Wrist Roll

When Noel Wong spoke to Tatler about his love for watches, he gave us a glimpse behind the scenes of the life of a war correspondent-turned-luxury watch salesman-turned-filmmaker

- Amrita Katara

Lights, camera, action! This is the story of Noel Wong: watch collector, filmmaker, journalist, auctioneer and author. His journey as a watch collector began with a ladies’ watch—a gift that remains his favourite in the well-honed collection he has nurtured over the last few decades.

Stop. Rewind. Play.

It all started when he was accepted to university in Australia to study journalism. His mother wanted to show her pride through a well-meaning gift, and bought Wong his very first watch, a Pasha C by Cartier. “I still remember, it was HK$15,000 after discount; getting it at that price today is impossible,” he says. Wong, a self-described “mama’s boy”, felt love at first sight, and is eternally grateful for the gift. “Because of that watch, I started getting interested [in luxury watches],” he says.

While in Australia, Wong lived with his aunt, who was a nun and “took him as her own son”. “She didn’t have any money; she contributed a lot of it to the church,” says Wong. But even though she had been through a rough financial patch, and noticing Wong’s avid interest in the art of watchmaking, she wanted to give him “something that would always stay with him”. That’s when she gave him a Rolex Cellini. While the watch was not an expensive purchase at the time— “around HK$ 5,000”—it meant a lot to Wong, and became another all-time favourite in his collection.