Sold : Japan-made G-Shock Riseman Wave-Ceptor Tough Solar

There has been quite a few e-mails from fellow readers asking if I have clearer photos of the Riseman Wave-Ceptor as they were interested to purchase too; but many sellers at Mudah and eBay were passing their Thailand-versions as the atomic Japanese-versions.

Well, I'm happy to oblige as per the following :

Sold : Oris Aquis Date

I had quite a few queries on the Oris Aquis Date today- and 2 of the potential buyers are from Singapore and East Malaysia. Instead of answering the same questions over and over again, I would just take some pictures of the Aquis now and post it online for all and sundry to view.

History : I got the Aquis Date through a part exchange (read here @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2014/03/good-trade-oris-aquis-date-3132014.html). The warranty card was dated on the date of the trade, which I believed was probably undated and just written by the seller. I have checked the serial no. with Oris and confirmed that it was a genuine timepiece from the manufacturer. Slight scratches as could be seen from the photos below.

Added : FedEx and PosLaju quotation from KL to Singapore as per the following :

Orient M-Force Automatic (Model No. SEL03002M)

Orient's M-Force, short for mechanical force, has been released since 1997 and has quite a following for its rugged outlook and colourful dials. Today, I would be reviewing the Japan-made 40-hour reserve that was part of the 2011 M-Force collection, which I shall call Orange (no imagination here).

Specifications :

• Men / Women:Men
• Power Reserve: 40-hour Power Reserve Indicator
• Crystal: Sapphire Crystal
• Movement: ORIENT caliber 40N5A Made in Japan.
• Clasp: Fold-over with Double Push Button Safety
• Crown: Screwed-down
• Water Resistance: 200m
• Case Material: Stainless Steel
• Case Diameter: 46.00mm without crown
• Case Thickness:13.30mm
• Dial Color: Orange
• Bezel Material:Stainless Steel
• Bezel Function:120 Click Unidiretional Bezel
• Calendar:Date
• Band Material:Stainless Steel
• Warranty Type:1 year

Readers would know that I have a liking towards divers' genre watches and the one watch from a Japan manufacturer that I have not had and many asking me to review, was the Orient M-Force. Well, I have just got my hands on a Japan-made version and the warranty card was stamped from its Japanese counterpart under a 1-year Japan Domestic Market warranty.

Generally, M-Force sells from RM1,000 onwards, with the Japanese-made version commanding a premium as per the norm. This Orange sells for USD715 (app RM2,388) and is harder to get here in Malaysia as our local market typically carries the more affordable ones for higher saleability.

 
The watch by itself was quite heavy, and the big dial quite striking and attracting attention easily. Time-keeping has been rather accurate as compared to my Swiss watches, and the 40-hour power reserve much appreciated since it would be worn in rotation with my other watches.

 
However, I felt that the stainless steel bracelet was a bit too light. For a watch in the sub-RM2k price range, I would have expected Orient to furnish it with a more solid bracelet. My Swiss watches' bracelets felt heavier and more solid; but then again, the Orient's bracelet felt like my Seiko's so I guess that's the standard that the Japanese adopted for the more affordable range.

Swap it with a rubber or leather strap then, and you would have no complaints. It feels rugged and is like a mechanical version of G-Shock. Quite a keeper, if I could add the observation.

Poor Quality - Watch Spring Bar Removal Tool from Timezone2u.com

I made an order for a spring bar removal tool from Timezone2u.com so that it would be easier for me to work on changing the straps. I chose the best tool that was in stock ie the RM40 one, and was glad to have that tool to work on changing the Rolex Datejust 1601 to leather strap last night.

But imagine my dismay when the moment I poked in the spring end of the tool to lodge out the spring bar, the spring end broke! What a poor quality of a product that was- totally not worth the RM40 selling price at all!

I later used a toothpick to dislodge the spring bar out. Imagine that a 5-sen toothpick could do the job better than the RM40 watch tool.

I contacted Timezone2u.com for a refund, but was informed that their items were non-returnable nor exchangeable. I was a repeated customer and they told me that they would make an exception and change a same tool for me this time. I am unsure if the next one would be of better quality of just as bad.

That's the risk of buying from online companies sometimes. You just don't know if the quality of the product is as stated or otherwise.

The Waiting Game - Steinhart Ocean Forty-Four

I was just remarking to a fellow watch enthusiast ie Nazir, whom was following this blog, on how the purchase of watches from overseas requires immense patience and the readiness in case Murphy's Law strikes with the package, Heaven forbid. He was also interested in getting a Steinhart aviator watch and therefore requested to know more about my purchase order with Steinhart on the Ocean Forty-Four.

Going back to 23 - 24/3/2014 vide http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2014/03/confirmed-purchase-steinhart-ocean.html, I was choosing between the Ocean 1 Green and Ocean Forty-Four; and ultimately made an order with regards to the Ocean Forty-Four as I prefer its larger case size and ceramic black bezel (which thereafter I got the Oris Aquis Date on 31/3/2014 @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2014/03/good-trade-oris-aquis-date-3132014.html, so it's the same type of bezel). The good news was that the Ocean Forty-Four was in stock and that it should take approximately 8 working days to be delivered to Malaysia.

 
Steinhart took app a week to process the purchase and the watch was then picked-up by FedEx from its HQ on 9/4/2014. Thereafter, the watch flew from Germany to France to USA to Guangzhou and watching the daily updates vide FedEx was quite entertaining actually. In fact, as of yesterday, I was on a business travel at Indonesia and noted that the tracking had updated that it would arrive yesterday. But alas, as of yesterday evening, the ETA was changed to unknown again as the package was probably delayed for whatever reasons.

It was finally processed at Sepang (presumably KLIA/LCCT) this morning and ready to be release with full custom papers. I called FedEx if they could deliver to my home address today but was informed that they would send to my office address as stated on the note, and that it would be sent next Monday.

So there you have it. I'll update again on Monday but the approximate time taken for delivery since purchase would be around 22 days in this case ie slightly more than 3 weeks.

But sometimes, half the fun is in the anticipation really.

Nato Leather Strap For That Vintage Look

Readers would know that I've always have a liking for Nato straps- having used the 22mm James Bond Jade Green for the Seiko Aviator and 22mm Tudor Ducati for the Seiko Monster. Although a bit pricey at RM65, they really complemented the looks of the watches.

For the vintage pieces in my collection ie Rolex Datejust 1601 and Hamilton Chrono 3828, I have been thinking of getting the 20mm Nato leather straps to add that vintage strap look into the watches. At RM165 per strap, it is a tad expensive but you get the quality that Nato is famous for. Not to mention the cool vintage looks.

So happened that I have barely made the online orders for the said straps, that I found 5 old watches (2 pieces still unused and new) in one of my drawers. These were way from the old days- Casio Edifice, Diesel Time, Padini military-style, Club Naval diver-style and Bum Equipment. All quartz movements and have stopped running. Out of curiosity, I popped in a new battery into one of them and it started ticking. But since I am more inclined to mechanical watches these days, I decided to dispose them at RM20 per piece. The advertisement had barely been placed online when a chap contacted me that he would be coming at 5 pm to pick up all the 5 watches.

Looks like the kind chap has just subsidized my Nato leather straps- nice! Can't wait to pair the straps to the watches and see how the watches would look like then!

"Are You An Oris Fan?"

A fellow reader wrote in to ask if I was an Oris fan and if the marque's watches were worth buying. I would rather have the pieces of which the serial nos. were registered to me, to do the talking :