Orient 300M Professional Diver

The special case design of the Orient 300M Professional Diver allows the internal pressure to be maintained under the most demanding conditions. This eliminates the need for an escape valve commonly found in most ISO-certified diving watches. Local blogger, Yeoman, has these 2 pieces among his collection of high-end Japanese watches.


I am glad that all the 5 pieces of Orient 300M's from this month’s shipment have been pre-sold. The watches were smartly arranged prior to the mass delivery that was held at BIG TIME last night.

All the buyers are close friends of Tony (yellow shirt). They came together and proudly stood by their prized timepieces.

While others chatted around the ‘uncle’ from BIG TIME and took turns to have the band of their watches re-sized,….

….I’m thankful that Victor (seen here with standard hairstyle) went on to make an additional purchase – a limited edition Seiko Velatura.

Finally, the watches were re-sized and the new owners promptly agreed to pose a close-up shot….

…and a group shot with their friendly Orient distributor.

TGIF! Free flow of drinks, fruits and durians were on the house.

Orient and Subaru

I sell watches for a living and Orient has kindly placed their trust in my company to distribute their watches in Singapore. For my motorsports activities, Subaru has always been my preferred choice for years. As a result, when the 2 brands come together for a common cause, it seems like a 'perfect' partnership to me. But for many fans of Orient watches, following review of the main ‘cast’ extracted from Yeoman’s Weblog may be of interest to them:


Orient has signed on as a sponsor for SUBARU TECNICAL INTERNATIONAL INC. (STI), participating in the ADAC Zurich 24h Race. The race will be held on 23th-24th May 2009 in Nurburgring, Germany. It is the largest endurance race in the world with over 200 cars from around the globe participating.

Orient watches will be provided to drivers and team staff and the 24 hours of the race will help Orient evaluate the watches for their functionality and durability.

Below is a 'Japanese Engine' advertisement that features the STI Impreza and selected Orient watches. It emphasizes the fact that both the car and the watches are powered by Japan made engine and movement (in the case of the watches).

Courtesy of Orient

Here's the 'Japan Engine' website:
http://www.orient-watch.com/feature/japanese-engine/

One of the watches featured in the ad is the CFA05001B (shown below) and I had the opportunity to handle one recently.

Model# CFA05001B
Click on the image to see full size picture

Most of the features of the watch is located on its dial.

The watch comes with two inner rotating bezels and that is the world time bezel and 24 hour bezel. I guess these two are considered part of the dial. Then, there is the power reserve indicator hand that is almost a standard feature on Orient watches. Also, there is a date subdial between the 5 and 6 o'clock position.

From some of the Orient slides that I have seen, I know Orient designs watches based on current watch trends. There are a number of watch trends that they have identified and among them are layered dial and black out case and bracelet.

From the dial shot below, you see that Orient has incorporated a nicely executed layered dial into the watch.

The CFA05001B featured here has a stainless steel case but there is also another variant that uses a black out case and bracelet as shown below.

CFA05002B

Below is the side profile of the watch showing the signed crowns.

The crown at the 2 o'clock position is a screw in crown. When pulled to first click position, it sets the date when turned in counter-clockwise direction. When turned in clockwise direction, it rotates the 24 hr bezel. At 2nd click position, the crown sets the time. As you turn the crown clockwise to advance the hour and minute hands, the 24 hour bezel rotates accordingly so you don't lose the setting of the bezel you made at the first click position.

The crown at the 4 o'clock position rotates the world time bezel. This crown does not screw in.

The watch measures 43mm across and is 12.5mm thick. Lug width is 22mm.

Besides the world time and layered dial features, Orient has included a sapphire crystal (with anti-reflective coating) to make it even more attractive.

Watch comes with a nice and solid bracelet with flip lock clasp, push button lock and safety catch.

Here's a shot showing the caseback. According to the specifications on Orient's website, the glass on the caseback is a sapphire glass as well.

When I saw the back of the end links, I just had to remove one side of the bracelet to verify that they are solid end links. Well, it was worth the trouble removing the bracelet, the end links are solid.

With so many good features in the watch, I am convinced that the CFA05001B will perform very well on the STI driver's wrist.

Below is the specifications of the watch taken from Orient's website.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mechanical Movement : ORIENT caliber 46K40 Made in Japan
Self-winding movement
21 jewels
21600/hour vibrations
Power reserve indicator, date hand
World time indicator
Stainless steel case
Sapphire crystal with anti-reflection coating
See-through caseback with sapphire crystal, screwed-down crown
Stainless steel bracelet
Water resistant to 100m
Diameter 43.00mm
Thickness 12.5mm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BIG RALLYE - Recreational Motorsports

Looking back, I have done numerous Driveaways and Advanced Driving Courses for various organizations and groups. I am glad that, over the years, many participants of such events have become close friends of mine. We often exchange e-mails and greetings from time to time. Some have even repeatedly encouraged me to do these car-related events on a regular basis. Since 2005, I have given much thought to the matter. And, last year, I have successfully registered the “BIG RALLYE” brand name for this purpose.

Folks, I hereby declare that I shall now hit the “GO” button!

The first event that I have lined up is a Driveaway to West Malaysia .
It shall be a 4D/3N drive along the scenic East Coast right up to Kuala Trengganu, transversing to Cameron Highlands before heading home. As it has always been, I shall strive to provide all elements of a memorable Driveaway i.e. placing priority on driving safety, clear communication, endless laughter, good food, decent accommodation and value for money. This time round, for various reasons, I chose to avoid the school holiday crowd. It shall be a small group, entry limiting only to friends and family members. The dates are set from 5th till 8th July, and the fee should be approximately $380 / person.

Price includes:
- guided convoying with ‘live’ informative commentary;
- best possible accommodation at respective locations;
- main meals (exclude ‘makans’ at rest stops or pasar malam);
- walkie talkie (optional upgrade to professional set available); and
- misc expenses such as admission fee, tips etc.

More details are being worked out at the moment.

Cathryn Chong and Angelina (Asean Family Rally, Car # 7 and Car # 9 respectively) are helping me to gather information and pre-event preparation.

To register your interest, kindly write to cathrynchong@hotmail.com
Thereafter, Cathryn will be in contact with you.
You shall then receive the update and related information from her.


I look forward to your participation, support and, most importantly, having a fun drive with you and your family.

Roger Out.

Order Within Disorder

On Thursday, workers started hacking and removed the existing floor tiles in my premises along Sims Ave.

This afternoon, the concrete mixer truck unloaded these pre-mixed at the back of my house.

Renovation work at my shophouse has finally begun. This is the beginning phase to construct a kitchen, store and laundry area. The newly laid concrete seen here is to level the unevenness of the existing floor.

Earlier this week, my family and I were busy packing and clearing all the things in the affected areas. As a result, the dining area is rather untidy at the moment.

The front entrance is partially narrowed by these boxes,…

...while the bicycles are now parked in the showroom.

The newly created corner for the admin/account department looks almost operational.

Here's my soon to be ready office. This room was previously occupied by the admin/account department. Prior to the move, I used to do my paperwork from the dining area.

It is rather trying to work within such an environment. In addition, one has to put up with the dust and noise. Thus, maintaining ‘order within disorder’ is the order of the day. For this project, I have placed my trust on Esmond from Fusion Concept Ide+A Pte Ltd. And I look forward to post the pretty pictures upon completion of the renovation work.

Asean Family Rally 2009 - Post-Event Party

The post-event party for the Asean Family Rally was held earlier this afternoon at the STB Auditorium. We had a tea reception before the prize presentation. More than 30 people consisting of participants and their spouses attended the event.

I have the chance to express my thanks to the people who had made the Rally a success.

Here’s an extract of my speech together with the relevant pictures:

From the start, Fei-wei was indentified as a key member of the team. He helped to configure a radio communication system within my small budget. And this involved the tuning of the broadcasting sets as seen in this picture.

Despite our efforts, we encountered radio coverage problem along certain sectors of our drive. But I’m glad that the overall performance had been satisfactory. Fei-wei drove Car # 6 with Jimmy Chong, and played the role of the lead car for the greater part of the Rally.

These 2 XL-size women were in my car for the Rally.

My wife, Irene, is the one with shorter hair. She covered my duties at work while I went about doing preparation work for the Rally. The other lady in the picture, Shuen, acted as my advisor. She was able to provide me with accurate reading of people and solutions for unforeseen situations during the Rally. That brings on another XL-size woman in our team – Angelina Ong from Car # 9.

Firstly, let me thank Angie for MC-ing today’s event. During the Rally, she gave me much encouragement and administrative support. Her gang which includes Jason and Eugene from Car # 10 even played the KJ role while other team members were singing during our karaoke session.

I have one more XL-size woman to mention and she is Cathryn.

Cathryn had been relatively quiet during the Rally. I later found out that she is actually very used to convoying and she sits among the committee members of SG Trackies and Toyota Vios Club. Cathryn was in Car # 7 with Peter. Together, they called themselves P & C i.e. “Private & Confidential”. I shall not ask what the underlying meaning is but I’d like to thank P & C for today’s makan arrangements.

Besides outstanding women, we have some outstanding cars in our team.

And, like our outstanding women, these 3 cars were very well behaved on the road.

Even a macho man like Jimmy cannot resist taking a picture with the 3 beauties.

Here’s the pilot behind the black Porsche - David Wong, whom we addressed as Mr Chairman.

My son, Bingo, accompanied David Wong in Car # 2. During the Rally, the young man managed to multi-task several roles including cameraman, impersonation of Hong Kong boy and Indian lawyer. I am thankful that he has learned much from the time that he had spent with the affable Chairman.

Car # 3 is the blue Porsche driven Hun Twang and Yixiong. Both are good looking young men. As you can see, the Thai girls just couldn’t resist taking a picture with Hun Twang.

Car # 4 is the silver tone Porsche driven by David Lye who was also our Video Man for the Rally.

Here’s David Lye posing for a picture with his co-driver, Dennis Tan. They looked rather close and may be mistaken as a pair of matured gays.

Overall, the team spent a lot of time on the walki’s. We traded jokes and, of course, we had much fun over the radio. Here’s one of the laughing moments for Li Hoon while Neo Chian was on air.

They were our last-minute entry and, hence, they were designated Car # 11. I say we were lucky to have the slim-bodied Li Hoon in our team. Otherwise, our Thai host may think that we do not have non XL-size woman in Singapore. And see how close and loving Neo Chian & Li Hoon were during one of our night outings.

They foot the bill of our karaoke session in KL. Incidentally, the Rally served as a warm-up for Neo Chian who will soon embark on a 60-day overland drive across several countries in the Asean region. As a result, he was hunger for information and had many questions for me every now and then during our long drive. Fortunately, I carried this 60-year old 'encyclopedia' (William) in my car.

William is known for his vast knowledge on matters relating to cars and drives. Thus, with William in the background, I was able to dispense instantaneous answers to most questions that were directed to me. Towards the later part of the Rally, I discovered that we have another ‘encyclopedia’ in the team. And he is Chew from Car # 5.

Chew managed to convince Norman to partner him for the Rally. Both gentlemen treated the team to dinner at KL. And kudos to Norman for his rendition of the song titled Vincent. We initially thought that we would have to bear with him because someone quietly commented that he had chosen a 7-minute long number. It turned out to be pleasant as Norman moved us with his soothing voice.

Here’s Suhaimi who is the head of International Relations at STB. He laid the groundwork for our participation in the Rally and provided the communication links between me and the organizer. I certainly look forward to work with Suhaimi again.

This guy must be wondering why I didn’t thank him.

He is very popular with fellow participants, and …

…he enjoys taking pictures with girl!

Sometimes, he confused us by taking pictures with boys, ….

…but he is always the center of attraction.

That must have explained his winning of the Overall 1st runner-up trophy for the Rally. Here’s a closer look at our undisputed Man of the Rally – Dr Tan Poh Heng

Lastly, on behalf of SMSA and Team Singapore, my wife and I would like to thank STB for a wonderful rally. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Easter.