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I couldn’t get over the big Bvlgari logo on the front. Luckily<br />
the Tadao Ando version came along and I thought maybe this<br />
would be my chance to own one. I picked it up in Tokyo soon<br />
after it was announced. It took me about a week to settle<br />
into it and I have no regrets buying it. Despite its noticeable<br />
design and footprint on my wrist, its incredible thinness and<br />
lightness means I often forget I’m wearing it.<br />
They say every watch collector should have an Omega<br />
Speedmaster. I’m not always sure this is true. I have traded<br />
a few over the years because it tends to be something that<br />
comes and goes in my collection. It works for some people,<br />
but I struggle with the case diameter and thickness. This<br />
particular piece is a “Frankenstein”. It’s a mixture of the<br />
Speedmaster FOIS (First Omega in Space), which has a<br />
slightly smaller case with no crown guards, and the Omega<br />
Speedmaster for Mitsukoshi dial, which is one of the rarer<br />
Speedmaster dials and is reminiscent of certain Daytonas.<br />
I had been sitting on this Mitsukoshi dial for a few years<br />
waiting for an opportunity to put it into a compatible<br />
Speedmaster. I like the look of it and I have ended up<br />
wearing it much more than I expected. I was gifted this<br />
Speedy FOIS as thanks for participating in an Omega x<br />
The Rake photoshoot last year in Florence. I credit Wei Koh<br />
for including me in that campaign so this watch reminds me<br />
of him.<br />
Ben Clymer was the one who turned me onto this<br />
watch, the IWC <strong>54</strong>41, on one of his visits to The Armoury<br />
New York in our early years. It is a faithful recreation of the<br />
original IWC Portuguese, an oversized wristwatch from<br />
the late 1930s that used a<br />
pocket watch movement.<br />
The re-issue of the design<br />
happened in the ’90s and is<br />
vastly different from any of<br />
the modern IWC Portugieser<br />
watches. It is a handsome,<br />
thin, manual wind watch. The<br />
main reason I bought this<br />
watch was because I found<br />
the movement so beautiful.<br />
It uses a minimum of plates<br />
and bridges, exposing the<br />
oversized gear train as much<br />
as possible. The larger<br />
pocket watch scale of the<br />
movement makes it easy to<br />
see and understand its inner<br />
workings. There was also a<br />
special edition of this made<br />
for Revolution in 2014 for the<br />
magazine’s 10th anniversary.<br />
What’s your latest addition?<br />
Latest addition is an<br />
AnOrdain Model 1 version 2.<br />
They made me a special white<br />
dial with navy markings and The Armoury logo at 6 o’clock.<br />
I am very much in love with it. I was a very early supporter of<br />
the brand and Lewis and his team were kind enough to give<br />
me the very first one they made of this new series.<br />
Prior to that, I bought my first new Patek Philippe.<br />
Believe it or not, in 15 years of collecting, I have never<br />
bought a new Patek, always vintage and second hand. What<br />
finally tipped my hand is the Patek 5212, the annual weekly<br />
calendar that came out last year. I am so impressed with the<br />
complications and how beautifully executed they are. The<br />
typography and layout of the dial put it in the same league as<br />
the 3940 for me.<br />
What’s your absolute favorite watch?<br />
It’s hard to say because my tastes will always change. I have<br />
a few pieces that I never seem to forget about. The Grand<br />
Seiko SBGW033, which was the 130th Anniversary reissue<br />
of the first Grand Seiko from 1960s. The Audemars Piguet<br />
56175TT Tantalum Steel 34mm Royal Oak that they made<br />
for Nick Faldo when he won his first championship. Naoya<br />
Hida’s NH Type 2. François-Paul Journe’s Resonance,<br />
particularly the one he made for me. Vacheron Constantin’s<br />
4072 chronograph. Patek Philippe’s 3940, first series in<br />
yellow gold. Unfortunately for this question, the list goes on<br />
and on...<br />
What’s next for your collection?<br />
Not sure, really. I might know it when I see it.<br />
This spread,<br />
clockwise<br />
Mark Cho poses for<br />
a portrait; on Cho’s<br />
wrist, the Grand<br />
Seiko SBGZ001;<br />
his collection<br />
includes a Patek<br />
Philippe reference<br />
130R chronograph;<br />
the Rolex reference<br />
2811; the Vacheron<br />
Constantin<br />
reference 4072;<br />
the Grand Seiko<br />
SGBZ001; the Octo<br />
Finissimo Tadao<br />
Ando Edition; the<br />
Speedmaster FOIS<br />
with Mitsukoshi<br />
panda dial; an IWC<br />
reference <strong>54</strong>41.<br />
VINTAGE 161
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