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    • 2011 (First Visit) >
      • I Beijing
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  • Untitled
  • HOME
  • EXHIBITS
    • Chinese Watches
    • Clocks
    • Ephemera
    • Parts and Tools
    • Non-Chinese Watches
    • Other Exhibits
    • Wrist Shots
    • Random watch shots
    • Facebook Cover Photos
    • AMCHPR Desktop Backgrounds
  • CHINA TRAVELS
    • Click HERE for detailed itineraries
    • 2024 >
      • Oct 11th 2024 Merkur Fanzhi
      • Oct 14th 2024: Beijing Enamel Factory
      • Oct 15-19th 2024: Wuhan
      • Oct 30th-31st Shanghai Watch E-commerce in Hangzhou
      • Nov 1st - Shanghai Watch Factory Museum
    • 2023 >
      • Shanghai Aug 25th 2023
      • Shenzhen Sept 3 2023
      • Dandong Sept 9th 2023 Peacock WG
      • Shijiazhuang Sea-Gull Watch
      • Tianjin Sept 13th 2023 Tianjin MVT College
      • Mr Liu Shuli Sept 16th 17th 2023
    • 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
  • Untitled

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.

Picture

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
Picture
Picture
Picture
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).
Picture
There are still gems out there...

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