Memorigin x International Athletes

LaMelo Ball

FEAR and GOD, his silhouette, the winged 1

At twenty, an NBA All-Star started a watch brand instead of endorsing one. He put his own tattoos on the dial: FEAR and GOD, inked on his wrist at sixteen, beside the winged 1 that marks him as the Golden Child.

He and the watchmaker never met. A pandemic kept William Shum in Hong Kong, so the watch was drawn, argued over and finished across video calls.

Michael Owen

A golden globe at twelve, 263 goals on the back

The Ballon d'Or at twenty-one, and 40 goals in 89 games for England. He designed this one with his own label, MICHAE10WEN.

A golden globe sits at twelve for the 2001 Ballon d'Or, the 10 on the dial is picked out in red, and a second globe turns beside it as a second time zone — a career played between England and Spain.

Then the count. The edition is 263 pieces, one for every goal he scored. The case back carries all 263, in order, with their dates, and each certificate is signed by him with a line about that goal.

Stephon Marbury

His 3 at three o'clock, his 22 years on the hour ring

Nine seasons in the NBA, then eight more in China: three championships with the Beijing Ducks, a statue outside the arena and a museum in the city. Few foreign athletes have been taken in the way Beijing took him.

He designed the series himself, at his retirement in February 2018. His number — 3 — is set in diamonds at three o'clock, above a basketball worked in relief, and the hour ring carries a red 22 for the twenty-two years he played.

The first run was a hundred pieces, and everyone who bought one was sent a basketball he had signed.

Wei Qiuyue 魏秋月

A volleyball net stretched across the movement

Setter, and captain of the China women's national team from 2008 to 2012. Bronze at the Beijing Olympics, gold at Rio, the 2015 World Cup, and a World Championship silver in between. A setter is the player who decides what everyone else does next.

The volleyball tourbillon was made with the Sheen Hok Charitable Foundation and unveiled at its 45th anniversary dinner, with her as guest of honour.