MANILA, Philippines — May 25, 2022 was a day of monumental firsts. Watch boutique Tempus was officially opening its doors at City of Dreams Manila while unveiling a unique watch collection.
The Frederique Constant x Dex Fernandez Passion Collection was undeniably the boutique’s crown jewel. Composed of 5 monoedition timepieces, the collection featured Fernandez’s iconic Garapata(The Tick) character carefully hand-painted onto each watch dial from the Swiss watchmaker for a truly one-of-a-kind design.
At this grand opening, Tempus City of Dreams was gearing up to find these 5 watches new homes with the Wear Your HeART private online auction.
Entering into the Zoom call, we were warmly welcomed by the host Anne Gauthier, who was broadcasting live from the store. She gave a quick update on the bids per watch submitted the day before.
The General Manager of Wizer Industries Inc., Rainier Jacinto, then stepped in with opening remarks, followed by the official ribbon-cutting with two representatives from City of Dreams: Property President Geoff Andres and Director for Resorts, Marketing, and Branding/Retail Tes Aranda.
We were then virtually toured around the newly opened Tempus City of Dreams, showcasing their range of premium Euro-Swiss watches from Rado, Tissot, Frederique Constant, and Alpina.Complementing them was a service counter for changing batteries and straps.
From here, we dove deeper into the collection by hearing first from the brand. “Frederique Constant is a young watch brand, 35 years young among big giants,” explained Managing Director Niels Eggerding, “[Yet] we are the leader in our price segment with luxury finishing.”
Cunanan explained that at the pricepoint Frederique Constant watches are offered, the level of detail, finishing, and variety of interesting movements is uncommon. “So they’ve been successful in getting better watches to more people.”
We then heard from the artist himself, Dex Fernandez, as he explained his creative process. “Nag-isip ako ng concept na mag-seset ng reminder doon sa wearer o kung sinuman makakita ng watch ng hopeful o reassuring message. So I came up with 5 happy messages.”
“Solidarity” was the first he painted, showing Garapata charactersjoining together to support each other. “Balance” played with symmetry to represent living in harmony. “Move” was Fernandez’s personal favorite with its message of dancing and letting loose. “Flow” as the name goes, was about going with the flow. Finally, “10:10” was a play on the watch hands at the 10:10 position forming a smile on the Garapata’s face.
The Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development (CANVAS) then gave a presentation for their 1 Million Books for 1 Million Filipino Children project as the auction’s beneficiary. CANVAS is an advocate for children’s literacy, working closely with local artists to supply books to children in public schools, hospitals, and communities in the Philippines.
After hearing from everyone, the winning bids were finally announced by Jacinto. “Balance” and “Solidarity” were sold for 212,000 PHP and 258,500 PHP respectively, wrapping up a night of celebrating art and watchmaking.
The rest of the watches can still be viewed at Tempus City of Dreams.Learn more about them at tempus.com.ph. For interested buyers, you may contact the brand on Facebook or Instagram.