Watchmaking in China

Watchmaking in China

THE WATCH FILES

Watchmaking in China

A 360° watch report on the watch industry in China. From the dawn of Chinese civilisation to the emergence of Chinese millennials, this is a tale about the most important place for watches in the world, outside of Switzerland.

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Report on unrest in Hong Kong

Report on unrest in Hong Kong

DEMONSTRATIONS

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve heard nothing but bad news from the watchmaking metropolis, the historic hub of Swiss watches in Asia. The trade (...)

Pilo & Co: a case study in China

Pilo & Co: a case study in China

PORTRAIT

Active in the challenging segment of affordable Swiss watches – unlike the majority of independent watchmakers, who go for the high end – the brand founded (...)

Introducing the Shanghai Watch Festival

Introducing the Shanghai Watch Festival

CHINA

Organized for its second edition by a group of Chinese collectors, the event will take place over three days in December 2019. It provides watch brands (...)

Surprise! Most people in Hong Kong don't care about watches…

Surprise! Most people in Hong Kong don’t care about watches…

GUEST COLUMN

The founder of the online retail platform for independent watch brands Skolorr, Sky Sit shares with our readers her vision of the industry. This first (...)

Time measurement in imperial China

Time measurement in imperial China

HISTORY

According to legend (even though writing was not invented until 1800 years later), Chinese astronomy is thought to date from the 61st year of Huangdi’s (...)

Farfetch: the online retail giant targets China

Farfetch: the online retail giant targets China

AN INTERVIEW WITH JOSÉ NEVES

Currently the largest online luxury fashion retail platform in the world, Farfetch has been revolutionising the online luxury shopping experience since its (...)

One billion watches produced in China

One billion watches produced in China

FAR EAST TRAVEL JOURNAL

My interlocutor is the honourable Mr Shunhua Zhu (朱舜华), co-founder of the Shenzhen Watch & Clock Fair and a member of the Horologe Association since (...)

Longines, an empire in China

Longines, an empire in China

CASE STUDY

Like a cruise ship, moving forward slowly but surely, the world’s fourth-largest brand - underexposed in the Western media in comparison with its real (...)

China, the horizon brightens

China, the horizon brightens

2017: +19.6%

The watch market of the Far Eastern giant should be worth 10 billion euros by 2020. The rush on China is far from over... Or, rather, the rush of the (...)

Beijing Watch Factory and FIYTA join forces

Beijing Watch Factory and FIYTA join forces

FAR EAST TRAVEL JOURNAL

The “Beijing” and Fiyta signed a partnership agreement in October 2016 that could spawn the very best of Chinese watchmaking. An interview with the new (...)

The rise of the second-hand watch in China

The rise of the second-hand watch in China

FAR EAST TRAVEL JOURNAL

It is hardly surprising to hear that watch auction sales are particularly buoyant at the moment compared with modern watches, when a single vintage watch (...)

China: trying to earn watchmaking credentials

China: trying to earn watchmaking credentials

FAR EAST TRAVEL JOURNAL

Faced with the difficulties of the Swiss luxury manufacturers and their high prices, and encouraged by the new Chinese patriotism, some local companies are (...)

Chinese pride restored

Chinese pride restored

WATCH MARKETS

To understand the China-related upheaval that is affecting the watchmaking microcosm, we need to step backwards a pace to grasp the depth of the reforms (...)

Inside the world's “watchmaking factory”

Inside the world’s “watchmaking factory”

CHINA

It is next to Hong Kong, in Shenzhen, that we traditionally find producers of a very large proportion of the watches and components used in world (...)

The real giants of the Chinese watchmaking industry

The real giants of the Chinese watchmaking industry

FAR EAST TRAVEL JOURNAL

According to the figures of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, mainland China exported more than 652 million wristwatches in 2016! It is by far (...)

The Fat East

The Fat East

EDITORIAL

Today, the Far East is the biggest producer and consumer of watches on the planet. This situation will remain for a long time to come, despite the abrupt (...)

When grafts don't take

When grafts don’t take

EDITORIAL

It’s not the first time an attempt has been made to graft a Chinese organ onto a Swiss watchmaking body but, once again, the graft has been rejected. Or, (...)

The Chinese middle class: six times greater than the population of France

The Chinese middle class: six times greater than the population of France

CHINA

China has a middle-class population of 350 to 400 million people, over six times the population of France. Those earning 120,000 RMB or more are considered (...)

Watch prices: all China's fault?

Watch prices: all China’s fault?

REPORT

We are not going to trot out the figures for China and Hong Kong, who are often accused of being the root cause of the current crisis. It is true that the (...)