Jaw-Dropping Friday is a new occasional Watchuseek series which looks at cool and unusual watches from all over the world which, just in time for the weekend, simply make your jaw drop. This week we look at Hong Kong brand MEMORIGIN.
MEMORIGIN is a Hong Kong company which only produces tourbillon watches with its own brand name. What does MEMORIGIN mean? MEM stands for Memorial - the watch not only records time, but also gathers memories that are the most significant in your life; and ORIGIN means Original. Thus the combined meaning of the word MEMORIGIN represents timepieces that serve to celebrate the everlasting memories of their customers lives.
While MEMORIGIN is based in Hong Kong, their movement factory Hangzhou is based in mainland China. The development and application of the tourbillon technology by MEMORIGIN highlights the rapid advancement of the Chinese watch industry. There are of course cheaper alternatives such as the well known SEA-GULL, but Hangzhou claim to use only Swiss machinery to make their watches, as well as raw materials exclusively purchased from Switzerland and Germany, so while made in China, the quality is of real Swiss standard.
The MEMORIGIN story is that of a struggle by a young entrepreneur who quit his job as a well paid banker, much to the consternation of his family, to start producing watches which combine Western technology with Oriental culture. He found all his suppliers through endless Google searches, and put his business plan together by Googling Harvard business plan templates. Google were so impressed with how a successful start up company in faraway Hong Kong sprang to life relying solely on their search engine that they have since produced a film of the story called MEMORIGIN: The story of the Tourbillion. The brand also won the 2011 Hong Kong Emerging Brand Award.
MEMORIGIN's Tourbillon watches are mainly of the Centre Tourbillon design - recognised as the true tourbillion, which gives the Tourbillion maximum stability. The centre Tourbillon provides strong static equilibrium to the balance wheel. The installment of it enables timing with high stability. The balance wheel and the escapement system simultaneously rotate at the centre of the tourbillon. There is no doubt that the two parts serve the greatest stability and balance to the tourbillon.
MEMORIGIN produces a wide variety of tourbillon watches, some of which reflect oriental taste, and others which are distinctly contemporary in influence including the Dark Knight Tourbillon and the Man of Steel Tourbillon. There's also a tribute to Hong Kong martial arts legend Bruce Lee with the Bruce Lee Club Tourbillon.
Since its earliest days, MEMORIGIN sought out the assistance of veteran Hong Kong designer Kan Tai Keung who has assisted with some of the more stunning oriental designs for the MEMORIGIN collection.
MEMORIGIN have helped to make the tourbillion, normally the ultimate complication priced way beyond the means of the ordinary mortal, an affordable proposition with prices starting at just $2,720 for the MEMORIGIN Travelers Series and up to $27,000 for the luxury YUQEELIN brand also made by the same manufacture.
Ask Ernie
If you are living in the Benelux countries, (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany) or indeed the UK and you are interested to acquire a MEMORIGIN Tourbillon for yourself, you can simply email Watchuseek's Ernie Romers (info@watchuseek.com) and, at no profit to himself, he will forward your request to the distributor. MEMORIGIN also has distribution in the States through Westime.
The watches
What you see here is just a partial glimpse of the huge MEMORIGIN catalogue, they never seem stuck for an idea for a new Tourbillon watch concept.
Traveler Series
Navigator Series
Auspicious Series
Bruce Lee Club Tourbillon
Starlit Series
Snake Zodiac Series
Military Series
Man of Steel Tourbillon
Dark Knight Tourbillon
Yuqeelin Luxury Series
Visit the MEMORIGIN website