This post was originally published on this site

Abel Hwong knows a thing or two about luxury. His success as a banker during the Asian boom of the 1990s positioned him to create AM Publishing, which produces China-focused lifestyle magazines like Apex Manual and the watch publication World of Luxury Times.

Now, Mr. Hwong is an enthusiastic car collector and always looking for distinctive watches, too — like Ulysse Nardin’s Perpetual Ludwig, a 1996 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) model known for its perpetual calendar. The watch, named for its creator, Ludwig Oechslin, can adjust to the year 2100, for the truly forward-thinking.

“I was impressed by Ulysse Nardin GMT models as it was the first mechanical watch that can adjust back and forth with a single push piece,” Mr. Hwong wrote by email. “I travel a lot and this function is very useful.

“Then I encountered the Freak and its innovative design, with the entire movement as the hands of the watch,” he said, referring to another Nardin watch. “This design makes the tourbillon unnecessary, as the entire movement circulates the dial and cancels out the gravity effect.”

Mr. Hwong said Nardin keeps surprising him — even though some of its models, like an enamel minute-repeater with a jungle theme, proved to be beyond his budget. “Eventually, I bought a Ulysse Nardin enamel watch with the HMS Caesar boat as the dial subject. I like the rich color combination and the details of the cloisonné enamel,” he said. “It was another example of Ulysse Nardin’s practicality and innovation.”