The Seiko "Explorer"

Rolex has the handsome Explorer 2 for the globe trekker in pursuit of their adventures. When I chanced upon the Seiko "Explorer" in the guise of Prospex Field Master faux Bronze, I knew that it would made a marvellous addition to my watch collection.

So here it was, with me in its first adventure, into a proper 4WD trek as we trudged into the heart of the Kalimantan rain forest.

Only the brave needs apply.

Looks like autumn in the background.

But it's actually the remnants of a forest fire that occurred during the previous dry season.

Flamingoes in the background?

Actually, they were heavy machineries at work.

No surprises what 4WD adventures had in store.

Rough terrains and bumpy rides.

Pulled The Trigger : Citizen ProMaster Aqualand DepthMeter (model no : BN2024-05E)

Readers would know that I was interested to get the Citizen Promaster Aqualand DepthMeter series (3 models released during Baselworld 2014), with my personal preferences being the stainless steel case with PVD bezel i.e. model no. BN2024-05E. This model evolved from the EcoZilla of yesteryears (I just flipped off 2 EcoZillas last week), and now came with additional functionalities such as depth gauge, last dive memory, power reserve indicator, etc. Let's simply call it as DepthMeter.

I looked at the regular brick-and-mortar shops around KL and most retailers informed me that the series under-supplied such that Malaysia had yet to get the stocks for this model. So my best option was to get from overseas at the moment. I was referred to take a look at Hong Kong as the market there was very slow due to the Central Occupation protest movements.

I checked out Citizen Hong Kong website and the DepthMeter was going at HKD7,300, which came to circa RM3,515 our monies. Ho hum...

I truly would like to add this technological marvel piece to my collection; and having had consolidated my watch collection last week, I gathered that I could spend a bit of the monies that I received from the sale, on the DepthMaster.

Therefore, I pulled the trigger on the DepthMaster and would now have to wait patiently for the piece to be shipped over to Malaysia. Oh, the excitement!

A Liberating Experience : 6-A-Week

As the adage goes, "Rome was not built in a day."; so too with us hobbyist's collection of timepieces. We all have the 1 piece that started the craze; and with that spark igniting, a passion burned on. And over time, you would have watch cases and winders stacked up in your safe.

Building the collection could be a long (albeit fun) process, but consolidating the collection could be a really fast process. I wrote about a food for thought piece yesterday @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2014/12/food-for-thought-xmas-watch.html, and I had quite a few e-mails coming in from individual collectors and watch shops.

And in just one morning, one gentlemen came to view and carted off the watches and boxes back to his shop, leaving me with the collection that I had in mind and a big fat cheque in hand.

And so, as of this morning, my collection stands as the following :

1) 1972 Rolex Datejust 1601;
2) 1978 Pagol Sub-Second Date 3055;
3) 2005 Tag Heuer Kirium Ti5;
4) 2013 Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean XL;
5) 2013 Tudor Pelagos; and
5) 2014 Seiko Prospex Field Monster Limited Edition.

And now for the rationale for sticking to the above pieces :

1) I adore vintage watches. This Rolex Datejust 1601 is both a vintage and dress watch, hitting 2 birds with a stone; plus the fact that I spent a long time looking for a mint piece like this.

2) I adore vintage watches. And this hand-winding Pagol Sub-Second Date 3055 was a cherished gift from my Dad, which he kept aside during his watch smith's days.

3) The Tag Heuer Kirium was the most technologically-advanced series of its day for the brand, and the Kirium Ti5 was the cream of the crop. Titanium case, carbon fibre dial, F1 sports legacy (before the Carrera series debut), and packaged in a diver watch. And a one-of-a-kind Swiss-made bracelet that was retro-fitted through my Dad's creative means, which looked as though it came out from Tag Heuer like that. Need I say more?

4) A gentleman's diver watch worn by Craig Daniel's James Bond. Dressy enough for functions, and large enough to be sporty to the core. I must say that the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean XL is a truly versatile watch- you just need a wrist big enough to carry it.

5) Make no mistake- the Tudor Pelagos would not be mistaken as anything else but a professional toolish watch. It doesn't have bling-bling bits (unlike the Heritage Black Bay that I had) that would catch the straying eye, yet it has an under-stated presence when worn on the wrist. A real modern classic through and through- I see it achieving cult status like the DSSD's in time.

6) I have always liked Seiko's Prospex and Monster series, and this Seiko Prospex Field Monster Limited Edition combined styling cues from Prospex, Monster, Fieldmaster and Aviation Sportura in one LE package. And in faux bronze colour. I'm just like, W-O-W!

And the Contendors for Watch #7 : 
Seiko Prospex Tuna Monster vs Citizen Promaster Aqualand Depth Meter 2014

Going forward, I like to add the newly-released Prospex Tuna Monster, when it hits overseas online or Malaysian brick-and-mortar stores next year. The only dilemma is Black & Yellow, or Full Stainless Steel.

And there's no doubts that the Citizen Promaster BN2024-05E is a macho and handsome watch, complicated as it is. It's an evolution from the Citizen EcoZilla, and is still out of stock on most major online stores since its launch during Baselworld 2014.

No doubt I'll be picking up some pieces from time to time, and flipping off some pieces too. But that's the essence of the horological journey, and it's for us WIS to enjoy the process.

Food for Thought : X'mas Watch Consolidation

Just a thought. When you have too many watches, they tend to spend time ticking in the winder cases rather than be out adventuring. What if I go on a Christmas watch consolidation exercise such that I only keep selected collectible watches in black font? That would scale down the collection to 15% of the initial bloated collection, and ensured that all the watches would get even wrist times per week. And perhaps I could start scouting for good pieces again then, with room to spare in my winder cases. LOL.

Vintage (prior to 1983) :
1)  1972 Rolex Datejust 1601;
2)  1978 Pagol Sub-Second Date 3055;

Diver :
3)   2005 Tag Heuer Kirium Ti5;
4)   2006 Omega Seamaster Chronometer James Bond;
5)   2007 Seiko Perpetual Calendar SNQ043;
6)   2012 Ball Hydrocarbon John Hembel;
7)   2013 Seiko Monster Dracula;
8)   2013 Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean XL;
9)   2013 Tudor Pelagos Ti5;
10) 2014 Tudor Heritage Black Bay;
11) 2014 Seiko Diver SKX009J1;
12) 2014 Orient Mechanical Force;
13) 2014 Steinhart Ocean Vintage Military;
14) 2014 Steinhart GMT-Ocean Ceramic;
15) 2014 Steinhart Ocean Forty-Four;
16) 2014 Oris Aquis Date;
17) 2014 Edox GMT-Class 1 Titanium;
18) 2014 Glycine Combat Sub;
19) 2014 Seiko Prospex Kinetic GMT SUN019P1;
20) 2014 Citizen Eco-Zilla;
21) 2014 Citizen Eco-Zilla Modified;

Aviation :
22) 2013 Seiko Sportura Aviation Alarm Chrono;
23) 2014 Bell & Ross BR01-97 Reserve De Marche;
24) 2014 Seiko Prospex Field Monster Limited Edition;

Dress/Race :
25) 2012 Rolex Datejust Diamond;
26) 2012 Oris Artelier Date;
27) 2013 Tag Heuer Carrera Chrono Caliber 16;
28) 2014 Hamilton vintage chrono 3828;
29) 2014 Edox Les Vauberts;
30) 2014 Certina DS Podium GMT;

Sports/Fashion :
31) 2013 Ball Fireman Night Train DLC;
32) 2014 SevenFriday P3-01 DLC;
33) 2014 Casio G-Shock Riseman;
34) 2014 Casio G-Shock Riseman Wave-Ceptor;
35) 2014 Casio G-Shock Camo;
36) 2014 Casio G-Shock Digi-Analog.

It may just work, right? I have already flipped some of them- I wonder if I could have the rest flipped off in time for Christmas, to raise some cash for a good cause. Hmmm... food for thought.

Take-Over the Make-Over : Citizen EcoZilla Project

If you're a WIS, you'd dig Citizen EcoZilla/AutoZilla. If you're into Japanese watches, you'd dig Citizen EcoZilla/AutoZilla. If you're into Diver-genre watches, you'd dig Citizen EcoZilla/AutoZilla. This watch design, although nearing 20 years now, still manages to catch one's attention and stay relevant till this time and date- I think that it's just one of those designs that you'd either love or hate, no two ways about it. 

That gigantic porthole-designed watch is not a Rolex Submariner-wannabe, nor does it pay homages to any other Swiss watches. Nossir, you're looking at a distinctive Citizen design for a watch that would withstand decompression that could cause the crystals to pop off commercial divers’ watches after dives in helium environments, and without the need to incorporate a helium release valve.

EcoZilla's price in the States was cheaper at RRP : USD359 (circa RM1,380), so I had previously procured a set meant for North America market with a 5-year warranty, back in March 2014. Malaysian RRP was previously quoted at RM2,040. 

However, I don't really use the watch ("EcoZilla Alpha") much as it was quite a bulky piece and I'm not a big fan of the original rubber strap. It was designed for diving and would hold itself well in extreme environments underwater, but it was rather hard and unwieldy for normal office wear. 

I wanted to get the Suppa adapters to try other straps but the adapters go like hot cakes and were always out-of-stock.

Fast forward to December 2014, and a fellow watch enthusiast i.e. Eddie contacted me if I was interested to take over his newly-completed project for a Panerai-sed Citizen EcoZilla ("EcoZilla Beta"). I already had EcoZilla Alpha so I wasn't too keen. But as the descriptions went on, I became quite intrigue.

EcoZilla Beta was issued for the international market and came with the normal 1-year international warranty, but I doubt that the watch would have any problems even way after the warranty ends in December 2015. Eddie managed to grab the last piece of EcoZilla from the seller before it was sold out. Yes, the EcoZilla was going fast, especially since the seller had discounted its price generously to circa RM860 with international shipping thrown in for free (but re-packaged without Citizen box to save weight, if opted for this option).

Next, Eddie managed to get his hands on a pair of EcoZilla adapters for circa RM210 from the States.

And lastly, he went for the Panerai-style hand-stiched leather strap, in all its 24mm non-tapered glory. You need a sizeable watch to carry this behemoth strap with presence, but Citizen EcoZilla Beta had just the attitude and style to pull off this make-over.

And voila, you have a serious diver tool watch dressed to impress with gentlemanly accessories
- very James Bond-like.

Eddie has spent the better part of RM1,515.88 to change EcoZilla Beta to its current state; but he then realised that he was more comfortable in his G-Shocks. No doubt that EcoZilla Beta may looked like a Citizen-version of a G-Shock (yes, most guys dig big watches these days); but its weight would wear down puny wrists not normally accustomed to heavy watches.

So he was looking for a quick flip and EcoZilla Beta came to my attention. It was basically a new watch with some slight scratches here and there from his work on the make-over; but nothing that some TLC detailing works couldn't make it better. And I had just the right patience sitting down for hours to be good with such works. (Update : Scratches duly-removed :)

And EcoZilla was almost always out-of-stock (with AutoZilla already discontinued by Citizen), so I thought for just a split-second...

... and thus decided to take-over his make-over; and EcoZilla Beta was staring right in my face now. I'll consider if it'd earn a permanent spot in my stable but for now, let's just enjoy looking at this handsome fella.

Enjoy...

Eddie's inspiration for EcoZilla Beta's make-over...

... led to this handsome beast.

Duly-polished with nary a scratch.

Looking good.

Great blue lume.

And the left-over new Citizen rubber strap duly-packaged up for future tour of duty.

Isofrane box for size comparison purposes only.

Keeper or flipper- what do you reckon?

NB : Pursuant to the EcoZilla being flipped, I have since made an international order towards the Nu EcoZilla released during Baselworld 2014 as per the following :