Celebrity Life

The hypercar-inspired model includes two high-speed triple-axis tourbillions.

Staying true to its consistent boundary-pushing energy, CASIO unveils a very special G-SHOCK watch this month (just in time for the festive gift-giving season.) The GM-2100MG-1AER Moon Watch is hard to miss, for a number of reasons. Drawing design inspiration from the recent series of GM-2100 iterations, this latest release boasts a gold octagonal metal […]

Both timepieces are satin-finished and sport a 45 mm case.

The ever-popular Richard Mille x Rafael Nadal Collection gets a redesign. As Richard Mille continues to dominate the watch world as an industry leader, its collaboration examples with Rafael Nadal stand at the top as some of the most sought-after timepieces in the world. With a successful partnership that blends luxury timepieces and world-class tennis, […]

The post Richard Mille Unveils The All-New RM 35-03 Rafael Nadal Collection appeared first on duPont REGISTRY Daily.

The Classic Fusion gets a new clear look from Hublot x Takashi Murakami. The creative relationship between Hublot and iconic artist Takashi Murakami symbolizes the similarities between their two worlds, with limited-edition examples sporting unique designs. Hublot is proud to be working with the Japanese artist on the release of the all-new Classic Fusion Takashi […]

The post Hublot Releases The $106,000 Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Sapphire Rainbow appeared first on duPont REGISTRY Daily.

For Takashi Murakami, it hasn’t always been easy. Today, he’s one of the most recognizable figures in the art world and has pioneered the intersection of fashion and art since the early days of his career. With collaborators including Kanye West, Louis Vuitton, Supreme, COMME des GARÇONS, and more under his belt, he is nothing […]

The Fifty Fathoms model receives a new complex movement from Blancpain. When it comes to staple models for the Blancpain brand, the Fifty Fathoms Collection checks off all the boxes as an iconic example that continues to be reimagined using new designs and movement technology. Blancpain is proud to continue the legacy of the Fifty […]

The post Blancpain Releases The New Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon 8 Jours Collection appeared first on duPont REGISTRY Daily.

The Twin Turbo Furious receives a precious metal makeover from Jacob & Co. The Jacob & Co. brand specializes in designing and creating high-end luxury timepieces that incorporate one-of-a-kind grand complications. One of the models that beautifully highlights the craftsmanship and technology behind a modern-day Jacob & Co. timepiece is the Twin Turbo Furious. Jacob […]

The post Jacob & Co. Releases The Twin Turbo Furious In Blue Titanium and Rose Gold appeared first on duPont REGISTRY Daily.

Beyond his talents for cooking, Christopher Ho is also an avid collector of watches, whisky and even Pokémon cards. We talk to the rising home chef about his watch-collecting journey and how his family influenced his style.

Christopher Ho is what a lot of people would call a home chef. The rising star in the culinary world is completely self-taught and, like many millennials, learned his chops through YouTube videos. Unlike most people, though, he’s had the chance to hone his skills with some of the most decorated chefs in Hong Kong, collaborating and hosting pop-ups with Eric Raty of two-Michelin-star Arbor and at socialite hangout Sevva.

Ho has also collaborated with Breguet, on the launch of the brand’s third-generation Marine Collection, a partnership he felt personally attached to as he owns a second-generation Marine 5817 that was passed down to him from his grandfather. And this Christmas, he’s already announced his first collaboration, with K11 MUSEA and Artisan Lounge, on the launch of his festive Moutai Banana Bread.

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His longest-standing partnership, however, is with French bistronomie Ami/Wood Ear, where he’s the curator and part-owner of the restaurant and bar’s more than 400 bottles of rare and unique bottles, sourced from around the world.

A huge part of Ho’s success comes down to his affable manner, his knack for picking great partnerships and, most importantly, his keen eye for quality and uniqueness, which informs almost everything he does, from collecting whisky to curating his watch collection.

“The concept of uniqueness runs through my watch collection,” he says. “For example, the Rolex 16610 is a standard Submariner from 1994 seen on many wrists, but it’s been engraved with my initials and birth year, while my Datejust 16013 is both a Buckley [with painted Roman numerals] and it’s Tiffany & Co co-branded. As my luxury watch collection slowly becomes more mainstream, it’s defined by watches like these.”

He approached whisky collecting, a hobby he’s harboured since university days in the UK, in much the same way – and it brought him the opportunity to curate for Ami/Wood Ear. “Many of the bottles may not necessarily be expensive, but they can’t be accessed anywhere else in the world, or they’re autographed by bottlers or distillers,” he explains.

Ho jokes that he’s a hoarder, and it’s true that he’s avidly collected things since he was young, starting with Pokémon cards and figurines. Now, his fascination is with watches, sneakers and whiskies. “I was given my first luxury watch on my 18th birthday, but I only began to collect watches from the age of 21,” he says. “I’ve always been fascinated by watches – it’s something about how so many tiny parts can create something so intricate yet govern an intangible concept of time that always intrigued me.”

No doubt coming from a family of collectors has also informed Ho’s tastes. His aunt and uncle are both collectors of new and vintage watches, and his 18th birthday watch, given to him by his father, is an extremely rare model that’s still locked in a safe, unworn.

A family heirloom that he does wear, however, is his Breguet Marine Big Date 5817, which his grandfather passed down to him. “I still remember the story my grandfather told me of why he bought the Breguet 5817,” says Ho. “He was an avid golfer and wanted a rubber- strap watch for his golfing that equally balanced his wrist – not too heavy, not too light. That taught me that beyond all the bells and whistles of watch design, every watch has a purpose – and to this day I keep this lesson in mind when looking at new purchases.”

At a recent photoshoot with Breguet, Ho was drawn to the Tradition 7097, a boutique-exclusive version that comes with an elegant blue guilloche dial. Inspired by founder Abraham-Louis Breguet’s subscription pocket watches, it showcases the intricate movement components on the top of the mainplate, and features a retrograde second hand, much like the one-hand pocket watches of 1796. In true Breguet fashion, each part of the bridges and mainplate is finished to the highest degree, and the gold winding rotor, visible from the back, is finished with the clous de Paris guilloché pattern.

Musing over the watch, Ho describes himself as a cautious collector and tries to accord meaning to each of his watches. “I always make sure that the watch signifies a certain meaning, such as tying it to an important life event,” he explains. “If the watch matches the event well enough, then I’ll proceed to purchase it. Each item is thought through meticulously, meaning I don’t regret any of my purchases. Sometimes I do regret not buying a watch because of this, though!”

The post Watch Collecting with Home Chef Christopher Ho: A Family Affair appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

The relationship between Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. stretches to the early beginnings of the two luxury powerhouses, with a long-standing tradition of creating limited edition timepieces sporting the two logos. Nowadays, a Patek Philippe x Tiffany & Co. timepiece is viewed as a holy grail for any watch collector or enthusiasts, driving the […]

The post Patek Philippe x Tiffany & Co. Celebrate 170-Years With A New Limited-Edition Nautilus 5711 appeared first on duPont REGISTRY Daily.

The Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, which celebrated its 20th-anniversary last month, holds an unparalleled collection of rare, antique and exquisite horological artefacts.

Although the revered horological house of Patek Philippe now occupies a vast and gleaming new headquarters on the southwestern edge of Geneva, an older edifice close to the Swiss city’s vieille ville might be said to contain a considerable portion of the watch manufacture’s soul. For it’s there, in a 100-year-old former industrial building at 7 Rue des Vieux Grenadiers, that Patek Philippe’s then-president (and now honorary president) Philippe Stern decided in November 2001 to establish a museum – one that would house not only a collection of many of the most important timepieces made by the company in a history dating back to 1839, but also an astonishing array of watches and clocks that have helped define the development of horology since the 16th century. Alongside these, the museum also gathered many extraordinary examples of the watchmakers’ art, such as the Genevan speciality of enamelling: taken together, the collection constitutes one of the world’s most comprehensive repositories of the history of timekeeping.

The building itself, which formerly housed the Genevan manufacture’s case-, bracelet- and chain-making operations, was painstakingly restored in 1999-2001, with much of the decorations overseen by Stern’s wife, Gerdi. By the time the Patek Philippe Museum celebrated its 20th-anniversary last month, its collection comprised some 2,500 exhibits, displayed over two levels: the first floor is dedicated to more than 170 years of significant Patek Philippe creations, while the second level focuses on the history and development of the portable mechanical timepiece, not only in Switzerland but also around Europe; each floor is further sub-divided into themed areas.  A library of more than 8,000 volumes and works occupies the third floor, underlying the museum’s educational and research roles, and space has been set aside for a rotating programme of temporary exhibitions.

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Now among the pre-eminent attractions of this historic city, the museum has welcomed more than 600,000 visitors since its opening, with bookable regular public guided tours in French and English held each Saturday, and advance-bookable in seven languages, including Chinese. Themed tours, such as enamelling, are also available.

Once travel has resumed, the Philippe Museum is open at 2-6pm, Tuesday to Friday, and 10am-6pm Saturday, public holidays excepted. Next year, two new catalogues – one devoted to the collection’s Patek Philippe watches and the other to the antiques – will be published.

Learn more about the Patek Philippe museum here.

The post The Patek Philippe Museum: A Walk Through Watchmaking History appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

A testament to timeless design, the Grand Seiko 44GS celebrates its 55th birthday with a limited-edition, commemorative release. In the late 60s, 1967 to be precise, Grand Seiko released the original 44GS wristwatch. The style was built to embody a new style code that would come to be known as the “Grand Seiko Style.” In […]