Horological Trailblazer

Meet Tom Chng, who went from a corporate slave to a horological maestro shaping Singapore's watch-collecting community.

- Asaph Low

In the fast-paced world of timekeeping, where moments are marked by ticking seconds, one man stands as a symbol of passion. Meet Tom Chng, the trailblazing founder of the Singapore Watch Club (SWC) and Pygmalion Gallery, whose remarkable journey from a forensic accounting specialist to a horological virtuoso has captivated watch enthusiasts locally and now worldwide.

Despite a successful career as a forensic accounting specialist at Deloitte, Chng realised that his heart lay elsewhere. Watches had captured his imagination, and the allure of the ticking marvels proved to be a horological awakening. “It wasn’t my passion and not my calling,” Chng reflects on his corporate days. “At about that same time, I found my love for watches. I enjoyed reading about them and learning the perspectives of other collectors.” Chng left and took the bold leap into horology in 2015 when he founded the Singapore Watch Club (SWC), which would soon become a powerhouse in the watch-collecting community. Chng’s vision was to create a community around the shared passion for timepieces, and SWC quickly became a hub for watch enthusiasts and collectors. One of the many highs this journey has brought to Chng was the collaboration with Cartier. After two years of discussions, the 18-piece collection (six models, each produced in rose gold, yellow gold and platinum) finally materialised in March 2022. “Seeing the timepieces in front of us for the first time was an incredible feeling. It’s like meeting your newborn! It’s our baby!”