customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, an aficionado of luxury watches, will hand out intricate, locally made timepieces as souvenirs to world leaders at an international summit he is hosting this week.
Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 37 years, has faced public scrutiny in recent years after being photographed wearing luxury watches, including by Patek Philippe and Richard Mille, that cost more than US$1 million each, while much of the country struggles with poverty.
Photos shared by Hun Sen on his official Facebook page showed a close-up of the limited-edition watch face with gold hands, a transparent case and a brown leather strap, emblazoned with the words “Asean Cambodia 2022” and “Made in Cambodia”.
“These watches have been prepared and assembled by pure Cambodian technicians, which is part of scientific and technology and developments of Cambodia,” Hun Sen wrote of the 25 limited-edition watches.
Biden eyes boosting US-Asean ties in first post-pandemic ‘summit season’
US President Joe Biden is among the global leaders attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in the capital Phnom Penh.
A video showed the elaborate inner gears of the watch, engraved with “tourbillon” and “twenty-five (25) jewels” and the name of the Cambodian watchmaker, Prince Horology.
The cost of the Cambodian-made timepieces has not been made public.
One expert said photos and videos of the Asean watch appeared to show the sophisticated tourbillon mechanism, which requires a high level of craftsmanship and can carry a six-figure price tag, though he declined to speculate on the value of the Cambodian-made version.
“The mechanism is not vital to accurate timekeeping, but it is marketed as a complicated feature and [part of] a luxury timepiece,” said Jeremiah Chan, an editor at Singapore-based Revolution magazine, which specialises in high-end watches.


The prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for further information on the watches, and Prince Horology – part of the Prince Group owned by Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi – could not be reached for comment.
While some Cambodians criticised the extravagance of the high-end gift, others praised Hun Sen for promoting the country’s fledgling watchmaking ambitions.
The country’s first watchmaking school staffed by Swiss experts opened in 2019.
“It truly represents our country,” said businessman Ramaneth Heur. “These gifts … show that Khmers can do it and enter the world stage.”

Sok Eysan, a spokesperson for Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, said there was “nothing political or strange” about the watches.
“It is the kindness of the host country to give them as souvenirs to leaders,” he said via telephone.
Asean goodie bags have in the past featured signature handicrafts from the host country, including a silver “lei” or miniature garland of flowers from Thailand in 2019.


Cambodia protests kill regional development agreement with Laos, Vietnam

‘A better bet’: Asia backs Kamala Harris over more Trump turmoil in US presidential race

China sends message regional security rests on joint efforts of all

China touts regional security cooperation at Xiangshan defence forum as US tensions loom

Cambodia

Watch-obsessed Cambodian PM Hun Sen to give limited-edition timepieces as Asean summit gifts

Cambodia will give locally made luxury watches as souvenirs to leaders attending the Asean summit in Phnom Penh. Photo: Hun Sen’s Facebook page via Reuters

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Photo: Cambodia’s Government Cabinet/AFP

Biden eyes boosting US-Asean ties, countering China’s influence in first post-pandemic ‘summit season’

President Joe Biden participates in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington onMay 13, 2022. Photo: AP/File

US President Joe Biden (C) poses with leaders of the US-Asean Special Summit. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool/File

Myanmar to top Asean summit agenda as G20 and Apec draw big powers to region

The Special Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta on October 27, 2022. Photo: Asean / AFP

Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has not been invited for the Asean Summit. Photo: Reuters

Foreign ministers at the Special Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta last month. Photo: Indonesian Foreign Ministry/AFP

Chinese coastguard ships patrol in the vicinity of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in September 2022. Photo: Philippine Coast Guard/EPA-EFE

Indonesian police officers attend the ceremony of security preparations for the coming G20 summit in Bali. Photo: Antara Foto via Reuters

Signage for the Apec Summit at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Asean planning regional payments network that could benefit migrant workers

A new multilateral network connecting various fast payment systems could ease barriers and fees that are ‘particularly painful’ for migrant workers sending money back home, small businesses with overseas reach. Photo: Bloomberg 

Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Photo: Bloomberg

Singapore’s central bank chief Ravi Menon has described cryptocurrencies as a “non-starter” in the programmable money space. Photo: Reuters

Will Asean norms, absence of Malaysia’s top diplomat doom Myanmar peace plan?

The Special Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta. Photo: Indonesian Foreign Ministry / AFP

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer speak at a joint news conference on the Myanmar crisis on July 26, 2022. Photo: Malaysia Information Ministry/EPA-EFE

The Asean Special Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Hun Sen said 25 watches featuring sophisticated tourbillon mechanism have been ‘prepared and assembled by pure Cambodian technicians’
He has faced public scrutiny in recent years after being photographed wearing luxury watches, including by Patek Philippe, while much of the country struggles with poverty


Hun Sen said 25 watches featuring sophisticated tourbillon mechanism have been ‘prepared and assembled by pure Cambodian technicians’.


Asean

Diplomacy

Hun Sen