A hand on History

A hand on History

Dr Bernard Cheong on the art of timepieces

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Dr Bernard Cheong never met his great, great grandfather, but the family's antique timepieces say a lot about his ancestor.

Dr Bernard Cheong.

"From looking at his watches, he was a man with great taste and was probably extremely wealthy," said the watch connoisseur.

A passion that began at the age of 15, over the years he built his international reputation as a renaissance watch collector and the only Asian who has presided over both the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie and the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.

The cheerful Cheong also has online followers appreciating his perspectives of watches shared on his blog. The experience in investing in timepieces was shared at a talk that he gave during the eighth edition of "A Journey Through Time" watch and jewellery showcase at Starhill Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.

"The fun thing about watch-collecting is that you can see the value of your money in your hands. You didn't put it in a bank nor invest in stocks and shares, so it's not just a piece of paper," he said. "Watches don't occupy space and literally they last forever, at least three lifetimes."

The most common question that people ask him is which brand is a wise buy?

He used to tell people not to buy watches by brand, advising them to cover the logo with their index finger, then ask themselves whether they would still buy the watch at the same price if it didn't carry that brand name.

"If you say 'Yes' then you have an affinity towards the watch. Your judgement is not clouded by the brand image and marketing hype.

"But it wouldn't be wrong to consider the brand as well because well-managed brands relate to well-managed assets," said the watch guru.

Long-established brands often highlight their history and tradition, he noted, but that's about looking back to the past, not the future, which may not be relevant to what you want to buy.

His advice is to look for pieces that represent the early 21st century, including those from independent artists, especially when collecting for the sake of art.

Finely-crafted watches however constitute a very small market segment compared to mass-market watches.

"You cannot compare fashionable with fine watches like how photography cannot be compared with paintings,'' he said. "When photography first came on the scene, many people thought that it would be the end of painting. Why would anybody want to paint when they can take photographs?

"But as art, painting continued to thrive." The appreciation as art rather than luxury product justifies the investment in a high-end timepiece, which according to the revered expert, shouldn't be defined by price.

"High-end doesn't mean watches costing a fortune, it simply means a very well-made watch with meticulous details and this what you are paying for," he said. "People often think that it's about diamonds and gold, but it's the details that you have to look for, which illustrate the craftsmanship and hours of sheer labour dedicated to that one square inch of a watch."

Don't be taken in too quickly by shiny parts and nice skeletonisation, he advised, unless there are acute angles, bevelled joints and concave curves that are impossible to do by machine.

A watch aficionado for over three
decades, Dr Cheong sees the nearing of the end of a golden age as the industry is in its final years of the growth phase after an incredible escalation since the beginning in 1988. The trend for high-tech smart watches probably rounds off this golden age on a positive note.

"If Steve Jobs were still around today, he may not have launched the Apple Watch, but to me it's a blessing since it proves that people still need to wear a watch," he said.

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