23 Jun 2008
Lately I have gotten myself into the extremely bad (and expensive) habit of looking at expensive watches. It all started when I was given a watch with a sizable price tag (well by sizable I mean in relative terms, which costs about 10 times as much as my last watch, which if you’ve been reading this blog, was a Seiko Arctura Kinetic).
Before that watch appeared in my balance sheet, I never thought much about watches at all, as I’ve been essentially living with electronic watches (Casio in particular) for pretty much all my life. I’ve heard about the watchmaking brands before, and my late mother had a few (which I shall talk a little about later), but I was never much into them. Watches to me was just what it was - a thing that tells you time of the day, days of the month, and (possibly) months of the year, which a Rolex, as well as a Seiko or a Casio, can do.
That was pretty much my perception of most watches, until now.
My life-long friend Derek had always been talking about watches. He of course had a lot in his collection - as far back as I can remember, I saw him with at least once a white Rolex Daytona Cosmograph and a Cartier Classic Santos (note the price tags - in US$, they’re not cheap indeed), amongst many others. I remembered asking about what watches should I start with if I’m to start getting into watches, he thought about it and answered, “a Patek Philippe, no doubt.”
But mind you that I was barely 22 at that time when he told me that, and I seriously cannot contemplate myself wearing one of those Patek timepieces, it would look so old and just wouldn’t match me at all.
Collecting these automatic mechanical watches are an expensive hobby indeed, with an adequate one (like my current one) costing at least tens of thousands of HK$, with some of the insanely expensive ones costing as much as a 2,000 Sq ft Palazzo flat (that means around HK$15 - 2xM, no joke).
My mother also had a few expensive watches, but I kind of figured nowadays that at the time she bought it, it was more for the socialising with colleagues rather than the collecting. She had 3 Rolexes - a gold ladies datejust, a ladies stainless steel datejust with jubilee strap (in Cantonese they will be called 金銀潤) and a Yachtmaster; & alongside that, a Vacheron Constantin which has quartz movement (i.e. not really valuable considering the make). They were all acquired a long time ago of course, and of not much value in terms of collectibles, and hence I eventually sold them all off as they were of no use to me. Not that I had much knowledges in watches at that time at all, and even with my current knowledge in watches, I wouldn’t regreat selling them off (with the mildest possible exception of the Constantin for sentimental reaons, but then again it’s a quartz watch).
Conventional HKers’ (that is the 40-50 year-olds’) wisdom would tell you that higher-end watches like Rolexes are preferred because they were highly liquid (i.e. if you’re in need of some quick cash you can just take them to a pawnbroker shop and get some cash, at a discount of course). Whilst today most people (especially the younger age) think that this is more of an urban fallacy dated from historical times, I tend to agree with that statement, to a certain extent.
If you don’t know about recent watch history, most of the expensive watches that people talk about now and hen are mechanical watches, which either needs to be hand-wound or automatic i.e. self-wound. They were expensive because of the craftsmanship that goes into each and every watch. In the 80’s however, with the advent of quartz and digital watches (mostly from Japan) the Swiss watchmaking industry was nearly killed off because those watches were simply much more accurate and much cheaper, it was only after the emergence of Swatch Group, who then bought many dying watchmakers and re-branded them, that the mechanical watches gained their popularity again. Therefore, nowadays these mechanical watches have re-invented themselves somewhat as really complicated jewelry, rather than a solid timepiece like they were 50-60 years ago.
It doesn’t mean, however, that current day mechanical watches aren’t accurate at all. Ok so they’re not as accurate as the atomic watch in research labs but they’re not far off it. This is due to the advent of technolgy that allow parts to be made with microscopic precision. They can tell accurate time for years without much servicing (although most watch brands will recommended that mechanical watches should be serviced every 3 - 5 years. It’s conventional wisdom that once a watch starts going wrong it might be too late to fix).
Having acquired some knowledge in watches, I came to appreciate that what kind of watches would command that investment-grade quality that people seeks (i.e. their values can go up, not just down). Ok, so if you take a Rolex to a pawnbroker you can still get some cash, but say if you take a Vacheron Constantin then the same might not happen, chances are some pawnbrokers are fucking with you, and merely trying to scab the watch off you cheap. (I know that would happen because that was what happened to me some years ago)
Hence if you want to sell your watch at marginally better value, your next best bet is a second-hand watchshops in the TST districts, but what you’re dealing with are essentially people with (often) detailed knowledge in watches (probably more so than your mere pawnbrokers), so unless the watches you’re trying to sell are really worth something, they will seriously discount them.
From what I gathered, as long as your watch has a lot of diamonds on it (such as some models of Rolexes and Frank Mullers), then you can sell them off for (possibly) quite adequate prices in second-hand watchshops. However that’s hardly professional if you ask me.
You can also go to the auctioneers to try and get your watches auctioned, but note that these people have extensive knowledges on literally ALL brands of watches currently available for sale on the planet, so chances of you auctioning off an average watch with these people are pretty slim (I gathered that they will tell you politely to fuck off). Maybe you can do so in some mid-range auctioneers in the UK, but I’m not aware of any mid-range auctioneers in HK, except the big players like Christies and Sotherby’s.
(Editor’s note: In fact, this Patek Philipe watch - the legendary 5002P - was auctioned at HK’s Sotherby’s recently for HK$11.75m, to show you what kind of watches qualifies to be auctioned)
I can neither call myself a watch-collector nor a hobbyist because currently I only have 1 watch in my collection (and it’s by no way a collectible), having started so late (although some say you’re not too late to start). The watches that I desire at my current (financial) level are hardly investment-grade (althought they may be so in 20 years time), although they may have some value if they were to be sold at second-hand watchshops.
Even so, I have already setup a road-map (sort of like a roadmap to peace that Blair and Bush were trying to set up) of what I am to get for my up-and-coming watch collection. they’re -
- Watch to wear to work everyday i.e. a workhorse;
- Watch to wear at weekends with your casual wear;
- Watch to wear at meetings with clients;
- Watch to wear at special occasions;
- Watch to add in your collection just to make people go “fucking wow!”
Before I start, I should most probably state out some of my personal preferences for watches (I will add more or reinforce them when I’m talking about some of the above categories):-
a) I’m not a big fan of chronographs and fat watches (ie. with a face diameter of more than 45mm). As mechanically complicated as chronographs are, since I’m not a sporty kind of person I hardly use my watch to time things, so if it’s just to look at then I would prefer not to have one (unless the model really struck me as great looking). Also, as I don’t have a fat wrist, so any watch with a diameter of larger than 45mm would actually look funny on my wrist (althought my cousin argues that I can probably wear a 45mm without any problem). Same goes for small diameter watches (what most would call boy-sizes);
b) As a particularly young person, I’m not inclined to acquire a watch that probably looks older than I do, with of without my clothes on;
c) My current financial position wouldn’t allow me to buy exquisitely expensive collectible watches, so I shalln’t include them here. It’s known that some watches are practically difficult to get, especially if they have known investment values. Hence I will just include tangible watches, those which I could get with my current financial resources, without putting much strain on myself;
d) Quartz or digital watches are definitely out of the question, and I would much prefer an in-house movement rather than a modified movement. By in-house movement that I mean that the movement to be developed by the brand itself rather than modifying a box-standard movement i.e. ETA movements. ETA is a watch movement maker monopoly in Switzerland, owned by Swatch group. Most of the mid-range expensive watches base their movement on certain ETA movement, and then modify them to get more out of it. This relationship works something like AMG modifying Mercedes-Benz engines, or Nismo with Nissan.
Based on the above categories, I don’t really need a lot of watches in my life. As I’ve said, once you’ve acknowledged that current mechanical watches are more like expensive jewleries where a lot of design and craftsmanship had gone into it, you will start to appreciate which kind of watches in the market has investment value.
Let’s start with (1) - Watch to wear to work everyday i.e. a workhorse
I would define a workhorse as something that you will wear everyday to work, and even off work when you go out with your friends. It’s probably preferable that they should be heavy duty, depending on your job. Some people would put Panerai watches in this category, but since my job doesn’t require heavy duty work (in fact, it required me to wear suits or at least dress smart casual most of the time), thus my workhorse watch doesn’t require heavy duty characteristics, looking pragmatic would probably make more sense. Althugh, to be really honest, if I found the right Panerai, it would most definitely end up in this slot as well.
Hence, my choice of a workhorse would be an IWC Portuguese Automatic. Some might argue that an IWC Portuguese Chronograph-Automatic maybe a better choice, but just in case you don’t know, the Chronograph version is actually based on an ETA chronograph (Valjoux 7750 to be exact, but to be honest it’s heavily modified so that its quality surpasses the original ETA design), whilst the Automatic uses Calibre 50010 movement (based on Calibre 5000) with a patented Pellaton winding system, which is IWC in-house (editor: you will also notice the price difference between the automatic and the chrono-automatic is around 60%).
The power reserve (how long it would last without being worn) for the Automatic is 8 days (i.e. 192 hours) theorectically, but mechanically limited to 7 days (168 hours), whilst the Chronograph Automatic is 44 hours. It has sapphire glass, stainless steel case and black crocodile leather strap (there are white and rose gold versions but I like stainless steel more).
(2) - Watch to wear at weekends with your casual wear
This is my current watch and although I wear it to work I would rather like it to be my weekend watch. A standard Bvlgari Bvlgari watch with face diameter of 42mm, sapphire glass and stanless steel case and strap, it’s not a complicated watch in comparison to the above, in fact its movement is also ETA based. It goes with well casual wear, and IMO being simple is everything in weekends.
Although Bvlgari is not a top-tier watchmaker, I’m sure that their watches are gradually getting some attention, as some of them are featured in the recent Iron Man movie, as worn by Robert Downey Jr. Be sure to check it out next time you watch it. Also, some top Bvlgari watches has their own in-house movement, which prices are in the top end league, which could potentially qualify as collectibles.
More complicated version of the same model has a chronograph movement (also base ETA 2894-2), but not to my taste really (at the time I was given a choice to change to another watch if this one wasn’t satisfactory, but I declined partly because I quite like it being simple as it is).
This is probably the category which I shall be updating the most (after the workhorses), and just keep adding to.
(3) - Watch to wear at various meetings
This is actually a more complicated category, because of my job nature, I will need to attend both internal and external meetings. Although internal meetings can be sometimes very brief (and a workhorse would suffice), external meetings are not, and meeting with top management of listed companies means that you’re under constant scrutiny both in appearance as well as in terms of your professional ability. A meeting watch cannot disappoint - it has to be class - but at the same time cannot be too flamboyant/ dazzling to that it attracts (sometimes) unwanted attention (or at worst, looks better than your client’s watch). I have shortlisted 2 watches under this category:
The first one is this Patek Philippe - the 5139G. This is one of the many watches which the maker had showcased in the 2008 Basel watch fair, and if you cared to check the price tag then you will certainly know that this watch, along with all other Patek watches, are anything but cheap (This watch is already US$75K (HK$585K))
Although it may have a relatively small diameter (38mm), it makes up for it by being ultra-thin (14.6mm!). Given the fact that it has a fucking perpectual calender you can simply tell how much craftsmanship had went into these Patek watches. Of course this Patek watch runs with its in-house calibre 240Q, and it’s well know that Patek manufactures EVERY SINGLE watch-part where most makers sources and modifies 3rd-party parts. The movement bears the Geneva Seal, a predigree, almost, that is reserved only for the best watchmakers in Switzerland (and is granted by law), all these contributes to the reason why a Patek watch is so damn pricey amongst other watches.
A Patek watch absolutely satisfies my definition a meeting watch (class but not too flashy) because it’s engraved deep within Patek’s watchmaking philosophy that the watches are not made flashy (i.e. no visible working parts showing), word goes around that if you want a flashy watch then don’t buy a Patek, but with a name that says it all, you really don’t need any flashy bits showing.
In terms of practicality, it’s not easy buying a Patek watch that you want, and you will need to be put into a painfully long waiting list and probably have to wait for years until you can get hold of one of them. It’s great marketing if you ask me, because in microeconomics supply and demand determines the price, and where demand exceedingly outweighs the supply, it’s only natural that the price goes up. Simply economics.
My second meeting watch is this one:
The A. Lange & Sohne Langematik Perpetual (yes it’s German). This is possibly the only non-Swiss watch brand that I really like (afterall, Germans are famous for their engineering on power machines known as cars, but not really timepieces).
Nevertheless, this perpetual calender may look a little more flashy, but at the same time has an unspoken elegence that easily matches the Patek 5139G. Both are amazing to look at, dazzling yet unintrusive, appealing to both the layman and the fellow hobbyist and professional collectors. While A. Lange & Sohne doesn’t bear the same statute that the Swiss government grants to their master watchmakers (because Germans don’t have such a thing), in the world of watches they’re of the same renowned standard and status as Patek Philippe, Chopard and the like.
Now comes the crunch - the price - US$80K (HK$624K), and yes, more than the Patek.
(4) - Watch to wear at special occasions
By special occasions I mean wedding ceremonies and feasts and relatives, friends and colleagues, reunions and various gatherings that requires one to dress at least presentable. Whilst it’s nearly impossible to outshine the main characters of these occasions (unless you’re a public figure), the watches you wear are mainly to show off to acquintances that you know not too well (so yeah, a watch to show-off basically). Some of the watches that I think could be meeting watches but weren’t, because either they’re too bling or too busy, were put here.
As these are mainly show-off watches, it means that they’re almost belong in the collectibles category as well.
I have shortlisted 2 watch models here:
(editor note: No, the above watches are just different colours of the same model, in Pink Gold and Platinum. The tourbillon is that little transparent circle at the 6 o’clock position)
The above model is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Tourbillon. To my surprise when I first heard about Jaeger watches, they are relatively much much more expensive than their fashion items (i.e. clothes). A Tourbillon is a particular watch design (from 2 centuries ago) that gives extreme accuracy by cancelling out gravitational forces on the movement (apprently it’s the only workable design against gavity). When you wear your watch, it’s subject to all kinds of gavitational forces because (a) you move your hands around, and (b) your hand is not in horizontal position most of the time; and so the deisgn sets to eliminate these forces.
As with most Jaeger watches, this one comes in its own in-house movement (Calibre 978). Also, most Tourbillon watches I would put under the show-off watch category because to me it’s just so mesmerising (flashy to some) to look at the mechanical watch in motion. This Tourbillon does one circulation in one minute (a.k.a. the 1-minute Tourbillon), and FYI, most tourbillon are in the HK$XXXK price range as they’re considered to be quite complicated and technically challenging to manufacture, hence you will find that some of the most expensive timepieces (limited editions) have a tourbillon movement within it.
It’s diameter is 41.5mm and obviously comes with sapphier glass. Price? US$72K (around HK$561K).
The second watch model I’ve shortlisted is this one:
This is the Chopard L.U.C. Tourbillon. Chopard IS up there with Patek Philippe, some would consider better. If Patek Philippe lacks flashiness, Chopard lacks none of it. This is the stanless steel (i.e. cheaper) version of the model, but its price is already in the 6-figure US$ region (US$105K to be exact, that’s HK$820K). Face diameter of 40.5mm, with thickness 10.9mm it’s not a very big watch, and if there’s any down point about this watch - it’s hand-wound and not automatic, but nonetheless the watch makes up for it by having a 8-day power reserve. In-house movement (L.U.C. 4T) and although it doesn’t come with the Geneva Seal due to some technicality issues (assembled in Fleurier and not Canton of Geneva), it’s of no doubt the highest complexity and quality.
(5) - Watch to add in your collection just to make people go “fucking wow!”
This is the last and final category of my watches. In this category, you won’t necessary have to wear these watches, and you probably won’t want to for fear of breaking it, but they are just damn expensive because they’re so rare (primarily they’re limited edition productions). Price can be relaxed a little bit here.
Apart from being rare, there must also be a “fucking wow!” factor to these watches, simply because they’re so much different from what you see on the streets. Most concept watches belongs to this category, such as this Royal Oak Carbon concept watch from Audemars Piguet, but you see, the problem with most concept watches are - they’re not for sale, and are concept only (just like concept cars). Therefore, it’s always difficult to find such a watch with all of the above qualities.
Until now.
The above beast is the Defy Extreme Zero G Tourbillon from Zenith. Mind you that the picture doesn’t tell you everything - although the whole thing looks plastic, the watch case is actually made of titanium, even the strap. It doesn’t just have a Tourbillon movement, in fact it as a gyroscope cage Tourbillon i.e. the movement can stay horizontal no matter what orientation the watch is at. Zenith had actually improved the Tourbillon design to a such a degree so as to make the watch totally free from all gravitational movements (hence the term Zero G). It’s so damn cool that it even has its own page separate from the Zenith site.
The watch is currently not on sale, but there is a booking form to put you on the waiting list so that when it comes into existence, you can be one of its first owners; also it was made known to the world that this watch would cost US$500K. So is this a concept watch? It is, but different from other unobtainable, there’s certainly a strong possibility that they will be produced. Diameter is 46.5mm, and although I have no idea about its thickness, it must be pretty damn thick.
Conclusion
I can’t give it a conclusion as yet because this is only the beginning and certainly not the end, and I shall talk about more of watches later.
