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A lot of the world’s watches are made in China. Many brands will try to hide that they are actually making a watch in China since it has a stigma of cheap labor and poor quality parts attached to it. Whilst some of this stigma is certainly true, a lot has changed since China first became the worlds leading manufacturer.
Nowadays, there are a lot of pure Chinese watch brands which come straight out of the world’s factory. If you think purely in terms of watches made in China – you are casting your net far too wide. China is not a country like Switzerland where a certain level of quality is guaranteed. In fact, even amongst Swiss brands, there are vast differences in quality. A Patek Philippe perpetual calendar movement is a lot more expensive and complicated than a Ronda quartz.
There isn’t quite the same disparity with Chinese-made watches since there aren’t really many Chinese luxury watch brands. However, there still are big differences regarding quality and craftsmanship from brand to brand. Not every factory in China is the same, different movements are better than others and some brands can be relied upon to do a good job – whereas others cannot.
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The Evolution Of Chinese Watches
Watches in China have been around since the 15th century. Whilst China did not make any watches until the mid 1900s, traders found their way into the cities of China from Japan, which already had long-standing trade agreements with continental Europe.
In 1955, the Chinese government commissioned the first Chinese mechanical watch. Soon after this, the country set up several factories in order to mass produce mechanical watches which could be sold domestically, as well as to wealthier countries such as Japan. However, the quartz crisis hit the country hard. Just as the Chinese watchmaking industry was getting off the ground, Japan now had a new method to mass-produce cheap watches and leave the Chinese in the dark. Quartz technology was innovative, new, and disruptive. China simply could not compete with this level of production at the time.
Fast forward to present day and China makes the most watches in the world. Whilst Japan is still making quartz movements (for now), most fashion brands have their watches assembled in China.
This has also led to many Chinese watch companies emerging to make timepieces that sail very close to the wind of copyright infringement. These watches are homages to very popular Swiss brands such as Omega and Rolex.
With that being said, China has also had some positive effects on the watch industry. Even just 10 years ago, you would not have been able to buy a flying tourbillon unless you were a millionaire. China has got the cost of this watch down to around $1000, which is still a lot of money, but far cheaper than it has ever cost before.
Does China Make Good Quality Watches?
This varies from brand to brand. Some companies make terrible watches (these usually go broke eventually), whereas others make luxury brands. There is a massive difference between Parnis and Memorigin. One Chinese brand sells watches for $70, whereas the other sells watches for $7000.
Really if you are considering buying a Chinese watch, you have to do your own homework on the brand. This includes checking things such as whether the glass is mineral or sapphire crystal, what materials the watch is made from, and what movement is used. Each of these things has a gigantic effect on whether a watch good quality and good value for money.
How Long Do Chinese Watches Last?
This all depends on what movement is used. Real Sea-Gull movements (yes, sadly even these are faked sometimes in China) last for decades provided you look after them. You also don’t really have to worry about Chinese watches that use Japanese quartz movements, since we already know these also last for decades.
The only real worries you should have when buying a Chinese watch are the quality of craftsmanship and also steer clear of Chinese quartz, or unbranded mechanical movements. Some of these will be fine, but it’s simply too hit or miss to know what you are getting.
The Best Chinese Watches By Brand
Sea-Gull
One of the most reputable Chinese watch brands is Sea-Gull. This company is responsible for making the majority of mechanical movements within China and does not bow to fashion trends. As you can see, they mostly follow a classical vintage design scheme and of course, use their own mechanical movements – which is always a bonus.
A producer of entry level automatic watches, Sea-Gull is best compared to Japanese brands Seiko & Citizen. All of these companies manufacture their own movements and make very inexpensive automatic watches which are great value for money. They certainly aren’t a luxury brand but are a legitimate watchmaker with decades of experience.
Parnis
As you can see, Parnis is a Chinese watch brand that is able to make great looking watches, at least from Rolex-inspired designs. Much like many other Chinese watch manufacturers, Parnis specializes in making cheap alternatives of classic models such as the Daytona.
Critics of the brand will mention that Parnis does not have any particularly outstanding movements, its watches are cheaply made and that it has no originality. This is pretty much the case for a lot of Chinese brands that make look-alike alternatives. You are mostly just paying a cheap price to get something which you wouldn’t have been able to afford – had there been no alternative available.
Pagani
Pagani is a brand also known for making homage watches that are very close (visually at least) to top Swiss brands. You may be fooled into thinking this is a Chinese divers watch, again – which is it visually. But as a general rule, I wouldn’t recommend any Chinese brands for dive watches, just in case they fail on you.
In terms of value for money though, Pagani is yet another Chinese watch company that delivers very cheap alternatives to watches that are getting harder and harder to buy. They are very simple internally and use Japanese quartz movements, but on the outside look very similar to their Swiss counterparts.
Benyar
Benyar is an ideal brand if you want a fashionable watch at a very affordable price. As this brand doesn’t have much history and is based directly in China, they are considerably cheaper than other fashion designers such as Hugo Boss or Tommy Hilfiger. There is nothing remarkable about the quality of Benyar watches, as they use the same Japanese Miyota movements that rival fashion brands do.
Not only this, but they offer a very large variety of styles, colors and designs, meaning there is something everyone will like. The key selling point of Benyar is the price. Typically you will find Benyar quartz models costing less than $50, whereas the automatic pieces sell for around $100.
Shanghai Watch Company – Keyword
The Shanghai watch company is one of the oldest watchmakers in China having manufactured watches for around 60 years. As the company has a lot of history within the nation, they stick to a very vintage style from when they first started producing watches.
Shanghai watches generally have a style that you’re going to either love or hate. If you’re into modern watches then this certainly isn’t the brand for you. The Shanghai brand should also be given some credit for their own movements and helping develop and drive down the costs of complications such as the tourbillon by producing it in China.
Fiyta
Practically still unknown outside of China, Fiyta is one of the most recognizable domestic watch brands. Their association with the Olympics and space has helped propel the brand to the front of the Chinese market in a similar way Omega did in the USA during the 1960s.
Fiyta also has a legitimate claim to fame as being the first watch to be used during a spacewalk. Overall, their watches are very well designed and they certainly aren’t a Chinese brand that has become famous through simply copying other company’s designs.
Corgeut
Corgeut is one of the most unoriginal Chinese watch brands you can find. Literally, every design within their range has been copied from a Swiss luxury watch. This includes brands such as Tudor (black bay pictured), Blancpain, Omega, and Patek Philippe. Whilst the quality of the watches Corgeut builds is nowhere near the standard of their Swiss rivals, the designs are very similar. In fairness though, they do make legitimate Chinese automatic watches.
Overall, Corgeut watches are fantastic value for money and use solid mechanical movements. The dials of their watches make some eyebrow-raising claims such as being chronometer standard and claiming water resistance that seems unlikely at best. However, if you’re looking for something cheap that looks like a luxury level brand, Corgeut are a good choice.
Reef Tiger
Reef Tiger is a Chinese brand with a very questionable history – claiming to have been founded in Switzerland in the late 1800s. Whilst there is no doubt that this brand is guilty of stretching the truth, they do get the most out of Chinese watch movements by making some very unique watches.
Perhaps the closest non-Chinese brand Reef Tiger can be compared with is Invicta. Reef Tiger makes very oversized, flamboyant, and crazy watches. These kinds of models are similar to ones you will see released by the likes of Graham and Hublot. Of course, Reef Tiger watches are once again no near the standard or luxury brands, but they do offer decent quality for a very affordable price.
Memorigin
Memorigin is a Chinese watch brand that has been caught between a rock and a hard place. This is one of the only Chinese luxury watch brands and produces some very high specification watches with a variety of extravagant complications. Even so, they are left with the stigma of being made in China and therefore unfairly tarred with the same brush.
In fairness, when people are buying luxury watches, they want exactly that. These kinds of customers do not usually want to take chances with foreign and unknown timepieces, despite Memorigin being well up there with the best Chinese automatic watches. In fact, Memorigin tourbillon watches beat at a higher frequency than Patek Philippe. Whether this makes the movement more accurate or reliable is open to interpretation, however, it does show you the standard to which they are built.
