Meet Adrel Poh, youngest in a family of 5 siblings, including an identical twin brother. We met Adrel through a mutual love for horology and its complications. Other than watch collecting, when time allows – he is an occasional gym rat; you may also bump into him around his neighbourhood during his morning jog. On top of all that, he is married to the love of his life with two sons and another one on the way (after almost 9 years!)

Hi Adrel, thanks for being a part of Luxe Montre Man of the Month! How have your 2020 been? Any personal goals & resolutions you’d like to achieve this year?

Thanks for having me! So far so good, hopefully it’d get even better. This year I would like to focus on my fitness & health as I haven’t been diligently staying fit in the past year due to crazy work hours. And I definitely want to spend more quality time with my wife & kids! The kids are growing up way too fast and I don’t want to miss out on their growing-up phases. I want to be there every step of the way, like how my wife have been to the family. She has always been the key pillar of support in my life, if you are reading this – know that I will continue to love you and do my best to be around more this year, it’s a promise!

Aww, isn’t that the sweetest! I’ll make sure this appears on her Facebook feed once it’s out. How did you & your wife meet? Any Valentine plans with the Mrs?

We met in school 20 years ago, the year was 2000 and we both went to Nanyang Polytechnic. We’ve been married for 12 years! I’m not the romantic type, Valentine’s Day is like any other date nights for us. We enjoy a quiet date night without the kids, just simple quality time is enough.

What are the top 3 qualities that draws you to your wife?

She is independent, kind and loyal. She is the pillar of strength & support in my life and I wouldn’t be where I am now without her constant encouragement.

Lucky you! How would you describe her in 5 words?

 “Best Wife in the world”!

And you say you’re not the romantic type. You have 2 sons and another one on the way, congratulations are in order! How does it feel to be a new parent again after 9 years?

Honestly, we’re very excited. But also nervous as it feels very different now, probably due to age? Haha. Especially when friends are constantly reminding me that I will soon be on “Night Duties” again, which absolutely doesn’t help! The boys are excited too and when I asked them what we should name their new brother – they said “Shaun the Sheep”. That’s just hilarious!

And Shaun isn’t a bad name either! As a father of (soon-to-be) 3 boys, how do you juggle work & family?

This is challenging . I try to be home for dinner everyday and weekends are reserved for family, but those do get disrupted sometimes if I have to travel for work. I try my best to always spend quality time with the boys over basketball and bond with them through video games, like PUBG! The boys enjoy that a lot.

Now, tell us when did you get your first luxury watch?

I bought my first watch when I was an army regular in the year 2003. It was a Rolex Submariner with no date; simple, clean and a workhorse. It went through a lot with me, I changed the bracelet to a ‘NATO’ strap and it instantly became a military watch and went through field exercises with me. I believe this is where I began my watch collecting journey as I grew appreciation & interest to learn more about mechanical watches.

Which is your ultimate favourite watch now?

I’d say my favourite watch is the Patek Philippe 5164A, it has been for the past 5 years – It was love at first sight. I love it so much, I bought it twice!

What? How? Do tell!

I sold my first Patek 5164A five years ago for a Patek 5712R, but after buying – it was underused and turned out I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. I regret my decision to let go of the 5164A – furthermore, the watch became increasingly limited as Patek Philippe stopped producing them, which resulted in the sky-rocketing price in the short span of time. It took me 3 years to convince myself to buy it again at a premium, but I’m glad I got it back.

Will you pass down your watches to your sons one day?

I might pass it down to my kids eventually but definitely not before they are independent. I would like them to work hard for their first luxury item.

If you can have ANY watches in the world right now, what would they be?

Secretly, I am actually dreaming of a full Rolex Sports model collection!

Whoa, good one! Now describe your watch style in 3 words!

Simple (in dial) yet complicated (in movement).

Thanks again for joining us today Adrel! For more Luxe Montre Man of Month, please sign up for our monthly newsletter here!