Comedian Kevin Hart also used the marketplace to find the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Grande Sonnerie he recently wore on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Hong Kong-born and raised in Shanghai, watch buff Austen Chu has experienced it all when it comes to the many perils of buying luxury timepieces. “[Before Instagram] I got treated like absolute dogs*** by watch brands, authorised dealers and also dealers in Tsim Sha Tsui,” he recounts, “because when I first came to Hong Kong, I was young. I was like 18, 19.
I didn’t have that much money.” Buying watches online was hardly better – sellers once told him that a dial, secured inside a metal watch case, had been dented during shipping. Aftermarket vintage bracelets vanished into thin air.
This contrasts utterly with Chu’s experience as an influencer – he’s on Instagram as @horoloupe – and as the co-founder of Wristcheck, the watch marketplace he created in 2020 with Sean Wong. Instagram helped Chu express a passion and appreciation for watches that put him on notice with the world of high horology. “I’ve had the privilege to have been in a lot of great settings like luxury boutiques and experiences because of Horoloupe,” says Chu.
“The difference was heaven and hell, night and day.” Those experiences came to a head with a collaboration with Audemars Piguet on the Royal Oak China Edition Perpetual Calendar. Launched in January 2020, it was limited to 88 pieces and only to China.
“I’m forever.