Cheap Thrills 3 : Lum-Tec M60 GMT

Update : Congratulations to Mr Ooi for writing in. I have contacted you with my contact no. for the pick-up. Hope you have fun with the Lum-Tec, and Happy Chinese New Year!!!

We seemed to have missed the Cheap Thrills last year (the previous one was back in April 2015 @ Cheap Thrills 2), so let's do an early one this year to make up. Then later down the year, we could have another one again to keep the annual tradition going.

Like any watch collectors, I am intrigued by bright and lasting lume on my watches. In fact, I have purposely purchased some watches just to check out their lume-ability, and thereafter flipping them off still in relatively new and unworn condition. Amongst the best that I had experienced was from Rolex SD4000 (blue Chromalight), Tudor Pelagos, Seiko Tuna/Turtle/Monster (LumiBrite), etc.

Some readers have previously wrote-in to ask me for my opinion on Lum-Tec watches, but which I couldn't contribute as I have yet to own any watches from the marque. Add to the fact that you couldn't readily source for this brand from watch shops in Malaysia and had to order direct from overseas, so it made making a review of its model to be slightly more trying.

Well, a known forummer whom had previously purchased a Tudor watch from me contacted me recently as he had seen a pre-owned Lum-Tec M60 GMT on sale for RM1,800, and he was interested to learn more about it. This brand had been long neglected in my blog, so I thought that I could just jump the gun and get for myself a similar watch; afterwhich I could always flip as per the norm after my review, albeit at a lower price.

Popping into Lum-Tec's website, the M60 GMT was listed under the M-series, where it was retailing at USD565.00. Choosing the shipping to Malaysia would add the final sum to USD636.95. Thereafter, add in the 6% local GST (RM158.00), and you would have the watch delivered right to your door step for just a tad under RM2,800.00.

The Lum-Tec M60 GMT was limited to 200 LE pieces, and was powered by Swiss Ronda 515.24H movement. The rest of the specs included the following :

44mm width excluding crown

24mm lug width
14.5mm thick
Weight on leather strap 129g/4.6 oz.

316L stainless steel.

Brushed finish.

Sapphire crystal with double side clear anti-reflective coating.

Threaded stainless steel caseback.

300 meters/990 ft. water resistance.

All of which brings us to today's Cheap Thrills.

This time around, this blog would give away a Lum-Tec M60 GMT. Lum-Tec is famous for its lume technology, and the owner is sure to have to have lots of fun looking at the lume in the dark. The 3rd reader whom e-mail to the blog address with with his/her e-mail address, wins the Lum-Tec. Self-collection only, in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur.

Mondaine Stop2Go + DLC Milanese Strap

My Mondaine Stop2Go DLC was shipped with a rubber strap matched with a DLC deployment clasp. It works the part, but I was looking for a more stylish strap to match with this stylish watch. After all, Mondaine's infamous dial along with its unique Stop2Go functionality was a staple across metropolitan train stations all across Europe, so I thought that it deserved more than just a conventional rubber strap. 

Looking across the Mondaine range, I was attracted to the Milanese strap that was matched with the Evo, although it needed to be DLC in order to match the Stop2Go DLC. An easy enough task if you know where to go.

According to GQ Magazine, "whether you're looking for a prime slice of classical watch design, and feel the all-weather, go-anywhere Milanese strap represents a dressier alternative to the traditional bracelet, or want the benefit of a metal strap on a more affordable model (and it certainly lends itself extremely well to some of the slim-line Scandinavian brands) fear not: having held its own for centuries, the Milanese bracelet is not going out of style any time soon. Just keep the strap and case materials the same."

With that in mind, a few clicks later, a parcel soon came over from Singapore over the Chinese New Year, and I soon retrieved a pair of DLC Milanese strap to match with the Stop2Go. But the real suspense was... would the match be a Hit or a Miss?

I think the strap complements the watch pretty well, which my better half agrees and thereafter asked me to get another Milanese strap for one of her watches. Ho-hum...

Happy Chinese New Year 2017

The Gentleman's Watch : Orient Bambino Version 4

One watch that I have always been fascinated upon, was the Orient Bambino. With every reiteration, Orient has been making continuous improvements, Kaizen-style. For instance, it used to be a non-winding automatic movement, then non-winding but hacking movement; and in the latest Version 4, Orient dropped in a Japan-made Caliber F6724 that was automatic, hand-winding, and hacking. The holy trinity in functionalities.

Wass it easy to tell the latest V4 apart from the previous reiterations, from the outside? Well, the case had increased from 41mm to 42mm; and more importantly, the lug size had been increased from 21mm to 22mm. I had been waiting for the increase in lug size for a long while; and the moment V4 reportedly had the more common lug size, I immediately scouted high and low for the Cream Bambino.

However, it was easy to score the Black, Green, Blue, etc Bambino V4 but the Cream one was pretty elusive. It was sold-out at most online stores, and the local AD had to specially order a unit from Japan for me. After months of waiting, the Cream finally arrived in Malaysia. Hooray!

Left to Right : Cream V4, Black V3, Black V4.

Can you tell them apart?

But enough about the side by side comparison pictures, let's take a look at my Cream V4. First off, I took off the Orient leather straps. While they were fine for a watch that cost slightly less than RM1,000, I prefer to have better quality straps and immediately made an online order for some quality 22mm straps that should be forthcoming in the coming weeks.

I would pair the Cream V4 with a pair of Nato James Bond for the interim period. Not the best of choice perhaps, but it would have to do for the time being. The dial was simply gorgeous, and I could looked at it for hours.

And that domed mineral glass done in the classic feel of gentlemen watches from the yesteryears, was simply breath-taking. You simply couldn't get any other watches in this price range, that simply looked as breathtakingly handsome as the Bambino V4.

Simple and elegant, this would be a watch that would stay in my collection. What a beauty!!!

Sea-Dweller Ceramic @ Friend's Wedding Do

With the 6% increase in Malaysian Rolex prices last Monday, the Sea-Dweller Ceramic saw its local AD price increased from RM38,000 to RM40,660, in just a change of the price tags overnight. That's why Rolex is more than just a tool to tell time, it works as an investment piece too with the annual increase in its prices. You just have to make sure you pick the right piece, that's all.

I thought that I would bring it out to stretch its legs this evening, for a friend's wedding do. Ain't deep-sea diving or doing anything challenging that would utilise its technical capabilities, but I loved it that the Sea-Dweller Ceramic was just versatile enough for sports, work, leisure activities, and come what may.  No wonder it's my favourite piece in my collection.