Chinese watch brands. Are they worth it? Let’s debunk some common misconceptions as we explore China’s horological offerings.
While Switzerland still dominates the global watchmaking industry, with factors like brand equity and heritage seemingly unmatched, a quiet revelation is unraveling. China’s economy is maturing, and with that, its own story of haute horology is unfolding. Modern watch-collecting habits reflect cultural shifts, and we like what we see. So, to the snooty Swiss-obsessed snobs out there – stick that in your pipe and smoke it! China makes good watches!
No longer are enthusiasts drawn solely towards a watch as a statement piece alone. Timepieces are investments and are a mark of taste, not just affluence. Thus comes the realization that quality timepieces don’t have to be of Swiss origin. They can be from anywhere, so long as they offer some level of artisanal detailing and brand narrative. These factors alone challenge the dominance of Swiss and German brands, enabling us to think outside the box a little. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, the names on this list are some of the best timepieces currently on the market? Let’s jump in. Oh, and did I mention China likes the tourbillon a lot? Meh, you’ll see for yourself soon enough…
The History of Chinese Watchmaking
The history of Chinese watchmaking is one of evolution and growth. As a relatively young industry, watch manufacturing in China only occurred during the 1950s. The Tianjin watch factory produced the first mechanical watch in 1955 and expanded over the next three years. Shanghai and Beijing facilities opened, becoming industry leaders with designs using Swiss and Russian machinery.
Because of the importation of this machinery, any watches emerging during this period took direction from their respective countries. As such, they lacked a style of their own until Tianjin Manufacture had a breakthrough. The launch of the ST5 movement marked the moment of China’s real independence as a watch manufacturer.
The factory launched Seagull watches for women in the 1970s, followed by quartz-operated timepieces. However, it was around the 1980s before China began competing properly in the international market. The country is now a strong contender and a leading producer of both luxury and affordable watches, much to the disapproval of Swiss purists.
Why Choose a Chinese Watch?
Despite naysayers, Chinese watches do offer some advantages. Generally speaking, they’re more affordable than their Swiss counterparts, and they’re a little different. If you’re willing to look beyond the cheap and Chinese stigma, something is interesting and quirky about a Chinese-powered watch. We hear a lot about Japanese watch movements but little about ones originating from Chinese factories.
The whole “Made in China” label gets a bad rep. In reality, many Chinese watch companies give the Swiss and the Germans a good run for their money. Chinese products don’t necessarily equate to poor quality. And though there are certainly some cheap options out there, some Chinese watch brands produce high-end luxury timepieces, too. Carving out its own niche, China’s horological offerings span from low-cost imitations to high-caliber watchmaking. And what’s good for the goose is good for the gander because it turns out that many Swiss brands use Chinese watch components, too!
Slowly but surely, Eastern watches have been on an upward trajectory over recent years. China and Japan have been garnering respect for their innovative designs for a while. Although many still associate the Chinese watch market with counterfeits and fake watches, it’s not an entirely fair assumption.
At the end of the day, a brand showing technical prowess and ingenuity will resonate with collectors, no matter its origins. If more connoisseurs recognized this, there would be less prejudice against non-Swiss brands and more watch designs to celebrate.
Types of Chinese Watches
As much as it may surprise you, there is more to China than cheap watches. Different types of Chinese watches will appeal to different kinds of enthusiasts. With some good research, you’ll uncover a mix of affordable and luxury timepieces in this market sector.
Luxury Chinese Watches
For far too many years, society has been associating China with cheapness. To a certain extent, China’s low labor costs and materials can indeed contribute to cheaper products. But it’s not always the case. The proof is in the pudding when we look at brands like Seagull. This company makes more movements than ETA each year. Others, like Atelier Wen, focus on making craftsmanship accessible. These brands show that Chinese watches deserve to be here as much as anyone else.
Chinese watchmaking is much more prestigious and innovative than you may think. Take, for example, CIGA, Behrens, and Celadon. All have Chinese origins, and all stir up the status quo with their envelope-pushing designs. Such evidence suggests that horological creativity can come in all shapes and sizes and at any price.
So, if you’ve been overlooking China watches because you thought they’d be cheap and tacky, think again. Some of the best Chinese watch brands deserve their luxury status. Combining local traditions with cultural influences makes them a great alternative to Japanese, Swiss, and German options.
Affordable Everyday Watches
Like Swiss, French, German, Italian, and American watch brands, every country has a range of affordable timepieces. Unfortunately, Chinese watch brands have to contend with much criticism since many associate the country with manufacturing cheap products. Investing in some of the best cheap Chinese watch brands does have an upside, too. For starters, you won’t lose much money if you fall out of love with a design. But you should still take precautions to ensure what you’re buying is genuine.
There is no denying that there are many fake watches on the Chinese market. It is the counterfeiting capital of the world, after all. It’s also where many legitimate watch manufacturers have their watches made. As such, it isn’t always the first country that springs to mind when we think of innovation. That said, many brands are working hard to buck that trend and shed themselves of the stigma.
Many Chinese watch brands produce affordable timepieces, whether unique designs or ones that pay homage to a particular icon. Homage watches are different from fake watches. Take, for example, brands like San Martin, Alpha, and Parnis. All three are Chinese brands that create Rolex Submariner, Explorer, and Datejust homage watches. Pagani, too, is a brand that does an excellent-looking James Bond Seamaster. And Steeldive—with its PloProf homage watch—we can’t forget that one.
But if it’s affordable and original you want in a watch, you’re in luck. Some brands in this list manufacture remarkable watches for their price point. And here’s the best bit – they’re not the terrible quality you expected.
Smart Watches
It’s no accident that China has become a world leader in smartwatch technology. Its already well-established electronic manufacturing infrastructure is just one advantage. The country’s ability to respond to market trends is another. Some names stand out in particular, namely Huawei with its GT series, offering long battery life and advanced health-tracking features. Another example would be Xiaomi. This brand produces smartwatches at affordable prices. However, if you’re fashion-conscious, Oppo’s sleek smartwatch designs are stylish and even come with ECG monitoring features.
Choosing the right brand for smartwatches depends on your preferences, but plenty of options exist. While Huawei focuses on premium feature-rich devices, Xiaomi appeals to the budget-conscious consumer. Oppo targets the mid-points on the price spectrum with its affordable smartwatch designs. Suffice it to say, this genre offers a little something for everyone.
Top Chinese Watch Brands
What are the top Chinese watch brands? Here’s a roundup of some of the most popular brands and what makes them unique.
Seagull
If you only hope to take one basic fact away from this introduction to Chinese luxury watch brands, at least remember the name Seagull. It’s the world’s largest mechanical watch manufacturer and the most famous. More importantly, it makes a quarter of the entire world’s movements. Aside from that, it also creates some crazy beautiful watches. Some of the brand’s bestselling models include the Bauhaus, Dual Time, the Ocean Star, and the 1963 Chronograph. The latter benefits from the precision of the ST19 movement – an original Swiss movement that now features in many micro-brand catalogs.
Peacock Watches
The origins of Peacock Watches point to Dandong City – the hub of mechanical watch production in China. This brand assembles movements by hand and produces most parts of a watch, including the crown, lugs, case, dial, hands, etc. The brand has been manufacturing its own movements since 1958, producing some remarkably impressive complications. We don’t often associate complex horological masterpieces with China, but Peacock Watches certainly goes against the grain. Its remarkable design catalog includes hand-winding tourbillons, automatic chronographs, and moon phases.
Shanghai
Shanghai marked a pivotal point in Chinese watchmaking. Its first release showed the people of China that it not only repaired watches but also designed them. Many of Shanghai’s most popular models are multi-functional timepieces like dual-time watches, chronographs, and GMTs. In 2005, Shanghai began presenting its watches at Baselworld, further leveraging its reputation. Appealing to the style-conscious, many of this brand’s watches lean towards an artistic flair, underscoring the brand’s penchant for creativity.
Celadon
The founder of Celadon began pursuing his passion for bespoke wristwatches in 2012. Suffice it to say that any of these watches are far from traditional. So, if you have an eye for detail and like quirky designs, Celadon may be your brand. Amongst the elaborately decorated enamel dials are designs that point to Chinese heritage and culture. Some of these watches feature Lin Yonk Hua movements (we’ll cover this brand a little later). Others feature Beijing Watch Factory movements. Using third-party movements allows Celadon to keep costs as low as possible.
FIYTA
FIYTA has made a name for itself with its history of equipping space missions with its legendary wristwatch designs. The manufacturer creates audacious watches that take influence from the aviation world, many infused with a modern twist. The FIYTA Aeronautics watch is a good example of a robust and reliable tool watch. Watches from this collection often feature a Swiss Selita movement, solidifying their reliability. In addition to that, the brand finishes the crisp and legible dial to a high standard, with a day-date function adding balance to a chronograph complication.
CIGA Design
CIGA Design stands for China International Great Art Design, which began in 2016 as a hub of innovation. The group has been collecting awards ever since, with artists collaborating to create unique creations all the time. Its most significant step was in 2021 when it released the Blue Planet Worldtimer watch. Its pebble-shaped case won the GPHG Challenge Watch Prize. If you like unique designs, you’ll be spoilt for choice when perusing CIGA’s expansive catalog. As a relatively new player in the watch world, CIGA is an exciting one to watch. In addition to expanding into Europe and North America, it has also won several Red Dot Awards. If you’re considering buying a CIGA watch, you can trust that these designs are off-the-wall, disruptive, and of high quality.
Atelier Wen
Atelier Wen was slow to get the ball rolling on its designs, having taken since 2018 to create only a handful of models. Still, if nothing else, it represents a thorough and meticulous design process. Its signature dial design is the guilloche effect, which it masterfully perfects. More notably, Atelier Wen is collaborating with some big names in the industry right now, like Seconde/Seconde. It is still enjoying great success with its Porcelain Odyssey, but even more so with its Atelier Wen Perception watch. The brand combines robust steel cases with Chinese architectural influences, which makes it perfect for sports watch fans. The results speak for themselves with solid, reliable designs and astonishing precision.
Behrens
Behrens watches should be on the wrists of more watch enthusiasts than they are, simply because they’re so creative and expressive. Shunning the rules of traditional timekeeping, the brand dares to be different. Its avant-garde designs vary from lightweight rectangular watches to space-inspired monochromatic models. Behrens makes its own movements, too. As a manufacturer, Behrens’s growth is a testament to this brand’s value. In recent years, the company has enjoyed partnerships with various artisans, such as Konstantin Chaykin.
Lin Young Hua
Lin Young Hua is an independent watchmaker which stands for a lot when up against the masses of watch brands in China. He’s also the youngest horological artisan in the country. As a result of his remarkable work in watch design, he is now a member of Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI). One of his most famous creations is the 2016 Vinyl Record Watch, which celebrates the evolution of digital music. His works sit in the upper echelons of watchmaking alongside names like F. P. Journe and Philippe Dufour.
Longio Watches
Longio started as an OEM watchmaker (original equipment manufacturer). This means the company supplied watch parts to other companies, and those companies stamped their names on the dials. Eventually, Longio began making its own watches, and they’re certainly unique. These watches have a character that is innately regional to Hong Kong. One of its specialties is the tourbillon movement, which you can see in action in designs like the Telamon Tourbillon watch.
Tian Wang
Tian Wang is another leader in the horological stratosphere, reaching sales of 2 million each year. It also takes up a good proportion of China’s watch market share and has become somewhat of a dive watch expert. Some of these underwater tools offer staggering water-resistant depths of 2000 and 4000 meters. This makes them incredibly popular with China’s dive watch community and beyond. In fact, some models, like the Bluefin, look profoundly similar to the Omega Seamaster.
Rossini
Rossini has been around since the 1980s and became the only domestic watchmaker to attend Baselworld between 1996 and 2000. Over the years, Rossini has been attracting discerning collectors with its elegant, timeless designs. Many of Rossini’s watches are classic and understated. However, its black titanium-plated quartz watch became one of its most expensive offerings. Other models demonstrate a level of complexity in Rossini’s approach to watchmaking, featuring exposed tourbillons and off-center timekeeping dials.
EBOHR
EBOHR makes elegant women’s dress watches and smart men’s mechanical watches. As an agent of the Asia-Pacific region of Haute Horlogerie, its reputation is one of reliability and value for money. If you want to invest in a budget-friendly Chinese watch, EBOHR is your best bet. The brand even belongs on the list of China’s 500 most valuable brands and has held that position for over a decade.
Which Watch Brand Is Best in China?
Seagull is arguably the most famous name in Chinese watchmaking. It has a solid reputation for crafting reliable and affordable timepieces. Other brands like FIYTA and Rossini garner much respect across the industry, producing aviation-themed watches and dressy quartz models, respectively. Are these the best Chinese watch brands of all? That question is trickier to answer.
Anyone exploring the Chinese market for a watch wants to know the answer to one key question. Which watch brand is best in China? The answer to that all depends on preference. First, decide what style you want in a watch. Then, determine whether brand reputation is more important or uniqueness. Remember, a lesser-known brand doesn’t always constitute uncertainty or unreliability. Vacheron Constantin, for example, makes up one-third of what the industry classifies as the Holy Trinity of Haute Horlogerie. Still, it’s surprising how many people don’t recognize the name.
Deciding what the best Chinese watches are really does boil down to personal taste and what you need in a timepiece. Whether homage watches, vintage-inspired aviation instruments, or rugged sports watches appeal most to you – China has plenty to explore.
Final Thoughts on Chinese Watch Brands
It is time to stop entrenching negative perceptions of Chinese horology. Good Chinese watch brands do exist. And chances are, you owned a watch (or still do) that uses Chinese-manufactured components.
Chinese watch brands face significant hurdles in establishing worldwide recognition because misunderstandings plague them. By that, I mean preconceived ideas like “Chinese products must be of poor quality because they’re relatively cheap.” The crux of the matter is that not all are cheap. Those that are don’t always reflect poor quality, either. Not all will appreciate in value; that much is true. But for Gen Z and millennials looking for an entry point into watch collecting or an alternative to Swiss luxury? My advice would be to try a Chinese watch brand.
Just as the Swiss once did, China strives to foster trust with its overseas clients. The hope is that, in doing so, more consumers will give these brands a chance. Really, if a manufacturer is creating compelling narratives and meeting high standards in manufacturing, there should be no issue.
I think it’s great that we’re seeing younger consumers adopting a more pragmatic approach to watch collecting. But buying a timepiece is not just about making an investment or gauging what profit you’ll eventually make. Sometimes it’s about wearing a watch because you like its story. Chinese watch brands have an excellent opportunity to capture this younger demographic. Craftsmanship over ostentatious design wins every time. And if Chinese watch brands are proving this by leveraging cultural heritage, then I’m here for it.
What’s your opinion? Have you tried any of these Chinese watch brands? How do they compare on the grounds of quality, functionality, and design? We’d love to hear what you think. Leave your comments below, and don’t forget to sign up for The Modest Man Newsletter. It delivers articles just like this one (and more) straight to your inbox.
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