The Horological Minute

With The Horological Minute, Eric Ku and 10 Past Ten engage in a fascinating dialog with collectors and members of the watch industry, as they discuss anything and everything about watches. Think of it as the Proust Questionnaire for the watch aficionado.

FEATURING
Silas Leung
This week, we bring to you an interview with HK based collector, Silas Leung. A stock trader by day, Silas is a serious connoisseur of vintage Rolexes, having collected for over ten years. While building his collection over the years, he has focused on quality over quantity, and now has a great well rounded collection that includes many of the important references. Aside from watches, Silas is a collector of pop art and toys, sharing an affinity with us for artists like Kaws and Yoshitomo Nara. It's my pleasure to feature him this week on the Horological Minute.

What was your first watch?

My first watch is a snoopy plastic toy watch at 4-5 years old. As for vintage Rolex, my first one was an Explorer 2 1655 orange hand, which I had over purchased ten years ago.

What was the last watch you bought?

Black dial "SOLO" Daytona, Ref. 6240

Do you prefer vintage or modern?

Always vintage!!

Can you remember your last great meal? Where was it and what did you eat?

My last great meal was in Okinawa, Japan on my last vacation. The area was under a #9 typhoon alert, so we couldn't really do anything but stay in and relax and eat! The restaurant was an Okinawan cuisine place, and we ate sashimi, oysters, wagyu beef, and many other things.

Do you remember what watch you were wearing?

My GMT-Master 1675 with tropical dial.

What do you love about vintage Rolex?

I love how vintage Rolexes are so iconic and eye catching, especially the sports watches. They are so wearable and fashionable. Rare and great condition vintage Rolexes will make you smile everyday as a professional stock trader, I find them as a good part of my "asset allocation".

Strap or bracelet?

Depends on the watch. Subs I like to wear on bracelets, but tropical dial watches and Daytonas, I prefer to wear on straps.

GMT/EXPLORER/SUB/DAYTONA or........?

All of them! Haha!!

What do you want to see come out from Rolex at the next Basel Fair?

I don't really follow or wear modern Rolexes.

Can you tell us about the most interesting watch you’ve ever found/owned? (pic if you have)

The most interesting watch of mine is my first Rolex 1655 orange hand. At that time, I had no knowledge on vintage Rolex but I was fascinated by the eye-catching orange hand. I bought it from a seller on yahoo auctions, and the seller was astonished that I know nothing about the watch and still dared to buy vintage. One more thing, I spend almost 10k USD on it and that was 2/3 of the money in my bank account. Crazy, right?

What's on your wrist today?

My cherished 6200 Submariner!

PREVIOUSLY ON THE HOROLOGICAL MINUTE
The Horological Minute
feat. Joshua Ganjei
This week we bring to you an interview with Joshua Ganjei, a second generation watch dealer based in Boston, MA. Joshua got his start in the business early, causing trouble at the European Watch Company store at a very young age. Eight years ago, he officially joined the family business. The European Watch Company has been a fixture on Newbury Street in Boston for over 25 years, and was started by Joshua's father Albert. In the store they carry a fine selection of both new and vintage watches. Joshua's real passion lay with vintage watches, as he as worked hard to expand their business in that area with his knowledge of various different brands, not just Rolex. A genuine vintage enthusiast, we're proud to have Joshua as this week's Horological Minute.
Read The Interview
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