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Since returning to Beijing from the world's leading watch and jewelry show, Baselworld, held in Switzerland, Wang Mengjin, has had his hands full.
Wang, the counselor for China Horologe Association, the national-level body supervising the industry, has witnessed China's watch industry grow in the past few decades, and says its golden period has arrived.
Wang says attending Baselworld in March, helped establish that understanding. About 20 Chinese watchmakers attended this year's fair, with three even invited to Hall No 1, which is usually preserved for the best in business.
"Complicated watch movements shows our muscle. Though our industry still lags behind Switzerland, I guess Swiss watchmakers may notice we've approached the world's top quality in some sectors, and the gap isn't insurmountable," he tells China Daily.
Tianjin-based Sea-gull, which made its debut at Hall No 1 in March, is now among the world's largest watchmakers in terms of size. It produced 3.5 million watches in 2014.
"Competition is always good, and there is enough space for everybody," Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO, Vacheron Constantin, said of the growing ambition of Chinese watchmakers during a recent visit to Beijing.
He said that he hoped Chinese brands would make fewer mistakes while making watches and produce quality products.
While many renowned Swiss brands have centuries of history, Wang considers China's newbie watchmakers equipped with some of their own skills.
"They have enough investment to buy the best movements, but what matters more for them is creativity," he says. "Chinese watchmakers emphasize more on the making of a watch than branding it."
Speaking of changes in the local industry, he says, application of Chinese elements into watch design has become a trend in recent years. For example, Longio, a Beijing-based brand uses pictures of wheat from popular folk arts in the northern Chinese countryside to decorate dials. Koncise, another Beijing brand, has become known for its delicate enamel dials, and Zhang Dao from Shanghai has introduced porcelain in dial designs.
"Some high-end Swiss brands ordered our dials at high price in Baselworld this time," Wang says, refusing to give the brand name because of business agreements.
But despite the progress made by the local industry, he says, there's still a perception that Chinese watches are of low quality.
According to China Horologe Association, China manufactured about 100 million watches in 2014. But 4 million imported Swiss watches composed more than 60 percent of China's sectoral turnover for that year.
In January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released guidelines to establish globally recognized watch brands. China plans to make five of its watch brands globally influential by 2020.
"It is the first time that the watchmaking industry is being promoted at the State level," Zhang Hongguang, executive vice-chairman of China Horology Association, says. "As a combination of precision instrument making and information technology, the industry deserves much attention."
The Sino-Swiss Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2013, will gradually decrease tariff on watches within a decade. China Horologe Association and Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry also co-established a panel to promote cooperation between two countries.
And, for Chinese watchmakers with big dreams, the first step would be to establish a healthier market.
Zhang says in spite of difficulties, some achievements have been made. For example, after the panel met in February, it was decided that Switzerland will likely release a complete list of all certificated Swiss watch brands in the near future to discourage knock-offs in China and the country will also help train more Chinese customs officials to be able to better apprise such items when they come into China.
"When consumers want to check whether the Swiss watches they buy are genuine, they have to refer to the brand itself. That is unbalanced, so we need an independent and authoritative appraisal institution to make that conclusion," Zhang says.
- Wang Kaihao
