China my China (experience collecting Chinese watches)

I recently did something that for many collectors would seem to be old hat, something not to be noted. I placed my PayPal information into AliExpress and had an inexpensive Chinese homage watch shipped to me. I have been reticent to use the AliExpress platform because I only have so much money and time to lose and I am naturally risk adverse. (Note: I primarily collect vintage watches where the success rate on purchases is never 100%. I guess that it is the risk I know versus the great unknown.) I have bought Chinese watches from eBay sellers in China and bought modern watches directly from companies, and that is not counting “Swiss” companies that appear to operate out of Hong Kong.

What sort of homage watch? Well, we will get to that. My opinion on homage watches has hardened in recent years. I don’t want a San Martin that superficially looks like an Omega. I am not chasing the experience of wearing a Submariner at a fraction of the cost. I am not trying to “kill the mood” of any one else’s collecting experience, it is just a personal preference. I just like watches that look like what they are, whatever that is. Copying design elements, or whole designs, is a very old phenomenon in the watch industry. There are a lot of watches that look like Rolex Day-Dates from a distance except that they bear the names of Bulova, Rado, Ricoh, or any other number of brands. I don’t hold it against the Chinese industry that they produce many “inspired by” designs as long as their logo is on the product.

I began to become interested in the Chinese watch industry after reading the adventures of Ron Good at his website for the Alberta Museum of Chinese Horology at Peace River (AMCHPR). I had explored the Soviet watch industry and those of several Eastern European countries. I was fascinated by proletariat watches produced in economic systems where “luxury” was not goal and could not have been achieved even if it was. At various times I have owned Raketa, Chaika, Slava, Zim, Svet, Zvezda, Vostok, Poljot, Pobeda, Neva, Sport, Mayak, Prim, and Ruhla watches. And I have kept my eye out for some of the more obscure brands like Blonie. I focused on DongFeng, a brand that transitioned from being manufactured for the domestic market into one that could be exported like the Soviets did with Cardinal and Seconda. The problem with DongFeng was the name. Mao was not popular in most of the world for reasons that really do not need explanation, and the watch was named after one of his aphorisms that proclaimed the eventual victory of Communism. The name was changed to the less ideological “Sea-Gull”. Problem solved. I acquired an early 1970’s DongFeng. It is one of my favorite watches. It appears that its designers leaned into the late 1960’s Seiko design language. So, only the movement is an original Chinese creation, but it scratches that vintage Seiko itch and it definitely not a Seiko.

I then acquired a Merkur after seeing wrist shots. I am always up for a bargain and that’s what the Merkur seemed to be. I ordered directly from the company. It took nearly two months to get the watch. That was 2022, hopefully the logistics have improved. I really liked the watch, still do. Unfortunately, something has happened to the crystal. It has become slightly opaque, slightly cloudy, not clear. It really ruins the wearing experience. It is so much sharper in my early pictures. I may have my watch maker change the crystal, but it seems like a foolish investment on a watch at the inexpensive end of the spectrum. My next Merkur, a lovely salmon dial, had no such issue. If Merkur is homaging anything in most of its range, it is vintage Chinese watches. They are unabashedly Chinese.

(Clouds…)

The same year (2022 was a big year apparently) I bought a Phoibos Voyager from Long Island Watch. Jody at Just One More Watch had reviewed one. I “needed” a diver and I “needed” a red dial. I was “influenced.” And I don’t regret it. Sure, it is just a pretty package wrapping an NH35, but I have had no issues. I really don’t wear divers regularly, but when I do…there it is, perfect. I like that Phoibos transitioned from Submariner homages to something of their own that is instantly recognizable as Phoibos. I even like the logo.

Last year I decided to purchase a Sea-Gull 1963 manual chronograph. I wore it without issue four times. The movement failed on the fifth time. Maybe it can be saved. I refuse to spend a lot to try. My watch maker has two chronographs to fix for me, on only one am I willing to spend real money. I will report back with results. It is a shame because it really is a pretty watch in a vintage style.

Which brings me to my new Chinese homage watch. From the time that I ordered it (late at night with my wife asleep) to when it was delivered (with my wife at work) was only eight days. Modern commerce is really amazing, from the East coast of Asia to the East Coast of North America in only eight days. For this transaction AliExpress has passed the test. The package was not much to look at but it delivered the cargo unharmed. No fancy boxes or warrantees. It came on a stiff black strap and had a black NATO as an alternative. I have enough straps to find something comfortable.

In vintage Chinese watches it became fashionable to put a small red glass crystal on the second hand in the 1970’s. Often one can find this feature on Swiss watches that have been repaired in China. In many places functionality was more important than originality when repairs needed to be made. This was more true in closed economies. I wouldn’t buy an Omega with a red crystal on the second hand, but I would buy a Chinese brand. Also, “rocket” (or “airplane”) second hands became popular in the 1970’s. They are most often found on Hongqi watches and probably originated there. Vintage Hongqi watch prices have gone through the roof recently. I think that the Chinese market is beginning to appreciate its own history. I wish that I had bought one five years ago. I have always wanted a red crystal “rocket” hand.

In the 1970’s the Shanghai watch brand put out pressed dials with a peacock motif. I have nearly bought one on several occasions and chickened out. I never felt confident that what was for sale was original or original enough. Then they became scarce, like Hongqi. So, when I found a peacock dial with a rocket hand at a low price in a modern watch the risk seemed to be worth taking. It also comes with the unnecessary feature of a display case back to showcase the skeletonized Chinese Standard Movement.

This watch is homaging the early years of the Chinese watch industry. And I am here for that. It is cheap and cheerful. I don’t know how long I will get to enjoy it. It may implode like my Sea-Gull 1963. This Tianjin, if it really is that, will likely engender additional risky purchases in the future. The Chinese watch industry is coming into its own at all price points.

I got into collecting to explore the fossilized American watch industry. I have explored the Swiss, Japanese, and Soviet industries with a small sojourn into HMT. Nothing about the rise of the Chinese industry should feel new or threatening if you look at the long history of the watch industry. In fact, the Chinese may have already peaked without knowing it. Luxury demand has cratered in China and is uneven in the rest of the world. We seem to be in another era of consolidation, so stockpile Zenith and Baume and Mercier while you can. In every country over time the watch industry seems to be healthiest just before a major decline. It is the reverse of “darkest before the dawn.” In the meantime, I will enjoy a peacock dial with a rocket second hand.