Emerson Yao

Lucerne Managing Director Emerson Yao still remembers his very first watch: a Pierre Balmain quartz, one that he got in his twenties — around the time he and his brother Ivan took over their father’s small watch shop in Ali Mall and slowly but surely transformed it into the premium purveyor of Swiss timepieces in the country.

Brands like Rolex and Omega were a given for any shop of prized watches, but Yao went above and beyond in doing the legwork needed to build an empire in an era before the internet: travelling everywhere from Hong Kong and Singapore to Switzerland, all to bring in all the big names. Over thirty years later, Yao and Lucerne have curated nearly 70 renowned brands in its portfolio, including Patek Philippe, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Breitling — and they show no signs of stepping down from the vanguard of luxury.