The exports of readymade garments from Nepal increased by a sharp 52.8 percent to Np Rs. 3.615 billion (US$ 37.633 million) during the first eight months of interlining the ongoing financial year that began on July 16, 2013, compared to exports of Rs. 2.366 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the figures released by the Trade and Export Promotion Centre.
Woolen carpet exports fetched Rs. 4.801 billion during the eight-month period, showing a rise of 36.1 percent over Rs. 3.527 billion exports made during the same period in previous financial year, the data showed.
The exports of cotton, polyester and other yarns earned Rs. 4.028 billion for Nepal during the period under review QST Interlining, up 6.1 percent year-on-year, while fabric exports grew at 5.9 percent year-on-year to 3.76 billion.
Exports of woolen and Pashmina shawls from Nepal increased by 0.6 percent year-on-year to 1.466 billion during the eight-month period, as per the data.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s imports of articles of apparel and clothing accessories jumped by 22.4 percent year-on-year to Rs. 7.707 billion, whereas its imports of man-made staple fibres climbed 14.1 percent year-on-year to Rs. 6.723 billion Curtain Interlining. Imports of cotton yarn and fabrics also increased by 4.4 percent to Rs. 3.158 billion.
In fiscal year 2012-13 that ended on July 15, 2013, Nepal earned Rs. 5.66 billion from exports of woolen carpets, Rs. 3.824 billion from readymade garments, Rs. 5.835 billion from yarns, Rs. 5.399 billion from fabrics, and Rs. 2.179 billion from woolen and Pashmina shawls.
In comparison, Nepal spent Rs. 4.373 billion on import of cotton yarn and fabric, Rs. 8.711 billion on man-made staple fibres, and Rs. 8.99 billion on articles of apparel and clothing accessories.
2014年5月12日星期一
2012年10月12日星期五
The Longines Telemeter Chronograph
Longines continue their 180th Anniversary celebrations with a new, but retro piece, the Longines Telemeter Chronograph.
A Telemeter on a watch measures distance based on the speed of sound, a scale which is perhaps familiar to enthusiasts of military pieces where it was once used as a crude type of range finder. Maybe you are more familiar with the Tachymeter scale, which is used to measure speed. Each was created to be a useful addition to a watch dial, one is often accompanied by the other. To feature both scales on a watch dial along with chronograph counters, presents the designer with a certain conundrum – how to maintain readability of the indications with such a level of on the dial busyness. The Longines Telemeter Chronograph accomplishes this challenge by using references to their 1930′s timers – an era when such features on a watch were not simply there to add interest, but were a widely used scales of measurement – and thus the result is a superbly elegant vintage-styled timepiece.
Housed in a fine and dapper 41mm trim-bezeled case, the Longines Telemeter Chronograph has a crisp white lacquer dial as a backdrop for its overlapping indications and curly Arabic numerals. Both scales are marked in red, the telemeter on the tapering outer rim of the dial, the tachymeter seductively curled in the centre. The three counters, the small seconds at 9 o’clock, the 30 minute at 3 o’clock and the 12 hour at 6 o’clock are laid on top, each with a fine railtrack edge. Blued Breguet-esque hands complete the refinement.
Inside is the Longines L688 automatic chronograph calibre, column-wheel of course, with a power reserve of 54 hours. The Longines Telemeter Chronograph comes presented on a hand-stitched black alligator strap.
The Breitling Chronomat 44 GMT – Tiny, but not reduced.
Perhaps not as flashy as some of the brand’s other show offerings, the Chronomat model has remained a firm favourite since it’s inception in the early 1940s among travellers who require a reliable, unfussy instrument to facilitate timekeeping across many timezones and who are perhaps less inclined to use their possessions to showboat.
Indeed the Chronomat has been an important element in the Breitling armoury down the years, quietly accounting for a large proportion of sales against it’s more obvious sibling, the Breitling Navitimer.
This year’s edition is presented in a ‘modest’ 44mm stainless steel case and promises – according to the Breitling press release – to ‘conquer all wrist sizes on all continents’, although I think 44mm is still a sizeable watch on a more diminutive wrist, so I’m not so certain about that factual accuracy of the above claim.
The Breitling Chronomat 44 GMT contains the in-house COSC chronometer Calibre 4 automatic movement, which simplifies the changing of hours on location by thumbing the crown back or forwards, while the red arrow-tipped GMT/second timezone pointer remains in position to display the time back home. Rotating the brushed steel bezel offers one further timezone setting.
The Chronomat 44 GMT is available on this nice crocodile leather strap as well as a choice of perforated or ridged rubber or the classic pilot’s bracelet. I do think I like the added little detail of the square outlined within the circular confines of the dial, exaggerated by the cut of the applied steel hour markers. However, as always with the Chronomat model, it is very nicely laid out with all features and functions being clearly legible and easy to use.
So, whilst the Chronomat 44 GMT may remain the understated member of the Breitling family, it is a pleasant modern rendition of a model which today enjoys classic status and will be the first choice for many a discerning traveller.
I’m still not so sure that it’s the watch for all wrists on all continents though…. smaller it might be, but small it is not!
The IWC Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month – KERS System As Standard.
New for 2012 is the IWC Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month. You may be familiar with the IWC Top Gun Collection, in honour of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School – techy and exciting stuff. Now IWC produce a piece at the other end of the aeronautical scale – a tribute to the iconic Spitfire, the plane described by those who flew her as the “closest to perfection, ever”.
The IWC Calibre 89800 inside has a few functional innovations – in order that the complex disc system required to advance the three digital displays does not drain the power or effect the amplitude, a power-saving mode kicks in, storing up energy released as each nightly date change occurs, power which will be used when the system is under most strain, at the end of each month and year – think of it as a horological KERS system. A trick feature, but then IWC have been pioneers of digital displays for more than 100 years.
The automatic Calibre 89800 produces a more than generous power reserve of 68 hours and has a unique winding rotor in the shape of a Spitfire, which can be viewed through the sapphire crystal caseback. Housed in an 18 carat red gold 46mm case, the IWC Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month comes presented on a brown alligator leather strap.
The Junghans 1972 Collection – An Olympic Watch – No it’s not Omega
Being a timing partner at the Olympic Games – well, it’s such a historical moment in any watchmaking company’s timeline that it would be simply rude not to “milk it” just a little…. and the Junghans 1972 Collection celebrates the company’s ties with the world’s most famous sporting event.
It’s not all about Omega. Yes they were the first brand to officially time all the events back in 1932 and they’ve done it more than anyone else, but there have been others. Junghans and Longines combined forces to time the 1972 Games in Munich, and they both brought with them some innovations. It’s hard to comprehend that the Multi Counter which Junghans used that year at the rowing event was the first ever with the ability to track each boat individually and they were the darlings of the press with their fancy new colour imaging finishing line photographs which they distributed to the media for worldwide use.
The Junghans 1972 Collection takes inspiration from the styling of the era – there’s a little bit of case spill-over, some bright colour tones, stubby markers, broad hands and a knife-edge rotating bezel. The Chronoscope has chubby tonneau-shaped counters and a barely-there small seconds, the Mega Solar is plainer but more technical. Three models of each will be available, all so distinctly “seventies” in appearance that all that’s missing is a wrist hair-grabbing stretch link bracelet.
Mystery and intrigue surround Christie’s sale of ‘Howard Hughes’ Patek Philippe
The 'Howard Hughes' Patek Philippe Chronograph Reference 1463
What made Lot 385 somewhat unusual was the fact that according to the Christie’s catalogue, the watch had at some time in the past been the property of eccentric and ultimately tragic American billionaire Howard Hughes. Now, it may be that if the watch had not had such provenance attached to it, then the sale might have passed by causing a stir only among Patek collectors and interested auction watchers, but in connecting the watch to the myth that is Howard Hughes, Christie’s attracted attention from Hughes historians and biographers, as well as fellow watch writer Kyle Stults at luxury watch blog Perpetuelle.com.
You see Kyle himself is a bit of a Howard Hughes fan too, and when the opportunity arose for him to write a feature which legitimately brought together two of his interests, he put up a post concerning the upcoming sale in Christie’s New York rooms, declaring his fascination of the man and the mysteries entwined around and throughout his private life. Little could Kyle have expected the life of it’s own this story would take on in the days to follow.
It was claimed that the watch had been in the possession of a Mr Don Woolbright, a self-proclaimed private employee of Hughes, whose role he claimed was to conduct undercover private investigations within the sprawling Hughes empire at the behest of Howard Hughes himself. The watch, according to Mr Woolbright’s account of events, was given to him as a gift in gratitude for his services allegedly with the words ‘from my wrist to yours’ and has been put up for sale by his son, Don Woolbright Jr.
Only hours after the feature appearing, questions began to appear surrounding the accuracy of Christie’s description in their catalogue. A former personal assistant to Hughes, Mr Paul Winn noted on the blog that in all his time working closely with his employer, Hughes had never worn a watch (nor carried any money) and Winn suggested that in his opinion, the likelihood of this watch having ever belonged to Hughes was at best somewhat dubious, and even further stretched was the idea that had ever been bought by or worn by the man.
However, once the validity of the watch’s history came under closer scrutiny, a few details quite quickly emerged, mostly eminating from historians, biographers and former Hughes confidantes who made the claim that Howard Hughes famously never wore a watch at all, and also about the character of Mr Woolbright Sr as well. One writer in particular, Geoff Schumacher, himself a published Howard Hughes biographer, was certainly not pulling any punches in regard to his opinion of Mr Woolbright Sr in his feature on his Howard Hughes Blog.
That seemed to be it, as the story appeared to tail off for a few days. But, having discovered Mr Winn’s opinion on the watch, Mr Woolbright Jr (ultimately the beneficiary of the proceeds of the sale) responded to the charges on the blog by attempting to punch holes in Mr Winn’s credibility, challenging him to back up his claims and calling into question the offer of testimony from Hughes closest and trusted employee – Kay Glenn, who was charged with the role of staff overseer within the Hughes organisation and whom had never heard of Mr Woolright Sr’s position, although familiar with the name for a subsequent felony committed against the Hughes estate some years later. The following exchange was quite amazing, with Mr Winn standing firm and requesting some form of stand-up verification, but ultimately, the burden of proof fell into the hands of the vendor – Mr Woolbright Jr and no proof thus far has been forthcoming.
Indeed when it finally came down to putting reputations at stake, a challenge which was proposed to Mr Winn by Mr Woolright Jr, the challenger and potential beneficiary mysteriously went quiet – and has stayed that way at the time of writing this summary.
Even so, in the absence of anything other than rhetoric to defend the case of Mr Woolbright, surely the watch would be withdrawn from sale by Christie’s, at least temporarily, until any questions of authenticity can be established one way or the other, after all Christie’s are an internationally renowned, respected and most importantly trusted institution through whose hands pass some of the world’s most famed and recognised objets d’art.
Well, following the discrepancies being debated between parties on his website, Kyle not unreasonably contacted Christie’s by phone and email, helpfully informing them of the possible anomaly associated with their Lot 385 Patek Philippe Reference 1463 gold chronograph. So the watch was promptly removed from the 16 June sale.
Not.
Well then, they changed the wording of the lot to inform potential bidders that there were possible question marks over the historical claim?
Not a bit of it.
The sale went through as scheduled on June 16 and bidding activity was healthy – as one would reasonably expect when up for sale was a rare Patek Philippe chronograph, especially one sold as a valuable and authentic piece of Howard Hughes memorabilia and with a potentially much wider client catchment as collectors of both Patek Philippe and Howard Hughes.
With a Christie’s estimate of between $150,000 and $200,000, the watch eventually sold yesterday to a private collector for $254,500.
As the histories of either Messr’s Woolbright (Sr or Jr), Winn, Glenn or Schumacher can be more fairly debated among specialists in the history of Howard Hughes, so I cannot reasonably take a side in their discourse (other than to lean toward he who has put forward the more convincing argument), but for sure, if there is one party entangled in the whole story and who should have reacted much more responsively to a legitimate call for clarity when faced with information which questioned the provenance of the watch as provided by themselves, then it must be Christie’s.
By underestimating the value of openness (and the punch of the internet) when confronted by someone with a bloody good question, haven’t Christie’s let slip their guard and revealed an underbelly through which anything might go? Uninhibited?
Also, in a bizzare twist to the story, while studying the Christie’s image gallery for the watch upon the release of the Christie’s catalogue, ‘Contaminuti’, founder of Italian language luxury watch review site Orologi di Classe blew us all away with his discovery that the Patek Philippe legend, engraved into the tang buckle of the watch carried a misspelling! Notice the double ‘LL’ as opposed to the correct ‘PP’ on the buckle! Not that this watch needs any more mystique, it’s becoming like the Mary Celeste! How can the misspelling have gone unnoticed?
The tang buckle with misspelling
Whatever the truth about the actual watch, it seems unlikely that – considering the compulsively secretive nature of the eccentric Howard Hughes – it’s history may ever be factually documented, and so from this point in time, this Patek Philippe reference number 1463 chronograph, will always have a spectre of doubt hanging over it.
Still worth the $254,500? Only the private collector to whom it now belongs will know the true answer to that. Now it has a little more history than perhaps it had before these last few weeks.
Baume & Mercier Classima Executives XL Chronograph Calendar
As its name implies this latest piece features an array of functions within its classic 42mm round case – annual calendar, 24-hour indicator, chronograph function, moon phase indicator and power reserve of 42 hours. The silvered dial of this refined piece is decorated at the centre with a guilloché pattern, satin finished on the outer section and subdials and has concentric detailing on the chronograph counters. The monochrome theme of the dial continues broken only by the red gold date hand and the golden moon on the moon phase indicator at the 6 o’clock position. An exhibition caseback reveals the Baume & Mercier signed rotor and Côtes de Genève patterns on the bridges.
The Baume et Mercier Classima Executives XL Chronograph Calendar
The Classima Executives XL Chronograph Complete Calendar will be unveiled at the 2010 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in January
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