L/R WRIST: William Shum of Memorigin shares his love for collaboration

The esoteric nature of watch collecting brings with it people from all walks of life. The common thread in the watch-collecting community is the passion for these little time-keeping machines on the wrist. In our watch collecting series L/R WRIST, we explore both wrists and what type of jewellery is paired on the other arm… and sometimes it ends up being two watches, or in this case, a pair of tourbillon cufflinks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong (@lifestyleasiahk)

Our next episode brings us to a household name in the Hong Kong watch scene, William Shum of Memorigin. Celebrating its 10th anniversary back in 2021, Memorigin started when founder William Shum wanted to share his love for the tourbillon complication with the world at an economical price. As the first and only brand in Hong Kong that produces tourbillon-specific watches, Shum has been able to take the brand and combine his love for collaboration to create horological canvases. He often collaborates with celebrated names in Hong Kong (Bruce Lee, Coleman Wong, HKU, HK Tram, and Stephen Chow), references Chinese culture (Zodiac, Poem, and Dynasty series), and incorporates international IPs as well (Dragon Ball, Marvel, Transformers, Gundam, Monster Hunter).

He admits that his love for collaboration comes from his love for various shows and characters from his childhood, but also that, by working with different partners, he can expand his imagination to a level beyond what he as an individual can achieve. On Shum’s left wrist, he wears the Memorigin Puro Black Series, which comprises a skeletonised dial with 273 black diamonds and 98 white diamonds on the bezel. The flying tourbillon for this watch is located at the 6 o’clock position.

Switching things up from a piece of jewellery on his right wrist, Shum instead elects to celebrate his love for the tourbillon via his Memorigin cufflinks.

This year also marks another big milestone for Memorigin with the launch of its luxurious sub-brand MEMOIRE. This project unites Swiss Koncept and the expertise of Kaj Korpela and Costya Vigneri with Memorigin’s Chinese watchmaking ethos.

Named the Aspirare, this watch represents the collaboration between a Hong Kong and a Swiss watch development company. Swiss Koncept has reworked Memorigin’s in-house movement with a high level of polishing, finishing, and assembly.

The 40mm Aspirare features the signature Memorigin tourbillon, a salmon dial, sandblasted details, and mainspring barrel details with “SWITZERLAND” and “HONG KONG” engraving that rotates as the movement is wound. The partial plates give off a stacked and layered look which adds to the contemporary aesthetic of the new MEMOIRE line.