10. Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust | The Professor

The professor lives a frugal life, compared his friends, who are either in the financial sector or property speculation.  He makes a comfortable living on his professor’s salary, teaching English at the most renowned university in Hong Kong, where he was born and bred.  The only thing that he has in common with his peers is perhaps his Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust. Although at 31mm, it looks awkwardly small on his boney yet large wrist.  His friends have asked why he would wear such a small watch, knowing that he could very well afford another one, even on his academic’s salary.  ‘That’s the biggest Rolex I could afford’, he would say jokingly, brushing them off.  He’s never told anyone the truth that the watch belonged to his mother, who passed away many years ago. 

If there’s one watch that can define the zeitgeist of Hong Kong in the 80s, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust would certainly be one of the top contenders. In an era of what seemed like endless financial opportunities, the raising middle class spearheaded conspicuous consumption.  Money was easily made and even easier spent.  Since sales had been stagnant for years in Europe, virtually all Swiss watch brands were all eager to fight for a slice of the pie in Hong Kong.  Naturally only a few stood out, and Rolex, with its early entry to the market, celebrity endorsements, clever marketing campaigns, and easy to pronounce name, became the epitome of luxury in the eyes of many of Hong Kong’s nouveau riche.   Naturally, the professor’s father, who was part of this sudden movement of upward mobility, bought into this skewed image of success.  The professor’s father had a successful clothing manufacturing business, employing several hundred people, working with mostly American customers.  Because of his dealings with Americans, he had instilled in the professor early on the importance of being able to speak English, though his own English is broken at best.  Like all young boys, the professor looked up to him, a caring father, husband, and a great provider for their family.  The professor remembers the day when his father took both him and his mother to a Rolex dealer, swiftly selected a pair of watches, and paid for them in cash.  The Rolexes were virtually identical.  They were both two-toned, with 18ct gold and stainless steel jubilee bracelets and 18ct gold fluted bezels.  The only difference is that the wife’s was 31mm and the husband’s was 36mm.  His mother was skeptical at first, like all traditional Chinese wives, she didn’t interfere in her husband’s business dealings.  He assured her that they can more than afford such luxury, as he’s just made a killing in the stock market.  When they left the store, the professor’s father promised him that one day he could have his watch, probably soon too he added optimistically, the way things are going with the stock market, he is already eyeing a diamond studded model as his next reward. 

One day in 1987, the professor was surprised to come home from school to see his father.  Usually he never gets to see him during the week as his father often works grueling hours to fulfill tight delivery deadlines at the factory.  But his happiness was short lived.  Both of his parents had been arguing he could tell. His mother even had tears in her eyes, something that the professor has never seen in his short life.  Calmly, but with urgency, his father explained to the professor that there was a market crash and that he’s lost a lot of money, a large portion of which he borrowed from some people called loan sharks.  His father reassured him that everything will be okay, although they have to sell a few possessions, including their home to pay off the debts.  In fact, his father has already sold his Rolex before coming home to get his mother’s. The professor’s mother refused to give her husband the watch, not because she’s clinging onto material goods at a time of crisis, for she would have done anything to help her family.  She simply felt betrayed and lied to, the faith that she had in her husband had suddenly and completely vanished.  Perhaps depressed and overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness and desperation, her mother took her own life a few days before they were scheduled to move to a small one bedroom apartment. 

As his friends celebrate each other’s good fortune in the current bullish economy, the professor is content with his humble life, knowing for certain that he will never have to sell his 31mm Rolex Perpetual Datejust.