My Newest Big Bang

A few weeks ago I stumbled into a Sydney AD to have a look at a few watches as I was feeling I needed something new. Amongst the Hublots there was a Luna Rossa. This piece has been there for a while and only in Australia would one find one as everywhere else this is a hot watch that has been sold out long ago.

I never appreciated the subtle yet commanding styling of this watch until taking a closer look. One should not expect anything less from a powerful collaboration between Hublot and Prada.

The Luna Rossa was issued in a numbered limited edition of 1000 watches. The design is extreme, distinguished, refined and exclusive. Constructed using advanced technology materials (carbon, Kevlar, titanium, ceramics and rubber), which makes its genetic code the same as that of the America Class yacht, it bears the signature Luna Rossa on the famous red line drawn on its carbon case, as well as inside the natural rubber strap.

I also love the baton style markers which have now been adopted in the Big Bang Evolution range. It has the same elements of the monochrome All Black versions (black ceramic case, brushed black bezel, smooth strap)....but the dial just grabs you attention with its carbon fiber and red accents. I suspect that the carbon fiber dial is exclusive to this watch.

As you can see there have been a number of celebratory drinks after my purchase.


This is a very striking and wearable Hublot (ceramic case and bezel). IMHO it has the best rubber strap which from reading an old TZ post by JCB was designed by Mr. Berteli, the owner of Prada.

Since I bought the Luna Rossa home, most of my other watches have been having a holiday.

Louis Vuitton: The Quiet Achiever

Unlike the grand media blitz of notable competitors that are making a bold move into the luxury watch market, Louis Vuitton is letting the product do the talking. In a nice finish to our holiday, Vikki and I were invited to attend a private viewing of LV’s new Tambour Spin Time collection.


When we arrived at the Louis Vuitton store, we were escorted up to their private salon which is the loft penthouse.



Our hosts were Alin, Christina and Quentin who were very gracious as we spent close to two hours talking about their new collection and LV’s watchmaking ambitions. In true LVMH style, the discussions were accompanied with the fabulous Dom Perignon 2002 vintage. This was our second tasting of this remarkable Champagne and definitely not the last.

The innovative Tambour Spin Time GMT puts an interesting ‘spin’ on reading the time as it lacks the hour hand.


The hours are marked by 12 rotating cubes. The design of the innovative rotating cubes was born at LVMH’s workshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The assemblage of the movement also takes place there.


Anytime you drop a glance at the face of the new Louis Vuitton watch, eleven of the cubes have a blank face with a subtle letter “V”), while the current hour is numerically shown by the 12th cube found in the current hour position.


A great advantage of this innovative hour display is that the cubes feature numerals on two sides, so they display a.m. or p.m time. As for the minutes, they are traditionally shown by a minute hand. You will also notice a conventional GMT hand in yellow. The GMT time is adjusted by the crown positioned at 8 o’clock.

The new Louis Vuitton watch provides precision timekeeping with help of a Swiss-made self-winding movement - the caliber LV 119 - with an ETA base. The quality of the finish is of an exceptional standard as is the heft of the 44mm white gold case. Attention to the small details is very high, typified by the wonderful execution of the rotor design (an element that quite a number high end brands seem to constantly neglect).


The Tambour Spin Time GMT watch also boasts the brand’s LeVel Up crown stem lifting system used to allows the crown to move for utmost comfort on the wrist. The idea of the system was suggested by the transfer case on a car. It represents a number of toothed wheels engaged with an internal toothed wheel that regulates winding, along with the date and hour adjusting.

The lady’s version in white gold with black and white diamonds is truly remarkable.


The Tambour Spin Time is an interesting and unique way of keeping time. It remains a given that Louis Vuitton is evolving into a serious alternative for the astute collector that has it all.

Once again thankyou to Alin, Christina and Quentin for the opportunity to inspect these stunning watches and to Maison Louis Vuitton for continuing its journey in high end luxury products.

Cartier Fine Watches Cocktail Event

I recently had the pleasure to attend a private cocktail party for watch afficionados at the Sydney Cartier Boutique. On show for us were the new models from the 2010 Cartier Fine Watchmaking Collection. Not having been an owner of a Cartier timepiece, this event piqued my interest and respect for the pieces being produced by Cartier at their Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland.

Most of the Collection was on display including the stunning Astrotourbillon and Santos Dumont Squelette(love this watch).

It was a great delight to be able to have a closer look and to try on many of the pieces on display.










Many thanks to Cartier for a wonderful evening and for the photographs.

A Bankers Holiday

Only in a remote country like Australia could one not be surprised by the idea of a ‘Bank Holiday’. For this banker it was a very welcome break as my work commitments have precluded me from taking any annual leave until later this year. What makes this such as special long weekend is the fact that it is not a traffic congested public holiday with the added benefit that accommodation and restaurants are also more accessible.

The weather was simply marvellous. Temperatures were in the mid to high teens and Saturday was a lazy shopping day followed by drinks at the cosmopolitan ECQ bar.

Sydney Harbour in the middle of winter.

This was followed by a truly astounding Champagne dinner at Sailors Thai. With the food being so scrumptious, taking photos was the last thing on our mind. Sydney’s Thai food has a worldwide reputation, no wonder Sailors Thai’s founder David Thompson is having huge success with his London (Michelin star) restaurant Nahm.

Sunday was an early start as we headed for our traditional winter destination, Katoomba. Spending time in front of a fireplace with class a wine in the Blue Mountains is my idea of the perfect short winter break.

Lunch was in the restaurant at Echoes. Echoes' Boutique Hotel & Restaurant is perched at the very edge of the Jamison Valley at Echo Point in the Blue Mountains. This is a relatively new establishment and is right next to our old favourite Lilanfels.

The Duck risotto with one of our favourite reds.

A perfect winter’s day in the mountains.

Here with my Patek Philippe 5107

All in all a great and much needed getaway.

Case In Point

One has to say that this is one of my better photographic attempts. The sensual lines of the subject matter being my 3971E helped as did the fabulous day that blessed this photo with a unique light effect.

The case of the 3971 is curvaceous and flowing to say the least. An element that, in my humble view is largely missing in Patek’s new generation of chronos.

Good things do come in smaller packages.

Six months on, this is still my favourite manual Patek Philippe chrono.

11TH Anniversary Weekend

Our 11th anniversary was the last weekend in June this year and choosing a restaurant became hard. Out of the 9 we tried to book at 7 were fully booked and one was closed for the weekend as they were doing a wine night out at Logan winery at Mudgee. So it was to one of favourite(and regular) restaurants we decided to go. Rubyos in Newtown.

Since the last time we went the menu has changed to reflect the current season and they have added a Celebration Set Menu. Of course we decided to go with that. As Rubyos is BYO we took a bottle of 1999 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon, we reckon it should have had about 3 hours decanting before we drank it. Next year we will try the remaining bottle.

Unfortunately no photos.

Sunday saw a beautiful blue sky for Sydney, so we walked down to The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay. Haven’t been for over a year but the Maitre d’ remembered us(that is service!!).

Choosing the food was easy, the wine however was another matter. After long deliberation we decided on a glass of Henriot Brut Souverain to be followed with a bottle of Jean Marc Brocard 2006 Chablis Premier Cru Montee de Tonerre.

The champagne went with the oysters. We tried Moonlight En Surface, Sydney Rock from Pambula and Sydney Rock from Port Stephens. While I love oysters, Vikki is not a big oyster eater but she did eat them and I really enjoyed them. (Sorry no pics)

Vikki had roast loin and breast of lamb, spiced carrot puree, baby carrots and lentils.

I had Mirror Dory, cauliflower puree, baby octopus, currants and capers.

No dessert as we had a craving for cheese. On this occasion we had Healey’s Pyengana cheddar(Australia), St Maure Caprifeuille(France) and Roquefort(Roquefort sur Soulzon(France). To go with the cheese we decided to try a glass of Banyuls. Neither of us have tried it before and it was actually the first time we have seen it by the glass in a Sydney restaurant. Smells sweet like port but surprisingly it isn’t overly sweet. Most salubrious!

Here are a few photos from inside and outside The Boathouse….




So a great 11th Anniversary weekend with lots of great food, wine and fun!

Window of Opportunity

Emil and his family were visiting Sydney again. Whilst it was fortunate that we organised to meet for lunch on a Sunday, the choice of restaurant availability is rather limited. The favourite was booked out, so it was time to try something new with our hosts. Just like the venue availability, the weather was erratic and we were greeted by a few showers as we headed to Bondi Beach in the Taxi.

Built in the early 1900’s on a rocky outcrop at the southern end of Bondi Beach, Bondi Icebergs is home to one of Sydney’s most iconic ocean pools. The art deco swimming pool and clubhouse extends out into the ocean.

The waves hit the promontory at an angle before bursting onto Bondi itself. This means they explode over the edge of the sea wall sending spume and spray high into the air.

The swimming pool itself is Olympic size and the pure blue of the pool contrasts sharply with the Antarctic white of the clubhouse and surrounds.

However we didn’t come here for swimming, rather our intended exercise was more focused on the culinary side. You see Icebergs, is also home to one of Sydney’s most celebrated restaurants bearing the same name. As one reviewer stated ‘a masterly juxtaposition of a super-cool aqua-blue room with sweeping views of Bondi and the sea, and the artfully artless down-home food of Rob Marchetti’.

Comments like this set the expectation and we weren’t disappointed. John Dory with a dash of lemon butter sauce and French fries kept this hungry soul very content.

Others had more exotic offerings.

The antipasto and cheese plate are a sure enticement for us to visit again.


Was this the case of a perfect Sunday lunch, we will let you be the judge.

Sometimes The Biggest Decisions Are Made At 3.30am

Living in Australia can sometimes have its challenges. The key ones being distance and the major time differences. To a determined collector however this is a mere distraction. At the end of last year I was in the hunt for a Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph. Patek Philippe invented the pairing of the perpetual calendar and chronograph complications. Starting with the reference 1518, followed by the 2499, in turn followed by the 3970, which was replaced by the 5970. The 2499 has an enamel dial and a Valjoux ebauche as its base movement, while the 3970 was the first to house the highly prized Lemania ebauche.

It was a week before Christmas that I woke up in the very early hours of the morning to bid on a very special Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph. Finally my lot came up and the frantic bidding started, then after a few moments the final price (which was my top price) lingered on the screen for what seemed like an eternity. Just like that, I was now the proud owner of a 1990 Patek Philippe 3971J. What makes the 3971 unique is that it was made only by special order between 1986-1990, and was equipped with a display back. Soon enough, Patek Philippe decided to only offer this watch as the 3970 and include both a solid case back and a display back. Accordingly, very few 3971s exist.

It took until late January for the watch to arrive from New York. At times I was tempted to just fly over and take personal delivery, however the horrible weather in New York quickly dispelled that notion.

Brinks certainly do a thorough job in packaging.

This watch just has such an elegant and timeless unhurried design. Original 18K yellow gold case measures 36mm diameter by 13mm thick. Sapphire front and display back crystals. Round, pump style chronograph pushers. The gold hallmarks are stamped on the outside of the lugs.


The dial is in perfect harmony and IMHO is more beautiful than the 3rd generation 3970's produced from 1990 onwards.

The movement is perfectly housed in this case.

I am privileged to own this jewel of time.

Hong Kong - All Black Style

Circumstance gave me a rare opportunity. In the first months of 2010 I decided to give my career a new challenge. A fortunate outcome was that I had a whole month to go on any journey that took my fancy, the only drawback being that I would have to travel alone.
Setting the itinerary was quite a challenge as part of me wanted to relax but my spirit was seeking a sense of adventure. First instincts were to go to Europe or the US, but the troubling weather quickly dispelled this notion. New Zealand became a serious contender, however at the last moment Vikki and I decided this is somewhere we should go together for the first time.
Time was running out so within one afternoon, after some serious ‘what if’ on the frequent flyer calculator, my journey was set in train.
First stop Hong Kong, having been there three times over the last couple of years, my longing to return there was even stronger.

Flying in style

Landing at the airport was I shortly ushered by the chauffeur to a Mercedes S550 to take me to the Hotel.

The pace of growth of this city is astounding as every time I visit there are more city towers and apartment blocks.


I always look forward to catching the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island and it is one of the reasons why I love staying on the Kowloon side.

Time to visit the Hublot boutique and see some new novelties. The staff are always welcoming and I feel like a regular here.


I was mesmerised by the All Black pieces with the Black Diamonds. This type of bling I’m starting to appreciate.

At the boutique, I met up with Emil for what was going to be a very memorable night. First stop was the P&L Club which is the first cigar club with Art Deco design in Hong Kong. It has a walk-in humidor storing the best Cuban cigars in the world, and a lounge area with vintage furniture from the UK.

Dinner was at a fabulous Italian restaurant (the name escapes me) just up the hill from the Hublot boutique. The entree was a mouth watering scallop and caviar combination. I was thinking, ’it couldn’t get much better than this’.

Then the main was served which was the most succulent Californian lamp generously sprinkled with truffle.

This dinner certainly set the foundations for what was a holiday of a lifetime.

Hong Kong at night must be one of the most magical experiences. I look forward to visiting here again.