Hong Kong Jockey Club and it's neckties
As the title indicates, today's post will be concentrating on the institution of Hong Kong Jockey Club and, more specifically, on one of the ties I have in my collection. One of my favorites, actually.
It is a piece made by Hermès for the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, as is printed on the reverse of the tip of the tie. The wording used here suggests, that the tie was manufactured between 1960 and 1996. Why these dates, you may ask. It’s because in 1960 HKJC was granted a royal charter, and the 1996 is the year when the club dropped the “Royal” prefix due to the handover of Hong Kong to China, which was going to happen a year after. I also found an information that the white lining of the tie suggests, that it might have been manufactured before 1970, but I’m not sure if that also applies for the special order pieces. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any information when exactly was the specific tie issued.
But what actually is the institution, that the tie was issued for? Hong Kong Jockey Club was established in 1884 and the reason was simply an entertainment of Hong Kong (at the time British colony) elites. For the first twenty odd years of existence the club didn’t accept any asian members, making it an institution strictly for the expats. Over the time the rules loosened somehow, and Asians and women were allowed to become the members of the HKJC. And in recent years, even the “new money” crowd is gaining access to the club, what , until recently, was unthinkable. The statutory purpose was to promote nad organize horse racing and to provide betting possibilities. Nowadays it’s the only legal provider of betting on horse racing and football in Hong Kong, and apparently one of the biggest tax payers, handing to the local authorities almost 36 bilion HKD (that’s about 4,6 bilion USD) in taxes.
The HKJC is one of, if not the most important and influential social club in the region. It has founded a charity found, which every year donates substantial amounts of money to local community. On the other hand the club puts serious sums into commercial investments.
But coming from that history lecture back; the piece today’s interest is yellow, satin silk, with RHKJC emblem printed in various orientations, creating a consistent pattern repeated all over the tie. Its model number is RHKJC 4, and there was also design RHKJC 1 issued at a similar time.1 As already mentioned, on the lining of the wider tip there’s an inscription “Hermès for the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club”. That’s the part of the design non existent in what are, I believe, later ties made by Hermès.
The piece goes well with my favorite four in hand knot. I find it looking best with a single dimple, as it’s rather wide at 95 mm in the widest part, but it tapers rapidly going up towards the knot. The fabric, being silk twill, is delicate and has a small weave, which effects in the tie being very “flowy”. But the downside to that seems to be increased susceptibility to creasing, so the fabric doesn't ease quickly after untying the knot. Putting it under the steam definitely helps a lot. The “twill lines” don’t go perfectly vertically, but are slightly leaning to the side. As it is in all Hermès ties, these lines go from 11 to 5 o'clock. The yellow color looks a bit differently, depending on the lighting condition. It can change from being pale, champagne’y yellow, to rich and deep, almost banana yellow. In the pictures presented here, it get’s close to the latter.
The print quality is adequate. I’ve seen sharper graphics on some ties, but the RHKJC emblem is perfectly legible from reasonable distances, and most of the blurred, or rather lacking in contrast, lines seem to be an illusion caused by the shine of the fabric, and become sharp and contrasty again, when the light hits them differently. This is especially tricky to show on the camera.
It’s worth noting that it’s not the only necktie, that was manufactured by Hermès for the HKJC. There were multiple other pattern designs over the years, most of them incorporating the emblem of the club as an only repeated element, or a part of a pattern. My favorite design of them all would be one issued for the 125th anniversary of establishing the HKJC. Its design numbered 5571 MA, and it shows, in true Hermès fashion, cartoony depicted characters - centaurs. In this case the human half of the mythical creatures bodies wearing colorful shirts and caps (or helmets), reminiscent of jockey outfits.
In general, all of the neckties made for the club by Hermès are considered to be somewhat collectible pieces and on a second hand market can reach prices higher, than brand new H ties. On the other hand, there are deals to be found, but there are just very few of them.
But Hermès is not only designer and manufacturer of HKJC’s ties. There’s at least one design done by Salvatore Ferragamo (also from the time, when the club was bearing “Royal” prefix), and multiple in house, or rather non branded, ties having only the HKJC logo.
Also, the neckties weren't the only merchandise of the club. There are some nice looking silk scarves (also courtesy of Hermès), and the online shop has a wide array of different products. I find vintage club watches especially interesting. They usually don’t have any fancy movement, and are not even branded, but some of them have interesting and elegant designs, both for men and women. If I manage to put my hand on any other product made for, or by the HKJC, you can expect an update on the matter.
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Jacob, the Tie Authority
Does it mean, that there were also designs numbered 2 and 3? I couldn’t verify that, unfortunately.