King of the Castle!

The missus bought me this lovely little paperweight the other day.  Not really Rolex, but looks pretty damned close right?  Here's to keeping all the papers on my desk from blowing away!  You can get your own here.

Earliest 5513 Submariner Ever?!

Its nice to know that a "lowly" 5513 can still get me excited. This however, is not your normal 5513.

There as been various discussion on the internet lately, as to what is the earliest 5513 to have surfaced. So far, there has been three pieces that have popped up in the 765k range. One being the 3-6-9 purchased by BJS at the Fellowes auction, another being the US military one owned by a collector in Germany, and yet another being shown in the VRF dial archive. Of these three, the owners of the first two have been quite kind in providing generous details about there respective watches. Both have chronometer movements with low s/ns on the calibers, and also both have 5512 casebacks stamped 1962.

Today, I'd like to present a fresh piece to market, with a s/n earlier than the aforementioned pieces. Property of a southern gentleman since new, this piece has the serial number of 764968, with a movement number of 68032. It is interesting to also note that the movement of this piece is not the standard 26 jewel type, but a 17 jewel version, made almost exclusively for the USA market in order to skirt unfavorable import duties of the time. This piece has an amazing to die-for 5512 gilt chapter-ring dial, which was original to the watch as new, and was never touched or altered. Other nice original details on this piece included the original twinlock crown still in great condition, as well as the sharp beveled edges of the case. A study of early 5513 history documented on the internet will lead to the conclusion that this is as of now, the earliest known s/n for a 5513, and also that it is part of a larger batch that includes a few other known examples.

What a beauty!

An unexpectedly perfect evening in Las Vegas

On our way to visit snowy and cold Montreal, my wife and I were unexpectedly caught in an unexpected snowstorm in Las Vegas. After a few grueling hours, the airline decided that it was impossible to leave, so the flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the following day. An unexpected but welcome mini-vacation - glutton's feast ensued. The situation also allowed for me to test out my XMas gift to myself, the marvelous Canon 5D Mk2. I am by no means a photo expert so please bear with my amateur at best photographs.

Our first stop was the Petrossian Caviar Cafe in the lobby of the Bellagio. Petrossian is the famous Parisian caviar house founded by two Armenian brothers at the turn of the last century. While I am a true caviar fan, I seldom purchase Petrossian these days because with the very limited supply of true Caspian wild caviar, most caviars offered are derivatives of the farmed varieties either from Norther California, Uruguay, or Israel. I do enjoy the domestic or farmed varieties as well, but refuse to pay ridiculous prices for it. After a deftly made Mojito for me, and a Bellini for the missus, we were brought some nuts and popcorn. Not the normal bar snacks mind you, but truffle infused popcorn, and walnuts and almonds tossed in a curry-cumin paste. Delicious.



After the snacks, the main event arrived. We ordered the 50g serving of "ALVERTA PRESIDENT" caviar, accompanied with the traditional caviar accoutrements and some delicious fresh buckwheat blinis. I must say, that it was quite delicious. Nice big light colored pearls with a light briny finish. It really tasted quite like wild Beluga, so imagine my surprise when I searched online, and found that it was essentially Petrossian's proprietary name for a farmed Northern California caviar. I never knew sustainability could taste so good.



After the caviar service was finished, our "Sampler" arrived. It consisted of small portions of smoked sturgeon with caviar, king crab leg, panko crusted ahi tuna, terrine of foie gras with truffles, smoked salmon and scallop. They were all delicious! Of particular interest to me was the melt in your mouth foie gras, which had the perfect balance of blissful fat and sweet sauternes taste. I have made both torchon of foie gras and foie gras terrines myself, but they never come out this good.



After Petrossian, we went to the spa and got well needed massage treatments. Emerging fully pampered and relaxed, we made our way to dinner at Sushi-Roku in the Forum Shops.



While not exactly the most authentic or high end sushi joint, I have found the food there quite good, with fresh ingredients and creative dishes. We were fortunate to be treated to live hirame (Halibut) sashimi as our first course. It was served on a plate sliced paper thin, drizzled with Ponzu sauce and grated radish. Wow. The taste and texture of the fish in my mouth brought me flashbacks to my usual hangouts in Tokyo thousands of miles away.



Next course was the Tofu sampler, four different varieties of sauce matched with fresh tofu. The sauces were more "fusion" than Japanese, consisting of a lemon oil/caviar, uni/miso, ginger, and a olive/tomato tapenade preparation.



After that, we ordered the tempura Lobster, which was coated in a sweet miso paste. I always order this dish and its usually delicious, but I found the day's was a bit too salty. Perhaps the chef was having a bad day?



The meal was finished with a sashimi plate consisting of very fresh Tako (Octopus) and Taraba (King Crab).



With our bellies full, we made our way back to our hotel suite. Not wanting to miss the full Vegas experience, we headed over to the slots for a bit of play. After a few minutes, this happened!



With some extra spending money in the pocket, we returned to our suite and were treated to an unobstructed view the beautiful water show in front of the Bellagio from the living room window.



What an evening!

My heart skips a beat.....

This blogger for one, is absolutely sick of all the market talk on the various internet fora.  Was it the love of money or the watches that got people involved in this hobby in the first place?  Anyways, watches like this lovely 5512 are the reason why I love this hobby.  From the original owner for nearly 50 years, this piece is the textbook definition of "Virgin".  Unmolested case, gorgeous and glossy gilt dial without a blemish, and unpolished razor sharp case make this a true heart-stopper.  Look at the pointed crownguards, you could cut your fingers with them!

My name is Eric, and this is why I love vintage watches.  =)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.......

Where do you think AP got the inspiration for the box of the Shaq Royal Oak Offshore??

How about from a $25.00 Michael Jordan watch??  Hey- inspiration has to come from somewhere!

Its not just watches..."The Fall Auction Season Opens With Little Enthusiasm"

Amid fears of an art-market meltdown, an international crowd of dealers, collectors and onlookers packed Sotheby’s on Monday night for the start of the important fall auction season. While many were expecting a funeral, the results were spotty: a relief to those who thought the appetite for art was all but dead, but hardly the success story of seasons past.


Read the entire NYT article here.

New WG Submariner- Quick Review

Don't adjust your monitor settings, this really is a blue colored Submariner. After years and years of speculation, Rolex finally released a WG Submariner, and better yet, finally a white metal Submariner with a blue dial and bezel.

I've had this watch on my wrist for over a week, and I can't seem to take it off. The hefty weight and amazingly shade of blue exhibited by the dial and insert make this a must have piece. This new Submariner Ref. 116619 exhibits all the newest that Rolex has to offer- ceramic bezel, new style case, maxi-dial and hands, glidelock clasp, and larger crown.

The only detriment that I can see with this piece is that the price tag- nearly $30k is quite a sum to pay for a dive watch, especially given the current precarious economic situation. That being said, I am sure this watch will appeal to many, including the owner of this blog.

I am officially a "PATRON OF THE ARTS"!

Recently, I officially became a patron of the arts.  The lovely and oh so talented Debra Chow took on my commission for a family portrait, and a few weeks later, "Unruly Children Will Be Fried" was completed.  

I'm telling you all, this girl can paint!  And draw, sketch, animate, etc...  I think she's gonna be HUGE!

You can see more of her stuff at flaringnostrils and her blog.

Thanks DEBS!

7:29 around the Ring?? Not so fast, GT-R....

Sour grapes or legitimate complaint? That's the question we're left pondering after reading that Porsche believes Nissan must have cheated to record its 7:29:03 lap time of the famed Nürburgring race circuit. Porsche claims that it had been suspicious of the Nissan's lap times, so it acquired a U.S.-spec GT-R for testing back-to-back with its own 911 Turbo and GT2. The result? The mighty Godzilla was toppled by the Teutonic German duo, with the GT-R posting times a good 25-seconds slower than Nissan's claim.

How can Porsche explain the discrepancy? "This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car. For us, it's not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tires," says August Achleitner, the man in charge of the 911 program. There is footage of the GT-R lapping the 'Ring at high speed, but it's taken from inside the car where the tires cannot be seen.

Considering the fact that Nissan saw fit to issue a press release commemorating the car's fast-lap, we doubt this is something that will be taken lightly. There's a big can 'o worms here, and Porsche's in the corner holding the opener.

Article from Autoblog.

Huge house myster solved...


View Larger Map

This house is what I see every day looking out of my kitchen window. I always wondered what it was, who lives there, etc.. Apparently it is situated on ~40 acres, and has a solar panel array that is half an acre in size. Turns out its a house owned by ROBERT FELTON, a local executive. It has a rediculously long driveway, and is perfect for throwing crazy parties.


Another view of the amazing house.