Yu Yat Kee Watch Co.

Andrew Suddaby
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Yu Yat Kee Watch Co.

My wife bought a digital watch from the Yu Yat Kee Watch Co. Ltd shop at 446 Hennessy Road.  I was fairly certain that this was the same shop where I had bought a Titoni Airmaster automatic watch in 1958.  I showed my old and very reliable watch to the salesperson, commenting that it was still gong strong.  He was very pleased to hear that.  In about 2000 my Titoni watch finally failed - and how I wished that I had splashed out and bought another in 1981!

Date picture taken
27 Jul 1981
Author(s)
Andrew Suddaby
Gallery
1981 Andrew Suddaby's photos

Comments

Hi Andrew, my father bought his first automatic watch from the same shop in 1953, no family connection though the shop had the same family name.  The first several days, he compared its reading with our electric wall clock and declared it was very accurate.

Brother Henry at St. Francis Xavier's College taught us how to ask - "Sir/Madam, what is the time by your watch?"  For if you were not specific, they would look at the sky before giving you their estimate.

Because of the added oscillating weight, I believe its shell is thicker than a manual watch.  In those days, men like thin shell watches, and "big three hands".  I had my first watch from a shop several doors from Broadway Theatre.  Its numbers and hands were coated with some light green substance (radioactive?).  At night, I would cover myself with a blanket and see how my watch glowed in the dark.

Which brings me to this thoughts.  All moving parts wear out over time, even today's high techique computers and electronics.  Your watch lasting 40 years is amazing.  If space travel takes hundreds and thousands of earth-years, and passengers placed in deep sleep, who service and replace broken parts?  Regards,  Peter  

Hi Peter,

What a strange coincidence that your father also bought his first automatic watch from the same shop.  I suspect that the shop had, and if it still exists has, a very good reputation.  Yes, the automatic ones worked using a 'heavy' metal disk that rotated whenever the wearer moved his or her arm.  The Titoni Airmaster watches were very popular amongst my friends in the R.A.F..  I nearly bought a manual watch of another make that incorporated an alarm but was glad that I didn't as the alarm was rather a gimmick.  On returning to England, my watch made quite an impression as such things were not common.  I was hoping to add a photograph of my Titoni here, but cannot now find it.

Best wishes,  Andrew

Dear Andrew and Peter,

Thanks for bringing back the memory of my first watch.

My parents bought me my first watch - a Seiko - at this firm in 1967/68 to celebrate my becoming a primary student. The firm was in close proximity to where I lived then i.e. a building at 456 Henessy Road, which still stands today. The watch was about HKD50. To me, this was expensive. I can still remember the excitment of owning my first ever watch and how the firm looked!. Sadly it didn't last long as I didn't treasure it as much as I should have. 

Regards,

David

Permalink
Submitted by
lausanching
on
Tue, 09/01/2026 - 12:03

This image is a pre-war print advertisement for Lee On Watch & Clock Co. (利安鐘錶行), which was located at No. 134 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong. [1, 2]

注意
利安 鐘錶 大道中 百三十四號

  • 第一圖式：
    十四方各只加口用金手錶
    每個78元
  • 第二圖式：
    包金白銀 殼手馬金表
    每個65元
  • 第三圖式：
    包金白銀殼手馬表
    每個85元

Attention

Lee On Watch & Clock Co.

No. 134 Queen's Road Central [Hong Kong]

  • Style No. 1 (Right):
    Rectangular/14-sided case. Each watch fitted with a premium Gold Wristwatch band.
    Price: $78.00 each
  • Style No. 2 (Center):
    Gold-plated / silver  casing, equipped with a lever-movement wrist chronograph/watch.
    Price: $65.00 each
  • Style No. 3 (Left):
    Gold-plated /silver / Chrome casing, lever-movement wristwatch.
    Price: $85.00 each

Historical & Contextual Background for Your Post

  • The Business Location: [Lee On Watch & Clock Co.](google.com"利安鐘錶行"+香港 "利安鐘錶行" 香港) (利安鐘錶行) was a highly respected Chinese-owned timepiece retailer on [Queen's Road Central]. Archival records show they survived the Japanese occupation; in September 1945, immediately following the liberation of Hong Kong, the shop at 134 Queen's Road Central was officially listed as a key administrative mailing address for merchants managing rental transitions from military yen back to Hong Kong Dollars. [1, 2]
  • The Era of the Advertisement: The pricing ($650 to $85HKD) and Art Deco geometric shapes of the watch illustrations point squarely to the late 1920s or 1930s. During this pre-war era, standard wristwatches were rapidly overtaking traditional pocket watches in popularity, and having a shopfront on Queen's Road Central put Lee On in the heart of Hong Kong's luxury commercial district.