SHERMAN LAU
What are your favourite watches among your personal collection?
My favourite watch would be the Black Panther, which is a collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Marvel. It's a Royal Oak tourbillon concept. There are 250 pieces around the world, and I think only a handful in Malaysia. It’s a timepiece that I am very, very happy to own.
The collaboration with Marvel was something daring because it's not something that you would expect from AP. When the design was released, there was a big backlash from the watch community. Personally, I love the watch because not only am I a fan of AP, but a fan of Marvel as well. It is my favourite timepiece in my collection.
What other pieces do you have in your collection?
There’s a few that I’d love to talk about. The Rolex GMTMaster II. It has a meteorite dial, which really sets it apart from the rest. The material that formed the dial came from the heart of a meteorite. Understandably, they only had a small portion to work with, hence why there’s extraordinarily little production that consists of this design.
Being a fan of AP, the Royal Oak Jumbo is also one of my favourites. The original watch made its debut in 1972, designed by Gérald Genta. This was the watch that turned AP around because at that time, the quartz crisis affected the entire industry and almost brought it to its knees.
While this is the 2012 edition of the watch, it is remarkably similar to its 1972 ancestor. Almost everything is the same except for the mechanism inside the watch. To me, this timepiece is precious as it represents the turnaround for AP, and it is now one of the most sought after watches out there.
In addition, the Patek Philippe Aquanaut is also a timepiece in my collection that I adore, and it is the only Patek Philippe watch that I have. With everyone going for the Nautilus, acquiring that timepiece is a little out of reach, so this is a nice alternative.
The Aquanaut is a watch that everyone overlooked back when it was launched, but the popularity has been gaining lately. The watch is very light and there’s something charming about its simplicity. When it’s on your wrist, it sort of draws you in. It’s amazing how a simple design can feel so complicated, I guess that is one of the magics of Patek Phillipe!
Are watches a good investment?
The reason I like watches is because I have inherited several watches from my late father, and I have seen him collecting watches, all the hits and misses.
The thing is, there is no strict formula to ensure that a watch you purchase today is going to increase its value down the road. If you look at the past decade or two, brands like Franck Muller were at one point extremely popular, and suddenly went quiet for a bit. Today, we can see that the value is recovering slightly, but it is nothing like the way it was during its peak. It’s a good example that we can apply to the current market.
On the other side, we have seen a watch skyrocket in value because the brand announces that they are discontinuing it. There is no guarantee when it comes to value. My take is that the love for the watch comes first, and it should be a watch that gives you a tremendous level of satisfaction when you put it on your wrist.
If the value of the watch goes up, you win. But if it does not, you don't feel bad because it is a timepiece that you like anyway. The key thing about collecting is buying something that you want, and if you treat it purely as an investment, you’re going to miss out on the fun of owning a watch.