Johnathan Chan’s watch collection

Johnathan Chan, co-founder of the newish inclusive watch collecting community The Horology Club, shares his top picks

Laurent Ferrier Micro-Rotor Unique Piece

This is the one and only Laurent Ferrier Classic Galet case in tantalum and a unique piece that I had the fortune to commission from them. The project took quite a long time, much longer than we had expected due to the difficulty in machining the case, but I’m so happy with the end result! This piece is extremely special to me as it represents the relationship I have with the brand, Rob, their head of sales, Christian and Laurent. Often when you collect, it ultimately comes down to the memories you build along the way and this piece evokes priceless ones every time I wear it.

Urwerk x MB&F C3H5N3O9 Nitro

One of the foundational watches of my collection, this piece represents what I believe is the perfect marriage of two of the most important indie brands of modern times: Urwerk and MB&F. The watch was a secret collaboration project between them and was exclusively released for sale online under a different brand name – 12 pieces in silver zirconium and 12 in black zirconium. This remains one of the most collectible pieces in my opinion from both brands and fully exemplifies the signature ethos of alternative time-telling display (Urwerk) and 3D sculptural case designs (MB&F).

Greubel Forsey Double Balancier Convexe

I have always found Greubel Forsey watches to be extremely large and bulky, which never suited me, but when they started releasing the sporty Balancier Convexe line, I was convinced that this was a great move as the larger aesthetic suited a sportier piece. The sheer visual impact of seeing the Double Balancier Convexe for the first time was just mind-blowing. I’ve never been a huge complication guy and so an immaculately finished, horologically interesting double balance design was right up my alley. I haven’t been able to find a cooler sports watch.

The Habring² x Horology Club Erwin ‘THC School Piece’

This Habring was the raison d’etre of the establishment of The Horology Club, an open and inclusive community for like-minded watch enthusiasts based in Hong Kong. We wanted to design a watch to commemorate the friendship of the co-founders and a few other close friends, so we went with a stealthy deadbeat seconds complication and a twist on a classic sector dial design with Breguet numerals. This marks the first in a line of THC Creations and is irreplaceable.

Kari Voutilainen 28ti

Kari has always has always been known for his guilloche dial work but to me I’ve always been more enamoured with finishing and so the inverse has been my grail Kari ever since the first time I laid my eyes on one. Visiting Kari’s workshop in Fleurier was an amazing experience, and one of the things
I like most about his watches is that you’re able to customise different aspects of them to your liking so I’m very much looking forward to adding one to the collection soon.

Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans

Wow, what a first piece from the lovely Simon Brette. I’ve never made the decision to buy a watch as quickly as when I saw the Chronomètre Artisans. The texture on the dial, the finishing of the large balance bridge, the black polished curved screw heads – oh, my days! Excellent debut watch and I’m super excited to see what Simon has up his sleeves in the upcoming years.

Also see: Steven Ho’s watch collection