REVOLUTION_International_Vol 54

CALL COLLECT:
MARK CHO
Founder of The Armoury, representative of all things dandy and
cool and a sophisticated watch collector as well, we find out
what gets Mark Cho ticking.
WORDS ADAM CRANIOTES
PHOTOGRAPHY ATOM MOORE
If you tell Mark Cho, founder of the menswear atelier The
Armoury, that he’s a bona fide style icon, he’ll deny it with
his usual modesty. Even so, what cannot be denied that
in the 10 years since he first opened shop in Hong Kong,
is that he and his brand have had an outsized effect on
contemporary menswear.
In addition to being a somewhat reluctant avatar for
modern men’s fashion, he’s also an avid watch collector with
a keen eye for value and an even keener eye for provenance
and manufacture acumen. To this end, we were fortunate
to steal a moment at his NYC flagship to talk about his
collection and how he goes about selecting the pieces that
tickle his particular fancy.
When did the watch bug hit?
2006, I was at my first job in London and I used to walk by a
used watch store called Austin Kaye every day on the way to
work. It’s interesting that “vintage watches” weren’t really a
commercial thing yet, you just called them “used watches”.
My interest in watches, especially early on, was because
they were cheap and small. My Omega Chronostop cost
me £350 pounds and it was 36mm. I quickly realized that
there were a lot of great, cheap and small watches out there.
Looking back, it’s interesting that even then, I instinctively
found watches larger than 36mm aesthetically difficult for
me to wear. This is not to knock larger watches, it’s just I
was a man slight in stature and I knew larger watches looked
strange on me.
I also enjoyed the bargain hunting. There were so many
good things at well less than a thousand pounds. I remember
10 years later when I bought my first Rolex Explorer
new from a boutique, I couldn’t believe how much I was
spending on it. I would be lying if I didn’t mention that there
is a certain satisfaction in picking something that becomes a
sleeper hit years later.
What is that you look for when adding a new piece to your
watch collection?
I went through a lot of phases. At first it was bargains, being
limited on a budget and also feeling like what was out there
was such good value. Then it became chasing icons, things
like the Explorer, Nautilus, Reverso, etc. Afterwards it
became trying to collect sets: a particular model in as many
permutations as possible. I think when I started to more
actively sell things out of my collection, which was around
six years ago when we would put pieces in a display cabinet
in my Hong Kong shop and see what would happen, that my
collection became less about accumulation and more about
just expressing my taste. When you have to sell, you start to
think more carefully about what you keep. One day, I would
like to write something about the pieces I sold, divided into:
pieces that I really didn’t care about, pieces that I cared
quite a bit about and pieces that I deeply regret selling.
Today, when I add something, I just add it. I don’t think
that much about it. If it appeals to me on some emotional
level, that’s good enough. If it’s not right, I can always sell it;
worse come to worse, I take a haircut on it. If I bought smart,
which doesn’t often happen, I might even make a few bucks.
I am a firm believer that you never really know
something until you own it. You can read reviews until you’ve
memorised every word on a piece ever written, but it will
never replace your own tactile experience with it.
Beyond my own personal take, some basic things: try and
buy the best condition you can. Try and buy something with
known provenance if you can. Inspect things as carefully as
possible. Have some faith in dealers. Not every dealer is a
VINTAGE 157