SOLD: MkII Nassau

SOLD: MkII Nassau No-Date, BGW9 Super Luminova with blue emission lume

This is one of the first 25 Nassau models ever built.  The difference from the subsequent Nassau models is that these first 25 are fitted with the same 8 mm BIG CROWN as the Kingston LE.  All later Nassau models have a smaller 7 mm crown.

This one also has the Red Triangle insert which has been out of stock for a while now.

Bracelet clasp has no issues closing when sized on the last link which it is now (see picture).

I am the original owner.  This watch comes with all bracelet links, tools, papers, box, plastic stickers, etc.  Full set (see picture).  

It has NEVER been taken off the bracelet after Bill Yao assembled it and shipped it to me; thus, the underside of the lugs are pristine.  This is a pet peeve of mine when they are all chewed up by careless strap changes.

See the pictures for the condition of the watch.

(I am a Kingston Plank owner so this watch is kind of "doubly" redundant.  I'd rather another MWR member wear and enjoy it.)

Price: SOLD

NO TRADES.  All trade offers will be politely ignored.

Contact: reintitan@gmail.com

SOLD: MkII Quad10

FS: MkII Quad10

I am the original owner.  Complete set. This is one of the last ten Quad10's Bill Yao made before discontinuing the model.

NO TRADES.  All trade offers will be politely ignored.

Price: SOLD

Contact: reintitan@gmail.com

MkII LRRP Bracelet

FS: NOS, unworn, never fitted MkII bracelet for the LRRP.  Still wrapped in the plastic as shipped from MkII/Bill Yao.

Solid end-links, screwed links, 14 links total.  This bracelet will only fit the LRRP models with the spring bars and drilled lugs.  It WILL NOT FIT the models with the screwed bars.

Price: $130 shipped in the USA.

NO TRADES.  All trade offers will be politely ignored.

Contact: reintitan@gmail.com

SOLD: MkII LRRP GMT 48

For sale: MkII LRRP GMT 48 in mint condition.  From my personal collection.

Price: SOLD

Contact: reintitan@gmail.com

More Vantage Pictures

Some more Vantage shots on a leather NATO.  Unfortunately, since the pictures were taken at noon, the hour hand obscured the MkII logo below the 12 o'clock marker.

This is a custom Vantage back when Bill still made watches to order.  Notice the yellow sweep seconds hand.  AFAIK, not many people chose this option.  I think it makes the watch pop.  The no-date dial with the "scientific" chapter ring is also uncommon among the Vantages I've seen online.
 

 

MkII Nassau

The MkII Nassau is the production version of the limited edition Kingston.  Both are homages to the Rolex Submariner ref. 6538, aka the Big Crown Submariner.

The Nassau sports a matte dial with silver hour and minute hands and a white sweep seconds hand.  Further, unlike the Kingston, the name of the model is not printed on the dial, but it uses the same case*, crystal, bracelet, bezel, and bezel insert as the Kingston.

A date model Nassau will be available in the future.

All Nassaus were originally supposed to be fitted with a 7 mm twin seal crown, but due to some manufacturing issues with the crowns these were delayed while Bill Yao (MkII owner and founder) sought remediation from the supplier.  A lucky few (25) returning Kingston customers were shipped the first batch of Nassau watches fitted with the 8 mm Kingston triple seal crowns.  Only these 25 will sport the 8 mm crowns as they were supposed to be exclusive to the LE Kingston model; with the logic being 25 examples would not dilute the Kingston exclusivity.

*According to Bill, the remaining Nassau watches will ship with the now-fixed 7mm crowns and slightly modified cases.  (It's not clear yet what changes there are between the older Kingston watch cases and the new Nassau cases).  The remaining Kingston cases are to be held in reserve for future servicing of the 300 Kingston watches.

My Nassau is one of the first 25 made with the 8mm Kingston crown and Kingston case.

On the wrist.

Paradive Super-Dry

It was a hot 98 F today.  Time for some ice cold Super-Dry!

 

Travelling with the LRRP GMT 48

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean from SFO enroute to Narita (Tokyo).

Reading up on the amenities of Business Class.

Close up of the time.

LRRP GMT 48 Has Arrived

This is the final iteration of the MkII LRRP.  Bill Yao, MkII's founder, calls this the LRRP GMT 48.  What's in a name?  Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP).  Next, GMT is obvious.  Finally, 48 denotes the forty-eight click bi-directional bezel.


This is my second LRRP.  The first one is the classic homage to the Rolex ref. 1655 Explorer Mark II from the 1970s.  That one came in the non-HRV (helium release valve) case and was fitted with a bracelet.  This version is a more modern homage (especially with the font on the bezel insert) to the Rolex ref. 16710 and 116710 GMT-Master II models.  It really looks awesome!


I specifically wanted the HRV case with the thick screw bar lugs.  My intention is to wear this one on nothing but one piece straps (NATOs and the mil-straps) all throughout my trip to humid and steamy South East Asia.  In addition to the black Maratac NATO that came with watch I'm packing spare Olive Drab and Desert Tan Maratac NATOs plus a Grey and Olive Drab milstrap with PVD'd hardware.

New shoes for the Quad10

I fitted my MkII Quad10 with a leather NATO strap.  I got these off of ebay for a reasonable price.  Unfortunately, one of the colors (light tan) was out of stock so I could only buy the ones in dark brown and black colors.

The hardware on these aren't massive which I like.  I can't stand the overblown metal rings on Zulus and their like.  The leather is smooth on one side and soft and rough on the other.  Most leather NATO straps I've seen have a buffalo skin texture.  I prefer the smooth leather.

 

Here are more pics of the watch on the strap.

 

All the MKIIs in one place

From L-R:  Kingston, LRRP, Quad10, Vantage.

The movements used in each are ETA 2836, 2893-2, 2824-2, and 2824-2, respectively.

Function-wise it's non-date, date + GMT, date, and non-date, respectively.

 

MkII Vantage on a US milstrap

I got tired of the OEM rubber strap so I decided to try a one-piece strap on my Vantage.  The NATO didn't look right as there was too much hardware on the strap.  They work best with watches with rotating bezels.  This US milstrap fits so much better.  Very lean and clean.  The military look suits the watch IMHO.

The Vantage is MkII's homage to the ref. 1016 Explorer.  Mine is a custom-made job with a matte-yellow sweep hand and scientific 369 dial.


At 39 mm in diameter it's the same size as the new ref. 214270 Explorer.

 

MkII Kingston

I finally got around to sizing the bracelet on my Kingston and it was not for the faint-of-heart or impatient!  The faux-rivet style looks great, but some of these tiny "rivets" are actually screws.  Not only are they small, 1.2 mm in width, but you need to hold the opposite screw head while turning the other one since they are screwed onto each other.  This usually takes 3 hands...

So on Saturday I spent 2, yes two, hours sizing the bracelet.  Six links on each side.  After wearing the watch on Sunday, I found that it didn't balance correctly on my wrist so tonight I spent another hour resizing it; actually rearranging the links so that it is now 5 links on the six o'clock side and 7 links on the 12 o'clock side.  Much better balance with this configuration.


For those that are wondering, the Kingston is MkII's homage to the Rolex Submariner ref. 6538. 

Enough with the talk.  Here's the lates iPhone 3GS "grainy-style" pic.

The Kingston Has Landed

After two years (wow!) my MkII Kingston has finally arrived.  I put in my deposit as a "plank owner" in January 2009 and in February 2011 she's finally in the flesh or should I say steel?

The Big Crown, gloss-gilt dial, and gilt hands really rock.

This is a teaser pic as I still have to size the bracelet.

MkII LRRP: Homage to the Rolex Explorer Mark II Ref. 1655

I received my MkII LRRP a couple days ago, but I just got around to sizing the bracelet.  I chose the bracelet model since the 1655 always looked best on its Oyster bracelet IMHO.  However, this MkII bracelet is "odd".  The removable links have (tiny!) screws on each side PLUS there's a rod/bar inside the link that actually holds two links together.  All three need to come off when you remove a link.  

The watch is powered by an ETA 2893-2.  So the 24-hour hand is independently adjustable, not the 12-hour hand.  Sapphire crystal and 300 meter water resistance.  The lug width is 22mm.  The bezel rotates bidirectionally.  Originally, these were fitted with a metal ring but apparently they are a challenge to get on correctly so Bill (Yao) switched to using a rubber gasket.  I requested the metal ring be fitted on mine, but Bill recommended and installed the rubber gasket.  Bill being who he is, he actually shipped two extra rubber gaskets and two of the metal rings with a note that I could have them installed later if it bothered me.  Now that's service.  Thanks Bill.

Enough talk.  Here's an iPhone 3GS pic.

MkII Vantage

Close-ups of Bill Yao's homage to the ref. 1016 Explorer.  I chose the non-date "scientific" dial and the yellow sweep seconds hand to differentiate it even more from the original Rolex icon.  At 39 mm in diameter, the Vantage is the same size as the new ref. 214270 Explorer released at this year's Basel Watch Fair.

The 4 gradations between the seconds markers on the dial correspond to the beat rate (28,800 bph) of the ETA 2824-2 movement.  That means I can hack this watch on any of those lines.

Dauphine hands would also look sweet on this watch.  I wonder if Bill would make that an option in the future?