A passion for timepieces

Ng Kien Siang finds great joy in repairing watches and clocks and collecting the latter.

FOR someone who has seen to the working order of timepieces for 15 years, it is very odd to discover that Ng Kien Siang does not wear a watch.

“I don’t need to,” said this 33-year-old bachelor simply.

This is not to say that this timepiece technician has no regard for time.

On the contrary, he is a firm believer that time is money.

And yes, he is the type who will get chuffed with people who don’t respect time.

Labour of love: Ng Kien Siang says there is nothing else he wants to do but be a timepiece technician.

“I hate it when people are not punctual. It is a clear sign that they are not good planners,” he said.

Digging deeper into the issue of time management and forward planning, Ng has come up with a hypothesis that individuals who are habitually late seldom possess the vision of further advancement.

For the “watch-less” Ng, if one cannot plan one’s movement for the coming hour then, it is very unlikely that he can plan for his future.

These words come as no surprise for someone whose business is to keep time in precision. In Ng’s three-year-old shop are his personal collection of 30 wall clocks, some as old as 50 years. Not all were in working order when he acquired them, but that’s okay. Timepieces are something he has been trained to repair.

Furthermore, taking apart a relic to study the mechanism is always a treat.

He has discovered some rare clock movements this way, too.

One such case involves a pendulum wall clock above his desk, which he claims is worth close to RM40,000, due to the unique nylon string mechanism. Most wind-up clocks, explained Ng, run on a wind-up spring system, a common movement.

The nylon string clock uses weight as a form of energy to turn the hands and the nylon holding the pendulum plays a part in regulating the speed at which the energy of the weight is released.

Adding to the wall clocks are another four French clocks, artfully designed like cages.

The clock faces are shaped like globes with two life-like birds acting as dials.

But unlike the issue of punctuality, talk of his collection does not inspire him to eloquence.

What made this enigmatic timepiece technician tick, however, were the repair jobs he had done for his customers.

The French clocks in Ng Kien Siang’s collection. The birds act as the clock needles to tell the hour and minutes.

“I have serviced watches which cost close to RM1 million.

“These are mostly studded with diamonds and run on the tourbillon system, which is designed to counter the effects of gravity and other perturbing forces that can affect the accuracy of a timepiece.

“On a regular basis, I have a customer base of Rolex and Audemars owners whose wristwatches are worth no less than RM100,000,” said Ng.

“The first time I touched one of these watches, my hands were practically shaking,” recalled Ng of the early days in his career.

With such a hefty price tag, compensation in lieu of damages will be something that he can ill afford.

“You may not be able to see a scratch with the naked eye but with these premium watch collectors, they will scrutinise every part of the timepiece with a magnifying glass. Should they find even one tiny mark, they will tell you off,” he said.

But over time, it dawned on Ng that there is only so much a man can do when his hands are paralysed by fear.

“At the end of the day, I realised that I was just frightening myself. Over time, with experience and knowledge, I overcame those fears and now, am perfectly comfortable with my abilities,” he said.

Ng from Klang revealed that he had begun his apprenticeship at a watch shop belonging to his relative’s friend in Jalan Meru, Klang, at the age of 18.

The work was basically about changing watchstraps, replacing batteries and doing simple repairs.

After five years, it dawned on him that there would be little prospect for advancement so he took up an IT course and obtained a diploma.

But a few jobless months later, Ng would find employment in Crystal Time, one of the leading watch distributors in the region, as a technician.

Ng Kien Siang with a customer.

But after two years, a search for better prospects led him to work for the Swatch Group, as a technician in Singapore, for three years.

But it was just a matter of time before he became restless.

“I was young and ambitious and I wanted to try my luck as an entrepreneur, so I left,” grinned Ng.

“My interest was in timepieces. There was nothing else I wanted to do. I was not afraid of competition because I knew that there were only a few of us who had the knowledge. The challenge was in finding customers.

“So, I set up a website and started networking with timepiece collectors,” said Ng on how he had persevered.

With the number of sleepless nights thus reduced, he now can reveal what his favourite hour of the day is.

“I like 7o’clock in the mornings the best. That’s when I wake up and start my new day,” said Ng brightly.

Ng can be contacted at Kien Siang 2.112, 2nd Floor, The Summit, USJ 1, Persiaran Kewajipan, Subang Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-8023 9146.