Vintage watches, coffee and cake: Meet the couple behind Singapore’s Reference Room

At Reference Room on Tras Street, Julian Chen and Claire Lim have brought together their passions for watch collecting and baking, creating a place where customers can browse, linger and connect.

At Reference Room, Julian Chen and Claire Lim hope to create a space where visitors can discover vintage watches, enjoy a coffee and stay for a conversation. (Photo: CNA/Kelvin Chia)

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On a street lined with fine-dining restaurants, cocktail bars and social media darling cafes, the last thing you’d expect to find is a vintage watch retailer.

Yet along Tras Street in Tanjong Pagar, Reference Room has taken root at number 46, surrounded by popular dining spots like Cafe Mary Grace and Burma Social.

To be fair, Reference Room isn’t just your average vintage watch retailer. It’s also a bona fide cafe that serves Common Man coffee, TWG tea and cakes baked in-house.

The concept is the brainchild of Julian Chen, 31, and Claire Lim, 28, who are partners in life and in business.

With its understated interiors and inviting seating areas, Reference Room offers visitors a relaxed setting to browse vintage watches, enjoy a coffee or simply have a conversation. (Photo: CNA/Aik Chen)

Since opening in mid-September, Reference Room has attracted a steady stream of visitors – from watch enthusiasts to cafe hoppers in search of their matcha fix.

When CNA Luxury visited a week after the opening, Chen said he was happy with the response.

“People started to come in, and when they tried the food, many of them were pleasantly surprised,” he said. “I think the expectation for a hybrid [concept] is that the food is an afterthought, so it’s not going to be very good. But we put in quite a bit of effort to make sure that it’s good.”

The menu features seven cakes, all prepared by Lim. These range from classics such as tiramisu and carrot cake to more contemporary creations like lychee rose tea cake and coffee walnut loaf.

There are also coffees, teas, alcoholic drinks and savoury bar snacks.

At Reference Room, the cakes are more than an afterthought. Co-founder Claire Lim prepares the entire selection herself, drawing on her years of experience in baking and hospitality. (Photo: Reference Room)

On the watch side, Chen received support from his existing customers. Through his Instagram account, Reference Room, he has been selling collectible timepieces and, perhaps more importantly, building a community of like-minded enthusiasts.

His fondness for Piaget watches, in particular, has earned him a loyal following online. A post featuring an assortment of Piaget dials in August garnered more than 800 likes, despite his account having just over 2,500 followers then.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Reference Room (@referenceroomwatches)

A post shared by Reference Room (@referenceroomwatches)

The business has also welcomed walk-in customers, from overseas visitors seeking out watch retailers to local families who stumble upon it while exploring the neighbourhood.

“There was a dad who walked in with his two children,” Chen recalled. “He was just bringing the kids out for dessert, and they saw that we had food. He liked watches, but not his kids. So he tried his luck, asking his kids if they wanted to dine in.”

As it happened, a yellow gold Audemars Piguet watch from the 1990s, with a fan-shaped open-heart display at 6 o’clock, caught his eye. So did a rose gold Patek Philippe Calatrava from the same decade, with a salmon-coloured guilloche dial. He ended up buying both.

Another family stumbled upon a Rolex Precision from the 1950s, featuring a white gold bracelet and diamond-set bezel. Its dial, Chen said, was in “super good condition… I believe it was bought for someone’s mum, but the mum didn’t wear it so it was left in a safe [all these years].”

The woman bought the watch and promptly slipped it onto her daughter’s wrist.

THE DESIRE FOR HUMAN CONNECTION

Before setting up Reference Room, Chen was a co-founder of a company in the food packaging industry. Watches, meanwhile, were a personal passion. When he left the company in 2025, he began looking for his next venture.

His experiences at pre-owned watch shops elsewhere in Singapore left much to be desired. In some of those shops, he said, “You see a watch from the external display, you go in and you try it on. After that it’s just about [negotiating] the price. If you don’t want it, you often feel the pressure to leave because otherwise you’d just be lingering.”

Julian Chen began selling collectible timepieces through Instagram in 2023, gradually building relationships with fellow watch enthusiasts before opening Reference Room. (Photo: CNA/Kelvin Chia)

He believed there had to be a better way.

“I thought of… a place that would be accessible to people who know or don’t know about watches,” he said. “And personally, I really like talking to people and getting to know them, regardless of whether it’s about watches.”

He envisioned a space that would combine a cafe with a watch gallery, where visitors could enjoy a coffee, browse the collection or simply have a conversation with him and Lim.

Around this time, Chen met Lim, who had recently returned to Singapore after spending nine years working in Australia’s F&B and hospitality industry. Her love of baking began early – at 15, she started a home-based business selling cakes and pastries. She later trained at SHATEC and Le Cordon Bleu to hone her skills. The pair spent considerable time searching for a suitable location. “Initially we had a unit signed at Amoy Street, but it fell through,” said Chen. “We are thankful because we like Tras Street a whole lot more.”

They fell in love with the shophouse’s high ceilings and skylight, which became a focal point of the space.

Claire Lim spent nine years working in Australia’s F&B and hospitality industry before returning to Singapore and co-founding Reference Room. (Photo: CNA/Kelvin Chia)

Combining a watch retailer with a cafe might seem like a straightforward idea, but it remains an unusual concept among Singapore’s multibrand watch dealers.

Luxury brands have explored similar ideas. Tiffany & Co, for example, opened its Blue Box Cafe at Ion Orchard in July 2026, while other boutiques offer refreshments or private hospitality spaces for clients.

One of the challenges, Chen said, was securing insurance. Because Reference Room also operates as a cafe, the pair faced premiums three times higher than those for a standalone watch retailer. They approached more than 10 insurers, but only one provided a quote.

Chen’s passion for watches was sparked not by a family member, but by a friend who bought a Cartier Santos for around S$10,000 to S$12,000 about eight years ago.

“I remember telling him, ‘Are you crazy? Like, why would you spend that much on a watch? It’s just marketing etc’. But then a year later I bought the exact same watch in a different colour.”

It was the beginning of an obsession.

From understated dress watches to pieces with unusual case shapes and colourful dials, Reference Room’s collection reflects Julian Chen’s appreciation for distinctive watch designs. (Photo: Reference Room)

The more watches he bought – and sold to fund his next purchase – the more friends he made within the watch-collecting community. “Meeting people is kind of a natural process as you acquire… You start to build connections organically,” he said.

As Chen bought and sold more watches, he began making friends within the watch-collecting community. Initially, it wasn’t about making a profit. “I had a limited amount of money, but I wanted to experience different watches, so I had to offload them. So naturally, I needed to sell some pieces to buy new ones,” he explained.

Those early experiences laid the foundation for his Instagram business. In 2023, he launched Rafflesia Vintage, named after the flower associated with Sir Stamford Raffles. He rebranded it as Reference Room in 2026, realising that the original name was not particularly suited to a cafe.

Today, Chen limits his personal collection to around 10 watches, including dress watches, pieces with unusual shapes or colourful dials, and, of course, his beloved Piagets.

For the business, Chen focuses on vintage and neo-vintage watches dating from the 1970s to the early 2000s. The collection includes familiar names such as Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Patek Philippe and Rolex. Most watches are priced between S$5,000 and S$35,000, with many falling within the S$10,000 to S$15,000 range.

At any given time, around 50 watches are available in the store, sourced from collectors and other dealers. Some are in remarkably good condition, appearing almost untouched by time. It is a reflection of the relationships Chen has built with collectors, including some original owners.

Chen picks four watches from his collection that he believes deserve a closer look.

Cartier Tank a Vis Dual Time – S$32,000

Cartier Tank a Vis Dual Time. (Photo: CNA/Kelvin Chia)

This is a Tank a Vis from Cartier’s Collection Privee Cartier Paris (CPCP). What makes it particularly interesting is that it’s a dual-time model, with a signature floral motif on each dial, so you get two flowers. It’s manually wound, with both time zones controlled through a single crown: The first position adjusts the second time zone, while the second adjusts local time.

The case itself is relatively rare, but the dual-time configuration is even harder to find. Cartier watches have risen significantly in price, so for someone looking for something still moderately attainable, this is the sort of under-the-radar piece I’d be looking out for.

Chopard L.U.C Ref. 2107.1 – S$11,800

Chopard L.U.C Ref. 2107.1. (Photo: CNA/Kelvin Chia)

This is one I feel doesn’t get enough appreciation. Released in the 1990s, it has an 18K yellow gold case and a manual-winding movement, but what really makes it special is the dial. Made from individual pieces of lapis lazuli, it has a deep, faceted blue surface that changes with the light.

There are diamond markers at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, too. I also like the compact, slightly architectural case. A sister version with a malachite dial surfaced at a Monaco Legend auction in 2025, which gives you an idea of how rarely these stone-dial versions appear.

Harry Winston Excenter Time Zone – S$18,500

Harry Winston Excenter Time Zone. (Photo: CNA/Kelvin Chia)

Harry Winston is a name most people associate with high jewellery, but its watches from the late 1990s and early 2000s are particularly interesting. This rose gold Excenter Time Zone is manually wound, with movable lugs, a display caseback and a distinctive dual-time display. The second time zone is adjusted via a screw-down pusher, advancing one hour with each press.

You also get a five-day power reserve, day/night indicator and date. I particularly love the light blue dial and its unusual layout. It dates to the period when Max Busser was working at Harry Winston, which could make pieces from this era even more collectible.

Piaget Ref. 9591 – S$11,800

Piaget Ref. 9591. (Photo: CNA/Kelvin Chia)

This is likely from the 1970s and combines an onyx dial with a Piaget medallion at the centre and the ultra-thin 9P movement, which was the thinnest movement of its time. But what really makes this one special is the case. The 18K yellow gold tonneau case is hand-engraved, combining different decorative techniques, including Florentine-style engraving and circular motifs.

It’s incredibly unusual and not something you see on modern pieces. There was a period when Piaget approached watchmaking very differently, combining stone dials, sculpted cases, intricate goldwork and ultra-thin movements. The artistry that went into a piece like this simply wouldn’t be available at this price today.

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在特拉斯街的 Reference Room，Julian Chen 和 Claire Lim 将他们对腕表收藏和烘焙的热情结合起来，创造了一个顾客可以浏览、停留和交流的地方。

在Reference Room，Julian Chen和Claire Lim希望打造一个让访客可以探索古董腕表、享用咖啡并进行交流的空间。（图片：CNA/Kelvin Chia）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

在这条遍布高级餐厅、鸡尾酒吧和社交媒体宠儿咖啡馆的街道上，你最意想不到的就是会发现一家古董手表零售店。

然而，在丹戎巴葛的特拉斯街，Reference Room 已在 46 号扎根，周围环绕着 Cafe Mary Grace 和 Burma Social 等热门餐饮场所。

公平地说，Reference Room 不仅仅是一家普通的古董表零售店。它也是一家名副其实的咖啡馆，供应 Common Man 咖啡、TWG 茶和店内自制的蛋糕。

这个概念是由 31 岁的 Julian Chen 和 28 岁的 Claire Lim 提出的，他们既是生活伴侣，也是事业伙伴。

Reference Room 内部装潢简约，座椅舒适，为顾客提供了一个轻松的场所，可以浏览古董腕表、享用咖啡或与人闲聊。（图片：CNA/Aik Chen）

自 9 月中旬开业以来，Reference Room 吸引了源源不断的访客——从腕表爱好者到寻找抹茶的咖啡馆常客。

CNA Luxury在开业一周后到访时，陈先生表示他对市场反响感到满意。

“人们开始光顾，当他们品尝过我们的食物后，很多人都感到惊喜，”他说。“我认为人们对这种混合型餐厅的预期是，食物只是次要的，所以不会很好吃。但我们投入了大量精力来确保食物美味。”

菜单上有七款蛋糕，全部由林师傅亲手制作。这些蛋糕种类繁多，从提拉米苏、胡萝卜蛋糕等经典款，到荔枝玫瑰茶蛋糕、咖啡核桃面包等更具现代感的创意款，应有尽有。

这里还有咖啡、茶、酒精饮料和美味的酒吧小吃。

在 Reference Room，蛋糕绝非可有可无。联合创始人 Claire Lim 亲自准备所有蛋糕，充分运用了她多年的烘焙和餐饮服务经验。（图片：Reference Room）

在腕表方面，陈得到了现有客户的支持。他通过自己的Instagram账号“Reference Room”销售收藏级腕表，更重要的是，他还建立了一个志同道合的爱好者社群。

他对伯爵腕表的喜爱尤其为他赢得了一批忠实的网络粉丝。8月份，他发布了一篇展示各种伯爵表盘的帖子，尽管当时他的账号只有2500多名粉丝，却获得了超过800个赞。

在 Instagram 上查看此帖子 由 Reference Room (@referenceroomwatches) 分享的帖子

Reference Room (@referenceroomwatches) 分享的帖子

这家店也欢迎顾客光临，从寻找手表零售商的海外游客到在附近闲逛时偶然发现它的当地家庭。

“当时有个爸爸带着两个孩子走了进来，”陈回忆说。“他本来是要带孩子们出来吃甜点，结果发现我们有饭菜。他喜欢手表，但不喜欢自己的孩子。所以他就抱着试试看的态度，问孩子们要不要在店里吃。”

巧合的是，一枚产于上世纪90年代的爱彼（Audemars Piguet）黄金腕表吸引了他的目光，表盘6点钟位置饰有扇形镂空设计。同时，一枚产于同一时期的百达翡丽（Patek Philippe）Calatrava玫瑰金腕表也让他心动不已，表盘饰有鲑鱼色玑镂纹。最终，他把这两枚腕表都买了下来。

另一户人家偶然发现了一块20世纪50年代的劳力士精密型腕表，配有白金表链和镶钻表圈。陈先生说，表盘“状态非常好……我相信它是买给某人母亲的，但那位母亲没有佩戴，所以就一直放在保险箱里。”

那位女士买下手表后，立即把它戴在了女儿的手腕上。

对人际关系的渴望

在创立 Reference Room 之前，陈先生曾是食品包装行业一家公司的联合创始人。与此同时，腕表是他的个人爱好。2025 年离开公司后，他开始寻找下一个创业方向。

他在新加坡其他地方的二手表店的经历却令人失望。他说，在一些店里，“你从外面的展示柜看到一块表，进去试戴一下。之后就只剩下讨价还价了。如果你不想要，通常会感到压力，不得不离开，否则你就会一直待在那里。”

朱利安·陈于2023年开始通过Instagram销售收藏级腕表，逐步与腕表爱好者建立联系，最终开设了Reference Room。（图片：CNA/Kelvin Chia）

他相信一定有更好的办法。

“我想到的是……一个无论懂不懂手表的人都能来的地方，”他说。“而且就我个人而言，我真的很喜欢和人聊天，了解他们，不管聊的是不是手表。”

他设想打造一个集咖啡馆和腕表画廊于一体的空间，游客可以在这里享用咖啡、浏览藏品，或者只是与他和林先生交谈。

大约在这个时候，陈女士结识了林女士。林女士此前在澳大利亚的餐饮和酒店行业工作了九年，最近刚回到新加坡。她从小就热爱烘焙——15岁时，她就开始在家做蛋糕和糕点生意。后来，她先后在新加坡高级技术学院（SHATEC）和蓝带国际学院（Le Cordon Bleu）接受培训，精进技艺。两人花了不少时间寻找合适的店面。“起初我们在厦门街（Amoy Street）签了一间店面，但后来没谈成，”陈女士说，“我们很庆幸最终选择了特拉斯街（Tras Street），因为我们更喜欢这里。”

他们爱上了这间店屋的高挑天花板和天窗，这成为了空间的焦点。

Claire Lim曾在澳大利亚餐饮和酒店行业工作九年，之后回到新加坡，与人共同创立了Reference Room。（图片：CNA/Kelvin Chia）

将手表零售店与咖啡馆结合起来似乎是一个简单的想法，但这在新加坡的多品牌手表经销商中仍然是一个不寻常的概念。

奢侈品牌也探索过类似的理念。例如，蒂芙尼公司于2026年7月在ION Orchard开设了Blue Box咖啡馆，而其他精品店则为顾客提供茶点或私人接待空间。

陈女士表示，其中一个挑战是获得保险。由于Reference Room同时也是一家咖啡馆，他们的保费是独立手表零售店的三倍。他们联系了十多家保险公司，但只有一家提供了报价。

陈对腕表的热情并非源于家人，而是一位朋友在大约八年前以约 10,000 至 12,000 新元的价格购买了一块卡地亚 Santos 腕表。

“我记得当时我对他说，‘你疯了吗？你为什么要花那么多钱买一块手表？那纯粹是营销手段。’但一年后，我又买了一块一模一样的手表，只是颜色不同。”

这是痴迷的开始。

从低调内敛的正装腕表到造型别致、表盘色彩缤纷的腕表，Reference Room 的系列作品体现了 Julian Chen 对独特腕表设计的欣赏。（图片：Reference Room）

他买的表越多——卖掉一些来筹集资金购买下一块——他在腕表收藏圈里结交的朋友就越多。“随着你不断收藏，认识人就成了一个自然而然的过程……你会自然而然地建立起人脉关系，”他说。

随着陈先生买卖手表数量的增加，他开始在手表收藏圈结识朋友。起初，他并非以盈利为目的。“我的资金有限，但我想体验不同的手表，所以不得不出手一些旧表。因此，我自然需要卖掉一些表来购买新的，”他解释道。

早期的经历为他日后的Instagram事业奠定了基础。2023年，他创立了Rafflesia Vintage，店名取自与斯坦福·莱佛士爵士相关的花卉。2026年，他意识到原名不太适合咖啡馆，于是将品牌更名为Reference Room。

如今，陈先生的个人收藏手表数量限制在 10 块左右，其中包括正装表、形状奇特或表盘色彩鲜艳的手表，当然还有他心爱的伯爵手表。

陈先生的店铺主要经营1970年代至21世纪初的古董表和新古董表。藏品包括爱彼、卡地亚、百达翡丽和劳力士等知名品牌。大多数腕表的价格在5000新元至35000新元之间，其中许多腕表的价格在10000新元至15000新元之间。

店内常备约50枚腕表，均来自收藏家和其他经销商。其中一些腕表品相极佳，几乎未受岁月侵蚀。这体现了陈先生与收藏家们建立的良好关系，其中不乏一些腕表的原主人。

陈从他的收藏中挑选了四款他认为值得仔细研究的腕表。

卡地亚 Tank a Vis 双时区腕表 – 32,000 新加坡元

卡地亚 Tank a Vis 双时区腕表。（图片：CNA/Kelvin Chia）

这是卡地亚巴黎珍藏系列（Collection Privee Cartier Paris，简称CPCP）中的一款Tank à Vis腕表。它最特别之处在于其双时区设计，两个表盘上均饰有卡地亚标志性的花卉图案，因此呈现出两朵盛开的花朵。这款腕表采用手动上链，两个时区的时间均可通过同一表冠进行调节：第一档调节第二时区时间，第二档调节本地时间。

这款表壳本身就比较少见，而双时区配置更是难得一见。卡地亚腕表的价格已经大幅上涨，所以对于那些想寻找价格相对亲民的腕表的人来说，这正是我会关注的那种低调之作。

萧邦 LUC 参考编号 2107.1 – 11,800 新加坡元

萧邦 LUC 参考编号 2107.1。（图片：CNA/Kelvin Chia）

我觉得这款表没有得到应有的赏识。它诞生于上世纪90年代，采用18K黄金表壳和手动上链机芯，但真正让它与众不同的是表盘。表盘由多块青金石切割而成，呈现出深邃的、多面切割的蓝色，随着光线的变化而变幻莫测。

表盘3、6、9和12点钟位置也镶嵌有钻石时标。我也很喜欢它小巧精致、略带建筑感的表壳。一款孔雀石表盘的姊妹款腕表曾在2025年的摩纳哥传奇腕表拍卖会上出现，由此可见，这种宝石表盘的腕表有多么罕见。

Harry Winston Excenter Time Zone – 18,500 新加坡元

Harry Winston Excenter Time Zone。（图片：CNA/Kelvin Chia）

哈利·温斯顿 (Harry Winston) 这个名字大多数人都会联想到高级珠宝，但它在 20 世纪 90 年代末和 21 世纪初推出的腕表也同样引人注目。这款玫瑰金 Excenter Time Zone 腕表采用手动上链设计，配备可活动表耳、透明底盖和独特的双时区显示。第二时区通过旋入式按钮进行调节，每次按压推进一小时。

这款腕表还具备五日动力储存、昼夜显示和日期显示功能。我尤其喜欢它的浅蓝色表盘和独特的布局。它的设计可以追溯到马克斯·布塞尔在哈利·温斯顿工作时期，这使得那个时代的腕表更具收藏价值。

伯爵 Ref. 9591 – 11,800 新加坡元

伯爵腕表，型号9591。（图片：CNA/Kelvin Chia）

这款腕表很可能产于20世纪70年代，采用缟玛瑙表盘，中央饰有伯爵徽章，并搭载当时最薄的9P机芯。但真正令其与众不同的是表壳。18K黄金酒桶形表壳经手工雕刻，融合了多种装饰技法，包括佛罗伦萨风格的雕刻和圆形图案。

这非常罕见，在现代腕表中已难觅踪迹。伯爵曾有一段时间以截然不同的方式诠释制表工艺，将宝石表盘、雕刻表壳、精湛的金饰工艺和超薄机芯融为一体。如今，如此精湛的工艺，绝非这个价位所能企及。

每天一篇，我们精心挑选一篇您不容错过的精彩故事。