Author Archives: Timmy Tan

Leica: Café Leitz

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Source: TimeWerke Videos on YouTube

In early December 2018, the Leica camera shop at Raffles Hotel became the first store to open at the refurbished hotel in early December 2018.

Known as the Leica Store Raffles Hotel Arcade, it is a “homecoming” of sorts as this well-known German camera manufacturer opened its very first Leica store in Southeast Asia at the same Raffles Hotel in around 2010.

In addition to the product display area which will also have Leica’s new wristwatches – the L1 and L2, and the photo gallery, there is Café Leitz, a new experiential retail concept. Here, customers can enjoy coffee and petit fours over discussions. “Petit four” in French means “small oven” when translated to English.

Though we had visited the Leica Store at Raffles Hotel Arcade on opening day and the day after, we went back again a few days later to better appreciate what more the shop had to offer.

A conversation began with Serena Teo, guest relations manager at the store, and as trigger-happy Leica users, we decided to share what more we had learnt about Café Leitz.

Basically, for the month of December 2018, Leica has partnered with The Patissier, an innovative bakery based in Singapore offering petit fours with a creative twist. For example, take note that these are served on miniature Peranakan tiles.

For coffee, Leica has engaged Alchemist to offer exotic “white and black” coffee. Peggy is a barista working for Alchemist and is based in Café Leitz. What was even more impressive than the taste of the coffee was Peggy’s knowledge and passion for the brew.

We opted for a filtered coffee called Kochere Debo which comes with a taste of jasmine, apricot and peach. The coffee beans originate from Yirgacheffe, part of the Sidamo region in southern Ethiopia. Most of coffee plants are grown 2,000 metres above sea level.

It was a wonderful experience at the Leica Store, discovering the products as well as having our photography and videography questions answered by their senior sales consultant, Li Hao. Throw in the Ethiopian coffee and petit fours we had, the Leica experience became even more rewarding.

We congratulate Leica Camera AG and Leica Camera Asia Pacific Pte Ltd on the opening of their Leica Store Raffles Hotel Arcade.

Gorilla Watches Fastback GT Drift: one well-priced wonder

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Source: TimeWerke Videos on YouTube

We can well understand how the Gorilla Watches Fastback GT Drift takes its design inspiration from fastbacks from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ford Mustangs. If we may also add, the Fastback GT Drift has a character to match such muscle cars in terms of “speed”.

Why? The Gorilla Watches Fastback GT Drift is a “muscle watch” that has evolved from simple three-hand watches to a “super watch”, bypassing complications like power reserve indications, the GMT function and even moon phase displays and crossed the finish line with an unusual complication known as the wandering hour.

The wandering hour complication is a horological complication belonging to an elite club comprising members such as Audemars Piguet, Parmigiani, Arnold & Son, Urwerk and Vacheron Constantin.

Not bad for Gorilla Watches, a brand founded by Octavio Garcia and Lukas Gopp that appeared onto the horological scene in 2016. Octavio Garcia was the former chief artistic officer at Audemars Piguet while Lukas Gopp is a watch designer who had worked for brands such as IWC, Ralph Lauren Watches & Jewelry and Audemars Piguet.

In less than two years since the brand’s “birth”, they have “accelerated” from three-hand watches powered by made in Japan Miyota 8215 movements and entered high horology territory by launching a wandering hour complication thanks to the collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture.

Vaucher Manufacture made the wandering hour module, the G-5238, and the ever reliable Swiss-made ETA 2824-2 automatic is used as the base movement.

The wandering hour complication is not a new way of time-telling but it has been made popular over the past decade by Urwerk in particular.

The wandering hour complication in the Drift comprises three revolving discs, each bearing four different numbers where one disc with the current hour numeral will indicate the minutes over the minute track seen from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock. Thereafter, the next hour numeral on the preceding disc will take over.

In technical terms, the wandering hour module is cam-driven with three planetary gears, each bearing four arms (for the four hour numerals).

What’s most noteworthy is that Gorilla Watches is offering this wandering hour complication for US$2,850 excluding tax but inclusive of shipping charges. This is way, way below what one can expect to pay for a similar complication found on other brands.

Do note too, that this model is limited to 250 pieces. Shipping began in November 2018. Gorilla Watches has stated that only 25 pieces of the Drift are produced a month. Those who ordered their Fastback GT Drift on 23 August 2018 onwards will only receive their watches in 2019.

The wandering hour complication may not have mass appeal as reading the time off its display requires some familiarisation time as it is uncommon in modern wristwatches.

However, it may be of high interest as well as worthy to those who simply want something different, notably watch collectors who enjoy such quirky yet spellbinding complications. In other words, those who “get my drift” (pun obviously intended).