by Huang Yanan

    DHAKA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- "My only hobby is collecting old watches, which makes my life enjoyable," Ahmed Asif Ashraf, a young Bangladeshi man said.

    Ashraf, a lecturer working in Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering in North University Bangladesh, a private university in capital Dhaka, said he collected the first watch in 2003 and couldn't stop it.

    "I majored in electronics and communication engineering when I was studying in Dhaka University. I like mechanical things. When Isaw an old mechanical watch in a shop sometime in 2003, I couldn't resist the temptation to have it. So I started the journey to collect watches," Ashraf said.

    Ashraf has collected around 500 watches which are all mechanical. "There are 70-80 brands in my watch collection. Most of them are made in Switzerland, including Romer, Omega and Rado.

    Ashraf not only likes watch collecting, he can also do watch repairing and fixing job. In his bedroom, there is a small workshop, all the tools for watch repairing are available.

    "Whenever I have time at home, I work on the watches, I really feel fascinated at doing this kind of job," Ashraf said.

    Almost every week Ashraf goes to market in old Dhaka where he searches for the old watches he like. "When I find a watch, I bargain with the seller. If I can afford, then I will buy it," he said.

    Ashraf said many watch sellers know him, if they have new collection, they will inform him.

    Ashraf held a solo exhibition of mechanical watches in Dhaka in June 2007 when He was a student in Dhaka University.

    "I thought I will be busy after I graduate from the university, so I decided to hold the exhibition at that time," he said.

    Ashraf said the oldest watch he has was made more than 100 years ago. "I can tell some of the watches' ages by the following means. One is that I took a picture of one watch and sent it to the producer by email, they would tell me the year of manufacturing if they knew. Another is to tell the reference number of a watch to the producer who could possibly find out the age of the watch," he said.

    "But not many watches I can trace their history for different reasons," he added.

    Ashraf said watch collecting is only a hobby which has nothing to do with business. "I will continue the hobby because I like it and feel happy with it," he said.