It all really began for me when this was nothing more than a vague interest in old watches. As a university student, with not much money but a lot of free time, I started scouring eBay for cheap vintage watches, wearing them for a few weeks and then selling it on. I’m talking watches below 100 dollars- fibreglass Tissot’s and Sicura Submarines amongst the likes.
After awhile I realised that I was spending all of my time looking at watches anyway and that I might as well see if I could make it my living. Somehow, I managed to find a job writing articles as a means to learn and it wasn’t long before I was sourcing and selling as well.
The real turning point for me though was discovering Portobello Market in London, in an arcade with a red teapot hanging outside of it. Inside, I was exposed to the world of old-school dealing and soon began trading on the side. Every Saturday morning I’d go down and there was an old Japanese man in particular that took a liking to me by the name of Shiggy Aritake. We’d talk watches over a cigarette and I’d pick up a few pieces here and there. By now I was trading anything from Hamilton 6Bs to Landeron chronographs.
After working in London selling high-end pieces and trading cheaper vintage watches on the side, I decided to leave it all and focus on becoming a watch dealer for myself. I packed up my things and moved back to my hometown (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) to deal out of Asia. My vision is to fill a gap, creating an Asian hub to purchase and trade quality watches online, focusing on good design and photography.
Not much has changed from my days on eBay and Portobello. I still only buy watches that I like and my inventory is really just a reflection of my taste that I hope to share. To this day, the real joy for me remains sourcing. There is nothing like finding something incredibly rare or special-anywhere from watch fairs in Europe to old watchmakers shop in Hong Kong. Though the context is very different from my early days, I still feel like a kid in a treasure hunt.
