Dato' Jeffrey Raymond

‘Listen to your heart and find the joy’ tells the passionate watch enthusiast when it comes to choosing the right watch for you.  

If you happen to attend any events where watch enthusiasts are gathered, chances are you would have encountered Dato’ Sri Jeffrey Raymond, the CEO of OEM Autoseats Malaysia Sdn Bhd. He is a lover of watches and enjoys sharing his knowledge and passion for the subject with anyone he speaks to. 

It is little wonder his fashionable daughter Kim is also now an ardent fan of timepieces, although through a more feminine perspective. 

Here, Dato’ Sri Jeffrey made time to chat about his thoughts on watch appreciation and how he finds joy and delight in the art of keeping time.

It was his mother who developed in him a passion for watches

“When I was 14 years old, my mother took me to a watch trader along the street and asked me to pick a watch I wanted. I was so excited and couldn’t decide but I managed to settle on a minimalistic Timex watch. It was a king’s ransom for her then compared to the meagre salary she earned so I really appreciated her gesture. She told me later she did it because she felt like it. My mother was my rock, my saviour and my protector. It was fitting that this made me into the watch enthusiast I am today.”

 

Watchmaking excites him because it is an art form

“I am inspired by how watchmakers treat the telling of time and how they keep finding some new and creative way to tell time. Think about it, quartz watches and modern-day cellular phones can tell time as good, and in some cases, better than mechanical watches. But the difference is, watchmakers turn the telling of time itself into an art form.”

 

How to buy the right watch

“Being a watch enthusiast, I do get friends and young men coming up to me and asking me what is the best watch to buy. My first question is always, “What have you in your pocket to spend?” Then I ask them what do they have in mind. You see, the joy of buying a watch won’t be there when you are convinced by another person about which one is best suited for you. 100% of the time these people that ask me that question already have one in mind and they have a reason for it. Just go for it.”

 

How to find the right piece that speaks to you

“Certainly any watch brand can and will appeal to enthusiasts for difference reasons. Many would love their first expensive piece to be a Rolex or a Tag Heuer, so enthusiasm is not about costs, but about the way the piece tells time to you, and what you get out of it besides the time. Follow that passion that comes from within. That is the most integral part.”

 

More watch inspirations: Find out what our society's corporate chiefs are wearing.