340. A NICE BOX FROM LONGINES…

By: muzill.mansor

I have quite a reasonable collection of watch boxes, be it plastic, leather, wood and lacquer. Some boxes are still nicely wrapped waiting to be filled up despite my rather handsome collections.

Nonetheless, this one box is rather special for it carries the ‘Longines’ brand name. It has spaces to fit in five watches as well as spaces for cufflinks and rings.

The only dilemma is I do not collect rings or cufflinks…

Maybe, it is a hint from my dear friend who presented me the box…for me to also pick up another line of collections…hahaha.

Nope, watchwise I'll be better off maintaining my status quo as as a loyal fan, collector and retailer...

328. THE OLD BATTERED WATCH WARRIOR…

This face belongs to Yew Cheong, the friendly watch seller and watch doctor. The wrinkles and the eye bags registered on the face signify the years in time that has passed by him. The face of a man who makes his living selling wrist watches, wall clocks and alarm clocks in a small shop tucked in between a jewellery shop and the many fruit outlets along the main road of Bidor.

Bidor, a little town near Tapah in the district of Batang Padang, Perak is famous for its crunchy guavas and succulent mangoes. Bidor is also the place in those days for cheap petais sold by the Orang Asli.

Yew Cheong has been involved in the watch business for more than 50 years. Starting his trade in the old Hugh Low Street, Ipoh, he then moved on to Bidor in the fifties where he opened his watch shop and stays put till now. Besides selling watches and clocks, he also provides repair and maintenance services. At time he also buys pre-owned and vintage pieces as a community service.

I had the opportunity to get acquainted to this marvelous man years ago when I frequented the town while managing my development projects.

Stopping by at his shop for short chats on watches while surveying for vintage watches owners dumped at his shop was a regular routine then. The first purchase made from him was a wall clock. Followed by a few quality buys including Pagols, Rados, Orient and Seikos secured at decent prices.

Watch owners from as far Teluk Intan and Kampar dropped by his shop to trade-in old watches in exchange for some new fancy pieces.

Some owners hard pressed for cash departed with their watches including some sentimental units.

Yew Cheong never turned away owners no matter how battered the watches might be because he knew the owners were cash desperate. I guessed his long association with the Bidor put him in good stead to really know his community and picked the right people to help.

It has been a while since I last saw him. On the way from a project nearby, I decided to pay him a visit yesterday. The old man looked excited to see me. Nothing much has changed. The old cheap stock of watches and clocks are still there. Some vintage wall clocks sent for repairs some time back are still visible at the back of the shop, an indication that perhaps work are falling back.

Upon my enquiring, Yew Cheong lamented that after half a century maybe it is time to hang up the tools. He said at 70 years plus, the body is aching, the hands are trembling and the failing eyes can take no more.

Yet when talking about old watches, his eyes lit up again while showing me a traded piece of Longines quartz with the fading words "KHIDMAT SETIA 1989" scripted at the case back. He insisted on me taking the watch at the same price he paid to the original owner desperate for cash. I just obliged…

Even at this advanced age, he is still serving his community as the watch doctor, seller and financier with a smile.

He sure knows how to restore watches and put life back to old vintage watches but whom does he turn to during this advanced age of his aching body, trembling hands and failing eyes…

260. THE SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT AUTOMATIC LONGINES LINKAGE...( JAM TANGAN LONGINES PENYEMAI SATU RANTAIAN...)

I’ve always like Longines especially the automatic timepieces. This model/Ref. no. L 47082117 was purchased from a KLCC watch gallery early May last year during one of those watch browsing trips.

The white clean dial is very simple for it displays only the hour and minute hands without the second hand, the day and date functions. The roman numerals add to its elegance. The only flaw to me is the inverted Roman numerals of V and VI which I personally despised. I prefer the numbers to be upright, the way it should be.

For an automatic timepiece, this Longines model is super light giving the impression that it is quartz. The subtle golden and silver finishing of the bracelet adds to its character of exclusivity, formality and poise suitable for dinner wear or for that matter for any formal function.

For the price offered, I thought then this automatic timepiece with skeletal caseback was a bargain. Little did I realise that there was a SALE ongoing in my home town, Ipoh and the same model was being offered at a price cheaper by RM 500.00. Well that’s quite a load of difference for a timepiece, my friend.

The story of this Longines did not end there. Much later during another trip to KLCC I dropped by the same KLCC watch gallery to look at some Omega timepieces including limited edition ‘moon watch’. The manager, an Ipoh-born lady upon recognising me as a former customer took me around to see some new models and offered fantastic discounts on some of the Omega timepieces I enquired.

I guessed sometimes you have to ‘invest’ a little to get the right linkage. So, that RM 500.00 extra for the Longines after all, was dirt cheap!

Jenama Longines memang antara jenama jam tangan yang menjadi idaman sejak sekian lama apatah lagi yang berjenis automatik.

Model ini L 47082117 dibeli dari sebuah butik jam di KLCC semasa sesi rambu-rambu santai jam di KLCC.

Dial putih bersih yang hanya memaparkan logo, jarum jam dan jarum minit tanpa fungsi tarikh ,haribulan dan jarum saat tampak simple dan bergaya. Angka-angka roman yang tertera menambahkan seri permukaan dial. Cumanya saya kurang selesa dengan angka roman untuk nombor lima dan enam yang seolah terbalik. Saya lebih senang jika angka lima dan enam tegak seperti yang sepatutnya.

Sebuah jam automatic kebiasaannya agak berat tetapi model Longines ini terlalu ringan seperti gaya jam Quartz atau yang berbateri. Tali berwarna emas diselangi warna perak yang dipasang menambahkan lagi keanggunan jam ini. Sesuai sekali dipakai ke majlis resmi atau mana-mana acara formal.

Seronok dan senang hati bila dapat beli pada harga yang dah dirasakan harga runtuh.

Masa jalan-jalan kat Kinta City Ipoh pada satu hujung minggu ternampak jam model ni sebiji kat satu butik jam tangan di situ. Waduh, murah pulak di Ipoh bila tanya harga lepas diskaun. Kurang sampai RM500, yop! Takpe lah dah terbeli nak buat macam mana, redha je lah...

Sebulan dua lepas tu masa kunjungan kat KLCC singgah semula ke butik yang beli Longines. Bila dibuka cerita beli Longines tempoh hari, ingat pulak si Pengurus kelahiran Ipoh tu.

Saja singgah, ingat nak tengok-tengok Omega terutama model Moon Watch. Memang dah banyak kali round kat tempat lain tengok model Omega. Jadi kurang lebih tahu gak harga sebenar. Alhamdulillah, banyak pulak diskaun yang dia offer untuk Omega kali ni.

Itulah kekadang kita sendiri tak sedar ada ketika sedikit pelaburan awal mendatangkan banyak manfaat di kemudian hari.

Setakat RM500 untuk membina satu jalur rantaian...Ai, murah sangat tu!