A WATCH FAN ON HOW TIMEPIECES COMPLETE HIM WITHOUT RULING HIS LIFE.
![The Peak](https://myreadingroom.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/img/magazine/jC7SXnLT0E2yh3OpAof3DkcntsXRLPQ3xSD5RNMo.png)
![Portrait of Tammy Strobel](https://myreadingroom.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/img/media/16321/c/landscape.jpg)
“When I’m getting ready, I feel half-dressed if I don’t put on a watch. I bought my first watch with my angbao (Hokkien for red packet) money when I was in secondary school. It was a Casio analogue watch. I remember feeling like I had become a man because I finally had an accessory to call my own. (Laughs.)”
“I like watches that are rugged and elegant. I take care of my watches, but I’m not afraid of scratching them. I have a Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5167 in white gold that my wife gave me for our fifth wedding anniversary, and I wear it to swim or play golf. It’s the second watch she has given me. The first one was a Tag Heuer Formula 1 (pictured) about 15 years ago, when we were still dating and she was just starting out in the working world.”
“The last watch I got was the Panerai Radiomir Composite PAM 504 (pictured), nearly two years ago. I’ve not been buying watches because my new house is being built. I would like a Richard Mille RM11, but I think to myself: Would I rather buy a watch, or a lift for my house? For now, I’d rather get the lift.”
“My Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726 (pictured) was a reward to myself for a milestone I reached before I left ST Engineering and joined my current company. I had been on the waiting list for this watch for a year, and it happened to come in then. Although it has an annual calendar complication, it’s very slim. I use the moonphase to know when it’s chu yi shi wu (the first and 15th days of each Chinese lunar month). On those days, there will be a new moon or full moon. My wife is Buddhist and eats vegetarian food on those two days. So, I can make arrangements accordingly, if we are going on a dinner date.”
“I’ve been waiting for the Nautilus 5711 for one and a half years. After I get it, I’ll move towards Patek’s dressier, more complicated watches. Your likes and choices evolve as your lifestyle does – dressier watches go well for formal events, which I attend more of these days. I thought I would stop at two Pateks because I have two children. You know how the brand says you don’t actually own a Patek, it’s for the next generation? Then, when I started looking at the 5711, I thought, well, I guess I can keep one for myself too. You always give yourself reasons to shop.”
THREE WATCHES THAT DEFINE MY HOROLOGICAL JOURNEY
![My Reading Room](https://myreadingroom.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/img/article/mediaDN4D5zDN/w1UVo2ZG6OOdrqcU4hw25D96TUQRzxAlLtVGb3fZ.jpeg)
![My Reading Room](https://myreadingroom.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/img/article/mediaDN4D5zDN/JtlGRcf3xS3MPV9JX3SqDuE2G9aeJKf1aGJ9Hsry.jpeg)
![My Reading Room](https://myreadingroom.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/img/article/mediaDN4D5zDN/yFxFHwfIZ393Fal7wIuL8jLJx9CNrEe0F4VdEaWO.jpeg)
“Rugged” Panerai Radiomir Composite PAM 504 in ceramicised aluminium
TEXT LYNETTE KOH PHOTOGRAPHY DARREN CHANG ART DIRECTION FAZLIE HASHIM