famous renowned watchmaker dies in Malaysia

olaoli

Well-known watchmaker Datuk Rolf w.Schnyder died on Thusday on complication from acute pancreatitis and he was 76. He is a Swiss national who lived in Malaysia for many years and was the president and the owner of the 165-year old watch brand Ulysse Nardin.He died at 4.15 pm in Assunta Hospital.He was awarded the Darjah Datuk Paduka Tuanku Ja'afar in 2007. Schnyder married a Malaysian Chai Oi Fah in 1992 and they had three children.
sumber The Star hari ni.ada gambar dia.masih semat bagi yang berumur 76 tahun

olaoli

AS Rolf Schnyder owns Ulysse Nardin completely, he has no pesky shareholders to answer to and wishes to keep this priceless jewel in his family. But Ulysse Matt, Schnyder’s eldest son, is only 12 so he has a lot of time before he assumes the mantle as the first half-Malaysian to run a prestige Swiss brand (we can’t wait!).

The “Matt”, by the way, is not short for Matthew but refers to the Matterhorn; it seems Schnyder’s wife, Chai Oi Fah, conceived after a visit to view Switzerland’s most famous mountain. And, of course, there was the Ulysse Collection named to celebrate Matt’s birth. (Schnyder has promised to name a collection after Kuala Lumpur, too!)

The Schnyders’ second child is 11-year-old Timur Flores, whose lyrical name means ‘”Flower of the East” in Malay (Timur) and Spanish (Flores) while nine-year-old Enzia Nadine is named after a rare Swiss Alpine flower admired for its brilliant hue and tenacity.


Rolf Schnyder with his family. Behind him are (from left) his two daughters, Enzia and Timur, and his wife Chai. Lying in front is heir apparent, Ulysse Matt.
“Well, these are my three kids – of course, the rest I don’t declare,” says Schnyder with a wicked grin and safely out of earshot of Chai, 40, who is presiding over a laksa lunch in the kitchen.
The kids all speak beautiful Mandarin, with very pleasant aristocratic accents to boot, thanks to their teachers from Taipei. Schnyder is proud yet a little rueful because the crafty devils love to tease him by chattering in Mandarin about their father right in front of him!

“I blame their mother who insisted they learn Mandarin,” moans Schnyder in mock horror. Becoming a little more serious, he adds, “I never forced them to learn German. I believe the future belongs to Asia and Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia will be more useful than Swiss German.”

Schnyder was a happy bachelor when he met Chai in the 1980s. After decades in Asia and of consorting with exotic, long-tressed Asian beauties, his friends all knew it was a foregone conclusion that if he ever tied the knot, it would not be with a blue-eyed blonde. But even Schnyder was stunned to be so smitten upon first meeting Chai.

“A neighbour in Bangsar introduced us over dinner in 1988. I will never forget the first time I met her on the balcony overlooking the pool – she looked so beautiful it was surreal,” sighs the husband romantically.

“At my age (52, then) I had seen them all but Chai was the only one who aroused my interest deeply. I always prided myself on impeccable timing, being in the watch business, etc, but this time the timing was the worst ever: Chai was leaving for Belfast to pursue her Masters in Engineering!”

But he was not letting such minor details deter his pursuit.

“I convinced her to break her journey in Switzerland for a mini tour of Europe. I picked her up in Zurich and we drove to St Tropez (in France), Monaco, Venice (Italy) and back via Austria. We fell in love during that trip and saw each other almost every weekend after that; we met in London, Paris, Marbella (in Spain), Zurich, all the great fun cities of Europe. Chai would leave Belfast on Friday evening and return Sunday.

“I proposed to Chai and she said yes but on one condition. Her caveat was, ‘Only if I can continue to work as I didn’t get my masters for nothing’. I said yes meekly but it was a lie! I knew Chai would devote herself to our children as a full time mother so I just had to produce as many as possible, hah, hah! But she did work briefly so I did keep my word.”

Their wedding in 1992 caused a social sensation in Kuala Lumpur and Kuching when the fun-loving Swiss German decided on an Iban theme.

The memorable photograph of him as an Iban warrior in full battle regalia rowing a bamboo raft to collect his blushing bride made a splash in European newspapers.

chazey

pictures, anyone?

btw, i have no idea of who this man is...

and of ulysse nardin; just heard bout it today...*blush*

olaoli

chazey...i pun tak penah dgr.gugel gugel ada banyak gambar dia n wife dalam even tatler lah , gourmet festival lah.

Menceceh

This couple very 'hot' during 1990's sama klas with Farah Khan, N9 royalty etc... always kat glamer magzine and social functions, chinese wife dia - rambut panjang betul tapi sekarang tak tahu leh. Anybody have latest pic ke ?

ieyla1979

olaoli

thanks ieyla

tomet05

takziah ..

babygina

Foto tu mcm kedai dia kat Starhill

kacangkuda

oh, ulysse...