Teh wearing his Rolex Oyster Perpetual, a meaningful piece that reminds him of his father (Photo: SooPhye)
Beyond the gloves and loupe on the velvet tray, a groomed and ready-to-serve sales consultant stands behind the glass counter eager to shed light on the world of horology. Countless hours poring over online research and scrolling try-on videos can never truly prepare you for the moment a long-coveted timepiece graces your wrist.
As the consultant eloquently elucidates the brand’s storied past, unwavering commitment to craftsmanship and groundbreaking innovations, a deeper appreciation swells and it is just a matter of time before it is taken home to fill its designated spot in the watchwinder.
The Hour Glass’ exceptional customer service is a key factor contributing to its reputation as one of the region’s most respected specialist watch retailers, with a reach of over 60 boutiques across
Asia-Pacific, 14 of them in Malaysia. While its extensive range of timepieces and brands, from Rolex and Patek Philippe to FP Journe and Breguet, is undeniably alluring, it is oftentimes the intimate connections forged through its personnel that truly distinguish the retailer while cultivating multi-generational loyalty.
The best in the business combine deep expertise, discretion and a passion for horology to create a buying experience that goes far beyond mere transactions. Service with a smile is a given. But the true differentiator between good and outstanding lies in the consultant’s ability to listen, says Teh Soon Kheng, better known as SK, who will celebrate a decade as The Hour Glass Malaysia’s general manager in the new year.
“If you listen well enough to what people want and are honest and sincere about helping clients and prospects, even if you do not come through in the end, knowing you’ve made the effort to help them is always much appreciated,” he adds.
It is wonderful when people have their hearts set on a particular model or reference, and while the retailer’s role is chiefly to assist them in attaining their dream watch, Teh finds greater fulfilment in sharing the joy and excitement of acquisition with his customers. In many instances, these timepieces hold great emotional value, serving as symbols of significant milestones and cherished memories. “I feel fortunate they allow me to share that special moment with them.”
It is an experience Teh understands all too well. To commemorate a pivotal point in his career, he acquired a Baume & Mercier as his first luxury timepiece (which his sister is “borrowing” at the moment). He has since added a few more to his trove, “but of course, my collection pales in comparison to those of the connoisseurs out there”.
“You should only buy what you like, will wear and keep for the rest of your life. The first watch you get will always be more appreciated than the others, so it must resonate with you,” he advises.
While the Rolex Oyster Perpetual glinting under the cuff of his new suit may not have been his first watch, it is an equally meaningful piece that reminds him of his father. “What I’m wearing is something my dad used to have, but his was smaller. I got it thinking that it looked similar and when I showed it to him, it was the same model! When he passed on, his watch was handed down to me. So, there’s a bit of nostalgia tied to this.”
Nowadays, when it comes to design, Teh thinks simplicity has its merits. “There was a time when I liked all things chronograph, and a phase when I would try as hard as possible to get a GMT. One day,
I hope to get myself a perpetual calendar. But right now, a simple three hand watch really speaks to me.”
His interest in owning a nicer timepiece began years before he joined the industry. “I think for men, there are a few things we love most, right? There’s cars. But I like motorbikes. As for accessories, it’s always watches. They have a lower entry point than a bike, so I started with that.” (It was only two years ago, at 50, that Teh finally acquired a Honda CBR1000, which he had been eyeing since he was a kid).
As he got more acquainted with the subject, desire developed into fascination. “What intrigues me most is when you look at clock towers all over the world, they make them so big for everyone to tell time. Yet, to be able to miniaturise them into an accessory you wear on your wrist really puts things into perspective... that if people set their minds to it, there’s nothing they cannot achieve. Being able to condense such a huge mechanism into one so small is amazing.”
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Behind the counter
Teh’s 30-year journey in retail, rife with bends and turns, led him from one industry to another. Ironically, retail was far from the profession he imagined for himself.
“As many may or may not know, I first started in fashion in 1990 when Isetan came to Malaysia. When people talk about retail, it’s never something they see as a career path. And I clearly remember my first day on the job; the moment I stepped into the boutique, I knew this wasn’t what I wanted to do,” he admits.
His childhood dream may well take you by surprise. “I wanted to be a policeman or a soldier. I remember I was in primary school and wanted to get into the Royal Military College, but my results weren’t good enough. In secondary school, I looked up the requirements to get into the police training programme, which was a credit in Bahasa Melayu.
“I always prided myself on having very good command of BM and thought I did pretty well in my SPM. But a few days later, there was a leak and we had to do the entire thing again and it all went downhill. While I managed to get a decent enough result to pass, I did not get the required credit,” he remembers wistfully.
Unable to afford university, Teh got into the workforce fresh out of school and was part of Isetan Lot 10’s opening team. “In that short period, at the tender age of 18, I was promoted three times within the year.” But as momentum waned, young Teh sought out swifter advancement elsewhere. “Age was a problem. They said I was too young and still had time. I always found that difficult [to accept].”
He jumped to Makro, a Dutch hypermarket, and was part of the pioneer team that started its Selayang branch. Faced with the same headwind, he figured he should venture into something different.
“At that point in time, there was the PC (personal computer) boom. My partners and I made some money and had our fun, but then came the PC bust! So when that stopped, I had to fall back on something I knew. After a bit of soul searching, coming back to retail wasn’t much of a decision — it was the natural thing to do.”
Teh realised experience alone could not get him far up the ladder and decided to further his studies while at Davidoff Cigars. “I evaluated what was best, whether to go for a diploma, a degree or, if I could, an MBA. I’m a know-it-all, so of course I chose an MBA!”
He approached local institutions, but none had a programme for mature students. “So I identified all the foreign universities operating in Malaysia and wrote to each directly. I was fortunate enough that one from Australia said yes.” Soon, as he was studying, a message from Cortina Watch would pave his foray into the science-meets-magic world of horology.
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A foot in the door
“Cortina, at that time, was looking for people to manage the business in Malaysia. I think Jeremy Lim, my boss then, had the foresight to know that they needed somebody outside the family and trade to give fresh ideas. I spent six fruitful years with them and we grew the business to at least three times the size. Overall, it was a real eye-opener for me getting into the watch industry. It changed my perspective on how retail should be done as well.”
Following Cortina, Teh moved to Sincere Fine Watches for a few years before taking a step back to assess his career. “I guess I was at a crossroads and was thinking whether or not I should continue on with the trade. But it so happened that The Hour Glass had a vacant position, which had been left empty by the sudden passing of the GM.
“I was speaking to Dr Kenny [Chan Swee Kheng] and he was looking for somebody who understood the business. It’s never good to have that position vacant for long. Hence the moment they knew of my availability, they reached out. We had a discussion for a few months before we made that call.”
As his 10th anniversary at The Hour Glass dawns, Teh has made himself an essential cog in the wheel of Malaysia’s horological ecosystem. “I grew up with people telling me to work smart, not hard. But today, it’s not so much either or, but both. Most of us, regardless of our age, are resistant to change, but one thing I really learnt from my time at The Hour Glass is that the only constant is change. We need to learn as much as we can as it comes, so that we not only do our jobs well, but improve ourselves.”
The years Covid-19 plagued the world serve as a good example. “We were discussing our IT infrastructure for two years prior, but the pandemic changed that and allowed us to adopt technology a lot quicker,” he says.
Confined in homes with no clue when the trials of the pandemic would end, the impermanence of life loomed like a cloud. “There was a mindset shift. People took the opportunity to invest in and buy things they would not have previously. Instead of purely saving for retirement, they started paying attention to their wants. With that, sales were pushed to an all-time high and there was a lot of liquidity in the market.”
The online purchasing and customer service systems had to be meticulously engineered as the surge of revenge spending swiftly took hold. “Now, within the group, we have a very strong IT team that supports us regionally. We’ve done a lot of things in-house and will continue to expand on it.”
But what goes up, must come down. “As we go back to normality, so will our numbers,” he says, referring to this year’s luxury slowdown. “It’s a form of correction, a very natural progression and, in fact, a healthy thing. So as long as we continue doing what we do best, the numbers will return.”
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What makes it tick?
Ultimately, The Hour Glass’ guiding compass is advancing watch culture, educating the masses on the art of horology and facilitating its appreciation. “It’s not just about selling watches or perpetuating the need to have one on your wrist. It’s also about sharing what goes behind the creation, the passion the watchmakers have and why they do what they do,” says Teh.
“Continuing the family legacy is one. There are others who’d like to create a piece of art that you can bring around everywhere. And there are also those who simply want to create the best timekeeping machine ever. So, learning where all these brands and watchmakers come from really further entrenches the interest of buying a timepiece. It’s our job to perpetuate that interest.”
Case in point: The Hour Glass’ recent IAMWATCH event, which convened some of the industry’s most revered artisanal watchmakers for a three-day programme in Singapore, received overwhelmingly positive response from the general public. “Imagine wearing a Rexhep Rexhepi, MB&F, Urwerk or a Biver at that and taking a picture with the founders themselves. We had a lot of enquiries from people in Malaysia, and while we would have loved to bring everyone there ourselves, there were just too many.”
The retailer played a pivotal role in bringing independent brands to the region and shaping its emerging market. “We were, in a way, ahead of our time. It took us many years for people to accept this category of watches. And today, we are really seeing them openly liking the idea of having an artisanal timepiece. This is a process we’d like to continue. Young people today are always looking for something different. While it’s good to have the big brands around, I think interest today has gone beyond that to artisanal independents.”
Teh has noticed a surge of fresh blood taking over the workbenches and ateliers too. “There was a period in time when it was very difficult to get young people in the industry. But of late, we’ve been seeing a new generation of watchmakers coming to learn the trade, whether by themselves or through apprenticeships, and eventually coming out on their own and forming their own brands. They’re not only able to create what’s relevant to them, but also interact and engage with end consumers directly in order to take into account what their generation and the next are looking for.
“To be able to be part of something very traditional yet so open to change is amazing,” he enthuses, and to do so with a stellar team makes it even better. He gives them space and the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. “And of course, they should also learn from the mistakes of others, including myself. As serious as our work can be, we still need to be able to smile and laugh once in a while.”
Looking back on his own struggles for advancement at the beginning of his career, Teh thinks, “Companies should give opportunities to those who have potential. A lot of us in senior management have certain biases, but I think that mindset is changing, or at least I’m trying to. I shouldn’t be one of those people who told me many years ago that I couldn’t because I was young. We should be able to move forward regardless of our age if we’re good at what we do. If we don’t give the younger ones the opportunity, they will not have the chance to grow at the speed they could. And we won’t be able to encourage different sets of new ideas and forever be stuck where we are at.”
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In the works
The Hour Glass has had a full calendar of events in 2024. Aside from IAMWATCH, it also brought in former French-Argentine professional footballer David Trezeguet to Malaysia for Hublot (a signed football is displayed at the office); established the first mono-brand boutique for Frederique Constant in the country; and recently hosted the grand opening of its boutique at The Exchange TRX. But they are not quite done yet.
“As we come to the end of the year, we’ll be starting something new and exciting at The Gardens Mall, where we’ll have our Rolex boutique expanded with a new concept. Thereafter a year later, we’ll have a fresh concept for Patek Philippe as well,” says Teh.
“We’re also always looking for new opportunities to venture out of KL. We just opened [the first Tudor standalone store] at Queensbay Mall in Penang and hopefully, we’ll be able to look at other states in Malaysia where we can expand our footprint.
“The other locations that are of interest are probably the likes of East Malaysia. There are a lot of development and changes happening in Sabah and Sarawak. Of course, back here in the peninsula,
Johor is always very interesting. We’re also seeing what we can do further here in KL. Again, it’s about nurturing the community.”
And, as time has clearly proven, no one does it quite like The Hour Glass.
This article first appeared on Nov 18, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
