Banking into the Chep Lak Kok’s approach for the first time in more than a year, a refreshing sense of familiarity dawns on me. Hong Kong was once home to me, in a stage of life where watches were never within my reach or interest. I saw the city in a very different light, one where its cultural vibrancy and sheer visual overload obsessed me from a young age.
As the wheels touched down, I realised that I was arriving with a completely different purpose this time around. I had booked this trip with multiple intentions in mind, with my first week revolving around the seasonal auctions from Phillips, Christie’s and Antiquorum. None of these houses were unfamiliar territory to me, likewise with the whole auction experience, however I had a strong feeling that the overall experience would differ at a professional and personal level. My experiences in Geneva and New York last year presented a frenetic, “in-your-face”, and quite frankly intimidating atmosphere. I felt like a fish out of water, watching unknown faces glide in and out of previews while greeted with smiles and handshakes by the staff… The imposter syndrome was overwhelming but it never crossed my mind as a feeling to deter me. While those stories can wait for another day, the lessons learned through previous seasons have imbued me with a strong sense of ambition, even audacity, to ply my way through such uncharted waters in Hong Kong.
It’s not a return to Hong Kong if you can’t distinguish the Ngong Ping Cable Car towers through the warm haze.
With general dealer visits as soon as I touched down on Tuesday afternoon, the Phillips previews beckoned for me on my first full day. Bleary-eyed, I dragged myself to their imposing West Kowloon building to have a look at their lots. If attending an auction in person, I tend to leave first impressions as my selling point, so looking at catalogues beforehand is a big no-no; I want to see what will catch my eye in person, as you never know what you may have missed by flipping through the pages. I pursued the traditional Hong Kong pastime of getting horrifically lost in the maze of Kowloon’s MTR station, eventually emerging via the help of the kind concierge at the base of IFC into the West Kowloon Cultural District. While it was mostly in construction during my time living in Hong Kong, I never fully got over how massive of an endeavour it is for the city. Wide spaces, tall windowless concrete channeling people towards the views over Victoria Harbour, all planned to a tee… It felt like the most blatant exercise of urban planning that I’d witnessed in a while. Eventually, I find myself at the base of their headquarters, aptly designed by Herzog & de Meuron. The house’s art gallery spans the ground floor, drawing in curious gazes from passers-by, while I take a step through their front doors and up the escalator to their preview room.
The ever-imposing monolith that are the Phillips Asia offices.
My Phillips experience was incredibly pleasant over the previews and auctions themselves, with incredibly kind specialists who were more than willing to impart their knowledge on me. Obviously, we know why they do it, but doing it with the correct amount of tact and professional encouragement can be a very fine line. Over my time as a collector, one becomes attuned to reading between the lines of both auction houses and dealers as you come to understand that they must move their selection for the sake of business, which can be tricky to build a sense of a welcoming community. Regardless of the fact, their selection was thoroughly impressive. With personal highlights ranging from a Patek ref. 2597 in pink gold in astonishing condition (Lot 993) to a monstrous 51 millimetre Richard Mille RM25-01 CA (Lot 990) – I believe the compartment for a water filtration capsule is absolutely necessary – or a bevy of pocket watches from various eras, their 10th anniversary sale had all the hallmarks of a Phillips auction: incredible rarity, strong condition, and a real sense of excitement in the air. Their landmark 10th anniversary for Hong Kong auctions allowed for a monstrously large catalogue of more than 300 lots, with many of them sourced from single-owner collections. After joking with the specialists from their Shanghai office that I’d be invoicing them directly for my unreasonably overweight bag, I got stuck into the ever-exciting event of examination.
Phillips’ ability to use natural light for daytime viewings is a fantastic change from the spotlighted spaces of Geneva.
Let’s work through some trays, shall we?
Now, what was I looking at for myself? Well, as an intentionally picky collector – much to the chagrin of the specialists – there was very little that truly compelled me. The two standouts which got me on the verge of raising my paddle were two repeater complications: a Cartier minute repeater pocket watch from circa 1930 (Lot 1039), and a Jules Audemars with a carillon minute repeater from 1998 (Lot 1119). Clearly, there’s something to unpack with my absolute adoration for a minute repeater, an experience which few consider and even fewer get the chance to experience.
The European Watch Company movement ticking within the Cartier provides a “clear and elegant chime”, as per the catalogue’s words, which after chiming at multiple times I can concur with the specific wording: feeling the strikes from the hammers through its case into your hands is a deeply marking experience, substantiated by close friends of mine who tagged along with me. With both of them being novices in the space, their innate reaction to its function spoke in volumes to me compared to more seasoned collectors, whose experience hones in on the specific sound and consistency of the repeater. Putting aside my collector hat and switching it out for my enthusiast’s one, it’s just incredibly cool that someone made that 95 years ago, that it still works, and that it can invoke that same sense of “holy shit it actually does that?” nearly a century later.
What an elegant way to house an EWC movement…
On the other hand – for lack of a better pun – The Jules Audemars takes the function to a whole new level, with the addition of a third hammer and subsequently squeezed into a case with 30 millimetres less of diameter. Having it on-wrist and getting the opportunity to handle it over the course of multiple days was really special, its platinum case and 33-jewel movement feeling surprisingly weighty for a watch of its size. It’s an incredibly discreet watch, which makes it all the more compelling, and wore incredibly well on my wrist, but most importantly for me is that it is one of the last compelling Audemars Piguet’s made in this day and age. Bearing very little in resemblance to current design identity, it struck me as a piece which sought to be beautiful in its presentation rather than simply choosing to impress through technical prowess.
With my current principles for what I’m seeking to build, neither of them could truly find a place, yet I consider myself incredibly humbled and lucky to have handled them in case my mind and opportunities later down the line change in their favour. My experience in handling them has satiated my taste for minute repeaters, and I will always seek to hunt down one which fits my collecting guidelines. For now, my fixation remains on dial design through the medium of two/three-handed pocket watches from the turn of the century until the 1940’s, and best believe there’s no rush on that end either!
Dainty yet exuding presence, even on my wrist.
For something different out of their New York sale in December, a Gilbert Albert-designed Patek Philippe! Considering the price which the one fetched on Loupe This, and this bracelet remains particularly long, I remain curious to see what it’ll fetch…
Now, onto the more entertaining aspect: the auctions themselves! While I hadn’t attended the physical auctions in New York or Geneva for Phillips specifically, I had a good idea of how they tend to look and feel like. The rooms are always well under capacity unless something truly special to the wider horological space is going under hammer, and seeing the two elevated lines of telephone bidders was quite a sight. It was a veritable “who’s who” of their global offices, with Aurel presiding over the main session that I attended. The excitement of impassioned bidding is a sight to behold, watching telephones and people bid in the room in increments of life-changing sums of money makes you realise how easily you can get swept up in it all. Located on their ground floor, you walk through from the entrance surrounded by their substantial art collection. Previews for later auctions – in this case a Yayoi Kusama-themed one – dominated the path up to the bidding room, and as I turn left it feels considerably different than previous experiences. Comparing it to Antiquorum in Geneva, this tailor-made space felt grander despite its lack of ornate details. Far sparser in decoration, your eyes can only focus on the screens, displaying the lots with varying currencies beside them, along with the rostrum. There’s a certain aesthetic uniformity which has become clear to me, this sterile slate being equally present in their New York offices – it is in 432 Park Ave. after all!
While I may not know the Asian collectors well by face or name, the Italian ones were there in force. Bernardini, Zenga, Caso, di Simone,… all names we know from the big publications and news surrounding landmark sales, gathered around towards the back of the room. Their presence occupied far more than their table, with furtive glances cast their way by people such as myself. You don’t often get the chance to watch Mr. Paramico dart out for a coffee while bidding is ongoing, shuffling his way through an unknowing crowd back to his seat. There’s also the fun of recognising people in the room, mostly former Phillips specialists who moved onto working with prominent dealers in Hong Kong, so quickly scurrying out behind the crowd for a handshake and brief catch-up became the norm very quickly. Definitely a position which is not acquired by everyone, but one I definitely forged through previous auction seasons elsewhere.
The main man himself, fixated upon his telephone bidders.
As most publications have probably reported by now and on the general state of the market, results have been very strong across the board. It’s a market which favours both sellers and buyers, as quality and quantity have emerged into a more discerning and active buyer pool. I don’t think anyone who bids at Phillips is there to find a bargain, but occasionally some things do fly under the radar; I’d argue the Cartier minute repeater represented a fantastic proposition, with an all-in price of 279,400 HKD. My friends have struggled to win bids throughout Monaco, Geneva, and now here in Hong Kong in the hopes of retailing their auction finds. Watches seem to be going into good long-term homes, as such strong and public prices make for them to be favourable long-term holds in distinguished collections. I would’ve mirrored this same mentality if there was anything which fit my tastes, but overall I remain happy for all involved parties that there’s such strong sentiments in an otherwise turbulent climate. The fact that they are able to conduct such a large sale and incur zero passed lots was tremendous, and over pleasantries at The Armoury I congratulated both Aurel Bacs and Alex Ghotbi on this. Ever-charismatic and polite, they thanked me for my kind words as we went our separate ways, yet the interaction left me marked as having the opportunity to speak with them, however briefly, outside of their usual environment makes for a different impression of Phillips altogether.
A final wrist shot from the previews: one of their specialists modelling a wonderful Patek ref. 1526, a reference which has grown on me very much since handling theirs, along with Paul Engel’s phenomenal deep dive on Hodinkee.
It dawns on me as eyebrows furrow, bidders drop out, and glances dart across the room from rivals, that this space lives an entire world apart from the one mere metres outside, on a calm and sunny Sunday afternoon. Living in the knowledge that domestic helpers are congregating on their sole day off of the week, families are preoccupied by their children flying kites and graduation pictures for HKUST students are being taken, I get to witness the pinnacle of my passion in full swing before my very eyes. Hong Kong will always have a special place in my heart for memories far beyond the world of watches, but this trip adds yet another beautiful facet to my own personal story with the “Fragrant Harbour”. Forging a sense of shared passion, whether it’s imagined in my own head or not, has been the highlight of the experience with Phillips, as the specialists were eager to show their personal favourites alongside the ones I sought for myself. My mild trepidation was wiped away quickly by their hospitality, a word which doesn’t often appear alongside Hong Kong and the auction world, however events during my time in Hong Kong have highlighted how “community” in this city will always rally behind a shared cause.
A quick 5 minutes to examine what’s on other wrists in the room leads to moments such as this!
I think it’s well worth having a more tender reflection on how these few days have marked me. Perhaps I differ from the usual crowd of journalists and dealers, who see Hong Kong as a brief 48 or 72 hour work trip which is packed with appointments, business always coming first before they board their evening flights back out to Europe or North America. Hong Kong was, and perhaps, still is the home of my passion and of a very important part of my life. It’s the city where I tried on my first “proper” watch, a small white gold Cartier Baignoire, and returning a couple of years later as a seasoned collector and auction attendee has made me realise how far I’ve come in my journey. Collecting is a privilege, but collecting with intent and focus remains a duty towards myself and the wider community. Seeing the nodding looks of approval or gazes of curiosity at what I wore to their previews and event was very humbling, but it only adds fuel to a fire which I intend to nurture over the coming decades. It can be deduced that I may not be as susceptible to the temptations of an auction space at a personal level, as what I seek simply doesn’t emerge through this lane, yet it serves as a space to congregate with fellow collectors, and to share with curious onlookers from my personal life. It also is an ideal space to gather knowledge, to try on watches you’d never consider purely from an online background, and to let my intentions be known in my collecting path.
Do I plan on attending next year’s season? Well, the sale itself is unlikely to match the grandeur of this one, so a smaller lot pool is to be anticipated, but I still believe the community matters more at the end of the day. I made some good friends and got to reinforce stronger connections with prior acquaintances, so that in itself is well worth nurturing. I plan to spend a little less time around the auction world on this subsequent trip, while also making sure to bring more friends along for the previews. The greatest joy I experienced out of my time around Phillips was watching friends taking notes while I explained the differences between print and enamel signatures, information which I’m sure will come of no substantial relevance in their day-to-day, but understanding that their intrigue came from my unbridled passion for the craft itself meant a lot to me in the moment. Any passion can be infectious if presented appropriately and without ego, so seeing the result of it firsthand was very touching. While I realise this is a very long introduction to you, dear reader, filled with personal thoughts as an anonymous contributor, I found myself writing this article with real intent; I wanted to share something a little different, with more focus on feeling rather than fact, as I wish to preserve the emotions element which draws everyone to their respective passions. I could’ve written thousands of words on a completely different interest of mine, yet writing on watches for the first time has brought me great joy. I hope to contribute again if my writing is well-accepted, but regardless I thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on the Phillips experience.
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Em
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