K. Basrie
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Hoping for an end to a dark time<\/p>\n
As a keen wristwatch collector, Sudwikatmono, a veteran
\nbusinessman, has never been quite able to resist his temptation
\nto keep adding new items to his massive collection.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, I already have some 100,\" the relative of former
\npresident Soeharto told The Jakarta Post while browsing at a fine
\nwatch expo here at Plaza Senayan recently.<\/p>\n
The tycoon, always dressed lavishly, was referring to his
\npersonal collection of world-class wristwatches.<\/p>\n
And Dwi, as he is also known, admitted that looking for
\nluxurious watches is still one of his favorite hobbies.<\/p>\n
Then there are collectors with an altogether different type of
\nfinancial background.<\/p>\n
A junior clerk at a major oil firm in the Sudirman business
\ndistrict of Jakarta, Ajeng (not her real name), 38, has some 50
\nwatches in her collection. \"I am a real fan of wristwatches,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Unlike Dwi, her watches -- mostly gifts from her parents and
\nrelatives -- are those with prices of between Rp 1 million to Rp
\n2 million each.<\/p>\n
So far, the fall of the rupiah and the economic slowdown that
\nhas accompanied it have done little to suppress Ajeng's obsession
\nwith watches.<\/p>\n
\"Collecting items that you love should not always be
\nexpensive,\" she said. \"And I do enjoy matching the color and
\nstyle of my watches with my dress.<\/p>\n
\"Having more watches, for me, is fun,\" said Ajeng, who is
\nparticularly enamored of Esprit and Guess wristwatches.<\/p>\n
And Dwi reflected these simple words in explaining his own
\nhobby collecting the time machines: \"I just like it.\"<\/p>\n
A reliable source in the industry said that Dwi, Soeharto and
\nseveral former ministers, officials and generals, are known to
\nhoard fine jewelry watches, like Audemars Piguet, Breguet,
\nPiaget, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Chopard, and Baume &
\nMercier.<\/p>\n
Several noted figures are also hungrily scouring for Russian
\nwatches, like the Paketa.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the \"second-class\" collectors know precisely what
\nthey are looking for.<\/p>\n
The difference, perhaps, could best be illustrated by
\nimagining someone driving a Rolls Royce and another person in a
\nmore common Japanese car. Image and prestige, moreover, count.<\/p>\n
Then for collectors from any class, the skyrocketing price
\nsince the mid-1997 crisis is no good excuse to stop looking.<\/p>\n
\"But we do have to be a little bit selective,\" said another
\nfine wristwatch collector, who declined to be identified.<\/p>\n
A major fine watch distributor, PT Timerindo Perkasa
\nInternational, still enjoys the glory.<\/p>\n
\"Among our popular items that still sell well here are those
\nwith the price tags of between 6,000 Singaporean dollars (Rp 33
\nmillion) and S$7,000 (Rp 38.5 million) each,\" said Zainuddin, a
\nsenior staffer at Timerindo, which handles the distribution of 11
\ntop name-brand wristwatches; they include Piaget, Cartier, Baume
\n& Mercier, Tag Heuer, Gucci, Ebel, Vacheron Constantin, Christian
\nDior, Zenith, Officine Panerai and Corum.<\/p>\n
According to Zainuddin, items available at Timerindo's stock
\ncould reach as high as S$70,000 per piece, like those of Piaget,
\nand Vacheron Constantin.<\/p>\n
\"And there are still orders which ask for the purchase of
\ncertain model worth S$200,000 and $300,000 each,\" he added.<\/p>\n
But most of the 25 distributors of imported wristwatches in
\nIndonesia have confessed to the existence of an ongoing, and
\nsignificant, drop in turnover.<\/p>\n
They said the price tags have gone up three to four times
\nhigher than the pre-crisis list. People were unhappy with the
\nsituation, and have no choice to recover it but continue running
\ntheir businesses.<\/p>\n
\"There is still a market for our products, of course, but the
\npie is no longer as big as before the crisis,\" Sutarsa Tanu,
\npresident of PT Mitraniaga Bumiandalas, a distributor of Swiss-
\nmade Tissot, cK, and Longines watches, said in a separate
\ninterview.<\/p>\n
\"I could say that the volume (of sales) now left is only about
\none-third from the previous one,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Another player, Timotius J., the general manager of PT City
\nTime which handles the distribution for Emporio Armani, DKNY, and
\nFossil, shared the same view.<\/p>\n
\"Our sales has been drastically dropped, particularly due to
\nrupiah,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
\"Before crisis, we could sell between 500 and 1,000 units per
\nthree months -- now, the total has dropped three times,\" Timotius
\nadded.<\/p>\n
According to Timotius, the market could no longer reach the
\nskyrocketing price of imported watches. \"As distributor, we have
\ntried to press our margin (to tease the market), but it still
\ndoesn't work a lot,\" he said.<\/p>\n
City Time has even closed half its eight outlets.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that we've just passed the dark episode and now
\nbegins a new one,\" Timotius said, adding that his company will
\nsoon open new shops at Plaza Senayan and Pondok Indah malls.<\/p>\n
And City Time is not alone in its vision of a brighter future
\nin the business. Visitors at Plaza Senayan could easily recognize
\nthat a showroom for the luxurious Audemars Piguet wristwatches
\nwill be opened soon at the Jakarta's most popular shopping mall.<\/p>\n
\"We'll open at the end of January,\" said one of the owners,
\nadding that the price will start from tens of millions to
\nhundreds of millions.<\/p>\n
But some of the Audemars Piguet watches, including the
\nEquation de Temps model -- one of its latest products and dubbed
\nas one of the world's most expensive watches -- will be put only
\nfor display.<\/p>\n
\"Purchase for certain items will be handled based on request,\"
\nthe said the owner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
Another positive sign is the emergence of a plethora of new
\nmodels in the market. Officine Panerai, for example, has just
\nintroduced its new editions: Luminor Marina Automatic 44mm and
\nLuminor Submersible.<\/p>\n
\"Their prices are between Rp 20 million and Rp 50 million
\neach,\" Timerindo's PR manager Roslina Situmeang said.<\/p>\n
So do the other popular brands, like cK, Swatch, Longines,
\nGuess, Emporio Armani, and Esprit, most of which come with fine
\ndesigns, decorative materials, sophisticated looks and a chic
\nsense of fashion.<\/p>\n
According to Timotius, the most popular items in today's
\nIndonesian market are those with a price range of below Rp 1.5
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
\"They dominate some 40 percent of the market,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Those with the price range from Rp 1.5 million to some Rp 3
\nmillion,\" he continued, \"control 30 percent of the pie, while the
\nother 20 percent is owned by brands with price tags of between Rp
\n3 million and Rp 8 million.\"<\/p>\n
The fine wristwatches, with prices starting from 8 billion to
\nunlimited value, only control the remaining 10 percent of market
\nshare, he said.<\/p>\n
More than half of the entire watch distribution in the country
\ntakes place in Jakarta, while 35 percent are distributed in other
\nmajor cities in Java, Timotius said.<\/p>\n
It has often been said that many people wear wristwatches as a
\ncompliment to their shoes and belts, an explanation as to why
\nthis market is booming.<\/p>\n
Today, one can even buy a decent watch that keeps perfect time
\nfor less than Rp 100,000.<\/p>\n
And that is why manufacturers are starting to turn watches
\ninto high-tech fashion accessories that can do everything from
\nmaking phone calls to scanning the Internet to changing channels
\non your television set -- all add-ons to fetch more money.<\/p>",
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