First loves

OMEGA HAS TAKEN ITS WEARERS to the surface of the moon and the depths of the ocean. It has tested the limits of human physicality in the Olympics as well as the celluloid adventures of James Bond. But for George Tan, the founder of The Omega Watch Club in Singapore, it's simply strengthened his love for his wife Emilyn Lee.

When they met almost 30 years ago as teenagers, Tan was buying all sorts of watches sourced from both authorised dealers and the Thieves' Market in Sungei Road. It was Lee who advised him to find a focus for his collection. So Tan honed in on Omega for its unparalleled history, which include being the official timekeeper of the Olympics since 1932, and the wristwatch worn by astronaut Buzz Aldrin in 1969 when humans first set foot on the moon.

Today, Tan has one of the most talked-about watch collections in the country: He owns 2 Omega Speedmaster Ref ST 105.012 ''Original Moonwatch'' which was used by Apollo mission astronauts; all 3 Speedmaster Snoopy (from 2003, 2015 and 2020); an impossible-to-get James Bond prototype; several vintage models for both men and women; as well as playful pieces such as Omega's just-released collaboration with Swatch.

Tan, an army officer, says: ''Owning an Omega is like owning a piece of history. Competitor brands might make various claims to history. But it's mostly been Omega that's been there at critical times.''

It was Omega, for instance, that made the first commercially available diver's watch, despite other competing claims: The 1932 Omega Marine had a patented double case that makes it water resistant to an unprecedented 135 metres. It boasts a sleek 1930s Art Deco design that reflects the era's aesthetics, making it highly coveted among discerning collectors.

Tan owns the 1932 model as well as a 2007 reissued model.

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An even harder-to-get piece in Tan's collection, however, is a James Bond prototype from the 1990s. Back then, Omega had just embarked on a partnership with the James Bond franchise, and Pierce Brosnan was set to make a splash as the 6th person to portray 007 in 1995's GoldenEye.

''Omega had created these prototypes for the first Bond watch, including some in the Dynamic line, but the company eventually decided to have him wear the Seamaster. The Dynamic prototypes were not used and were not supposed to go on sale. But one of them seemed to have accidentally found its way into a shop and into the hands of a collector, and subsequently, into my collection.''

When Tan got hold of the watch, many of his friends doubted its authenticity, because no one had seen anything like it. So Tan took the watch to an Omega dealership where it was successfully authenticated as the real deal. Today, it is the only James Bond Dynamic watch known to be in private hands. And though dealers and collectors have offered to buy it from Tan, he's not selling it yet.

Beside Bond watches, Tan also has a longstanding passion for the brand's vintage pieces. One of his ''grails'' is the Omega Constellation Grand Luxe, a 1950s 18K solid yellow gold creation with a distinctive pie pan dial with diamond-shaped markers, and an exquisitely crafted brick bracelet.

''This watch is extremely hard to find. In the past, people were known to detach the gold bracelet and sell them separately because they're made of pure gold and could fetch a good price. So to find something intact and genuine is rare.

''Having found 3 of them, however, I can safely say that they're absolutely fantastic watches that showcase the superb craftsmanship of Omega watchmakers. They just don't make watches like this anymore.''

LIKE TEENAGE SWEETHEARTS

Tan's love of Omega watches is duly noted by the company. When Singapore celebrated its bicentennial in 2019, Omega produced the Omega Seamaster Singapore, a retro 1950s-inspired piece in a limited edition of 200. Tan says: ''Omega called and asked if I'd like to have one, and which numbered piece I'd like to have. I asked: 'Could I have No. 1?' And they instantly replied: 'Why not?' ''

Omega often invites Tan to its red-carpet events, which he attends with his wife Lee, who is a watch connoisseur in her own right. Lee owns about 50 watches, a fraction of her husband's over 400 watches. But she can perfectly hold her own in conversations about watches, parsing various brands' attributes, legacy and iconic pieces. The senior client services director frequently reads watch magazines and finds horology thoroughly fascinating: ''Firstly, it's amazing how something so small can encompass so much complex engineering. Secondly, there's this interesting paradox of how humans create these machines to track time, sometimes even to stop it (via a stopwatch) - but time marches on regardless of what we try to do with it.''

Like her husband, Lee is partial to Omega watches, but the couple collects watches of other brands too, such as Rolex, Cartier and Patek Philippe. Birthday gifts have naturally included watches for each other: Tan has a slight advantage because he's better at assessing the value and authenticity of vintage watches; Lee prefers the safer route of buying a current model from an authorised dealer.

Like overgrown teenage sweethearts, the couple isn't shy about buying matching pieces for each other. They own the Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time models for him and her, as well as matching Omega Marines, among others.

But at the end of the day, Tan says: ''The watches matter less than the companionship we provide each other. The time we cherish the most is the time we spend together... We'll be in our 50s soon, so we've started planning for our retirement. Whatever we choose to do with our watch collection, we'll always have each other.''

Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow

Styling: CK Koo

Hair styling: Grego Oh, using Keune

Make up: Dily Wang, using Chanel

Emilyn wears a turtleneck by Loro Piana. George wears his own.

The couple's Omega collection includes (above, clockwise from left) Omega Ladies Jewellery watch and Omega Ladies Jewellery With Diamonds Bangle Mystery Watch, Omega Speedmaster Apollo 13 Silver Snoopy Award, Omega Constellation Grand Luxe 18K Gold with a brick/snake bracelet, Omega Dynamic Chronograph 007 James Bond prototype with dial covered in 007 motif, and Omega Marine 1932 Museum Collection Limited Edition of 135.