Dealer who can make or break a family's fortune: William Chak
William Chak draws an audience of 60 million every week. He can tell if grandma's vase really is worth a fortune. If it's a fake, it gets smashed
Hongkonger William Chak Kin-man, who last month set a world record when he paid HK$74 million for a porcelain bowl that dates back about 300 years, is a celebrity on the mainland.
Wherever he goes, people recognise him and pull out photos of their ceramics on their smartphones for him to appraise on the spot - which he always happily does for free.
Some 60 million viewers watch his weekly Beijing TV show Tianxia Shoucang (World Collection) in which people bring Chak their ceramics to value. If their goods turns out to be fake, they're destroyed with a sledgehammer.
"It's great fun. These women come in with gifts from their boyfriends, and when their gifts are smashed to pieces right in front of them, they're shocked," said Chak, chuckling as he sits in his antiques shop in Hollywood Road, Central. He is wearing jeans with Converse sneakers; a gold watch on his wrist; and is drinking tea out of a Qing dynasty (1644-1911) cup and using an antique bowl as an ashtray.
Chak was described by Sotheby's managing director for Asia, Henry Howard-Sneyd, as "one of the most important dealers in the world", after he bought a vase in 2005 that had belonged to 18th-century Emperor Qianlong for HK$115.4 million. The sale set a record for a work of art in Asia and a world record for Qing dynasty porcelain.
Last month's purchase set a world record for porcelain made in the reign of Qianlong's grandfather, Emperor Kangxi.