2014-05; Singapore, AsianJourneys

C yclin g in T h ailan d – E x plorin g S out h ern L aos – T h e N ostalg ia o f T ravel

journeys MCI (P) 079/05/2013

APRIL - MAY 2014 Volume 6 Issue 2

5.00

The Old & New in

nha trang Sake, Susi, Sado

& Geishas The Best of

Broome APRIL - MAY 2014 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2

Australia AUD 4.50

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bernard’s time

NEW HIDDEN GEMS

Dr Bernard Cheong looks at the hidden gems of the watch world that he believes are a very good investment and will only accrue in value

MATERIAL ITEMS THAT demonstrate wealth, status and education have not changed much in centuries. The huge home, opulent art, exotic travels, jewellery and the mode of transport. Watches, timepieces and clocks have climbed to the top of the status chain. The horse has gone, castles have gone, exotic travel is not as exclusive as it was before.

Education & Taste In watch making, it is all about art, craftsmanship, longevity and performance. Watch designs have many lives. The first life is as a sought after item of status, another life as an educational artefact of engineering, and watches can live on as a cultural landmark piece, with a material breakthrough of engineering marvel, or as a mathematical model of theory put into reality.

A quality watch simply cannot die after being born. It can be killed by being in the wrong era, or it may succumb to forces of culture, but it will revive, relive, and even fight to conquer another era as an item of immense value.

Historical Examples This is not speculation or conjecture, but history! I have no need to illustrate, but just mention Panerai, Ulysse Nardin, IWC, Lange & Sohne as the underdogs of World War II, and Patek Philippe as the ever ruling first kingdom. These watches are now in the high zone.

What is not yet high, but has enormous potential?

Buben & Zorweg’s very first hand wound watch,

the ONE perpetual calendar. It’s not inexpensive, but a remarkable watch of solid, one monoblock of gold feel. This watch, originally ridiculed, is so well made and unique in its execution of metal work and architecture, I saved for two years to buy one.

Highly Recommended I have no regrets. It would take huge investments and a shift of production style and lines to create a similar competitor. At this stage of global instability, this is not going to happen. Like Lange & Sohne in the 1990s, this watch will be acquired by collectors with good eyes and experience. It is a hidden gem. It illustrates education and class, by sheer physical dimensions and cut of the metal. I highly recommend this as a watch for the person who can afford a Porsche. It’s about the same price!

It comes with an electronic winder, the first of its kind, and has a set of crafted claws which grasp the crown. It is a chunky piece of masterfully cut metal, gold and platinum. No steel models.

The winder artfully, and with masterly precision, delivers the motion of winding as a slow stroke of calligraphic performance art! It is THAT GOOD. I bought it. I wear it.

I am enjoying it. It is rewarding to feel it. It is not for the status crowd. Like Lange in its first years, is unknown.

Sure Bet If you want to know what will be a SURE WIN, the old answer was no one can tell, but probably it would be a Patek or an old Rolex.

I dare say, a true challenger has trounced the old timers.

That crown goes to GREUBEL FORSEY. Punishingly good craftsmanship, incredible Hammer of Thor proportions, minute detailing taken to Level 7 when the

highest brand is still at Level 3, scientific progress using old world physics instead of electronics, this is real watch making.

I saved enough to purchase second hand, Invention Piece 1, in platinum. It cost three times more than when it was new! I bought the entry level, 24 Incline Tourbillon, Greubeul Forsey’s least expensive piece, brand new at S$500,000 because of the unique dial and number.

Investment Pays I also acquired their Vision 30 in platinum!

All within a year. I do not make lorry loads of money, so I had to liquidate, at a profit, a few older watches I treasured. To raise the bar, Greubel Forsey makes only unique tilted or multi axis tourbillons that are able to challenge electronic timers.

They make 100 watches a year, never repeat a series and keep meticulous and transparent books - which is a new thing for watch companies that never reveal figures. The revered brands make between 80,000 to 900,000 watches a year. Yet, they still appreciate.

Romancing the Ownership The romance of ownership, the high one feels when one sees, holds, feels the results of hard work. And to feel it permanently, without the mortality of the ‘old model’ syndrome. There are NO OLD models among watches, just like art…there are eras and series, each having their own value.

There you have it. The affordable Beuben & Zorweg ONE, and the series of Greubel Forsey, only three models have not sold out, even at these prices. Not surprising. The GMT, the Contemporaine, the Double 30 degree inclines and the 24 inclines. Almost all the platinum models are about to sell out. If you have the cash, it would be irresponsible not to advise you to buy it. The caveat is answered, you can and will most likely, get all or more, of your money back.

64 | AsianJourneys April-May 2014

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4/24/14 1:30 AM