit's colelction)

Vandit's gorgeous Panerai Submersible 

this Glycine (Rohan's collection) was another first for me and totally blew me away!

I now have a new fav G-Shock (Karan's collection)

Gaurav's rare Casio

That pizza in the background was lying uneaten  because everyone was so engrossed in the watches that they forgot it was there. It had to be reheated and even after that was left alone for a while.

Mohanish's GMT II next to my Sub

Mohanish trying to take a pic of the family (GMT II, Tudor Black Bay and the Sub)

the ever glowing tritium in the Ball (Eesh's collection)

finally managed to get some wrist time with the Tudor Black Bay - absolutely stunning! (Vandit's collection)

Beauty and The Beast - The Hulk! (Aman's collection)

class apart - the PAM 512 (Mohanish's collection)

HMT Chirag on a bund strap

my favourite Breitling - the Super Ocean Heritage

Seven Friday M2/01

loved the smooth sweep of the Omega

another sweet vintage Omega

the rarest of the bunch - the Anglo Swiss Watch Co. (Eesh's Collection)

with the outer case/cover open

another Super Ocean (Rohan's collection)

no words to describe this picture

As you can see, this would be any watch enthusiast's dream come true. It was a great night with great company and lots of amazing time pieces. Once again, Kudos to Karan and everyone who was a part of this get-together, looking forward to the next one!

mandatory group wrist shot!

group shot, from left to right: Aman, Vandit (light tee), Gaurav (dark tee), Rohan, Eesh, Nishant, Karan, Me and Mohanish 

Hello again...it's been a while

It's literally been years (3 to be precise) since the last post and I have nothing but myself to blame for it.  I'll try my best to give a quick updates about what's been going on...

So what's been happing with Bio and I?
Well, to start with, we've both quit our VFX jobs years ago and started a new business. It's something we had in mind for a while and thought the timing was right. And that's what has kept us really busy for the past couple of years. Another thing that got us out of out regular watch buying and flipping was the fact that we had to start saving for our business and personal expenses. We had to control our spending and our impulses.

Have we bought anything in these past years?
Well, nothing major, just a couple of HMT Pilots (inspired by a fellow WUS member who asked me to source one for him). I had the pictures on my old phone but unfortunately can't find them. The watches too are kept somewhere that I can't recall. When I do find them, I'll post some pics.

What got me back?
Well, the credit goes to one really cool guy called Karan who asked me if I would like to get in touch with other watch lovers from India. I was like, why not, it would be nice to hear about what's been happening in the world of watches (I've been inactive on various forums as well). So I started conversing with a number of wonderful fellow watch addicts and my interest started rising again. I was pleasantly happy to know that some of them had even read this blog :)
I still haven't bought anything since joining this group, but I've set my mind on attaining the next watch on my wish list - the PAM 111.

What to expect ?
Well, this is something I'm really excited about. After months of discussion, we are now having a mini get-together in New Delhi in a couple of days. Around 10 people are expected as of now and I just can't wait to see and try on the watches there! My tickets are booked and I'm just waiting to board the flight.

I will try to write a detailed trip report for this blog. I'll try and take a lot of pics, although my phone camera is average at best. I wish Bio could have also come, plus he has a much better camera phone, but he needs to look after the business while I'm gone. Hopefully we can both be there for the next get-together.

Before I sign off, I would like to thanks all the visitors on this blog. It's been inactive for years, but we've still been getting a steady streams of visitors every single day. I'll start being more active on this blog and reply to comments as soon as I can.

See you guys soon :)

This one got me excited...almost!

I am subscribed to a news letter from Ethos, which is one of the bigger (if not biggest) watch boutique chains here, and every now and then, they send me these 'one time offers'. Most of the time, I simply dismiss them, as firstly, I am a bit short on dough, and secondly I have my aim set a bit high for my next watch - whenever that might be. Also most of the time, the offer is on this brand called Edox, that seems one of those brands that's priced as a higher-end brand, but isn't - this is strictly my personal opinion, and I maybe wrong.

So recently, I got another offer mail, but this time I thought I'll check it out just for the fun of it. The watch this time was an Edox Xtreme Pilot III, and I must say, its quite an eye catching piece. I quite like the green accents, although some may disagree.

Anyway, so the mail says that this watch retails for  Rs. 1,13,700 ($2088 USD), but its being offered at a flat 40% off, which brings it down to Rs.68220 ($1252 USD). Now, that's not a bad price for a watch like this. Lets have a look at he description:

Powered by a shock-resistant and durable chronograph movement, the Xtreme Pilot III features numerous inspiring complications. The black carbon dial houses chronograph functions, a date window at 6 o’clock and a tachymeter scale on the outer rim. The large 45mm case along with the over-sized electric green push button in anodized aluminium give the watch a distinctly bold appearance. Crafted in ultra-light titanium, the timekeeper runs on the Edox Calibre 103 movement. 

Ok, so it seems to be built pretty well, however my only gripe is the movement - Edox Calibre 103. For some reason, I was really hoping it was a mechanical one, and if it was, its a very good buy in my opinion. Sadly, after a bit of searching, I learnt that its based on a Ronda 5021.D, which is quartz.

Not too much of a quartz fan, I'll have to pass, but for those who don't mind the quartz movement - and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I think this still is a decent buy. Want another reason to get it? They have also mentioned in the mail that its a limited edition watch with only three pieces available at Ethos. So, if you want it, contact your nearest Ethos :)