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Tatler Hong Kong and Landmark joined forces this autumn to host the city’s biggest celebration of art and horology
Tatler Hong Kong and Landmark held the first-ever Timeless Watch Week from September 28 to October 1 in the heart of Central, at Landmark Chater.
In collaboration with one of watchmaking’s most influential organisations, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), which annually rewards the industry’s heavyweights and their boundary-pushing pieces, Timeless Watch Week hosted the city’s most powerful movers and shakers. Centricity was overflowing with watch enthusiasts—Brandon Chau, Harry Bentley and Marisa Yiu were among the revellers, as was the entrepreneur behind popular Instagram account Horoloupe, Austen Chu.
All were there to admire—and, for some lucky folks, handle—a total of 84 of the world’s most creative and complex watches from over 50 brands, which had been carefully curated and hand-delivered by the GPHG especially for the exhibition. On trend and extraordinarily well made, the ladies’ watches were drenched in diamonds and decorative enamelling. Classic in design and made to last, robust men’s dress watches with slim feuille hands and alligator straps were also in attendance. And, of course, ultra-thin mechanical marvels (many of them one-of-a-kind) had heads turning—leaving even the most discerning collectors wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Two such examples were the Chronomètre Artisans, which stood out for its intense degree of finishing and exacting standards, inspired by the ingenuity and refinement of watchmaking from the 20th century; and the very first Minute Inerte timepiece by Xhevdet Rexhepi, which broke the codes with a 58-second lap, briefly pausing at 60 while keeping the chronometry of the movement.
An invitation-only opening ceremony, headed up by Tatler Asia’s chairman and CEO Michel Lamunière, included an official ribbon-cutting ceremony with Chu, GPHG director Carine Maillard, director and head of marketing and communications at Hongkong Land Jennifer Lam, and Chu. Following the ceremony, Chu kicked things off with an Introduction to Timeless Watch Week and GPHG, with panellists Maillard, Tatler Singapore’s editor-in-chief Aun Koh and passionate collector William Massena.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s most glamorous popped in and out of the exhibition, posing for portraits with friends. There were lots of smiling faces, countless videos of wrist rolls, and plenty of champagne toasts among guests, who discussed the latest innovations in horology. And by the end of the night, it was clear that Tatler had orchestrated an intermingling of the industry’s titans.