The Breitling Endurance Pro has garnered my interest, this is a new definition of a sports watch. Previously, a sports watch was a dive timepiece, a chronograph for motor sport or an alpine climbing watch. A sports watch is functional, legible, durable, shock resistant and has some form of clasp to prevent loss during activity.

The Endurance Pro is seeking a different clientele with bold colouring and styling. The adoption of technology in the timepiece suits a younger sports orientated wearer with a higher disposable income and sense of style. The 44 mm diameter case is Breitlight®, I wasn’t sure what that was so some online research was in order. The proprietary polymer material is claimed to be 3.3 times lighter than titanium and 5.8 times lighter than steel. 

Breitlight® is claimed to be significantly harder than steel, I really can’t see it though. Breitlight® is claimed to be non-magnetic, thermally stable and hypoallergenic that is reasonably scratch resistant and corrosive protective. A number of watchmakers are experimenting with new materials including titanium, ceramic and carbon fibre, if it is a polymer composite then it is plastic. The case-back has retaining screws and 100 metres water resistance, the crown is not screw-down, but apparently has twin gaskets.  

The Breitling 82 Thermocompensated SuperQuartz™ movement has 4 jewels and a claimed battery life of 4 years. The Calibre 82 is COSC-certified chronograph with timing to 1/10th of a second. The bezel is uni-directional with a compass scale etched in the bezel. The chapter ring matches the rubber strap colour and highlights on the pushers and crown. The Endurance Pro is fitted with a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating with a date window located between the 4 and 5 o’clock position.

I am a long-term share investor, I began share trading in my early 20s after attending a night school course to learn the fundamentals of the Australian Stock Exchange. The Australian Stock Exchange better known as the ASX was located on St Georges Terrace and still had boards with chalk boys running around. You could go in and see them at work running around, I eventually worked with one of the old chalkies on a mine site near Laverton after they went electronic in the early 90s.

As I was a young guy working in the mining sector back in those days, I was investing my hard earned dollars in Australian shares. I purchased a newsletter Your Money Weekly from Ian Huntley, I was put onto this by my stockbroker and I would read and review each newsletter as if my life depended on it. I would call my stockbroker when I was on night shift, discuss the market and make purchases with the funds I had just earned.

I was also involved in margin lending, this is where I would borrow money from a credit provider arm owned by the Westpac bank to purchase shares. For a 21 year old, this was a risky investment strategy as I had only put a 10% deposit on a property [requiring mortgage insurance] to purchase the property that I still live in today. Whilst I still have the option to

In the mid-1990s I decided to open a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) to do my own investing. In the early 1990s superannuation became mandatory in Australia, I had a private superannuation account that I joined as an 18 year old. Despite all the promises from National Mutual, this was a high fee, low return account that was really set up to benefit the advisor and not the ##. For me to get out of this fund, I would be fined an enormous amount of money, this was a quasi life insurance fund with high upfront fees and a declining penalty to get out.

I still needed an industry superannuation account as employers would not pay into my private super fund or my SMSF. So for a long time, I was paying fees on four accounts. This was devastating financially, I was being ripped off and there was nothing I could do as I had a contract with National Mutual, then sold to AXA, the French financial company and later to AMP, the Australian investment company.

My fund was on-sold to a series of financial advisors within these corporations who offered me no services of benefit at all, this was a scam affecting my long-term financial viability. After 25 years of membership, all I ended up with was half a year’s salary at current earnings – pathetic. They held me to the initial contract, I have really regretted these managed funds, I decided I could do better myself and created my own investment fund that is performing far better than what they offered.

I also had a state government fund that I was required to join when I began my government employment in the mid 2000s. I did not understand it at the time but this is my best performing fund. The fund’s benefits were so good that they prevented new members from joining a year after I was employed, the fund was closed to new members. I am lucky that they have grandfathered the tax deferred status of the fund, I effectively pay no tax on my earnings until I withdraw an income. Since I have also closed my private superannuation fund where tax was already paid and rolled the proceeds into this fund, I will not pay tax on my withdrawal.

Yet, what has been able to resurrect from this financial catastrophe was the independence of my SMSF where I control my investments. At this point in my life, I am making regular post tax contributions and I am attempting to get my cash balance down and share investments higher. I cannot get caught up in my mistakes, I can only build on my successes and learn from these mistakes and opportunity cost.

The intent is to be fully invested and use the share dividends to fund my retirement, I use dividend forecasting and attempt to maintain my level of contributions. I will also be drawing down my state government superannuation account for my primary income, this will form my secondary retirement income once I turn 60. So at this point I still have 6 years of contributions to pay off my investment property and top up my share trading account.

In what might be considered the most stunning example of IWC watchmaking, the Portugieser 40 is the quintessential IWC model. This is the model that I feel best aligns what IWC represents. Yes, sure, their flieger series is pure IWC heritage, admittedly this is what I first think of when I pass an IWC boutique, so I like to take a look at what else they have on offer.

I like what the Portugeiser represents, this is a move away from their traditional market and towards a more up-market offering. At 40 mm, the case is large but not oversized, I think a dress watch should be around the 38 mm case diameter with a thickness below 13 mm. The Portuguiser meets these style requirements, I like the brand but couldn’t see myself going out and purchasing an IWC for my collection. What I like to do is view and review watches, for me, IWC is a worthy contender for luxury watchmaking, I just don’t think it represents what I am looking for.

I really don’t think a no fault workplace is what was envisioned in management literature in regards to actual management practice. If management actually considers themselves to not be at fault – then who is?

We are all a little to blame apparently, when you spread the blame around to everyone, you are a little less culpable; well, a whole lot less culpable actually. This is very much a cultural issue when management refuses to take the blame when it all goes bad, but hands out accolades to themselves when some level of success is achieved. They will eventually stumble and fumble their way through this, they have pretty much unlimited resources and the advantage of incumbency. My guess is they will be handing out special honours, selection decisions will stand, maybe some promotions and even awards later on. 

Generally, you hand out awards for not getting into this mess in the first place, but this doesn’t really suit their narrative so let’s watch this play out. When it comes to compliance and quality, you should be onto it. Compliance should be a managed program driven from the top down. If the management doesn’t take responsibility for quality and compliance requirements, then what is the point of having a layer management? We are not talking about a blame free culture, we are talking about an accountability free workplace. 

The war in Ukraine is looking at a stalemate right now, and unfortunately will be ongoing for some time as Russian defences are extensive and layered. They had all winter to plan their strategy and they will have a second winter to reinforce their ravaged defences. With no air support, Ukraine is highly exposed in their counter-offensive and this is not going to be a quick victory.

What I would like to see when Ukraine repels Russian aggression in their territory and expels Russia from Ukraine. From what Zelensky has stated, Ukraine will be taking Crimea back during their special military operation to liberate their lands. Ukraine has no navy, but has been successful in dominating the Russian navy, Ukrainian drones are damaging the ships in the Black Sea Fleet.

If Snake Island was fortified with a small military base with reinforced anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile defences and possibly artillery to protect Ukrainian shipping from the port of Odesa and port of Sevastopol in Crimea. This would be a good NATO joint venture to weaponise Snake Island. This would deter the Russian navy from getting anywhere near the west coast of Crimea. This should be similar to what China is doing in the South China Sea, heavily fortified islands with radar and missile defence systems where garrison troops rotate through this small island.

Yes, Russia took control of Snake Island before Ukraine retook control of the island. By fortifying the island, this would act as a future deterrent against shipping from Odesa and make them think twice about Sevastopol. What Ukraine has shown us is their naval drones are a serious threat to shipping, with artillery on the island to prevent an amphibious assault by troops, anti-ship missiles to deter naval vessels and anti-aircraft missiles to prevent the Russian air force from attacking the island.

As I was going to sleep on a Friday night, I picked up a news story on my Threads feed from the Kyiv Independent that terrorist Igor Girkin has been arrested. I was surprised, it was breaking news without much detail, so I knew it would be newsworthy when I woke up in the morning – I needed to go and search for this interesting online.

Igor Girkin led the invasion of Crimea in 2014, Girkin was also responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines MH17 over Russian held territory in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Girkin was responsible for the deaths of 283 passengers and 15 staff. Girkin was a bonafide terrorist protected by Russia, so his arrest for speaking out against Russia is a very big deal. Let us see if they actually hand him over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague – that would be a big deal.

Here is the irony, Girkin was arrested not for terrorism charges though, oh no, that is state sponsored. Vladimir Putin and the Russian state protected Girkin, instead, Girkin was arrested for criticism against the state on his Telegram channel. Girkin made statements against the Russian military and their shambolic handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So Igor Girkin is not being brought to justice for the occupation of Ukraine in 2014 nor ordering a commercial airliner to be downed, he has been arrested for negative comments against Vladimir Putin – unreal.

The Khaki Field Mechanical Reference H69439931 is an interesting timepiece for me, I really like owning a hand-wound watch so the Khaki Field Mechanical is an excellent option. Hamilton has a long history of supplying the US Army field watches, the Field Mechanical was standard issue for soldiers in the Vietnam war.

So what makes a field watch? The 24 hour dial is legible, for a military watch, an easy to read dial is mandatory. The 38 mm case diameter is not too large, technically a larger case and dial increases readability. The dial needs to be visible in low light conditions and darkness, so a lume on the hands and triangular hour markers is important. I like that there is no date, I really dislike the date on most watches as it throws out the aesthetics and I cannot read it anymore at any rate.

The case requires a degree of water resistance, the Khaki Field Mechanical offers 50 metres of water resistance, this is more than adequate as this is not a dive watch, but wearers may experience some immersion in water as this is a field watch after all. The case finish is bead-blasted, that is interesting in itself. There have been some complaints about the strap, some are saying a NATO strap is the best option so I will look into replacing the canvas strap in the future.

As the H-50 movement requires hand-winding, a screw-down crown is not a great option for a hand-wound timepiece so that is not an option. The Hamilton H-50 movement is built on the base ETA 2801-02 movement, this in-house Swatch Group movement manufacturer with 80 hours of power reserve. I really like hand-wound movement, I wake up in the morning, swing my legs over the bed and wind my watch before taking it off and heading to the shower.

A display case-back really is not an option for a field watch, the movement is not expected to be hand finished, the movement is supposed to be purely functional. The attraction of the field watch is its durability, a lack of finish and offers a certain ruggedness. The case finish, the dial and the strap all associate with an outdoor watch, this is a watch designed to be banged up, just keep it away from water.

The Russian T-72 tank with the flying turret is an endearing image of the Russian/Ukraine war. Under prepared, under trained, poorly lead and shambolic tactics lead to the early failures of the Special Military Operation. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine received NATO training to modernise their doctrine and develop a strategy to defeat a Russian invasion.

I have been closely following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and I was amazed at some of the footage of Ukrainian drones dropping grenades down the open hatches of Russian tanks causing a cook-off of muntions leading to catastrophic [and spectacular] failure of the tank. We are looking at a failure of a multi million dollar machine caused by a gravity seeking grenade launched from a cheap drone buzzing around overhead.

Even looking at a shoulder launched Javelin missile for a relatively cheap price of $60k USD, the loss of a million dollar asset such as a tank is a highly cost effective weapon. I was told Ukrainian soldiers were watching YouTube videos on how to operate these missile launchers. I work with retired full time soldiers, they did their twenty years in the military to receive their army pension. Russia prided itself on their tank formations and use of artillery, their artillery has been effective and a major [and constant] threat to Ukrainian troops.

These former full time soldiers sneered at army reserve soldiers, called them chocko, that is slang for chocolate soldiers, they would melt under the heat of battle. Well, the invading full time Russian military came up against the part time soldiers of Ukraine and were decisively beaten. The much vaunted 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade and 45th Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade Parachute Regiment were not only repealed, they were defeated as their assault operation of the Hostomel Airport [10 km from Kyiv] collapsed.

They were captured and killed as the Ukraine reservists were mobilised to defend the landing zone and prevent the rapid insertion of forces to march on the capital. This then fed into the convoy to Kyiv where Ukrainian reservists defeated Russian tanks on their way to the capital picking them off with Javelin missiles showing superior tactical nous to the full time Russian forces. We saw some amazing footage of Russian tanks littered on the roadside with victorious Ukrainian troops slipping back into camouflage in the woods to attack again.

I read an article in The Australian Newspaper and was frankly astounded. This article on the Jonny Bairstow stumping was not written by a sports journalist, but instead by another writer that I do not recall ever seeing before. The whole premise of the article was incorrect, the author put forward a case that Australian captain Pat Cummins should apologise to the English team, then put a caveat on that apology. Luke Slattery suggested we were aggrieved by the Mitchll Starc catch that was disallowed.

Firstly, the off-field umpire ruled on the catch and ruled that Starc had grounded the ball. Whether I or anyone else agrees or disagrees is irrelevant, the umpire has made a ruling based on the Laws of Cricket. The matter is closed, Ben Duckett returned to the crease and continued batting – incident closed. The team accepted the spirit of cricket, accepted the umpire’s decision and moved on, it wasn’t that big a deal.

The next incident is the Jonny Bairstow stumping, this time out as ruled by the off-field umpire. Therefore, the two incidents are not interlinked tit-for-tat. The off-field umpire ruled on both incidents and the umpire made the final decision. Therefore, whether you agree with the decision or not, each decision is made in isolation and on the merits of the appeal. The umpire ruled this time in Australia’s favour, the stumping was within the Laws of Cricket.

Ben Stokes was out in the centre for the Duckett non-catch and if he felt so strongly about walking, he could have indicated to Duckett to keep walking – he did not. The umpire ruled Duckett not out and he returned to the crease, so that is the end of it. The umpire ruled Bairstow out and he had to trudge off, not happy admittedly but he knows why. The spirit of cricket is to respect the umpire’s decision and that is what happened.

I am pretty interested in what Tissot has to offer by way of product and quality. With Tissot, you get a reasonable product at a decent price. I became interested in Tissot when I purchased a PR100 with a quartz movement. I did not wear that for long until I went back to mechanical movements and is now with my father.

The Powermatic 80 is an interesting rework of the workhorse ETA 2824-2 automatic movement modified to Tissot specifications. As the Swatch Group owns movement manufacturer ETA, they supply base mechanical movements to Tissot. The Powermatic 80 is more than just a 2824-2 with a Tissot winding rotor, they regulate the movement with a laser regulation at Tissot, so I am guessing watchmakers are not excited about this. This will be hard for them to regulate in their shops, I will be asking the question on my next visit to the watchmaker.

The Powermatic 80 has an 80 hour power reserve, a sizable increase on the standard 38 hour power reserve. This is achieved by a more efficient barrel design and a decrease in frequency from 4 Hz to 3 Hz, that is a reduction from 28,800 bph to 21,600 bph. The base Powermatic 80 has 23 jewels, there is a 25 jewel version so I need to check what I purchased, the Gentleman Automatic is a decent product. Not too fancy, but solid, it does not pop though.

So, what are the downsides to the Powermatic 80? Well, the regulation is apparently difficult to adjust, so watchmakers will not like it. There are apparently some plastic components in the movement, this is the downsides to a watch built to a price. There is some discussion that this was based on a Sistem51. Yet, I chose to purchase a Tisssot Gentleman with a Powermatic 80 centered around a base 2428-2 with a Silicium hairspring. It had to be at the right price, and I wasn’t for the price I paid – I have no complaints.