Is Singapore ready to become a premier watch hub? Azimuth’s co-founder Christopher Long shares his thoughts.
 
Azimuth was started because we realised that the prices of Swiss timepieces are increasing five to 20 per cent a year for no apparent reason. A branded chronograph that cost $3,000 a decade ago now commands a $6,000 price tag. Our goal is to make pieces that are accessible to everybody and be different from the others.

It was a struggle for us initially because nobody had seen a Singaporean-designed watch and people didn’t take us seriously. Today, we produce 2,000 pieces a year, up from 300 initially. Our most important markets are Japan, Mexico, Hong Kong, the US and Singapore. We know what the Asian market wants and use this to our advantage.

After all, watch making is nothing more than precision engineering and Singapore already has this capability and expertise in micro engineering, so it’s just an extension into a different industry.

But the obstacle lies in what the country wants to target. If the government doesn’t want to focus on this industry, then it’s very difficult. It’s not just about getting factory workers to sit down in a room to make watches. You need an institute or school of horology to teach the necessary technical skills. It’s more than just appreciation for timepieces — that’s just scratching the surface — you need many years of training. The education process needs to be in place. The Japanese have come a long way. They innovate very fast and have a strong watch culture.

For now, we want to emphasize on quality and where they come from. Anyway, many Swiss brands are owned by foreigners from Armenia or East Europe, but it’s not important because the product speaks for itself.

This one is for all the Bob Dylan fans out there. No, we are not referring to the singer’s latest Together Through Life album, but the limited edition Oris watch made in his honour.

Dylan joins a string of music greats with an Oris in his name. As the first living legend to be inducted into the Oris “hall of fame”, he played a part in the creation of the watch that bears his name. While this means the design reflects the singer’s taste, it also resulted in a longer production time. The process took two years — the longest for an Oris tribute watch — for designers to come up with something that satisfied Dylan. And then there was some time spent wrangling over rights issues.

The black dial is adorned with a relief pattern inspired by the pop art of the Swinging Sixties, when Dylan started his music career. The case is held onto the wrist by a black leather strap with a metal folding clasp.

Previous tribute timepieces honoured Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. But unlike the latter two watches, the Dylan tribute is not a complication piece. Under the rectangular steel case is a simple automatic movement. You get a peek of Oris’ signature red rotor through a glass window on the case back, just next to an engraved picture of Dylan with his guitar and over-grown curly hair, captured in his signature pose.

With countless die-hard fans around the world, you’ll have to muscle your way to get your hands on one of 3,000 limited production pieces. To complete the Bob Dylan experience, the watch comes packaged with a CD and a Hohner Marine Band harmonica – the instrument the singer is synonymous with. This is sure to be a Bob Dylan fan’s quintessential “Desire”, indeed.

Expect to see some changes coming to Paragon over the next few months. The new facade will comprise five new duplex boutiques, one of which, Tod’s, is already completed. The store was the first in the world to launch Tod’s new boutique concept, and held a grand opening in September, officiated by Tod’s general manager Claudio Castiglioni and Hong Kong entertainer Kelly Chen. Another two duplexes, occupied by Prada and Miu Miu, are scheduled to open by the end of this year or early 2010, while the units taken by Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci are currently under refurbishment.

New arrivals on the scene include Coach’s new Singapore flagship concept store, which is carrying a limited edition collection of handbags available exclusively at Coach Paragon. Rounding out the slew of premiering concept flagship boutiques, Aigner just launched theirs in September, relocating to a new unit on the ground level. Also making their first appearances at Paragon are Thomas Pink, renowned British shirt makers, and Armani Junior, open since July.

Amidst the new developments debuting in the area, Paragon’s ongoing updates and improvements show that the Orchard Road stalwart can still hold its own, continuing to leave local shoppers spoilt for choice.