米蘭古董表商瞄準香港大好市場

Since 2005, collectors looking for rare vintage watches have been making their way to the Via Caradosso in Milan. There, near the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, where Leonardo painted his Last Supper, Max Bernardini has turned a used jewelry business started by his father, Franco, into a mecca for lovers of early 20th-century horology, from rare Patek Philippes to Rolex Daytonas to antique clocks from the Art Deco period.

2005年以來，喜愛稀有古董手錶的收藏家們就開始不斷前往米蘭的卡拉多索。在那裏，在達芬奇創作《最後的晚餐》(Last Supper)的聖瑪麗亞感恩女隱修院(Santa Maria delle Grazie convent)的不遠處，馬克斯·貝爾納迪尼(Max Bernardini)將父親佛朗哥(Franco)創辦的老珠寶店變成了20世紀初期鐘錶藝術的聖殿，擁有從百達翡麗(Patek Philippes)稀有款、勞力士Daytona，到裝飾風藝術(Art Deco)時期古董鐘錶等藏品。

The store, now known as Bernardini Luxury Vintage, or BLV, is kitted out like a stylish gentleman’s club, filled with antique furniture and elegant steamer trunks. It even offers an in-house bartender, a thoughtful touch that has helped it to become an in place for Milan’s high society and savvy travelers.

這個錶店現在的名字是貝爾納迪尼豪華古董店(Bernardini Luxury Vintage)，簡稱BLV，其裝幀如同一家時髦的紳士俱樂部，擺滿了古董傢俱和精緻的大皮箱。店內甚至還有專職酒保，這個貼心的安排使它成爲了米蘭上層社會和精明旅行者的時髦去處。

Noting the appetite that China’s wealthy elite has developed for the latest novelties in Swiss watches, Mr. Bernardini, 44, has now brought his formula to Hong Kong, in hopes of encouraging a similar passion for classic pieces.

現年44歲的貝爾納迪尼注意到，中國富有的精英人士對瑞士手錶的最新款式興趣濃厚。如今他把自己的模式帶到了香港，希望在這裏點燃對經典手錶款式的相似熱情。

“European and American clients are a little bit ahead in knowing this market,” said Mr. Bernardini. “We have had many Asian customers purchasing collector’s watches in our Milan store. My personal experience with Chinese customers is that if they have the chance to live the BLV moment, they will fall in love with the bygone era we celebrate.”

貝爾納迪尼說，“歐洲和美國的客戶對這個市場的認知要稍早一些。有許多亞洲客戶在我們米蘭的店裏購買收藏級手錶。對於中國客戶，我個人經驗告訴我，如果他們有機會感受一下BLV，他們會愛上我們所推崇的那個過往的時代。”

The Hong Kong boutique opened late last year in partnership with Adrienne Ma, a loyal customer who is the daughter of Joyce Ma, a legendary Hong Kong fashionista who set up Joyce Boutique in the 1970s and brought designers like Giorgio Armani and Prada to the enclave’s fashion-hungry elite.

貝爾納迪尼在香港的門店已於去年末開張，合夥人是馬美儀(Adrienne Ma)。馬美儀既是一個忠實客戶，也是香港時尚界傳奇人物馬郭志清的女兒。馬郭志清上世紀70年代創辦了載思(Joyce Boutique)，並把喬治·阿瑪尼(Giorgio Armani)和普拉達(Prada)這一級別的設計師作品帶給了香港渴望時尚的精英們。

The boutique, nestled on a narrow street in the central business district, is a few steps from the luxurious flagship stores of Cartier, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe. Its signature style of gentlemanly discretion offers a quiet challenge to the ostentatious consumption that marks its surroundings.

這家店位於中心商業區一條狹窄的小街上，距離卡地亞(Cartier)、江詩丹頓(Vacheron Constantin)和百達翡麗(Patek Philippe)奢華的旗艦店僅幾步之遙。其標誌性的紳士般的謹慎內斂對周圍以浮華消費爲特色的環境構成了無聲的挑戰。

While Hong Kong has several vintage watch dealers and auction houses that put on watch sales, Mr. Bernardini aims to stand out from the crowd by offering exceptional customer services and an ability to source rare pieces.

儘管香港擁有好幾家古董手錶交易商和拍賣行，貝爾納迪尼打算憑藉不同尋常的客戶服務以及拿到稀有手錶的能力，在衆多競爭者中脫穎而出。

“Our global buying network offers a wide spectrum of selection, and we make stringent quality standards,” he said. “We can find almost anything. It’s a service we have always given in our Milan store and are doing the same for Hong Kong.”

他說，“我們的全球購買網絡爲客戶提供了廣泛多樣的選擇，除此之外，我們還制定了嚴格的質量標準。我們幾乎可以找到任何一款手錶。這是我們一直在米蘭店提供的服務，我們在香港也這麼做。”

A team of trained technicians in Milan handles after-sale services, but Mr. Bernardini, debonair and deeply knowledgeable, is the ultimate salesman, ever ready to share stories about the provenance of his merchandise.

在米蘭，一批訓練有素的技師負責售後服務，但是溫文有禮、學識淵博的貝爾納迪尼纔是終極銷售員，隨時準備着分享自己每件貨品的傳奇故事。

“Taste and preferences are related to knowledge,” he said. “You cannot desire what you don’t know.”

他說，“一個人的品味和喜好與他的學識有關，你不可能對你不知道的東西抱有渴望。”

Star lots in the Hong Kong store include a Patek Philippe chronograph moon phase perpetual calendar from 1945, originally retailed by Cartier, and a rare 1940s Mysterious watch — with hour and minute indicators that revolve apparently without support — made jointly by Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin: The dial is signed by LeCoultre and the white gold case by Vacheron Constantin.

香港店的明星產品包括一款1945年製造的配有計時功能、月相顯示和萬年曆的百達翡麗手錶——這款手錶最初由卡地亞銷售，以及一個上世紀40年代罕有的Mysterious手錶——該表的時針和分針看上去沒有任何支撐，卻能夠照常轉動——由積家(Jaeger-LeCoultre)和江詩丹頓聯合制作：錶盤上有積家的標誌，人造白金錶殼上則有江詩丹頓的標誌。

A 1960s Rolex yellow gold Datejust ref. 1500, updated with an orange crocodile strap, carries Cartier’s insignia on the dial, showing that, like the Patek Philippe, it was originally sold through the Paris jeweler.

上世紀60年代製作的勞力士黃金Datejust表，編號1500，新換上了一條橙色鱷魚皮錶帶，錶盤上有卡地亞的標誌，這顯示出，就像那塊百達翡麗一樣，這塊表最初是通過巴黎珠寶商銷售的。

Prices at Bernardini start as low as a few thousand United States dollars and go as high as $1 million or more, depending on condition, rarity and provenance.

貝爾納迪尼店裏的價格最低僅爲幾千美元，最高可達100萬美元（約合600萬元人民幣）甚至更多，取決於保存狀況、稀缺性和來源。

“Rarely a vintage piece, from a high-end brand, in pristine condition, has ever lost its value in the past 30 years,” Mr. Bernardini said.

貝爾納迪尼說，“過去30年，幾乎沒有出現過保存完好的高端品牌古董表貶值的情況。”

“Every object in our stores goes through a process of research and restoration that we guarantee is of the highest quality standards. Nothing is taken for granted.”

“我們店裏的每一件商品都經歷了調查和修復的過程，我們可以確保這個過程遵循的是最高質量標準。我們從來不想當然。”