Over $120 million of watches on show the 25th August 2004 (Singapore)...

19 august 2004

Article by: The StraitsTime (Lionel Seah)

Marking time with watches
As The Hour Glass (Singapore - Asia) turns 25, it will mark the occasion with a timepiece extravaganza showcasing more than $120 million worth of watches

MORE than $120 million worth of watches go on show next Wednesday at level four of Raffles City Convention Centre.

The five-day exhibition, which is open to the public, commemorates 25 years of business for The Hour Glass, one of Singapore's top fine watch retailers.

Called Tempus - The Great Watchscapade, the display costs $2.5 million to stage and took two years to plan.

While it models itself after two famous annual Swiss watch trade fairs - BaselWorld and Salon International de la Haute Horologerie (SIHH) - the similarities end there, says Mr Michael Tay, 28, deputy general manager of The Hour Glass.

The brainchild behind Tempus, he is also the son of Henry and Jannie Tay, who founded The Hour Glass chain with a first store in Lucky Plaza in 1979.

He says: 'The Basel and Geneva watch fairs are trade shows that showcase and sell watches to retailers. Tempus, however, has a more educational aspect to it.'

There will, of course, be the usual exclusive launches of watches. In BaselWorld and SIHH every April, watch manufacturers showcase their new products, which subsequently hit the stores in the third quarter of the year worldwide.

For the Tempus show, Ulysse Nardin will launch an exclusive model in Singapore just for the Asian market. This is the first time the Swiss watchmaker has done this but Mr Tay declined to reveal more details.

There will also be exhibitions, workshops with gemologists and forums with watch brand CEOs. Mr Jerome Lambert, CEO of Jaeger LeCoultre and Mr Steve Urquhart, president of Omega are some of the names to watch out for.

The exhibition-cum-conference is arguably the first of its kind in the world to combine the show-and-sell concept of trade fairs with talks, workshops and seminars, which are open to the public and free (see box below).

'Through the lineup, we hope to raise appreciation of haute horology here and in the region,' says Mr Tay.

If Asia seems to be the focus for The Hour Glass, it is because it makes up almost 50 per cent of the global watch industry business.

Singapore ranks as the eighth largest market for luxury watches worldwide. It is the third in Asia, after Japan and Hong Kong.

Tempus is expected to draw 50,000 visitors, including 70 hardcore watch enthusiasts from Thailand and 200 from Indonesia. More than 70 journalists, some from as far as Alaska, will also be attending the event.

The listed company, which saw $320 million in turnover last year, says Tempus will not be an annual event due to its staging costs.

'We would like to make it happen once every two to three years. But we can only decide after we have seen the response,' says Mr Tay.

Article by: The StraitsTime (Lionel Seah)