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Watching Watches

YESTERDAY I had the chance to meet one of country's most influential businessmen in a session where he spoke about his love for time pieces, his personal collection and his take on life. It was a timely meeting for the fifth edition of the Journey Through Time exhibition which would be held at the Starhill Gallery from Dec 1 to 10, where collectors from all over the world would fly in their private jets to pick out their Christmas gifts. So there I was in a high-end watch gallery, surrounded by time-pieces, each worth more than my annual salary. Brands that I've heard of and those that I have not. I love watches but you wouldn't catch me hanging in a Patek Philippe show room or stopping to check the price tag on a Vacheron Constantin simply because they're not on my league :)

But perhaps, after the eye-opening meeting with The Businessman I would, well, at least start educating myself more on watches and clocks. After all, I grew up with clocks ticking around me and watching my dad bent over the exposed back of a watch, picking on the jewel bearing. He is a retired watch-repair man, who now does pickles that tickle the tastebuds of his growing customer base. 

So the session began and the talk about his collections came up, specifically on his harboured interest in Badet & Co. time pieces. He collects this range of women's watches for its tailored beauty. Now I've never heard of Badet & Co. and listening to him talk about how the brand primarily catered for the delicate wrist curves and vain needs of women was rather sensuos to me. I think I had fallen in love with the romantic notion of a horologist in full concentration, working to create a curve that sits on the outer wrist of a woman in harmony. 

Some of the bling Badet & Co. watches

This has a white dial 
and the strap is still 
wrapped in plastic
Moving on to the boutique, I was greeted by a Watch Man in a dark suit and suede glove in one hand, who spoke about the brand in length while he pulled out a few watches. I put on a piece that was decked in many tiny diamonds that gleamed under the crystal chandeliers. Hanging by its side was a little price tag. Turned out I was wearing my condo unit on my wrist! A few years of my annual salary finely fitted into a two square-centimeters of a timeless work that the Watch Man said was priceless :) I had to smile for that. Really, it wasn't my kind of watch with diamonds and blings but I did see something else that was nice. A humble round face with a leather strap that would cost me a small fortune but it's still doable if I don't buy bags, shoes and other frivolous stuff for the whole of 2012.

I realise I'm comparing properties to these watches so much. But come to think of it, it may be easier to handle a watch than a property. Over time, they too, would increase in value like properties (and.Persian carpets), and I don't have to worry over assessment and quit taxes, maintenance fees or tenants from hell. Then again, watches that appreciate in value have got to be some special vintage editions, which I'd probably need to purchase with a bank loan :)

Comments

  1. I wish I had a better watch

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  2. Do these expensive watches have beeping alarms or is that too vulgar for a work of art?

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  3. I love my watch right now although I sure would love to have one of those bad boys for sure, great post!

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  4. Collecting valuable time-pieces? Rather out of my league - and I'd rather own my home! ;)

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  5. I wish I had better luck with watches - I'm either allergic to the metal, or they just die on me - prematurely

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  6. adam - a better watch ? it still runs, no ?
    :p

    gb - thats a very good question GB. i really don't know, lol. will have to check on that.

    matthew - thats good :p its always natural to always want a new, better one, isn't it ?

    beth - yeah :p homes are somehow more substantial :)

    terra - what about leather straps ? you can get them repaired :P

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  7. Aaah, watches r my latest crush.. last year, it ws sunglasses :)

    The thing with an expensive watch is that u simply can't have only a watch .. u need to buy the surroundings too... imagine buying a rolex and then going home by a rick/tuk-tuk - people wud obviously brand it a fake .. so if u buy an expensive watch, u need a similar ride too.. n yup, u'll need a house tht justifies the fact tht u hv such an expensive watch... :)
    Moral of story - I use my mobile to keep the time :D

    hopefully, ek din, I'd have a condo that's worth more thn my watch..

    oh wait...

    Oh ya, I don't keep a watch...

    Oh ya, don't hv a condo...

    :)

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  8. I have a cell phone, so I don't need a watch. ;) Facebook Twitter

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  9. I've got a very plain Seiko. It keeps time beautifully

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  10. I had a similar experience upon entering a clothing store to look for a suit. I tried on a few jackets before I noticed that they were in the price range of a down payment on a house, lol. I proceeded to waste the salesman's time for a few mins more before discreetly exiting and finding the nearest Walmart.

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  11. I have a watch I wear with my suit but not at any other times. Pretty much everyone has a clock in the form of their phone anyway, but a watch has a certain professional look to it.

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  12. raj - my affair with sunglasses just ended last year too with that last Ray Ban. well yea, true dat. an expensive watch needs to come with the package..otherwise its as a good as a counterfeit :p
    i also use my mobile to look at time, but sometimes i see the weather change, then i roughly know the hour :) i dislike the hours between 3pm and 6pm :p

    2 pesos - me too...but i really do appreciate watches :p

    nursie - thats a great watch :)

    otter - was it an armani boutique ? lol
    i do that too :p

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  13. No one wears watches anymore. They just use their phones to tell time.

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  14. Nice watches!

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  15. Ya i don't get the whole obsession with watches, but then i'm sure there are some people out there who don't get my obsession with shoes or books! I do have friends who spend 20-30k on watches which to me is ridiculous!!! But again, i would probably spend a million on a strand of michael jackson's hair, so there

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  16. I only wish I had that kind of money to spend and it never be on watches..haha

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  17. Interesting topic...great blog!cheers J

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  18. natural - beauty is in the eye of the beholder :p

    dwei - most do, but given a choice between a watch and a bracelet, i'd pick a watch anytime.

    interwebs - indeed :p

    sabrina - everyone with their own obsession. my obession with shoes is no good at all. MJ's hair sure worth keeping :p

    patt - me too :) they're obscenely rich.

    ashok - thanks, and welcome!

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  19. You start mentioning delicate wrist curves and watches do start to sound sexy.

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  20. This watches are so beacutifull

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  21. JDC - a watch completes a suit real well :)

    Jason - thanks and welcome here !

    missed period - they are, right :p

    rachael - bling and beautiful. welcome here :p

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