a great night with fellow enthusiasts at heirloom gallery

shawn of heirloom gallery takes on the raphmeister the timetapestry weaver

this was a watch that caught my eye last nite... an amazing piece... one like it went for over CHF100k at the omegamania antiquorum auction... over CHF100k!!! damn...

an interesting fun piece. the darth vader. unfortunately its made of tungsten which means its hard but brittle and therefore it chippeth... the force is strong though in this one ;)

ok to start off proper let me just say that this was a fine gathering of watch lovers to hear a man who knows his vintage watches talk about them, with a focus on the omegas. i would like to say thanks to darth khips and shawn from heirloom gallery for this nite.

if u recall i had recommended shawn from an earlier time (see the end of this post), when I had gotten my Cal 321 speedy from him. it was a pleasure dealing with him then and i would recommend folks to consider him if they were looking to purchase vintage pieces. of course its a business for him but he started as a passionate enthusiast just like us :) Shawn also has the benefit of making his passion his job so he is a blessed man indeed. so onto the nite then... in pictures :)

shawn and darth... apparently a watch swap programme was going on and shawn's beobachtungs-uhr landed on the khip's wrist for an omega!!! damn i was too slow to the draw :(

darth also provided the munchies... here with i think the banquet manager from a notable hotel ;) [ kidding of course... a fellow watch enthusiast that i first met in shawn's shop, jason was on hand to help... underdressed as usual ]

well the others got on with the munchies i got busy taking pics around the shop. shawn's shop is a nice reflection of all that he is passionate about. with interesting watch related paraphernalia all about and of course many wonderful watches and interesting clocks...

tools of a watchmakers trade... a lathe...

fantastic cloisonne work on this clock which shawn had acquired recently... an exquisite piece

hmm wats a fishbowl doing here? if u know your rolex revolution antiquorum auction, this 'bowl' will not be unfamiliar to u ;)

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but before i could take more pics... this curious gent stopped me in my tracks... apparently a 'watch on both wrists' rule had been applied and he was threatening dismemberment if i wasn't doublewristed.... of course this was no challenge for the raphmeister, who is often seen with 2 watches minimum ;)

ok back to the watches... there were a number of fine omegas about... this yellow gold flightmaster was interesting and pretty heavy... over 200gms. solid gold man!

darth and anakin... fun names for these seamasters :)

chocolate loooooooooovvvvvveeeee.....

some gold speedys in da house...

and a mate's vintage Omega Constellation decided to bare it all (well the back at least) ;)

this is the omega-man... with a speedy for a head and a finger for his... uhm... never mind...

shawn was kind enough to give a short talk and do a Q&A with us. it was a good talk and conversation in which he spoke of his journey as a collector and as a proprietor of his watch shop, with interesting personal anecdotes. there were other fun and meaningful stories that he related as well on folks that he has met through his shop...

rapt attention from jason, andrew, ivan and mark

shawn related the story of how he came by this mint military flieger... a good tale which has at its moral 'kindness does pay off (sometimes)' :) more info on this piece can be found here... not for sale at this time though...

other than fliegers and omegas... there were these handsome watches :) oh i do so love no crown guard subs... this is a beauty...

hands have probably been updated on this one but an interesting piece... the tudor snowflake...

red sub.... nuff said...

fighting poses from the new security 'muscle' that shawn hired for the shop... uhm probably not the best choices... some watches may go missing wif these 2 takin' care of the shop ;)

to end off, it was a very good event which was about fine watches shared with folks passionate about them or wanting to know more. i also got to meet some new friends, a notable one being thomas who is an omega vintage watch encyclopedia. good times indeed :) cheers, raph

press release: a new mb&f hm2 cometh... the hm 2.2 an alain silberstein collaboration...

something cool this way come...

perhaps its a couple of cool cats ;)

The brief to Alain Silberstein was typical of MB&F’s creative approach. Explaining the project, Maximilian Büsser says, “I simply gave Alain the watch and said: “Enjoy yourself! And he caught me completely off balance. He produced a black box, where I was expecting something very colourful!” This makes Alain Silberstein chuckle.

In more ways than one, Alain Silberstein has left his mark on Horological Machine N°2.2. A tiny, almost invisible inscription on the side of the case, reads: “Le vrai bonheur est d’avoir sa passion pour métier” (“True happiness is having one’s passion for a profession”). That is his motto, and he found his soul mates in MB&F. As he says: “The whole point was the pleasure of working together."

text and pictures from mb&f.com (except for the 1st pic and the last pic below)

i hope of course to give u some real life pics of this piece soon and more insights into this exciting new project from max busser... but till then... a wristshot...

kidding of course :) cheers, raph

lets go T-O-K-Y-O!!!! Ikuyo!

this will be a 2 parter post... this 1st part is for the watch lovers since this is a watch blog after all ;) the next part will be more on what i love about Japan but till then... some info on 2 watch shops i went to in my visit this round [in case u didn't know i've been away in Japan for a week and been way busy the last week so the backlog of things I haven't got round to posting is HUGE! slowly but surely yuh :) ]

2 watch shops to checkout in Tokyo... Jack Road which I have posted on before click here... and house of kihiroba... some proper directions below (trust me the rest i've seen on the net which is hardly any sucks a$$)

1. Exit Shibuya station the hachiko exit. u'll see the doggy statue. i believe he is Japan's lassie

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2. Next look for the Matsu thingie and head for that...

the right road to head down...

3. walk down the street and soon you will see this sign and you've hit jackpot

don't overshoot this building yuh, its on the 4th and 5th floor of this place...

4. Buy watches ;) well if u find something u like at the right price. they have a decent selection and they were friendly to the raphmeister which is why its here on timetapestry. [ there were some shops in tokyo which weren't unfortunately... long story ]

Ok another place i managed to check out was douze 12. i had chanced upon it on the net as it was noted as an AD for vianney halter and u know i can always see more vianney halters yuh ;) but reaching there, there were none in sight so i got pics of some of the other interesting watches on display... some directions to the place below...

1. Go to Tokyo Metro Ginza Line to the Gaienmae station exit 1A

2. head down the path where u see this bridge....

3. turn left when u see the sunrider shop...

n u r there...

Now i suggest only going here if u have loadsamoney though as some of the watches are pretty pricey... eg. this blingy guy had a price tag of 16+million yen!!!

tell me all about it harry winston ;)

good to know they take servicing seriously

& some watches for the ladies...

thats all for part 1.... look out for part 2 soon :) cheers, raph

some changes to timetapestry... leaner and meaner ;)

hi all, i was surfing outside the comfort of my home today and when i decided to have a look at the blog it took FOREVER to load. too many big pics which i figure u all like so i ain't gonna get rid of em ...

an example here... checkout what the tooth fairy left me ;)

but i am including a "expand/collapse" link in the posts from now on... you can see it below... do click it ;)

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so hopefully entering timetapestry won't be a pain and for new posts that u want to read u can expand on them. hope this works out for all :)

do leave me feedback if u want any other site changes and i'll see if i can sort it out... eg. if u would rather have the old format back where every picture & the whole post is shown without the expand/collapse feature do let me know. my return visitors may have as part of their timetapestry browsing clicked on the link and made a cup of coffee before returning to their PCs to read the blog in the past :)

additional note... i won't be posting for awhile so do check out the past posts yuh. there's a fair amount of info through these 2+ years and although i have moved on from some things, most of the posts still have truths or my current views on things. till i am back then... enjoy your journey ;)

wallpapers of the gb as it was requested for from a mate... 1680 * 1050

and 1600 * 1200

the perfect watch gift for mrs. raphmeister...

first off why is this the perfect watch gift for mrs. raphmeister? well because its her dream watch :) the perfect gift for your partner/wife/girlfriend etc will depend on what their dream watch is (note:at a point in time, as there will be others... oh yes there will be others) so best to find out and buy it for 'em if makin 'em happy is on your list of priorities in life :) so what'd i get her then for a new chapter of her life as she has recently moved on from her job? well its this...

at the same time, raphmeister has gone on a mission... its a tuff watch to take pics of, so the mission was simple, try and take decent pix of the corum golden bridge! :) so my tries below... hope u like em....

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and finally the wristshot and the happy mrs... and uhm the coolest thing ;) i can actually borrow it on occasion :) haha

wristshot... IT WORKS! :)

the happy mrs :) which means i'm happy too :)

raphmeister checkin out his new watch...OOPS! i mean my wife's new watch ;)

extract from Corum Press Material... some interesting info...

The Corum Golden Bridge watch is a masterpiece of mechanical watchmaking, with a striking presentation that is utterly unique in the world of haute horlogerie.

Designed in its original form by the accomplished independent watchmaker Vincent Calabrese, and first offered by Corum in 1980, this watch drew its name from its extraordinary manually wound movement, which placed the winding works, going train, and escapement in a straight line, mounted on a single bridge made from 18K gold; displayed in a unique case with sapphire crystals on both sides, this horological marvel offered collectors an exhibition movement unlike any other. Now, Corum has updated this celebrated classic timepiece in a way that respects the original design, yet offers significant subtle updates.

The 32 X 37mm case, crafted from 18K yellow, rose, or white gold, or platinum now has a gentle tonneau shape; bearing sapphire crystals on front, back, and even the sides, the case has been reduced to its barest essential form, which permits a nearly 360 degree view of the baton movement. The magnificent baton movement in the Corum Golden Bridge movement has been constructed by the specialist firm of Vaucher, whose expertise is exceptional haute de gamme movements and complications. Vaucher re-engineered the original Calabrese design, strengthening it in critical areas, and incorporating a mechanism which prevents damage due to overwinding. Magnificently crafted, the delicacy of this golden baton movement is a breathtaking treat for any connoisseur; enriched with intricate engravings, each example represents a unique work of art, both mechanically and aesthetically.

ADDITIONAL GOODIES

Laurent Picciotto brought this to my attention... check out some great pics of him and Corum CEO with the Ti-Bridges here ... very nice ;)

& a great video of the making of the Golden Bridge below...