Sporty timepieces are a winner for wellness entrepreneur and watch collector Gavin Heng

The collector is a fan of watches that can accompany him everywhere, from overseas trips to the swimming pool.

By Lynette Koh / 26 Sep 2023

luxury watches, Talking Time, Watch Collector

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Wife knows best

“Since young, I’ve been into basic watches like G-Shocks. Ten years ago, my wife got me my first luxury watch, a 34mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Ref. 15200. We have been married for 11 years and have three kids. When we were younger, we didn’t have much disposable income, so I couldn’t bear to purchase luxury watches. That Rolex started my watch-collecting journey.”

Ideal ice-breakers

“My current collection is mostly centred on Rolex and Patek Philippe, but in recent years, I’ve gotten into other brands such as Hublot and Girard-Perregaux. I also find myself gravitating towards independent brands like MB&F and Urwerk because they’re so futuristic. Watches, especially unusual ones like these, are very good conversation-starters — someone who notices your watch looks special might ask you to share more about it, and from there you can move on to other topics.”

“Elegant” — Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 in yellow gold

Lawrence Teo

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"Another brand I like is Vacheron Constantin (VC). They focus a lot on the client experience, which is not something that every brand does. I indicated my interest in the VC Historiques 222 (pictured) the moment it was launched. There’s a funny story to this: Almost a year later, my SA (sales assistant) at VC called to ask me if I wanted to catch up. We were just having a chat, and he pretended to show me another watch. After that, he suddenly brought out the 222, which had actually already come in for me. It came as a surprise because I knew how sought-after the watch is."

“Sporty” — Patek Philippe 5990/1A Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph in steel

Lawrence Teo

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"I’m a big fan of the Patek Philippe Nautilus because I like its sporty look and relative rarity. My first Nautilus was the Ref. 5726A, an annual-calendar, moon-phase watch that I bought preowned as it had already been discontinued when I got it. One of my favourite watches now is the Ref. 5990/1A (pictured), the Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph. I travel often, and I like keeping track of multiple time zones with my watches."

Related: 5 reasons why luxury watches are a worthy investment

“Innovative” — MB&F Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO in titanium

Lawrence Teo

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"A watch I wear often now is the MB&F Legacy Machine (LM) Split Escapement EVO (pictured). I was initially looking at another model, the LM 101, but those are very popular, and there are many people waiting to get them. The LM Split Escapement EVO was more accessible to me, partly because it was newer. I also like that it’s an EVO, which means it comes in a sports case with a water resistance of 80m. I’ve seen photos where people dip their EVO perpetual calendars into swimming pools, but I haven’t done that myself yet. But maybe I will for future content for my Instagram (laughs)."

luxury watches, Talking Time, Watch Collector