James Bond Day One : Ready to Fly

A few wrist shots prior to flight.

James Bond Day One : A Walk in the Rain

Well, perhaps not the most James Bond-gy type of activities but it'd have to do. No, I don't meant chasing after bad guys, seducing exotic women, driving dangerously and wrecking up the latest Aston Martins from Q. The sky was grey and the rain was falling dangerously loud. So I quickly armed myself with 2 umbrellas; and with Aiden holding onto my hand, we walked in the pouring rain to school. Mission accomplished.

Then, I have time enough for a few shots on the Planet Ocean, prior to the next task to catch a flight at KLIA.

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean GMT Deep Black

While hunting for the earlier James Bond's Planet Ocean (PO), I also tried the Planet Ocean GMT Deep Black. I had previously flipped a 45.5mm PO as it looked too big on my wrist; and I had joked that the watch looked like it was wearing me rather than the other way round. 

Another collector had recently offered me his newly-acquired Deep Black at a good price (readers would know that I had good relationship with some ADs and were able to get 30% off RRP for some Omega models), so I wanted to gauge if the watch would be a fit on my wrist.

I thought that it being ceramic and black, it could looked smaller than the 45.5mm footprint but alas, it was not only big but also bulky, given the GMT mechanism. Looks like a no-no then.

NOS Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean : James Bond Casino Royale (2006)

This would be my 3rd Omega watch associated with the James Bond franchise. In 2014, I flipped off my 2006 Seamaster as worn by Pierce Brosnan's Commander Bond in movies like Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. In 2015, I flipped off my 2013 Planet Ocean as worn by Daniel Craig's Bond in Quantum of Solace.

The Casino Royale version.

You could still get NOS from grey retailers, minus the original RRP and factory warranty.

A year later, there was a lead on a NOS (new old stock) watch to be released from one's collection. The watch that I was referring to, was the Planet Ocean as seen in Casino Royale. As production for this watch had ceased in 2014, to be able to get my hands on a NOS piece with Omega manufacturer warranty till 2019, was quite an exciting experience.



(In my eyes, the Casino Royale piece was a more attractive piece compared to the Seamaster 300 in Spectre; so I would likely wait out for the next Bond movie if I was to flip this off in the near future. The Casino Royale piece looked the same as the Skyfall piece, except the latter went with ceramic bezel and steel bracelet.)

The Skyfall version.

The Spectre version.

How does the watch pictured hereabouts, looked like? Well, this was from the era when Planet Ocean was still a tool watch, when aluminium bezel and cased case-back were still the order of the day. 

There were very limited numbers still out with retailers, I would imagine; although there was one hit on the Net for a brand new piece. At circa RM17.6k prior to shipping and GST, I believe that it would still be a good buy for a watch enthusiast wanting to collect this piece of James Bond memorabilia.

Further details of the watch were as per the following :

Besides James Bond, another TV personality whom was a fan of this model was Jeremy Clarkson, formerly from Top Gear, one of my favourite shows before his exit. The "gigantic grey ape", as described by Richard Hammond, his fellow TV presenter, was both funny and honest, animated and excitable. Which in my books ain't a bad thing to have a watch commonly shared on screen by a car lover in the form of Jeremy Clarkson.

Anyway, the deed was done, and the watch was here with me- so here's looking forward to some good times ahead.

I'll have a martini, shaken, not stirred. Cue : James Bond theme song.

Sold : Rolex Sea-Dweller Ceramic

Update : Received lots of offers and trades on this piece. Highest offer received was RM34k. But sorry, am firm on my price. If you are interested to get this great example of Sea-Dweller Ceramic and have RM35k to spare, the you may be the lucky owner of this lucky piece. Prices for these Rolex sports watches increase every year, so you would likely make monies when you want to flip it years ahead. Cheers.

Rolex Sea-Dweller Ceramic as per the following info :

• Warranty card stamped by Rolex AD, valid till mid-Nov 2020 (peace of mind);
• Full boxed set with inner & outer box, warranty card, cardholder, tags, & booklets;
• Desk diver 9.5/10 condition, worn in rotation with other watches;
• Extras : Rolex hardcover book, vulcanised rubber strap, premium Nato James Bond strap;
• Current RRP @ Feb 2017 : RM40,420 (can check at Rolex AD);
• Mine selling at RM35,000 only.

Releasing Turtles into the Wild

Readers would know that I have added 6 Seiko Turtles recently, namely the following :

1) Turtle Pepsi K1,

2) Turtle Emerald LE,

3) Turtle PADI SE,

4) Turtle Blue J1,

5) Turtle PADI SE,

6) Turtle Blue Lagoon LE.

Well, I then started to release the Turtles back into the wild, so that I could have more space in my winders.

Turtle Pepsi was sold to a fellow reader, ditto Turtle PADI SE, then Turtle Blue J1 was offered for free to a reader under the Cheap Thrills; and now another reader had asked to take-over (the make-over) for Turtle Emerald LE.

Goodbye Turtles, hope you guys enjoy more wrist times on your new owners' wrists!

Seiko Turtle : Planet Ocean Bezel Insert (Submariner Hulk)

So I was thinking of modding my Seiko Turtles and one of the items that I ordered was the Planet Ocean bezel insert in Submariner Hulk green. It would be the perfect match to the Turtle Emerald LE,  I supposed. Well, the order from Poland was made and after a few weeks, here it was in Malaysia. It would cost approximately RM80 to have these, coupled with the risk from Poland-Malaysia transit and custom.

So, how do you suppose the Planet Ocean insert would look on the Turtle Emerald LE? Well, here you go :

What do you think? Cool or what? This is Stage 1. There's a Stage 2 when the other parcels arrive. Keep your eyes peel hereabouts.

Seiko Turtle PADI J1

A fellow watch collector forwarded me the picture below. A private seller had a batch of Seiko Turtle PADI J1 watches, and he thought that I would be interested too. Should I pull the trigger?

Turtle Emerald LE for Friday

Hmmm, which diver should I wear for a Friday?

The choice is rather obvious really!