Avid collectors pay hundreds of thousands for watch winders
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 22 November 2009 0014 hrs

	Photos  of

SINGAPORE: While the downturn made many businesses scale down, some in the luxury sector chose this time to scale up and introduce new concepts.

Avid collectors may fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars in Singapore’s first and only luxury watch winding boutique.

Watch winders are devices that keep expensive, automatic watches running when not worn and can accommodate anything from two to a thousand watches.

Richard Muller, Erwin Sattler, said: "There are automatic wrist watches with weights. To wind up, you need to move your arm. And if you have more watches than one, you cannot move on every arm a watch or on your legs."

But while they look good, with anything from built-in safes to high-end hi-fi systems, the pieces don't come cheap.

Prices start at S$2,000 and go up to over a million dollars.

Still, the boutique that brought them in says it sees growing demand for such a niche product in Asia despite the downturn.

Jimmy Tay, managing director, Timeless Gallery, said: “Because of the downturn, we thought it would be a good opportunity to use this downturn to negotiate with the landlords and also to bring a niche market into the Singapore and Malaysia markets."

He's eyeing the Jakarta and Bangkok markets next.

The profiles of the buyers vary. For example, the Mozart which retails at over S$200,000 was bought by a 65-year-old man for his two-year old granddaughter simply because she liked the sound of the music from the musical box in it.

Beyond retail, the boutique's just concluded a deal for 50 watch winders to be included as part of a new condominium's walk-in wardrobe concept.

Another idea that sprung up during the downturn was a modern watch museum that's located within an operating retail shop.

Collector's items sourced over a decade from auction houses and private collections, primarily from Switzerland, are scattered around the Hour Glass shop.

These include fully mechanical music boxes to Patek Philippe electronic timekeeping instruments from the 1970's. - CNA/vm