Key Points
- Antony and Elsa Shum are closing their watch shop in Chinatown after 47 years.
- At their peak, they operated four branches in Sydney’s CBD.
- The couple contributed to making Chinatown safer after a crime wave in the 1980s.
Founded in 1978, Shum’s Watches & Jewellery is one of the oldest continuous stores in Sydney’s Chinatown.
However, owners Antony and Elsa Shum say they are retiring and have announced that after 1 March, the business will be moved entirely online.
Elsa told SBS Cantonese that the couple had decided to close the business because there was no one to take over the shop, not because of financial issues.
“We are old and feel it is time to let go. We are happily retiring,” she said.
“Life is short, why should I tie up my whole life here (in the business)? There is no end to making money … They (children) have their own lives, and I don’t want to force them (to take it on).”
Watchmaking family from Hong Kong
Antony, called Tony by friends, told SBS Cantonese he hailed from a watchmaking family in Hong Kong, and he and his brothers all learned the craft from their father.
“He can fix large pendulum clocks and even the turret clocks in clock towers, which are very difficult, and he can also make the parts himself — these are hard skills,” Elsa said.
In addition to traditional skills, after moving to Australia, Antony also studied the technology behind electronic watches, which were just emerging at the time. He also went to Switzerland, a major watchmaking country, to receive professional training.
Elsa was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Macau and migrated to Sydney in the 1970s, where she met her husband.
After marriage, they planned to start a business so they opened a watch stall in the building now occupied by the Capitol Theatre.
“At that time, most people in Chinatown were engaged in restaurants and grocery stores. We were the first to do watches, a technical industry,” Elsa said.
Antony and Elsa Shum during the opening ceremony of their shop in Haymarket. Source: Supplied / Shum family
By chance, they met an Omega salesman and they “bravely” accepted the commission to sell the discounted watches, she said.
These “sold very well”, allowing the couple to successfully obtain the agency rights.
After the business got on track, they moved from their small stall to a larger shop in Haymarket, and they also obtained agency rights for other famous watch brands.
At one time, the couple operated four branches including one in the iconic Queen Victoria Building (QVB).
In the 2000s, the couple turned their attention to family and children and gave up all branches except for the current store in Chinatown.
A few years ago, they said they felt that “Chinatown was not that prosperous” and they began to think about retiring.
Shum’s Watches once had four shops in Sydney’s CBD. Source: Supplied / Shum family
Operating during Chinatown’s ‘dark years’
Chinatown is struggling to recover now, while in the mid-80s, it was struggling to be a safe place.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that on 3 January 1985, Chinese businessman and community leader Stanley Wong was murdered by a former staff member. In 1988, the NAB bank in Chinatown was robbed and the case remains unsolved, according to a Channel Nine documentary.
“It was an era of chaos in Chinatown,” Elsa said.
“Many shops were robbed and people would have their wallets stolen even when they were walking down the streets and standing waiting for traffic lights.”
Our shops have been robbed at gunpoint. I myself had a gun pointed at my (face) twice, with children next to me. We were terrified and everything was (stolen).
Elsa Shum
Elsa said following the crime spree, several Chinatown merchants formed a committee, hiring private security to patrol with dogs and encouraging people to call the police when having problems.
Under the coordination of Chinese-Australian politicians, Robert Ho and Henry Tsang, the committee urged the City of Sydney council to improve the safety of Chinatown.
“Martin Place was the Sydney CBD at that time, and Chinatown was a [relatively] remote area,” Tsang told SBS Cantonese. “After meeting, the committee, we gradually installed lighting and closed-circuit television.”
The committee even raised money to sponsor a police car, which would be parked in Chinatown to serve as a deterrent.
“We had lots of meetings, and with police. We knew that Chinese people didn’t like to report, and language was an obstacle. Also, many crimes actually involved Chinese,” Tsang said.
“So the police hired a community liaison officer with the government budget. People could contact him for any issue and he also understood the Chinese community.”
“After that, Chinatown became much more peaceful, and it has remained so until today, so we cherish this peace very much,” Elsa said.
Shum’s Watches (left) in Sussex Street. Credit: City of Sydney
As a farewell, Tsang praised the significance of the watch shop.
“Because of them, Chinatown was not just a place for yum cha or buying groceries. Its duty-free products also helped local tourism,” he said.
Cherished memories
Former customers of the store have been taking to social media to share their memories.
“I was barely a teenager when my father bought a Lorus watch for me from Mr Shum in the early 80s, when the shop was just a small booth at the Capitol Theatre,” one person recalled.
“In my early thirties, I bought my now wife a Longines as an engagement present, also from Shum’s. And just last year, I brought my wife and two kids to Shum’s when my wife bought me an Omega for my 50th birthday.”
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd visited Shum’s Watches. Source: Supplied / Shum family
Another former customer said he had worked in a restaurant near Shum’s store many years ago.
“One day I asked Mr Shum to fix my broken watch. Having learnt that I was a poor overseas student, Mr Shum did not charge me for the repairs at all. Today, I am still so grateful to him,” he said.
One person wrote: “Sad that it’s the end of an era but happy that Auntie Elsa and Uncle Tony will enjoy their much deserved retirement. Sending lots of well wishes.”
Elsa says they would love to say goodbye to everyone through SBS.
“We have been repairing watches for you for decades. Now Mr Shum and I want to leave some time for ourselves to see the world and share life with our children and grandchildren,” she said.
“Therefore, we made a very reluctant decision and arranged a happy retirement.
“Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to meeting you again.”
Antony and Elsa Shum are retiring after operating their watch store in Sydney’s Chinatown for almost half a century. Source: Supplied / Shum family
