The super-luxury watches that take years to make

A BBC Website on mechanical watches and some obscure watchmakers it calls the best in the world for some reason (and needles to say they are British).

The super-luxury watches that take years to make -LINK

Fetching hundreds of thousands of pounds, they’re the ultimate statement piece. Who are the people that make the world’s most intricately designed watches?

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Bloomberg - Signet Rings are Back

link


Everything You Need to Know About Wearing a Signet Ring 


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2015 Ford Fiesta Sedan and 2015 New Ford Focus in Russia

Re-posting this from my car spotting blog, Spotted...Cars in Moscow, in my Car Shows series of posts.

August 8, 2015 was the date of the All-Russia presentation of the 2015 Ford Fiesta Sedan and the new 2015 Ford Focus in the sedan and hatchback versions, and I went to the nearest Ford dealer to attend said presentation.

The Ford Fiesta Sedan, the Ford Focus sedan and hatchback (and the Mondeo sedan) are made locally in Russia at two venues, I think, and are very popular. 

For this presentation I went to a Ford dealer near me.

Photos turned out not too good this time especially, hey, but at least there are lots of them.

There weren't very many people (but there were some at least) at the presentation because it was August 8 and plus 30 Celsius so most were at their dachas or on vacations or otherwise out of town.

A test-drive unit Fiesta Sedan.

I think the sedan, or saloon, version is not sold in all the countries where the Fiesta is sold.

The Fiesta Sedan will be produced locally in Russia along with the Focus (minus the wagon version) and the Mondeo (only in the sedan version) which have been manufactured here for over 10 years already.

Food Truck Fest

This one is from my car spotting blog, Spotted...Cars in Moscow which I have been updating for about three months already.

And it's about Food trucks!

On Saturday August 1, 2015 I went to this Food Truck Fest here in Moscow, had lunch and saw some food trucks, amongst various other things.

There were about a dozen different food trucks with different food. 

 Number one is an MB van-based food truck serving chef's burgers (designer burgers).

Here is Pizza Love... which in Russian sounds like Пицце лов meaning "Pizza catcher".

Another small sausage truck type of food truck offering Taq Taq Mexican (?) burritos.

It says burritos but what they offer is more like tacos, square-like shaped.

A Peugeot van-based food truck.

Koutouzoff's soviet watches: Early chronograph 3133, silver dial

Koutouzoff's soviet watches: Early chronograph 3133, silver dial

Hunter S. Thompson's Rules for Driving Fast

From my other blog, AutoZilla, which is an occasional car related blog in English.

Time for another quote by Hunter S. Thompson...

Here's a quote from the Kingdom of Fear... which I am reading now incidentally and about to finish some time soon... which is not to say that the book is entirely automotive related - far from it but it does have this chapter called Speedism...from where comes today's quote (Song of the Sausage Creature is also there, btw).

Speedism can be Fatal when mixed with high-speed automobiles & whiskey. It is wrong & I condemn it, but some dingbats will do it anyway.... And not All will survive, but so what?

For the others, the Living, here are some basic rules.

No 1 - Make sure yr. Car is Functioning on all Mechanical & Electrical levels. Do not go out on any road to drive Fast unless all yr. Exterior lights are working perfectly.

There is only failure & jail very soon for anybody who tries to drive fast with a one headlight or a broken taillight. This is automatic, unarguable Probable Cause for a cop to pull you over and check everything in yr. car. You do not want to give them Probable Cause. Check yr. lights, gas gauge, & tire pressure before you drive Anywhere.

No 2 - Get familiar with Brake pressures on yr. machine before you drive any faster than 10 mph. A brake drum that locks up the instant you touch the pedal will throw you sideways off the road & put you into a fatal eggbeater, which means you will Go To Trial if it happens. Be very aware of yr. brakes.

No 3 - Have no small wrecks. If you are going to loop out & hit something, hit it hard. Never mind that old-school Physics bullshit about the Irresistible Force & the Immovable Object. The main rule of the Highway is that some Objects are more Movable than Others. This occurs, for instance, when a speeding car goes straight through a plywood billboard, but not when one goes through a concrete wall. In most cases, the car going fastest sustains less damage than the slower-moving vehicle.

A Small Wreck is almost always both Costly and Embarrassing. I talked to a man tonight who said he had been demoted from Head waiter to Salad Boy when he had a small wreck in the restaurant parking lot and lost all respect from his fellow workers. “They laughed at me & called me an Ass”, he said. “I should have hit the fucker at seventy-five, instead of just five,” he whined. “It cost me $6800 anyway. I would have been maitre d' by now if I'd screwed it on and just Mashed the bastard. These turds have made me an outcast.”

No. 4 - (This is one of the more Advanced rules, but lets pop it in here while we have the space.) Avoid, at all costs, the use of Any drug or drink or Hubris or even Boredom that might cause you to Steal a car and crash it into a concrete wall just to get the Rush of the airbags exploding on you. This new fad among rich teenagers in L.A. is an extremely Advanced Technique that only pure Amateurs should try, and it should never be done Twice. Take my word for it.

No 5 - The eating schedule should be as follows: Hot fresh spinach, Wellfleet oysters, and thick slabs of Sourdough garlic toast with salt & black pepper. Eat this two hours before departure, in quantities as needed. The drink should be Grolsch green beer, a dry oaken-flavored white wine & a tall glass of ice cubes & Royal Salute scotch whiskey, for the supercharge factor.

Strong black coffee should also be sipped while eating, with dark chocolate cake soaked in Grand Mariner for dessert. The smoking of oily hashish is optional, and in truth Not Recommended for use before driving at speeds up to 150 mph in residential districts. The smoking of powerful hashish should be saved until after yr. return from the drive, when the nerve ends are crazy and raw. 

I also like how he saves himself some - not many though - keystrokes by abbreviating "your" as "yr." at all times in this piece.

50 Gs: G-Shock 27: My GSC Travel to Thailand part.. III: ...

50 Gs: G-Shock 27: My GSC Travel to Thailand part.. III: ...: After the party on May 2nd, I had to go to bed on time, as the program for my last day in Thailand started early. That sunday I woke up ac...

Another great G-Shock related post by Sjors the G-Shock collector with lots of excellent photograph, i.e. pictures, both G-Shock and travel-themed.



However, Sjors seems to be having a hiatus at the moment. 

Pobeda 2 MChZ 2602 Decorated and Dated Movement 4-58

Another Pobeda watch from my collection.

This Pobeda was made by the Second Moscow Watch Factory (2MChZ) in the late 1950s.

Nothing much to look at on the face side.

It is in need of restoration (unlikely, it'll get it), the crystal is cracked and the small seconds hand is missing.

Worth noting that it says 2nd MWF on the dial.

H - Talking Watches with Jonathan Ward

Talking watches with Jonathan Ward

Okean 3133 Chronograph 1976-2011 Final Edition by Volmax, Where to Still Find One as New

Okean (or sometimes - Okeah) 3133 1976-2011 Final Edition.

The Okean 3133 Final Edition 1976-2011 is a watch that was produced by Volmax company to mark the end of the caliber 3133 production and to celebrate the original Okean watch first made in 1976 using the Poljot 3133 movement.

Originally it was the idea developed by the Russian section of the Spanish watch forum HdR but later Volmax made so bold as to issue an additional run of the watches apparently not exceeding the original run of 300 units. So there should be only 600 of these watches. You can find more info on this iconic watch by using the search function on this blog.

Of all the remakes of the 2000 decade, the Final Edition is the most faithful to the original but with some major improvements - the case is all stainless steel (the original had chrome plated brass alloy). Also the Final Edition is a bit larger while retaining all the proportions of the original.

Only a year ago you could still buy the watch in one or two Volmax-affiliated stores in Moscow. But no longer.

However it appears that two Internet sellers specializing in Russian watches have some left -- apparently coming from Volmax' second run (like my own) watch. These sellers are Julian Kampmann and Juri Levenberg, both of Germany. Both have it at a hefty price of EUR 695 although you could probably get 19% off if you come from outside the European Union.

Okean 3133 1976-2011 Final Edition - Julian Kampmann. Also check my right-hand panel.

And there's also Juri Levenberg who apparently has ONLY 2 left.

Okean 3133 1976-2011 Final Edition - Juri Levenberg

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Electronika 5B6-204A

In addition to affordable mechanical watches, cars, radios, etc., I am also into old-school electronic watches and here is a 1984 Electronika 5B6-204A (5Б6-204А) old-school electronic watch from my collection.

Made in 1984 bought in 1985.

If I remember correctly it was me who dropped it and cracked the face glass.

Quality sign on the back.

One of a succession of early Electronika 5 watch models, this Electronika 5B6-204A is also known as the Electronika 30351A.

AutoZilla: Giugiaro's Itadesign projects over 50 years

AutoZilla: Giugiaro's Itadesign projects over 50 years: Italdesign Giugiaro Projects 50 years of history

CNN: 10 watches that changed the course of history (in watchmaking terms, at least) LINK

CNN: 10 watches that changed the course of history (in watchmaking terms, at least)

Nice pictures... such as this one

or even this

OSIBISA (live) Sunshine Day

1987 Mercury Grand Marquis

To continue my Detroit Iron in Moscow (DIM) column on this blog, wherein I do a bit of car spotting and photograph and report "Detroit iron" in Moscow -- i.e. full-size American automobiles that I see on Moscow streets, lanes and especially in back yards whilst not specifically looking for them, here is something from my other blog, Spotted...Cars in Moscow.

By the way, full-size in automobiles is taken to mean anything longer than 5,000 mm, although there are some other parameters, but this is the one I go by.

Lo and behold! One previous owner (!) 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis! Continuing verbatim from my other blog as specified above.


Seen in May 2015 is this 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis full-size automobile.

I spotted this one at a dealer's lot - traded in by somebody and is now available to buy.

To quote wikipedia:

The Mercury Grand Marquis is a full-size rear-wheel drive luxury sedan that was sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company from 1975 to 2011. From 1975 to 1982, it was the premium model of the Mercury Marquis model line and became a standalone model in 1983. For its entire production run, the Grand Marquis served as the flagship of the Mercury line; it was the Mercury counterpart of the Ford (LTD) Crown Victoria. From 1979 to 2011, it shared the Panther platform along with the Lincoln Town Car

 

The reason I made so many pictures is that, as I said, I saw this at the car dealer where I was having my car, a Ford Focus II, serviced so I had plenty of time and had nothing better to do. 

But I don't think it's time wasted as I am into car-spotting and also have a soft spot for these American full-size cars in particular (see my other blog - DIM - Cars) and collect their sightings in Moscow, of which these pictures are a proof, not that I have ever driven one or ever likely to the way things are looking at the moment.

Front window through the glass shots... nice interior, velour. 

No seat belts in evidence.

Making "White Russian"

My Food & Drink column on this blog is about to be continued with this post on the making of "White Russian".

So the scene is I am making a glass of White Russian of an evening in our kitchen.

The most important ingredient, after vodka of course, is the Kahlua liqueur. And I have it, as I do everything else, i.e. some milk and ice.

This thing was hung on my Kahlua bottle and contains cocktail recipes, all involving Kahlua of course. When I see these things and similar labels I always want to try but it rarely happens that you have all that you need. 

Watchismo Times: Shocking New G-Shock Limited Edition Watches Just ...

Watchismo Times: Shocking New G-Shock Limited Edition Watches Just ...: New Limited Editions G-Shock Watches Limited Edition Polarized, Slash, HUF, Heathered, Gulfmaster, Gravitymaster, Rangeman, Mudm...

Koutouzoff's soviet watches: Very Early and rare 3133

Koutouzoff's soviet watches: Very Early and rare 3133:

 

Leroy, John, Sue & his Dad

Leroy

Jonny Depp Komandirskie Photoshoot

The famous Johnny Depp Komandirskie Photo Shoot - Michel Haddi, 1998 on Depp Impact.

And the year is 1998... personally I thought it happened earlier.