As many of you know, we love manufacturing. Over the last 8 years (It's been that long, crazy!) we have learned a lot by focusing on making watches. However, 3 or 4 years ago, parallel precision sectors, like the medical, space, semiconductor and high-end scientific instrumentation sectors, started to become curious about our capabilities. Specifically in handling complex, highly precise and very small parts. This interest was big enough to spin-out a separate business called NH Micro. If you've been following along our newsletter and journey, you might have heard ..read more

  If you have three and a half hours to kill, here is a suggestion. A Deutche Welle documentary titled "Twenty Japanese businesses making the most expensive products." A match made in heaven: Deutche Welle's masterful cinematography and objectivity showcasing the Japanese pursuit for perfection. And no, the documentary has very little to do with money or price; and everything to do with craftsmanship, patience and time. The Japanese say that it takes 3 years to learn how put a piece of eel meat on a skewer. And a lifetime to learn how to grill it to perfection. A ba ..read more

  Today we are introducing two newly arrived Seiko Astron. Both watches are limited edition (1,200 pieces worldwide) and are black titanium, fitted on a bracelet. Although they share the same concept—a purple star dial with gold hands and indices—they are essentially two different watches. The first one, SSH145J, is made for a nerd. A buyer who wants to squeeze the last feature out of the 5X53 calibre movement. And the list of features is simply astonishing: Overcharge prevention function, power save function, perpetual calendar to February 28, 2100, world time func ..read more

 Yesterday was very exciting- we are in space! A local Australian company launched a metaphorical "bus" to space. On the bus were payloads from many other tangential Australian space companies, including Spiral Blue, who we mentioned a few weeks ago. Another company that we do some critical hardware manufacture for is called Valiant Space. Valiant is a young company in Brisbane, manufacturing in-space non toxic space propulsion systems. In short, ultra small rocket engines. These rocket motors are responsible for steering the bus in space. Without them, It's safe to say that the mission ..read more

  Last week we delivered a project to ANSTO, Australia's Nuclear, Science and Technology Organisation. Specifically to the Synchrotron in Melbourne. The Synchrotron is Australia's most advanced platform for performing scientific experiments with X-rays and high energy particles. For a small company like ours to be approached by a very large, prestigious government organisation is an honour, and I can tell you for free that working with these engineers often makes watchmaking look like Lego Duplo! The project we helped with ..read more

  This week we had a flurry of activity in our Brookvale workshop. Our Kern Micro HD had it's first field-service upgrade. It's difficult to describe how complex and engineered this milling machine is, but I'll give it a shot. The Micro HD has at least 7 discrete, but interconnected systems. The control/software, kinematic structure, pneumatics, hydraulics, tool changer, cooling circuit and measurement systems. Each of these systems operate in harmony with each other. They talk to each other, give feedback to each other, influence how and when they need to be switche ..read more

  The other day we were delighted to receive a very special watch. This customer bought a Rebelde K-Pilot in October 2014. He bought the watch for his grandson’s 18th birthday. The only catch, the grandson was still in primary school, a mere 8 years of age. So the watch - still in its original plastic, still with an unopened envelope containing the receipt and warranty details - was put away safely, in preparation for the birthday. Talk about prepared! The customer gave us a call about a week before coming in; ‘This is my story, should I have the watch overhauled be ..read more

  If you thought temperature was a problem in our Brookvale workshop… As many of you know, our workshop in Brookvale has been manufacturing parts for what we call “parallel precision industries”. The medical, scientific, semi conductor, quantum computing, optics/photonics and space sectors. This year we plan on opening the doors on even more projects that we’ve been working on. Last week we talked about how temperature is a leading influence in precision, and how controlling and measuring it’s effects is critical. Today we pivot and talk about outer space, and it’s ..read more

The Seiko 5 Sports Field collection was created with an ‘in the field’ military design – taking inspiration from a style originally called ‘trench watch,’ created to be robust and reliable in tough conditions. This Seiko 5 Sports ‘Deception’ field watch takes the design to the next level, featuring blacked out seconds, and GMT hand, as well as the bezel and case. This model comes on a calf leather strap. Both watches feature a GMT function that allows you to track a second time zone, and much like the Seiko 5 GMT, the GMT hand itself is directly adjustable. The b ..read more

  It’s well known that things move. Buses move people, you move the objects you interact with, and you move yourself around. Being in control of what, when and how things move is a superpower. Controlling the bus timetable allows you to improve, or diminish the productivity of Sydney… controlling how quickly you raise your coffee cup to your mouth can make the difference between a gentle wakeup, or a miserable morning cleaning your shirt… The list goes on. In manufacturing, the more you control, the better your results become. The easiest way to visualise th ..read more