Found at local high school : one high-end wristwatch

Darien High School

I came across a random small piece in a small online local newspaper from a place called Darien. It stated (to quote) that a “high-end wristwatch” had been found on the morning of 17 September at Darien High School, and that it had been handed in to the local police. Capt. Fred Komm was quoted as saying that the watch was likely to be worth "thousands of dollars”, followed by a comment that if you believed the watch to be yours, you should contact the Darien Police Department on 203-662-5300 with a description of your missing timepiece. 

The reference to it being possibly worth “thousands of dollars”piqued my interest, so I decided to look up the town of Darien.

Darien is a town in Fairfield County Connecticut, with a population of 20,732. According to 2007 estimates, it has a median household income of $160,274, and a median family income of $195,905.

In 2009, the median income for the U.S. was $50,221.

The median home price in Darien is approximately $1 million, and the town is considered to be one of the most expensive places to live in North America.

Darien High, where this unidentified timepiece was found, is no struggling small town high school. In 2005, it got a brand spanking new $73 million campus.

Curious about what this “high-end wristwatch” worth “thousands of dollars” is? So am I, but I guess we’ll never find out.

[AP]

Sofra

Sofra
35-39 Auburn Rd
Auburn
NSW 2144
Ph : (02) 9649 9167

One day I woke up and realised that I had a 'need' to go to Auburn for an Adana kebab. I then realised that the time elapsed since my last visit to Auburn was embarrassingly long, and amounted to  something along the lines of two years.

No time for procrastination. Back to where I had my first Adana kebab – Auburn institution Sofra, for lunch.

Adana Plate ($11)

Named after the fifth largest city in Turkey, Adana kebabs are hand-minced lamb that is shaped around an iron skewer measuring 0.5cm thick, 3cm wide, and anywhere from 90 to 120cm long. The shaped meat is grilled on an open BBQ over charcoal.

The cooked kebab is served on top of flatbread, typically topped by onions, diced tomatoes, parsley, cumin and sumac. It can also be eaten wrapped in a roll.

What’s the appeal? Freshly charcoal grilled meat served with bread (itself lightly grilled) that tastes of the kebab’s juices. The bread is fabulous to eat on its own, even without meat. Sofra’s Adana is juicy, tender, slightly spicy, and even better with a squirt of lemon.

Sometimes, all you need is grilled meat that is full of flavour, good bread and sides.

The chicken kebab ($14) was served with the usual salad sides, and a Turkish pilaf and orzo. The serving was too large, so I helped out. The chicken was decently cooked and flavoursome, but a little on the salty side. The side of bread was virtually uneaten, as the rice was more than sufficient as an accompaniment.

There are plenty of similar cheap and cheerful kebab eateries in the Auburn area. Which is the best? I can't say, as I have only ever tried Sofra, but on this particular day, of the dozen odd that I walked past, this was the most popular.

[AP]

Girard-Perregaux seeks to reduce dependence on Chinese market

Unlike what seems like an increasing number of brands unabashedly wooing the financially important mainland Chinese market with varying degrees of directness, Girard-Perregaux has decided that it wants to expand in the U.S. and South America, and to reduce its reliance on China.

Despite it accounting for approximately 40 per cent of Girard-Perregaux’s sales, managing director Stefano Macaluso has announced that the company intends to broaden its customer/ business base by refocusing on an improving U.S. market, and engaging with South American buyers who are choosing to buy abroad rather than at home.

Even though Girard-Perregaux is changing their international focus, they still aim to maintain the existing percentage of sales the brand gets from China over the next few years.

Girard-Perregaux produces around 12,000 timepieces a year.


[AP]

Yok Yor Thai Food Factory

Yok Yor Thai Food Factory
Shop G06, 323 Castelreagh St
Haymarket
Sydney NSW2000
Ph : (02) 9280 0013
Sun – Thu: 1100-0100
Fri – Sat: 1100 – 0200

Yok Yor has one of those misleading type of addresses. If, as I did, you launch yourself up that general vicinity of Castlereagh St, expecting it to be immediately obvious, you’ll not find it. Number 323 is a large well-known building, with frontage on three streets. It is on the Campbell Street side, opposite Chilli Cha Cha, that you’ll find this small eatery, its front completely obscured by building work paraphernalia on the day of our visit.

The first thing that strikes you about Yok Yor is its small size. Not uncomfortably so, as tables are decently spaced, but some furniture rearranging would need to occur if there were a number of  even medium-sized groups dining there.

Situated at the ‘far’ end of the plethora of Thai restaurants in the Pitt and Campbell Streets area, it is open for quite long hours. The space is informal, and the large menu, with most items clocking in at under $10, reflects this.

I met up with a friend for a lunchtime catch-up, and realised that at least three-quarters of the times we meet for a meal, he orders pork, and if there are dumplings involving pork, he’ll order those.

Twas ever thus…his first pork choice was Kanom Jeeb ($4.50), steamed pork and prawn dumplings with fried garlic and soy sauce. They looked rather like Siu Mai to me, but he enjoyed them thoroughly, particularly the sauce, which added a piquancy which lifted the dumplings.

Kanom Jeeb

One of my favourite dishes is the Vietnamese savoury pancake, Bánh xèo. The presence of Kanom Beaung Yourn ($9.50), Thai crispy crepe filled with shredded prawn and coconut, served with cucumber and red onion relish, left me no choice. I had to order it.

Tech Talk No. 3: Platinum vs. White Gold Watches

There is a lot of talk about white gold versus platinum when it comes to wedding rings, but there seems to be minimal discussion on this topic in the watch world. So if you're wondering about the differences between white gold and platinum in watches, this is the place to be.

One common misconception people have about platinum is that it's harder than white gold. This is not the case.

Although they are both fairly soft metals, platinum is denser and heavier than white gold, but white gold is actually harder (how much harder depends on the alloy). This is because platinum is mostly used in an almost pure form (approx. 95% pure i.e. '950') compared to white gold, which is 75% gold and 25% other metal (such as silver and palladium). The density in platinum makes them harder to cast (higher temperature required - 1774 celcius vs 920 for 18k gold).

Platinum crystal (from wikipedia)

On the wrist, the same watch in different material will generally result in the platinum watch being around about 30% heavier than its gold counterpart. Weight is probably the easiest way to distinguish between platinum and white gold.

Looks wise, they look similar, but on careful examination white gold is 'warmer' whereas platinum is 'cooler, but truth be told, I can't tell the difference. More often than not, watch companies will produce a different dial for the platinum model in order to help differentiate it from white gold and steel watches. And quite often, it is produced in a limited number.

As an example - Platinum and white gold watches tend to come in different dial colour combos

Other ways to tell are the stamp on the back of the case (950 vs 750) and, of course, by scratching the case (if you can bring yourself to do it, or if you dare to do it). Scratching platinum watches merely pushes the material to the side (the material is displaced and you don't lose any precious metal content) and this can be restored, whereas with gold, you'd take a chunk out of it. Of course, you might need a fairly high-powered loupe to tell the difference...

One thing you may or may not notice is that most of the time, a platinum watch will be delivered with a white gold clasp, since it is a harder material. Platinum clasps might be more 'expensive' but due to it being a softer material, it'll wear quicker and not hold its shape in the long run, since it is a 'moving' part.

Platinum will also develop a patina after being worn for a while, which can best be described as a brushed, whiteish look. It is naturally white, and it is also hypoallergenic. White gold may cause allergic reactions to some people, but that really depends on what alloys are used. Nickel used to be mixed in with white gold, but as there are many people allergic to nickel, this is being used less and less in white gold these days.

Platinum used to be a lot more expensive than gold. That, coupled with the heaviness of the material due to its density, gives it a much higher perceived prestige value than gold. However, as the price difference is minimal nowadays (approx US$1830 per ounce of Pt vs. US$1790 per ounce for gold - correct as of end of August, 2011), platinum, perhaps, has become the better value precious metal?

Maybe, get in while it's cheap? 

Oh, and here's an unusual platinum watch we blogged about only recently.

[o]

Italian police seize 800,000 fake watches

Agence France-Presse report that Italian police have seized approximately 800,000 fake luxury watches worth 10 million Euros from a shop run by five Chinese nationals in the textile town of Prato, south of Bologna. As well as finding unfinished replicas of Dolce & Gabbana, Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe and Mont Blanc watches brought from China, police also seized real estate, a car, three computers and watch-making equipment.

Since the beginning of the year, several such workshops have been closed down. Last June, a watchmaking workshop set up in a private apartment was targeted by the Guardia di Finanza police force, who seized 200,000 watches and watch components which were in the process of being marked and assembled. Watchmaking tools, punches and machines were also seized, and there were four successful convictions leading to custodial sentences obtained as a result of that police operation.

An industrial suburb of Florence situated in the centre of Italy, the city of Prato has a population of 180,000. One of its distinctive features is a large Chinese population estimated at 45,000 people, mostly working in the textile industry, many in illegal workshops and under appalling conditions, with some working up to 18 hours a day. Most of them come from the city of Wenzhou in the province of Zhejiang, just south of Shanghai, itself a textile manufacturing region. Legal Chinese residents in Prato on 31 December 2008 were 9,927. Local authorities estimate the number of Chinese citizens living in Prato to be around 45,000.

[AP]

Chat Thai Westfield

Chat Thai Westfield Sydney
Level 6, Westfield Sydney
Ph : (02) 9221 0600
Open Mon-Sun: 10am-10pm

The latest addition to the insanely popular Chat Thai chain, now numbering five, this latest outpost, on Level 6 of Westfield CBD, is instantly recognisable, with minor amendments, including the lighting, which is rather dim in places. Oh, and they clearly expect that there will be queues at this branch too...

We were there early, and by the time we were ready to order, there were only three other tables occupied in the entire restaurant. Even during the 'peak period' of our meal, they were only about seventy percent full. I note this because of a recurring theme throughout this meal, a theme that was not confined to us, but which affected at a number of other tables within hearing distance.

The commonality? Perhaps it was down to teething problems, as they had been open for less than a week, but the service was consistently vague. It started when I tried to get an additional water cup, continued on to the drinks not arriving after 20 minutes (a reminder lead to further confusion), followed up with dishes arriving in a random order, and continued all the way through to the wrong dessert arriving. Not to mention the continual difficulties that plagued us in terms of getting anyone's attention.

For the neighbouring tables, in one case one dish out of four did not arrive (the table gave up), and two others found it difficult to get hold of anyone’s attention in order to place their orders.

The saving grace was the food.

First up - todt mun bpla ทอดมันปลา ($10) - dollops of fried fish cakes with pickled cucumber relish.