AMCHPR: vintage and modern Chinese watches and clocks
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  • CHINA TRAVELS
    • Click HERE for detailed itineraries
    • 2019 >
      • 2019 June 7 - Luoyang with Mr. Li
      • Fuxi Mountain Glass Bridge 06/08/19
      • June 9-13 in Fenghuang, Hunan
      • Shanghai 06/16 Shanghai Watch Factory
      • AMCHPR 06/18 w/Guo Ming (AHCI) and A.J.
      • Shenzhen CWCF2019 w RedStar Watches
    • 2018 >
      • Trip 5 - April 10/11 2018 Guangzhou
      • Trip 5 - April 12/13 2018 Shenzhen
      • Trip 5 - April 13/14 2018 Guangzhou
      • Trip 5 - April 15 2018 Guangzhou to Xian
      • Trip 5 - April 16 2018 Xian/Terracotta
      • Trip 5 - April 16 2018 Xinmi after Xian
      • Trip 5 - April 17 2018 Xinmi last day
      • Trip 5 - April 18-19 2018 Shanghai 1
      • Trip 5 - April 21 2018 Shanghai/Suzhou
      • Trip 5 - April 23 2018 Part 2 Shandong Liaocheng Zhong Tai Watch
      • Trip 5 - April 22/24 2018 Pt 1 Shandong Langelo Clocks
      • Trip 5 - April 25th 2018 Jinan Day 1
    • 2018 Part 2 >
      • Trip 5 - April 26th 2018 Jinan Day 2
      • Trip 5 - Sunday, May 6 2018 Beijing
    • 2015 >
      • TRIP 4 2015 PART I - SHENZHEN AND CWCF
      • TRIP 4 2015 - PART II: GUILIN/YAO MTN
      • Trip 4 2015 - Part II : Guilin/Yangshuo
      • Trip 4 2015 - Part III : Xinmi
      • Trip 4 2015 - Part IV : Xinmi and Luoyang
    • 2014 >
      • Beijing June 8/9 2014
      • Beijing June 10th
      • Yantai June 11/12
      • Yantai June 13
      • Shijiazhuang June 14
      • Shanghai June 18-21
      • Guangzhou June 22-23
      • Guangzhou/Zhuhai June 24
      • Guangzhou 5 Goat more June 25
      • 25th CWCF 2014 June 26
      • More CWCF - June 27-29
      • CWCF Social Activities June 26-29
      • Beijing July 1-5
    • 2013 >
      • Shanghai Apr. 3-7
      • Luoyang, Longmen, Zhengzhou Apr 8-13
      • Shijiazhuang w/Ma Rong Apr. 14-19
      • Tianjin Sea-Gull WF - Apr. 20-23
      • Beijing Lishi & Great Wall April 24-28
    • 2011 (First Visit) >
      • I Beijing
      • 2 Beijing w/Joel Chan
      • 3 Panjiayuan & more
      • 4 Shijiazhuang
      • 5 Whipping Top
      • 6 To Cangyanshan
      • 7 At Cangyanshan
      • 8 Shijiazhuang 2
      • 9 To Tianjin
      • 10 Tianjin Day/Dusk
      • 11 Tianjin at night
      • 12 Sea-Gull Watch Factory
      • 14 Beijing to home
      • 13 More Beijing
      • 15 - Extra Shots/notes
  • Curator: Ron Good
  • East Watch Review
  • TERMS/TRANSLATIONS
  • Acknowledgements
  • PEACE RIVER
  • ARTICLES
  • Atelier Wen Porcelain Odyssey "Hao" visits the AMCHPR
  • Ben Chee Celadon Imperial 100
  • AMCHPR Travel Tips
    • AviatorUSA Travel Jeans Review
    • Travel Vests
  • Watch Photography Resources
  • Additional Resources
  • HOME
  • EXHIBITS
    • Chinese Watches
    • Clocks
    • Ephemera
    • Parts and Tools
    • Non-Chinese Watches
    • Other Exhibits
    • Wrist Shots
    • Facebook Cover Photos
    • AMCHPR Desktop Backgrounds
  • CHINA TRAVELS
    • Click HERE for detailed itineraries
    • 2019 >
      • 2019 June 7 - Luoyang with Mr. Li
      • Fuxi Mountain Glass Bridge 06/08/19
      • June 9-13 in Fenghuang, Hunan
      • Shanghai 06/16 Shanghai Watch Factory
      • AMCHPR 06/18 w/Guo Ming (AHCI) and A.J.
      • Shenzhen CWCF2019 w RedStar Watches
    • 2018 >
      • Trip 5 - April 10/11 2018 Guangzhou
      • Trip 5 - April 12/13 2018 Shenzhen
      • Trip 5 - April 13/14 2018 Guangzhou
      • Trip 5 - April 15 2018 Guangzhou to Xian
      • Trip 5 - April 16 2018 Xian/Terracotta
      • Trip 5 - April 16 2018 Xinmi after Xian
      • Trip 5 - April 17 2018 Xinmi last day
      • Trip 5 - April 18-19 2018 Shanghai 1
      • Trip 5 - April 21 2018 Shanghai/Suzhou
      • Trip 5 - April 23 2018 Part 2 Shandong Liaocheng Zhong Tai Watch
      • Trip 5 - April 22/24 2018 Pt 1 Shandong Langelo Clocks
      • Trip 5 - April 25th 2018 Jinan Day 1
    • 2018 Part 2 >
      • Trip 5 - April 26th 2018 Jinan Day 2
      • Trip 5 - Sunday, May 6 2018 Beijing
    • 2015 >
      • TRIP 4 2015 PART I - SHENZHEN AND CWCF
      • TRIP 4 2015 - PART II: GUILIN/YAO MTN
      • Trip 4 2015 - Part II : Guilin/Yangshuo
      • Trip 4 2015 - Part III : Xinmi
      • Trip 4 2015 - Part IV : Xinmi and Luoyang
    • 2014 >
      • Beijing June 8/9 2014
      • Beijing June 10th
      • Yantai June 11/12
      • Yantai June 13
      • Shijiazhuang June 14
      • Shanghai June 18-21
      • Guangzhou June 22-23
      • Guangzhou/Zhuhai June 24
      • Guangzhou 5 Goat more June 25
      • 25th CWCF 2014 June 26
      • More CWCF - June 27-29
      • CWCF Social Activities June 26-29
      • Beijing July 1-5
    • 2013 >
      • Shanghai Apr. 3-7
      • Luoyang, Longmen, Zhengzhou Apr 8-13
      • Shijiazhuang w/Ma Rong Apr. 14-19
      • Tianjin Sea-Gull WF - Apr. 20-23
      • Beijing Lishi & Great Wall April 24-28
    • 2011 (First Visit) >
      • I Beijing
      • 2 Beijing w/Joel Chan
      • 3 Panjiayuan & more
      • 4 Shijiazhuang
      • 5 Whipping Top
      • 6 To Cangyanshan
      • 7 At Cangyanshan
      • 8 Shijiazhuang 2
      • 9 To Tianjin
      • 10 Tianjin Day/Dusk
      • 11 Tianjin at night
      • 12 Sea-Gull Watch Factory
      • 14 Beijing to home
      • 13 More Beijing
      • 15 - Extra Shots/notes
  • Curator: Ron Good
  • East Watch Review
  • TERMS/TRANSLATIONS
  • Acknowledgements
  • PEACE RIVER
  • ARTICLES
  • Atelier Wen Porcelain Odyssey "Hao" visits the AMCHPR
  • Ben Chee Celadon Imperial 100
  • AMCHPR Travel Tips
    • AviatorUSA Travel Jeans Review
    • Travel Vests
  • Watch Photography Resources
  • Additional Resources

Ron Good and The AMCHPR in the Financial Times

1/22/2017

0 Comments

 
Writer Marcello Di Cintio visited the AMCHPR for the Financial Times.

Click  here or the photo to read the article.

Big thanks to The Financial Times, Marcello Di Cintio, and photographer Lori Day.
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0 Comments

Jiusko in Shenzhen & the Jiusko 153LS0107 Tourbillon

8/25/2015

 
Before arriving in Shenzhen for the 26th Annual Shenzhen China Watch and Clock Fair/CWCF, I had arranged to meet Mr. Moshe Gluck, the AD for JIUSKO in the USA  as we'd spoken and texted many times, but never met face-to-face. So...this photo of Moshe and me was taken at the JIUSKO booth by JIUSKO staff while we were both attending the CWCF ;-)
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Here's another of the friendly crew at the JIUSKO booth in Shenzhen: Hong Zheng, Moshe, me, and Joan and The Mannequins.
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It was a treat to meet Moshe, and to discuss the business and industry while visiting the show. The hospitality for us all at the Jiusko booth was terrific and my thanks to Hong Zheng and Joan of JIUSKO!

Full disclosure: While at the Shenzhen fair, the Glucks very generously offered me a birthday present, and it doesn't near convey my appreciation to tell you all I'm much more than grateful. As you're about to see, this was an astonishingly kind gesture on their part.

On to the gift: the JIUSKO 153LS0107 tourbillon watch...housing a Hongzhou 3335 tourbillon movement including the presentation box and certificate from the Gem Testing Center of All-China Federation of Commerce. The watch will be a cherished addition to the AMCHPR collection.

(This link goes to the ChineseWatchWiki article on Chinese Tourbillons, which provides more details on the various types of tourbillon movements.)
Jiusko 153LS0107
Jiusko 153LS0107
Jiusko 153LS0107
Jiusko 153LS0107


Here's the specs as listed on the Amazon website:
  • Part Number     153LS0107
  • Item Shape     Round
  • Dial window material type     Anti Reflective Sapphire
  • Display Type     Analog
  • Clasp     Stainless Steel Deployment Butterfly Buckle
  • Case material     Stainless Steel, Screw down caseback
  • Case diameter     42.5 millimeters
  • Case Thickness     12.5
  • Band Material     Genuine Alligator Leather
  • Band length     Men's Standard
  • Band width     22 millimeters
  • Band Color     Brown
  • Dial color     Silver
  • Bezel material     Stainless Steel
  • Bezel function     Stationary
  • Movement Mechanical Self-Wind (Hongzhou 3335)
  • Water resistant depth 100 Meters

It's a very eye-catching watch, comfortable on the wrist, and the whole feel is very solid. It appears to be keeping very accurate time to my eyes, although I haven't  formally timed it.

I won't be playing tennis wearing it because tourbillons are complicated movements and somewhat more prone to shock damage than standard mechanical watches but especially for after work, social, and  up to more formal occasions, this will be a  wonderful conversation-starter for watch lovers and just a very cool complication to own.

As I noted, earlier, I'm  extremely grateful to my friends, Moshe and Shannah at JIUSKO. I continue to count myself as one of the truly most fortunate people on this planet.
The video shows the tourbillon movement in action.
Tourbillon watches built outside of China are usually (as in almost always) prohibitively expensive ($30K and well up) and highly sought after by many seasoned high-end collectors, which is why it was a huge shock to the horological world when China began producing true tourbillon watches that -- although still not inexpensive  -- were much more affordable than their European counterparts, allowing sophisticated watch lovers with smaller budgets a chance to own a complication that, until relatively recently, was only available to the very well-off. 

The JIUSKO 153LS0107 is an eye-pleasing, well-built, more affordable way to more enjoy this very entertaining high-end complication.

Meeting with Mr. Xu ChuangYue: Fiyta Deputy Manager

8/22/2015

 
Deputy General Manager Mr. Xu ChuangYue (徐创越) is a very cordial, very focused individual, and I was pleased to be provided a chance to meet and talk with him while attending the China Watch and Clock Fair, June 25th/2015. The meeting followed a noon lunch and watch inspired fashion and information show, hosted by Fiyta and Fiyta's General Manager Mr. Du Xi:
Fiyta used the occasion of the show to introduce Mr. Xu as the executive in charge of liaison with Beijing Watch Factory  (北京手表厂) collaboration of Fiyta (and Tencent Securities) with BWAF, announced to the western world on the WatchuSeek Watch Forum, courtesy information received through my CHA mentor, Mr. Li Wei, on June 7th of 2015.

Mr. Xu explained again that this was a formal collaboration/joint venture, with both companies joining/investing in a common project: North-Watch Industry ( Beijing) Limited, and gaining strategic benefit from the expertise of the other company: specifically Beijing's long-term history and expertise in movement production, coupled with Fiyta's own technical expertise and expertise in foreign as well as domestic  logistics, distribution and marketing.
Mr. Xu ChuangYue
Fiyta's Mr. Xu ChuangYue in discussion with Ron Good, Curator: AMCHPR (photo courtesy Mr. Li Wei/CHA)
The specifics of the agreement, as Google translated from the initial message from Li Wei are:

"@Ron Good: News eleven FIYTA a joint venture with the Beijing Watch Factory Watch Company Tencent securities 2015-06-05 20:04:00: FIYTA A (000026) June 5 evening announcement, in key areas to enhance the company's core competencies parts, the Board of Directors authorized the management and the Beijing Watch Factory Co., Ltd. signed a framework agreement to jointly invest in the establishment of North-table industry ( Beijing) Limited. Under the agreement, Beijing Watch Factory agreed to watch movement components and manufacturing operations, "Beijing" and "Shining" brand and related business team and other resources, the establishment of a separate north-table industry company, which holds the North exemplar companies 100% of the shares. After the separation is completed, the company intends to cash 80 million yuan (including 51 million yuan as registered capital of the target company) north exemplar investment companies, investment shares after the company accounted for 51% of the shares of North exemplar companies, Beijing Watch Factory accounted North exemplar 49% stake in the industry."

Mr. XuDi stated the day the collaboration was announced (translated): 
"
Our bilateral cooperation has many meanings. First, FIYTA, to cooperate with the North watch factory after FIYTA full manufacturing capacity will be time to add in the future we will have a production movement, which can directly enhance the core competitiveness of FIYTA enhance industry strength . For North watch factory, with FIYTA in marketing, channel, and many other advantages, the North watch factory own movement manufacturing level and brand development must also be improved. ”
Fiyta is strongly placing itself in the active wear watch market, and supports many athletic and fitness activities. Later in the evening, Fiyta invited (and transported) many guests to a group fitness run along Shenzhen's shoreline, a great end to an informative and fun day.

I'm eagerly waiting to see the concrete results of this exciting development.
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Watch photography hints

8/19/2015

 

The Art and Colour of Vintage Watch Dials

8/19/2015

 

The 26th Annual China Watch & Clock Fair/CWCF                        Shenzhen, June 25-28/2015

8/19/2015

 
It was my very good fortune to be able to attend the 26th Annual China Watch and Clock Fair in Shenzhen, China,  between June 26th and June 28th this year.

As with last year, I was honoured to be guided by my horological mentor in China, and now my good friend, Mr. Li Wei, the Group Leader of the Domestic Horologe Department of the China Horologe Association .

Mr. Li's fond nickname in China horological circles is "The Teacher" and he is widely recognized as a leading researcher and comprehensive authority on the Chinese watch and clock industry. I'll note here that his assistance to the AMCHPR over the past few years has been immense.

From: http://www.baselworld.com/de-CH/CatalogueAndBooks/ECatalogue.aspx?me=125247:

"The Shenzhen Watch & Clock Association is the legal agent of BASELWORLD and Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair in China Mainland. We are organizer of China Watch & Clock Fair which is the third largest international trade fair for the industry in the world. We assist overseas watch brands to develop Chinese market and do the media promotion with the support of MOMENT magazine and Moment Media. We offer watch & clock quality test and training as well."  

The largest  clock and watch fair in China, the China Watch and Clock Fair is the 3rd largest watch show in the world after Basel and Hong Kong, and it's the show with the strongest focus on the domestic Chinese horologe industry. It's a 45,000 sq. meter Chinese watch and clock heaven.

This year's attendance was roughly 60,000 visitors (and an additional 50,000 buyers) from around the world. Approximately 400 companies exhibited 600 brands, mostly from China although France, Germany, Russia and Switzerland all had exhibitor companies as well.
li Wei and Zhang Zhao Ji
Mr. Li Wei (left/stage right) of the China Horologe Association, seen here with Mr. Zhang Zhao Ji, Company President of the Polaris/Beijixing Watch and Clock Factory in Yantai.
The first event of the CWCF 2015 actually took place on the 24th/June: the 13th Annual China Watch & Clock Summit Forum. A select audience of about 100 people heard presentations and discussions that included industry notables like:
  • Mr. Ren Xingzhou Director, Development Research Center of the State
  • Ms. Zhou Qunfei, Blue Synopsys Co. founder (in 2015 China's richest woman)
  • Ms. Wang Minyan,  Deputy Director of China's Ministry of Consumers ,
  • Professor Lang Xianping, noted Economist
  • Mr. Zhang Xialing, China Watch Association Honorary President
  • Mr. Du Zijian, a prominent Chinese microblogging marketer, nicknamed: "The Godfather", 
:Simultaneous translation was provided and discussion at the forum covered brand building strategies; marketing and economic trends; and with a strong focus on adapting to better take part in the "smart" wearable device market as well as the market for more traditional products.

The next morning, the 25th/June, the CWCF Fair opened the main gates to the expected more than 1000,000 visitors, with the fair housed over two buildings in the huge Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center complex.

The main building primarily housed brands with finished watches and clocks, and the second building focused mostly on support industries: machining, dial, case, movements and parts manufacturers, CNC machine developers, leather and metal bracelet/strap manufacturers, periodicals, tools and the like, although there was some crossover...and enough that both sections were well worth exploring across the board.

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The slideshow below contains 65 photos and informative captions covering a broad range of exhibitors at the Shenzhen CWCF 2015, as well as a few casual shots taken with industry notables and friends in Shenzhen.

The next slideshow starts with Shenzhen's beautiful Dameisha Beach Scenic Area where I was fortunate to spend an overnight at the Sheraton Dameisha Resort, then other areas of Shenzhen, both older and newer, and ends with...Chinese domestic watch eye candy.

"Watch Collection"
Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport

When I was leaving Shenzhen for Guilin, I stopped at the "Watch Collection" store at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport. I was greeted by two friendly and knowledgeable store employees, and the single best all-in-one-place store for quality modern Chinese watches I'd seen in China. (Most other stores I'd seen carried only one brand of domestic watch, sometimes alone and sometimes along other Chinese or non-domestic watches.)

Of course, the store carried well-known non-Chinese watches too, but the home selection was prominent, and wide-ranging across top Chinese brands, especiallly Beijing, Sea-Gull and Shanghai.

Everything about the store and the staff conveyed confidence that the domestic product could compete successfully with foreign competition. I really enjoyed seeing that.

If you ever visit that airport, I recommend a visit.

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Why Do I Collect Vintage Chinese Watches?

8/19/2015

 
In watch collecting, the realms of...

  • country or company first issues
  • prototypes and trial pieces,
  • watch company internal limited promotional or award editions,
  • historically issued military pieces,
  • high jewel,
  • “fully in-house” decorated movements and watches, and especially…
  • being able to own a lineage of a historic company’s in-house movements

…are often unaffordable or even just unavailable due to scarcity to most collectors (me, for example)

But with Chinese and especially Chinese vintage watches, every category listed above can still be affordably explored, most of the time at under $100-200 per piece (actually, often still well under $100 CDN) and the available vintage Chinese mechanical watches – beside meeting the above criteria – are cosmetically and mechanically sound, attractive, reliable and capable of excellent, sometimes even chronometer like, accuracy.

Besides all this, of course, many of the current and vintage designs from the Chinese watch factories are just plain cool. :-)

From a historical point of view, in just over 60 years China has gone from putting a half dozen watchmakers in one single room to a situation where just a single one of its many companies now supplies a full one-quarter of the world’s mechanical and automatic movements, on its own.

From a collector’s point of view, or at least “me”, it’s my opinion/impression that prices for vintage Chinese watches on Ebay and on Taobao have gone up by maybe 35% over the time I’ve been collecting, and the supply of a number of pieces is getting scarce. But I still think examples of much of the good stuff are around and available – and well worth having if you’re on a budget but you still want to have historically significant pieces. After all, it’s highly unlikely the Chinese are going to just fade away out of the watch business.

Anyways, just sayin…

And because “a post is worthless without pix”,  here’s an example or two from a few categories from the AMCH/PR (except for “in house movements” because many vintage Chinese watches have in house movements…that is: movements built by the manufacturer of the watch itself, and the watches below are no exception):

Shanghai A-581 (Shanghai’s first generally issued watch model, circa 1956—1965). Available to careful purchasers for around $300 CDN…but be careful, hybrid or “franken” pieces are common.

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A historically industry milestone
:

1960s DongFeng ST5…the very first 100% Chinese designed and built wristwatch (19 jewels, including jewels for the mainspring barrel)…pristine: $180, but excellent only around $40/$50 CDN: (Dongfeng was the second “brand” name for Tianjin—now Sea-Gull—watches)
A very high jewel piece:

1970s Beijing Shuangling 40 zuan SZB-1C (high jewel) — roughly $100 CDN, but not too easy to find.
Another high-jewel (and more modern) example:

2005-2006 model Shanghai 35 jewel automatic on stock strap: $60 CDN on Taobao
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Prototype/limited issue “shizhi” or “test run” example:

This is a Liaoning test run piece. Such items were generally issued to factory workers for real-world testing, but likely also issued as well to government people for approvals before larger production runs (roughly $65 CDN).
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There are still gems out there...

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    Ron Good

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Copyright © AMCHPR 2015 - 中国手表博物馆,皮斯里弗,艾伯塔省 - (no, of course it's not an official Alberta museum).