米兰古董表商瞄准香港大好市场

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年以来，喜爱稀有古董手表的收藏家们就开始不断前往米兰的卡拉多索。在那里，在达芬奇创作《最后的晚餐》(Last Supper)的圣玛丽亚感恩女隐修院(Santa Maria delle Grazie convent)的不远处，马克斯·贝尔纳迪尼(Max Bernardini)将父亲佛朗哥(Franco)创办的老珠宝店变成了20世纪初期钟表艺术的圣殿，拥有从百达翡丽(Patek Philippes)稀有款、劳力士Daytona，到装饰风艺术(Art Deco)时期古董钟表等藏品。

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.

这个表店现在的名字是贝尔纳迪尼豪华古董店(Bernardini Luxury Vintage)，简称BLV，其装帧如同一家时髦的绅士俱乐部，摆满了古董家具和精致的大皮箱。店内甚至还有专职酒保，这个贴心的安排使它成为了米兰上层社会和精明旅行者的时髦去处。

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.

现年44岁的贝尔纳迪尼注意到，中国富有的精英人士对瑞士手表的最新款式兴趣浓厚。如今他把自己的模式带到了香港，希望在这里点燃对经典手表款式的相似热情。

“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.”

贝尔纳迪尼说，“欧洲和美国的客户对这个市场的认知要稍早一些。有许多亚洲客户在我们米兰的店里购买收藏级手表。对于中国客户，我个人经验告诉我，如果他们有机会感受一下BLV，他们会爱上我们所推崇的那个过往的时代。”

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.

贝尔纳迪尼在香港的门店已于去年末开张，合伙人是马美仪(Adrienne Ma)。马美仪既是一个忠实客户，也是香港时尚界传奇人物马郭志清的女儿。马郭志清上世纪70年代创办了载思(Joyce Boutique)，并把乔治·阿玛尼(Giorgio Armani)和普拉达(Prada)这一级别的设计师作品带给了香港渴望时尚的精英们。

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.

这家店位于中心商业区一条狭窄的小街上，距离卡地亚(Cartier)、江诗丹顿(Vacheron Constantin)和百达翡丽(Patek Philippe)奢华的旗舰店仅几步之遥。其标志性的绅士般的谨慎内敛对周围以浮华消费为特色的环境构成了无声的挑战。

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.

尽管香港拥有好几家古董手表交易商和拍卖行，贝尔纳迪尼打算凭借不同寻常的客户服务以及拿到稀有手表的能力，在众多竞争者中脱颖而出。

“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.”

他说，“我们的全球购买网络为客户提供了广泛多样的选择，除此之外，我们还制定了严格的质量标准。我们几乎可以找到任何一款手表。这是我们一直在米兰店提供的服务，我们在香港也这么做。”

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.

在米兰，一批训练有素的技师负责售后服务，但是温文有礼、学识渊博的贝尔纳迪尼才是终极销售员，随时准备着分享自己每件货品的传奇故事。

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

他说，“一个人的品味和喜好与他的学识有关，你不可能对你不知道的东西抱有渴望。”

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.

香港店的明星产品包括一款1945年制造的配有计时功能、月相显示和万年历的百达翡丽手表——这款手表最初由卡地亚销售，以及一个上世纪40年代罕有的Mysterious手表——该表的时针和分针看上去没有任何支撑，却能够照常转动——由积家(Jaeger-LeCoultre)和江诗丹顿联合制作：表盘上有积家的标志，人造白金表壳上则有江诗丹顿的标志。

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.

上世纪60年代制作的劳力士黄金Datejust表，编号1500，新换上了一条橙色鳄鱼皮表带，表盘上有卡地亚的标志，这显示出，就像那块百达翡丽一样，这块表最初是通过巴黎珠宝商销售的。

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.

贝尔纳迪尼店里的价格最低仅为几千美元，最高可达100万美元（约合600万元人民币）甚至更多，取决于保存状况、稀缺性和来源。

“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.

贝尔纳迪尼说，“过去30年，几乎没有出现过保存完好的高端品牌古董表贬值的情况。”

“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.”

“我们店里的每一件商品都经历了调查和修复的过程，我们可以确保这个过程遵循的是最高质量标准。我们从来不想当然。”