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 :)