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Bridgette Hall

This year, Jonathan Hui became the first Hongkonger to win the GT World Challenge Europe, racing in the pro-am category with the Sky Tempesta Racing team. “Racing is so direct in terms of this notion of racing against time because every single thing you do is measured against the clock, against the stopwatch,” says the history-making racing driver.
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What’s more, he achieved this memorable first, as a teammate of racing legend Giancarlo Fisichella, after sustaining a nasty foot injury that saw him having to brake the car – a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo – with his left foot rather than the right. He also hadn’t done any sprint-length racing in eight years, so to win was really special.

In GT racing, where drivers are changed through the race, every decision and reaction has to do with saving time. Every action is streamlined for efficiency in this head-to-head with the clock, whether it’s removing your seat belt, refuelling or changing tyres in the pit.
“You’re not just looking at every second, it’s every tenth of a second,” explains Hui, whose team won the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.
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But getting too greedy about shaving off milliseconds could result in a mistake, leading to a knock-on effect for the rest of the race. “You’ve got to be very controlled,” says Hui. “It’s that added element of risk that you’re chasing time but you don’t want to risk losing more.”


It’s a very different philosophy on time when you’re part of a family legacy – you shift from saving seconds to building and preserving for coming generations. When Hui isn’t representing Hong Kong, he works in property investment at the family business, Central Development Group, which was founded by his late grandfather, Hui Sai Fun.
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“I think, when we talk about family legacy, it’s more about the ‘time horizon’,” he says. It means making decisions with future generations in mind, something Hui has learned to do by watching senior members of his family. “You try to make decisions which you believe will stand the test of time.”
I think, when we talk about family legacy, it’s more about the ‘time horizon. You try to make decisions which you believe will stand the test of time
Jonathan Hui
Family influence can be found in his collection of watches, too. Hui is sentimental about his Patek Philippe Calatrava because it is similar to the one his grandfather had. “He’s always been a role model for me in my personal life and in the business world, too, so it was one way for me to remind myself to be inspired by him,” says Hui. “You want to emulate the success of someone that you admire, so for me this is purely about the sentiment.”
When it comes to buying watches, Hui says he is quite passive, unlike his approach to his 20-plus car collection. He isn’t too concerned about a timepiece’s movement or complications – it’s the aesthetics of design that speak to him.
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Jonathan’s watches

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Of the classic Daytona, Hui says: “The 1970s had a pedigree in racing and driving. I think it’s one of those watches any person interested in racing and driving probably wants to have, one way or another.”

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This watch also reflects Jonathan Hui’s passion for cars. He says Hublot’s avant-garde, forward-thinking design “is relevant to the racing world because like the cars he races, it’s at the forefront of technical innovation”.
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XXIV 2020

Racing driver Jonathan Hui in his simulator room surrounded by memorabilia from his career. Photo: Chen Xiaomei

Racing driver Jonathan Huiâs Hublot Big Bang Unico Black Magic 42mm photographed at his home in Mid Level. 09OCT20 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Racing driver Jonathan Huiâs Rolex Daytona 6263 big red photographed at his home in Mid Level. 09OCT20 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Racing driver Jonathan Hui photographed at his home in Mid Level. 09OCT20 SCMP/Xiaomei Chen

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Tudor has a long history in diver’s watches, continued today with models such as these from the Black Bay Bronze range. Photo: Tudor

1954 Oyster Prince Submariner (Photo: Tudor)

BB58NavyBlue_4 (Photo: Tudor)

Bentley’s Adrian Hallmark loves car-inspired watches by Rolex and Breitling – how the UK-based CEO sees precision engineering and innovation driving both worlds

Adrian Hallmark, CEO of Bentley Motors, is excited by the time of huge change his industry is facing. Photo: Bentley Motors

Adrian Hallmark, CEO of Bentley Motors. Photo: Bentley Motors

Hallmark recently added the Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner limited edition to his collection of timepieces.“We were going to launch the new Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner limited edition at the Geneva Car Show, which was cancelled, so we launched it at Bentley – virtually. I wore a loaned one for a couple of months and bought one in the UK in June, when  the lockdown was lifted.” Photo: Breitling

rolex

Prince Harry’s military Rolex, Sylvester Stallone’s Richard Mille from The Expendables 3 and Steve McQueen’s Heuer Monaco: the celebrity watches selling for huge sums at auction

Prince Harry was part of the British RAF’s Attack Helicopter Regiment gifted the limited edition Explorer II watch by Rolex – now a comrade has sold his and it fetched nearly US$40,000 thanks to the connection. Photo: Watchfinder & Co.

A military Rolex Submariner reference 5517. Photo: Philips

Paul Newman

A Rolex Daytona previously owned by Paul Newman recently sold for US$5.5 million at a Philips sale in New York. Photo: Philips

Steve McQueen, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Le Mans, 14 June 1970. Hollywood star Steve McQueen during the shooting of his film "Le Mans". (Photo by Bernard Cahier/Getty Images)

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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04:  Sylvester Stallone attends "The Expendables 3" photocall at the Corinthia Hotel London on August 4, 2014 in London, England. The Expendables 3 is released on August 14, 2014.  (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Lionsgate)

Rolex Explorer II Attack Helicopter. Photo: Watchfinder & Co.

Heure Monaco watch used on the set of 1971 film Le Mans staring Steve McQueen. Photo: Philips

Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona with loving inscription "Drive Carefully - me". | FOR STYLE USE ONLY

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The year 2020 has seen the release of two exciting supercar models: the latest F-Type from Jaguar, seen here, and the SF90 Spider, a topless model of the SF90 Stradale. Photo: Jaguar

Photo: Jaguar

Photo: Ferrari

Rolex launches new models in Submariner, Oyster Perpetual, Datejust and Sky-Dweller collections – what we can expect from the Swiss luxury watch brand this year

The new Oyster Perpetual Submariner for 2020, just one of the new references in the Rolex collection. Photo: Rolex

New Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submersible.

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XXIV

Hui made history with Sky Tempesta Racing teammate, former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella – as he aims to do in his day job at family property business Central Development Group with help from his Patek Philippe and Hublot watches


Defying a foot injury the GT driver and car collector made history as the first Hongkonger to win the GT World Challenge Europe – as he also aims to do in his day job with family property business Central Development Group


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