When it comes to watches, China is not (necessarily) a bad word. Someone has to say it and I guess it’s going to be me. Have been considering writing on this topic for some time, and this site seems to be the perfect platform.
As you may well appreciate, being in the watch industry has certainly brought the encounter on numerous occasion, both in word and product. And ofttimes the mantra of “China equals bad watches” or something to that effect. It’s a stigma that is no longer necessarily true. I say “necessarily” because as in just about any product category you have to know where to look. You have to know your sources.
I’ll be among the first to say that China earned the very reputation that selected manufacturers there are now working to disprove. For years they did indeed build inferior product. People of course complained but nonetheless were drawn to the mechanical complications that were otherwise priced out reach. Getting accuracy and/or longevity was a crap shoot, to say the least.
But then, oh so quietly in the background, something began to happen. Big brands, brands known as “real watches”, began to consider China, and for similar reason as the consumer/collector before them. Price. Components of their watches could be obtained in Asia for a fraction of the cost of building in Europe. Their retails prices would stay the same but profit margins could be increased, in some cases dramatically so. And after all, who would know?
And so it came to be. The power watch brands wanted the margin and China certainly wanted the business. The issue was that the substandard production of the time could never be justified in a famous watch. So the problem was resolved the only way it could be; China got better at building watch components. A lot better. And this is why it matter to us.
Not that many famous brands contain parts from China, though that is certainly true. It’s that the drive to quality buoyed the Asian watch industry as a whole. Not every factory or source by any means, but there are some today that truly do exquisite work. I’ve personally stood in a factory in mainland China witnessing major brand name watch cases, emblazoned with the famous name in three dimensions, coming off the production line. Not lookalikes (which is still very much an industry in that part of the world); the actual case built to the European specs in high grade steel. After final finishing, cleaning and inspection, they were packaged for shipment to be assembled elsewhere before heading to a high end retail counter near you.
It comes down to this; these high end factories don’t just work for the European brands, and they don’t just build cases. They build a myriad of components for other lesser known brands and even for their own brands. And if you know where to look, it is quite possible to get a watch, especially in the case design and manufacturing, that can rival the European standards and do so for a fraction of the price.
I’m not writing this to imply that Asian production equals the Europeans in every way. A quality Swiss movement for example still out guns it’s counterpart. A Swiss constructed tourbillon still can and does command a price of 50 to 100 times (or more) that of a Chinese. Do I think that a base Swiss movement is superior to an Asian production? As of this writing, you bet I do. Of course, ask me again in a few years and I could well have a different answer.
Which I guess is my point; the Chinese (among others) have gotten much better at building watches. Much much better. And the cost difference, which to say the least is dramatic, in my view more than offsets the remaining quality levels contrasting the two camps. The bottom line is, a Chinese watch can really deliver, and can be very appealing and collectible, all without costing a fortune.
What’s the catch? You have to know your source. Not every factory in China has taken the high road. I’ve been toured through a literal sweatshop. But as I mentioned earlier, I’ve also seen watch labs with clean rooms that rival their European counterparts. In coming blogs I’ll be detailing that, along with brands and took the high road.
I hope you enjoy the series.
So.. another BaselWorld, as it’s known, has come and gone. I thought I would take a moment to report on what I’ve learned so far, and also explain the event a bit for the benefit who may not be familiar with its significance.
The Basel Watch Fair, or BaselWorld, has been hosted by Basel, Switzerland for many a year and is simply put, the single most important gathering of watch enthusiasts, manufacturers, and industry leaders in the world. Nothing else even comes close. This is where all trends start or fizzle, and dreams and innovations are both made and broken.
The show is divided among six halls which vary in size but several are the equivalent of a medium size sports arena, and are spread over several city blocks. Opulence is the name of the game in Hall 1 (known as the Hall of Dreams) where Patek’s booth (”booth” in this Hall equates to two and three level buildings) is a scaled down version of the MOMA museum with the front area built of Lalique crystal, Tag Heuer’s is a three story black iceberg, and Breitling suspends a 27 ton fish tank in midair, among many other showcases. Other halls will contain less high profile brands, accessories, boutique luxury brands, OEM manufacturers, manufacturers providing the gear used to make watches and components, etc.
You cannot see the entire show in a day; you cannot see it in two. I have always spent the better part of a week when I have attended and still would never claim to have seen everything. I have attended 9 of the last 11 (for the record I have missed this years and the year of the SARS issue) and the knowledge and insight gleaned from the experience is invaluable. Getting to meet, interview, and even take instruction from some of the finest watchmakers in the world is surely a treat for any watch guy. Having missed this year (the first in years), am especially grateful to have attended nine of the previous ten. I can’t imagine how far out of the loop of real and credible info someone in the industry would be having missed two or even three years running. Reading reports is nice, but obviously there is nothing like being there.
That stated, having yes, missed this years myself, I am going to give what insight I can based on talking extensively to trusted colleagues who did attend, either as a journalist, exhibitor, or buyer, not to mention fan.
The overview seems to be this; attendance was definitely down, as was exhibiting. Not in the big power halls, such as One, or the boutique high end brands, but definitely so in the more mainstream brands. Many companies that I work with and know either curtailed their visit, or eliminated it. The reason of course is the current economy. It was noted at the show that US attendees at the show were down dramatically, though attendance was definitely down from around the world.
Almost in anticipation of this, multiple sources tell me that innovation, specifically investment in such, was held back, at least at the relatively affordable level, though there were definitely some nice mechanical releases unveiled. Once you crossed the line into the “recession proof” ultra high end the story was apparently a bit different, though as yet I’ve yet to hear of a must see star achievement of the show being named.
It is interesting to compare BaselWorld to the Geneva show. Geneva hosts a lesser known but exclusive show that coincides with Basel, a show made up of mid-level (for the most part) luxury brands that for whatever reason prefer the Geneva venue over Basel. There the traffic was down even more, which am told is attributed to the price range of 5000-20000 dollar retail being the predominant spread for Geneva participants.
So… what does all this mean? In a nutshell, it means change. It means that the industry at large with have to move and adapt. I’ll blog more on that at a future date. In the meantime, I trust this gives you at least a bit of insight into the 2009 show, and as always, I thank you for visiting!
Tim
