From horological significance to movement intricacies, the collectors on the following pages tell us about their favourite timepieces beyond the surface.
From horological significance to movement intricacies, the collectors on the following pages tell us about their favourite timepieces beyond the surface.
TEXT LYNETTE KOH PHOTOGRAPHY FRENCHESCAR LIM ART DIRECTION DENISE REI LOW
Colorectal surgeon
FOCUSING ON PIECES THAT HELP TO CHRONICLE MODERN HOROLOGY.
“When I was a kid, my uncle worked in the watch industry, so he used to give me watches, like Casios. The first watch I got from my parents was a Carven, when I finished my A levels. Subsequently, at important stages of my life, I would buy a watch to reward myself. I got my first mechanical watch – a Glashutte Original Sixties Senator Square Chronograph – when I qualified as a specialist in 2006.”
“There’s usually history involved in what I buy. It has to have horological significance. For example, the F.P. Journe Tourbillon Remontoir d’Egalite was among the first watches made by (independent watchmaker) F.P. Journe. Aesthetics are also important. I tend towards classical styles, although I have some avantgarde ones, such as the Urwerk UR-105. I also look at the technicality and finishing of the movement.”
“The Datograph movement by A. Lange & Sohne is considered one of the most important chronograph movements of the modern era. It’s a beautiful movement with a lot of depth. This version, in rose gold with a black dial, is commonly termed the Dufourgraph, because it’s the same as the one owned by (independent watchmaker) Philippe Dufour, who said that the Datograph is the best chronograph. I can’t afford to buy a Dufour, but I can buy what he owns. (Laughs.)”
“I bought this first-generation Freak by Ulysse Nardin from a friend who was looking to sell it. I had been waiting for such a piece to come by. I like it because it’s innovative and there’s so much to look at. It’s essentially a one-hour tourbillon because the entire movement completes one rotation every hour. Also, it runs on rails around the case; the winding mechanism is the entire caseback; and the time is set by turning the bezel. It’s quite different from a typical watch.”
“My favourite complication is the moonphase. I think it’s the most romantic complication out there. Whenever I wear a moonphase watch, I make sure it’s correctly set. I set the moonphase by checking it against the (moonphase setting tool of the) Watchville app.”
Paul Cheong, Director of regional trading company
A TASTE FOR TRADITIONAL WATCHES WITH UNUSUAL TIME DISPLAYS.
“When I was 16, my parents bought me a mechanical watch with a skeletonised dial from Bucherer, a boutique in Switzerland. I seldom wore it because I treasured it. When I got married, they gave me and my wife a pair of Patek watches. My inlaws also know that I like watches; they got me a Jaeger-LeCoultre Duoface for Christmas 10 years ago.”
“I like watches with jumping hours – such as my Gerald Genta Retro Solo and the Corum Classical Heure Sautante – because they are different. To make the jumping hours, the watchmaker has to add different layers to a standard base movement. The Gerald Genta was my daughter’s favourite when I bought it four years ago. She was just four years old then, but she could pronounce the brand name. Every Sunday, when I went to my watch cabinet, she would follow me and say: ‘I want the Gerald Genta!’ So, for that whole year, I had to wear the same watch every Sunday.”
“I find Chronoswiss a very interesting brand; it was the first to create the regulator wristwatch (a watch with separate registers for the hours, minutes and seconds). The mechanism was by Enicar, but Chronoswiss modifi ed it and made it its own. The Chronoswiss Regulateur was made in 2002 and is the first automatic regulator watch by Chronoswiss. The founder, GerdRudiger Lang, wears the same watch, but his has a white dial, while mine is black.”
“I’m in a few Facebook-based watch groups, like JLC Passion and Swag – the Singapore Watch Appreciation Group. I take a wrist shot every day for Instagram and Facebook. I’ll change watches, because I think, ‘Aiyah, so many watches and they don’t get enough wrist time.’ On weekends, I sometimes wear three to four different watches a day. On weekdays, I sometimes take an additional watch with me to do a midday change. But there are days when I’m too busy to change my watches. (Laughs.)”
Winston Kwang, Beer importer and distributor
GETTING UP CLOSE WITH INDIE BRANDS AND WATCH INSIDES.
“I was a very casual buyer for much of my working life. I’d just buy watches that looked nice and were popular. I got into serious watch collecting about three years ago, when I came across the Purists (watch enthusiasts’) forum and got interested in the brands I didn’t normally see, with wonderful finishing and handiwork.”
“With regard to movements, my first love was chronographs. Now I’m more into how watchmakers make time keeping more consistent, using mechanisms like constant force and resonance. It’s just different. I feel that horology is not just about big complications. I have two such watches coming soon, the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance, and the Gronefeld 1941 Remontoire.”
“I like to buy watches from people who are passionate about their work. My latest watches are mostly by independents. A brand I like is Lang & Heyne. It launched the Georg watch at Baselworld last year, and the moment I saw pictures of it I fell in love with it: The movement is amazing and I like the enamel dial. Ie-mailed them to express my interest, and they were coming to Singapore so they offered to meet up. (A few Purists members and I) did a photo shoot of their watches for the forum.”
“The 13.21 movement of the Montblanc Villeret 1858 Vintage Pulsographe was customised for me by Montblanc watchmaker Julien Miribel. Movements by (Montblanc’s movement maker) Minerva are famous for a few things – a big, low-frequency balance wheel, a V-shaped chronograph bridge, and the Minerva arrow. On mine, the column wheel is flame-blued, and the arrow is mirror-polished. This is also one of my favourites because of its enamel dial. It’s not easy for all the colours to come out so nicely on an enamel dial.”
“I don’t buy watches with the same movement. If you tell me there’s a 13.21 movement in another watch, I won’t buy it. It just doesn’t make sense to me to have a watch in different colours, but with the same movement. To me, it’s still the same watch.”
