Why Singaporean publisher’s luxury magazines put craft over bling, and how he’s switching them to an e-commerce focus

Wei Koh may have founded leading international watch magazine Revolution and men’s luxury bible The Rake, but the pricey products they feature are not what matters.

Koh is at pains to point out that the two titles couldn’t, in fact, be more opposed to conspicuous consumption and blatantly flashing one’s cash.

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“Too often in society, expensive things – whether that be a handbag, a watch, a suit or a car – are used as aggressive symbols of status. That is something we’ve always hated at Revolution and The Rake,” Koh says. “Regardless of their cost, we want to talk about things from a craft perspective.

“That Riva yacht, that Lamborghini or that Patek Philippe minute repeater ... what they represent is an extraordinarily skilled craftsman who’s been endowed with a gift by God – if you believe in God – and who has [created] that object which you now get to wear or use.

“The fact that someone can make things of this level of excellence is a minor miracle. I hope people buy these things for that reason.”

The magazines Koh founded are dedicated to fostering a greater appreciation of “beauty and aesthetics”, he says.