For watch repairer and restorer Vincent Wong, his passion means never dreading a day at the office.
THE saying by Chinese philosopher Confucius, “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life” holds true for Vincent Wong, a horologist for the past 22 years.
“I am lucky in a sense that I get to hold and take apart complicated mechanical timepieces daily in my job as a watch repairer and restorer.
“I have loved watches, especially mechanical ones, for as long as I can remember. What fascinates me is how all these small parts work together to help tell the time; to me, it is like magic,” he says.
Wong was 20 when he decided to take the plunge and apply to Rolex Singapore Private Ltd for a watch repairer position, because he wanted to know more intricately about how mechanical watches worked. He got the job.
“I was then sent to the Rolex’s Swiss headquarters in Geneva where I underwent about four months of training.”
There, he was first taught how to sit properly so that he would not strain his back, as taking apart a complicated timepiece can take hours.
“Each part needs to be looked at with a loupe (a small magnification device) and reassembling the watch can take me up to three hours.
“I have to be very careful when putting a watch back together, because leaving out even one tiny screw can prevent it from working properly,” he says.
Wong showing a picture of himself 20 years ago in his shop at the Penang Plaza in Burmah Road, Penang (above). — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
Wong, 43, has many good memories from his time working with Rolex. The most memorable was when he got to meet and talk to Philippe Dufour, who is regarded as the greatest master of independent watchmaking, during a watch exhibition.
The watches by Swiss-born Dufour, who is now 75, are referenced as among the best ever made. He finishes all of his watches himself by hand, and in 1992, he made the most complex of complications in a wristwatch, a Sonnerie.
Sonnerie, which is French for “making sound” or “ring”, is the term generally applied to bell towers or bells in mechanical clocks or wristwatches. Such watches are revered by connoisseurs for chiming the time on tiny gongs on the hour and the quarter “in passing”, and require highly skilled watchmakers as they cannot be made satisfactorily through industrial means.
Wong then worked a year at Breitling SA, a watch manufacturer known for its chronometers designed for aviators, and he was based in Singapore.
“I worked in the island republic for four years before I went to Sydney, Australia, to work for Richemont (three years) and the LVMH Group (two years) where I specialised in servicing the Cartier, Piaget, Zenith and TAG Heuer brands.
“I got to repair some really nice watches, including a diamond-encrusted Cartier.
He got married in 2008 and continued to work in Sydney for another five years before he decided to return to Penang due to family reasons.
Wong checking watches and reassembling the parts in his shop at the Penang Plaza in Burmah road.
After a year of not doing anything in Penang, Wong decided to start a watch repair business.
He named it Grand Montre (montre means watch or timepiece in French), establishing himself in Penang Plaza on Burmah Road.
“It has been almost nine years now and business has been good. It was a one-man show for the first five years, and then I decided to rope in an old friend to help when I got into the business of pre-owned watches.
“He would help me to source for watches and at the same time, handle the administration side of my business.
“I also recently got another friend to help out, as I have been getting a lot of walk-in customers wanting to authenticate or sell their watches,” says the father of a nine-year-old boy.
Wong plans to take on an apprentice but he has yet to come across the right candidate.
“One needs to have an interest in watches and has to be meticulous in his work, as taking apart and putting back together a watch is not something that can be learnt in a day or even weeks.
“This is a skill that takes years to master.
“I would, of course, love to have my son take over my business one day. At the moment, he is too young. And I will not push him.
“He seems to be interested, but only in digital watches. Maybe he’ll gain an interest in mechanical timepieces a few years down the road, and I will nurture that interest,” says Wong.
He’s not short of people with such interest, as he says Penang has many watch enthusiasts, who send their timepieces to him to be serviced as his shop is conveniently located.
“I can repair or service mechanical chronographs, but I have not trained to repair or service tourbillons, minute repeaters or watches with perpetual calendars.
“LVMH had their own specialists for those types of watches. Such timepieces have parts numbering anything from 200 to 300 or more,” he says, adding that certain watches must be sent back to the authorised retailer to be repaired.
Wong advises watch owners and collectors to send their timepieces for servicing every five to 10 years, because the lubrication can dry up and this can cause a malfunction.
“Do not wait for the watches to stop working before coming to me, as watches can be like a human body and so they need to go for a proper check-up at regular interval.”
His other passion is helping people hunt down their personal holy grail of watches.
“It is a challenge for me. The thrill for me is in the hunt.
“I get a certain satisfaction when I am able to get that rare watch for them.
Staying up to date on developments in the watch world is important.
“The most sought-after watches are the Rolex sporty models such as the Daytona, GMT-Master II and Submariner.”
The Daytona, he says, is the most in demand at the moment, hotly sought by enthusiasts and nearly impossible to get at retail prices.
According to Wong, the watch can fetch a handsome price in the pre-owned market.
“Rolex watches are very popular,” he says, claiming that the timepieces at authorised retailers sell out fairly quickly.
The timepiece holy grail for him is A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, which he says is priced at US$530,000 (RM2.35mil).
He says other prized luxury brands among watch lovers are Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille.
“They don’t make enough to keep up with demand,” he says.
Currently, he has a personal collection of 17 watches.
“The first luxury brand watch I own is the Rolex Oyster Date 6694. I bought it shortly after I started working at Rolex and I have it to this day.
“I tend to keep the watches I buy, which is why I have so many.”
He has branched into retail as some customers sell him their watches. He either buys them directly from the seller or sell the watch on consignment.
He spends his free time with his son and he likes to read or watch YouTube video clips on the latest watches nightly at bedtime.
Wong’s work can be found at www.facebook.com/GrandMontreWatchmaker
