Hong Kong Money Museum

HONG KONG’S OBSESSION WITH ROLEX (AND OTHER LUXURY WATCHES) Did you know that Hong Kong, with merely 7 million people, is the largest watch importer in the world? It single-handedly consumes around 20% of all Swiss-made watches! In fact, Hong Kong has been the world’s largest luxury watch market for decades. This may not come off as a surprise, after all Hong Kong’s lavish status is well established. You can catch golden wrists, occasionally dazzling with diamonds almost everywhere. But have you ever thought about why Hong Kong loves high-end watches so much? And why specifically Rolex? Well, an obvious answer is the social implications that an expensive watch makes. Historically, watches have always been a significant status symbol. In social contexts, people look at certain material possessions to make judgements about a person’s social class, education and wealth. Watches are often the first thing they notice. Hence, wearing a luxury watch is a way of showing wealth casually, in a materialistic society like Hong Kong. Although often Hong Kongers wear such pieces to boost business. Some say: “you aren’t taken seriously in the business world if you don’t have a good mechanical watch”. This is because a luxury watch will not only reflect your financial success, but also your taste and how responsible you are with your money. In the 1960s, the common status symbol among businessmen was “金勞” (Gold Rolex). At the time, credit systems haven’t been widely developed yet, so to be able to purchase a watch of such pricing by cash suggested affluence. The Gold Rolex is, to this day, the most popular watch choice in Hong Kong, partly due to superstition. In Cantonese “Gold Rolex” is pronounced similarly to “襟撈”, which means to attract prosperity and never bend to difficulties. Thus, buying a Rolex is, in a way, wishing well for one’s career. In the local movie 'Young and Dangerous' (1996), the gangster gifts his friend a Rolex and wishes him good luck and prosperity in his new life fleeing to Taiwan. For the same reason, white gold Rolex watches aren’t popular. As they are pronounced similarly to “working hard and getting no return”. Blue Rolex sounds like “difficulty gaining wealth”, so it is avoided as well. Hong Konger’s beliefs and wordplay also affect their purchase decisions. New patterns are seen around the watch market in Hong Kong. Second-hand items are becoming increasingly popular due to their pricing. Although generally, the watch prices preserve quite well compared to other luxury items. Which is another reason for its popularity, it is sometimes viewed as an investment and can be swapped for cash quite easily. People are also branching out to other brands such as Piaget and Cartier. So next time when you see a someone wearing a luxurious watch, you can know it might be deeper than just fashion! (Note: 白勞 sounds like 白撈， 藍勞sounds like 難撈)

JUMPIN’ INTO A NEW CURRENCY SYSTEM OF “JUMPIN GYM” Jumpin’ Gym is a Hong Kong-based entertainment centre, which provides opportunities for people to spend some quality time with family and friends. With the wide spectrum of activities and facilities provided, the options are vast, ranging from teenagers competing with each other over bowling to older folks enjoying the coin-op games. Jumpin’ Gym has played a vital part in many people’s childhoods since the 90s. It is also a comfort zone for elderly in Hong Kong to kill time. Naturally, money has to be paid in order to enjoy the facilities provided by Jumpin’ gym. However, Hong Kong Dollars(HKD) is not the major currency that flows around. Instead, players in the centre need to convert their HKD to the Jumpin’ Gym tokens (JGT) in order to use their facilities. The exchange rate is generally 2HKD to 1JGT, but members can enjoy discounts and receive a more favourable exchange rate. This exchange system attracts everyone to stay in the world of Jumpin’ Gym, provided that every game is paid with the non-refundable tokens. There are also membership cards which work similarly to bank debit cards. Tokens are stored in digital form so that members can spend their tokens by inserting their cards into the electronic card-reader of that particular facility. Apart from the tokens that are paid to enjoy the facilities within the centre, the Jumpin’ Gym tickets are used to “purchase” items that can be brought home. Items ranging from stationeries to rice cookers are priced with Jumpin’ Gym tickets. These pink tickets can be earned by attaining certain game scores or winning from the gambling arcade machines. The items “sold” over the counter are usually cheaper if they are bought with HKD in other stores, however, the whole ticket idea just gives people a sense of achievement throughout the process of winning. As a result, more tokens have to be used in order to earn the tickets and hence more money has to be spent on buying the tokens. Unfamiliarity with the special currency system used in Jumpin’ Gym can cause people to lose track on how much they are actually paying. Reckless spending can always occur especially when the system creates a huge time gap between spending real money to buy tokens and using tickets to exchange for goods. Many can spend up to several thousand dollars within hours so as to earn sufficient tickets to “buy” small items. Days or weeks of continuous spending will be needed if a person intends to bring home something significant like a polaroid instant camera. The consumption patterns of Jumpin’ Gym players are not only governed by humans’ irrational emotions but also encouraged by the unique currency system. Any item won is sometimes viewed as trophies, albeit it can be detrimental to one’s wallet. Nevertheless, Jumpin’ Gym brings joy to many families in Hong Kong in its own distinctive style.

BEING "WEALTHY-NOT-RICH" IN HONG KONG This advertisement on the side of the road in Central Hong Kong Island reads “Don’t just be rich / be wealthy”. It has a wondrous amount of connotations about money and in particular, having lots of it. At first glance one may be rather shocked or perplexed at this statement. Could they really be saying ‘don’t just have loads of money — have loads of money’? Does it allude to the fact Hong Kong has stark inequality, where the ones with vast amounts of money are able to keep it and grow it due to a system of low taxation and abundant financial management services? When you take a closer look, the answer is slightly more complicated. The Cantonese writing in the advertisement says, “Life isn’t just about being rich”. It is quite different, likely due to the fact that in Cantonese there is no distinction between ‘rich’ and ‘wealth’: just one word. For the most part in English the two are used as synonyms, but they can have slightly differing connotations. Rich can mean having a lot of money or income, and being able to spend it in lavish ways. Wealthy, however, signifies having a lot of assets — things that will hold their value or go up, like real estate. Taken with the Cantonese translation, we see the billboard is giving a certain message. This a gold investment firm advertising, so they are most likely trying to persuade their customers to diversify their assets (and use their services). However, such an ad can be telling of how they believe their current target audience is acting (rich) and how they want them to act (wealthy). It could be that “Supreme Gold” feels Hongkongers are flaunting their money, spending money on yachts, supercars and expensive watches in acts of conspicuous consumption. A trip through Pok Fu Lam to Aberdeen Harbour might persuade anyone of this. Or perhaps the company wants to preserve the precedent of being wealthy-not-rich set by the likes of Li Ka-shing, who (despite being the richest person in Hong Kong) is known for his cheap lifestyle and wearing a HKD$50 wristwatch. Supreme Gold declined to comment for this exhibit on which motivation is correct. Despite the current relationship with abundance of money Hong Kong has, it can be a useful exercise to think about which society you would prefer. One where people with a lot of riches spend it regularly, contributing to the economy and supporting some low-skilled jobs (luxury brands can have long supply chains); or a world where people keep their wealth in assets like gold, effectively taking their money out of circulation, but saving normal people from being flexed on with arrogant displays of affluence? Perhaps the millionaires of Hong Kong who saw this advertisement ponder these questions too.

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