We ask four of Hong Kong’s most avid watch collectors to give us a peek at their favourite timepieces.
4 Hong Kong Watch Collectors on Their Favourite Timepieces
Austen Chu, owner of Wristcheck
When did you begin collecting watches?
It all started in kindergarten! I moved to Shanghai when I was very young, and lived with my mom and my grandparents, who happened to be maths professors. Naturally, since they were Chinese, they taught me numbers before my ABC, and I picked up telling time very quickly. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s how it all started. My mom then bought me a baby blue Flik Flak, which became my “safety blanket” – I wouldn’t be able to sleep or shower without that watch strapped to my wrist. For the record, I don’t sleep with watches anymore.
Are there watches in your collection you’ve never worn?
Nope! I’m a firm believer that all watches should be worn and appreciated because that’s part of the charm of watch collecting. Part of it is being able to have your hobby (your watch) alongside you as a companion throughout every milestone in life. There are certain pieces in my collection that I haven’t worn in a long time, like the watches that aren’t with me physically in Hong Kong. However, I do try to rotate my watches as much as possible.
Do you have a favourite watch, because of its intrinsic or sentimental value?
I don’t think I have a favourite watch per se, but I think the watch that means the most to me is my collaboration with Audemars Piguet, the Royal Oak China Edition, launched in January 2020. It’s definitely the watch that means the most to me, because it’s pretty much everything I’d want in a high-end daily watch. A super-light (the watch was the first-ever Royal Oak Perpetual calendar in full titanium), monotone Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (Perpetual Calendars are my favourite complication).
What makes you covet a watch?
A variety of factors. In the beginning, before I knew about any brands, it was all about aesthetics, so I guess design is the most important factor. I still stick to that today. After design comes the brand and the people behind the brand. However, at the end of the day, just buy and collect what speaks to you is my sincere advice to all budding collectors. If you see a watch and it tugs on your heartstrings and you’re still thinking about it when you’re going to bed at night, then it’s the right watch for you. Watch collecting is a very personal hobby, and we’re often too clouded by what we see on the echo chamber of social media. For me, it was always down to aesthetics. That’s why I had a Royal Oak poster in my bedroom in middle school, before I even knew how much it cost.
Do you follow other watch collectors?
Of course, I do. There are so many wonderful people I’ve met in the past year after moving to Hong Kong, who all have fantastic collections – museum-worthy stuff. Sadly, these individuals all prefer to remain private.
Kamal Daswani, owner of Dram Good Stuff
When did you begin collecting watches?
It would be 1990 and my first collectable, a Patek 5059P Perpetual calendar with retrograde date. I’d recently come into a little cash and didn’t want to blow it all, so I figured a Patek Philippe may not be a bad place to park some of it. I still have it and it still makes me smile.
What’s the rarest piece in your collection?
I have a steel Omega pocket watch from the 1950s. It went to Omega for a service and they called me from Switzerland, asking permission to photograph it. It was a piece they’d lost track of and in return they replaced the hands with pink-gold ones, effectively making it unique.
Are there watches in your collection you’ve never worn?
None. I always go to the boutiques with a naked wrist and wear every new piece home. An unworn timepiece is to condemn it to an existence without meaning.
Do you have a favourite watch, because of its intrinsic or sentimental value?
I have two in that category. When my grandfather passed away, my grandmother took his gold Rolex Day Date off his wrist in the hospital and asked my mother to give it to me. I still wear it from time to time. Then one day the gold bracelet simply fell apart and I decided to get a gold GMT as a replacement. When I showed it to my mom, she immediately said, “Let me get that for you. It will also be from your grandfather.” Till now, Rolex is my go-to timepiece.
What makes you covet a watch?
Always design first. If it makes my heart race, then the chase begins!
Do you follow other watch collectors?
There are so many now on Instagram. I follow a few, more to keep with new launches and interesting photography, rather than to emulate anyone. Watch collecting is too personal a journey to copy anyone else.
Thierry Dubois, chairman of LUOXO
When did you begin collecting watches?
My grandfather, who was a watchmaker just as my father was, gave me one of his beloved watches on his 80th birthday and asked me to take care of it always. He was the one who triggered my interest in watches. My father carried on teaching me about watch brands and the industry as a whole. I was hooked.
What’s the rarest piece in your collection?
It’s difficult to pick one as they all have a unique story. One I particularly like is a Rolex 6238 from the 1960s. It’s a 36mm chronograph with a Rolex 722 calibre (Valjoux 72 calibre base) with a 48-hour power reserve. A vintage watch expert told me that only about 2,000 were ever made. It’s the pre-Daytona model.
Are there watches in your collection you’ve never worn?
I wear all my watches and this is important to me. Watches are alive when you wear them and they’re meant to be worn. It’s a bit like art. All the art I have is on my walls and I don’t keep any of it in boxes or storage, accumulating dust. It’s part of my daily routine to choose which watch I’m going to wear that day. It depends on my mood, on my clothes, who I’m going to meet that day or what I’m going to do.
Do you have a favourite watch, because of its intrinsic or sentimental value?
I have a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116506.78596, which was a 20th-anniversary gift from my wife. It’s in a 40mm platinum case and runs on a Rolex 4130 calibre.
What makes you covet a watch?
I buy the watches I love and can afford. It’s always the same – it comes from the heart and then the wallet. There are many watches I love but can’t afford. I then just spend time reading (and dreaming) about them.
Do you follow other watch collectors?
I enjoy talking to other collectors so much I set up a watch enthusiasts’ club in Hong Kong earlier this year. It’s a purely personal investment, with no influence whatsoever from any watch brand. It’s absolutely fantastic, as we’re creating a tight-knit community of watch enthusiasts who talk very freely about their passion. There are many people in our community I really envy – I often think to myself, “When I grow up, I’d like to have his/her watch collection!”
Christopher Ho, chef
When did you begin collecting watches?
I’ve always been into watches. It’s something about the intricacies regarding the movements of cogs and dials to govern time, a concept that’s meant to be completely outside our control, but which always intrigued me. I was given my first luxury watch when I turned 18, but I only began to collect them when I turned 21.
What’s the rarest piece in your collection?
Perhaps not the most expensive, but the rarest watch I own that I’ve never seen anywhere else is my Rolex 16013 two-tone Datejust with both a Buckley dial and Tiffany & Co co-branding. I’ve only seen 16013s with either the Buckley or Tiffany co-branding, but never with both simultaneously. I think the two-tone bracelet itself is a bit flashy, so I’ve changed it to a more casual and subtle leather strap.
Are there watches in your collection you’ve never worn?
There’s one watch that’s technically in my collection but has never been worn and nor has the leather strap even been bent. It’s an Audemars Piguet Quantieme Perpetual 25661BA bought by my father in the 1980s for his future son (i.e, me). I “received” the watch when I turned 21 – that is to say, it was taken out of the safe and a photo was taken, then it was returned to the depths of the safe where it remains till now! I plan to keep the watch there for my own son when he turns 21, and perhaps he’ll do the same for his son in the future. I have a feeling the first son in our lineage who accidentally bends the leather strap will receive a visit from all the ancestors that night!
Do you have a favourite watch, because of its intrinsic or sentimental value?
There are two watches I’m sentimental about. The first is my first-ever luxury watch – a Rolex Milgauss – that I was given by my parents in 2012 as my 18th-birthday present. It was the first thing I’ve had to treasure and truly look after and it reflected my first step into adulthood. My other watch that holds the most sentimental value is my Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 26331ST. I bought that earlier this year after doing a catering gig for Audemars Piguet. I’ve always treated my cooking as a passion project, but this was the first time I’ve truly felt a sense of accomplishment from my hobby and professional pursuit.
What makes you covet a watch?
As with everyone, the price of the watch obviously makes a big impact on how much it’s coveted, but above design and brand, it’s whether or not the watch resonates with me and the sentimental value surrounding the purchase. Every watch I’ve bought has been to commemorate some milestone or event in my life, and often the watch I choose reflects the event itself, for example, a dress watch to reflect a professional event in my life. One thing that’s been exciting me a lot is the unique materials, such as tantalum, carbon fibre and ceramics, that are being incorporated in the watch world nowadays. That’s definitely a route I’d like to explore more in the future.
Do you follow other watch collectors?
Coincidentally, the people I talk to most about watches are also within my family; both my aunt and uncle are big watch collectors. One focuses on vintage watches and the other on newer models. Whenever there’s a watch I’m interested in or if I ever want to chat about watches, I almost always talk to them first. However, in terms of an amazing watch collection, you can’t ignore Austen Chu. We recently met up for dinner to catch up and chat about watches and I still can’t fathom how he can be so knowledgeable about watches at such a young age
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