THE menu at Sincere Watch's 50th anniversary charity gala said freshwater cod, but the celebrity chef for the evening decided to spring a surprise.

In place of the cod, Tetsuya Wakuda of Tetsuya's in Sydney flew in on Sunday with four boxes of jewfish instead.

'Both fish are great, but the quality of murray cod can be inconsistent. In this case, I simply had an excellent supply of jewfish, which is great for serving large numbers of guests because it maintains its moisture and texture very well,' he told Life!.

Tuesday's dinner saw 650 guests, including the who's who of the watch world, dining on a menu created by five award-winning chefs.

Apart from Tetsuya, the lineup comprised Ritz-Carlton Millenia's executive chef Christophe Megel and pastry chef Philippe Agnese, Shiraishi's owner/chef Shinji Shiraishi and Justin Quek, owner/chef of La Petite Cuisine, Taipei.

President S R Nathan was the guest of honour at the event, which cost Sincere Watch an estimated $500,000 to organise.

Apart from the fine food, another highlight of the night was a Christie's auction of 25 limited edition timepieces which had been specially created by prestige watchmakers such as Patek Philippe, IWC, Franck Muller and De Grisogono for the charity auction.

The event, attended by big names like Singapore Airlines chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng, socialite Shabnam Melwani-Reis, watch enthusiast Dr Bernard Cheong and fashion retailer Tina Tan-Leo, capped a year-long celebration marking the Golden Jubilee of the Singapore-based watch retailer.

The highest bid of the night was for a see-through Vacheron Constantin tourbillon wristwatch at $210,000. It went to a male watch collector here who wished to remain anonymous.

It was considered a bargain as Christie's estimated valuation was $220,000 to $254,000.

Donations and proceeds from the dinner and auction went to one of Sincere Watch's adopted charities, The Tent, which provides guidance and boarding for troubled teenage girls.

While the total amount raised has not been finalised, estimates put it at close to $1 million.