Tom Chng brings out the human face of watches in online interview

Think about watch collectors and you might imagine technical discussions about watch faces, dials, or movements.

But Tom Chng of the Singapore Watch Club delves into the history of watches, to bring out stories about the people who wore them.

His intelligent, candid examination of the subject prompts us to nominate him for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2020.

Watch and read below for my assessment.

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We launched the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards in 2018 to recognise local business leaders for their communications skills, and to showcase authentic and credible home-grown communicators.

Supported by the Asia Pacific Association of Communications Directors, we highlight shining examples for other local business leaders to follow, and to build a culture of excellence in communication, to maximise the potential of Asian companies in the Asian Century.

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• Stories

In an interview with Swiss Watch Gang, Chng talks about the history of the watches he owns. He is a collector who obviously delights in finding unusual time pieces that are less common and celebrated.

He has a story for almost every watch he presents.

He starts off by talking about a watch that bucked the trend in the 1970s, when cheap Japanese quartz movement watches proved almost too competitive for the Swiss watch industry, and companies closed down leaving 70% of the employees in the country's watch industry without jobs.

Chng says Audemars Piguet did something different by releasing a mechanical watch, which helped create the artisanal watch market.

We also like how Chng relates his own watch collecting experience and how he started the Instagram page for Singapore Watch Club, allowing him to meet collectors in other countries he has befriended so he can “find out what makes them tick”.

He has also met people who are not so confident of their knowledge of watches, but Chng insists that they tell their stories of watch collecting.

Everyone loves a good story.

• Polished, honest delivery

While the industry has invented preposterous euphemisms such as 'timepiece' or 'chronometer' to pretend they are more than watches, Chng named his community what it is, the Singapore Watch Club.

This reflects Chng's interview style. He is as polished as the watches he presents, and at the same time accessible, companionable and unpretentious.

If you know Tom Chng, share this article with him and congratulate him on being nominated for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2020.