Description
Buddha Lo has his father to thank for his watch obsession.
The two-time Top Chef winner and executive chef at New York City’s Michelin-starred Huso dipped his toe into the horological sphere after his father passed away a few years ago, leaving his treasure trove to him and his brother. That’s all it took to ignite his passion.
In the latest installment of Robb Report’s new Watch Roll video series, we got the chance to look inside Lo’s watch collection to see some of his father’s own timepieces, as well as what else the chef opts to rock on his wrist.
One of those watches is Lo’s Rolex Datejust Ref. 116243. The 36 mm case, housing a Caliber 3135, offers up a two-tone case and a striking blue dial surrounded by diamonds—including at 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock. It’s a piece that the chef describes as having “the most flavor in his collection,” a piece that makes sense for his father to have owned, considering it “has my dad all over it,” he explains. And you may have seen the watch already, as Lo donned it on Top Chef and on America’s Culinary Cup.
“My children, my children's children, will be watching those shows in the future, and I like for them to see that I was wearing a part of their grandfather,” he says.
Other timepieces in Lo’s watch roll include a Cartier Tank Must De Cartier. The Ref. WSTA0136 is what the chef considers a “nice, everyday wear” and something that works well within Huso. Lo is a fan of the French maison: He opted to buy himself a Santos Ronde Octagon about three years ago, a timepiece that rounds up the watches he showed off to Robb Report. “This was a really nice, accessible watch that I found online, and I fell in love with it, he says. “I've never seen anything like this. This is totally my style, and it does have that sort of AP feel.”
Having foot in both the watch world and the food scene makes complete sense to Lo.
“I see a lot of similarities between watchmaking and cooking,” he says. “Tweezering a lot of mini elements onto plates just for the overall effect and beauty of it. I mean, it will probably be the same as any watchmaking shop around the world, a lot of moving parts. But for our part, people appreciate it for only a couple seconds, and then they devour it.”
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