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.
