China makes everything from cheap crap to some of the most beautiful hand-made watches in the world. China makes more than 95% of the world’s watches and clocks. China is where many of the world’s best-known companies make all or part of their watches. Almost all watches that cost less than $500 are made in China, even some well-known Swiss models.
Even some watches with well-known Swiss names have faces, bands, or cases made in China. China also makes expensive watches that are sold in China. These could cost over $50,000, which is a lot of money.
We’ve done the work so you don’t have to look through different websites to find high-end Chinese watches.
China’s Top 10 Watch Brands
SEA GULL
In 1955, the Chinese government told the country to start building up the watchmaker industry in Northern China.
In Tianjin’s industrial area, Sea Gull, also known as the Tianjin Watch Factory, was set up as part of this plan. Even though it is the biggest maker of mechanical movements in the world, only a few people or watch fans have heard of this company.
There are many different kinds of Sea Gull watches. You name it, and the brand has it, whether you want an ancient, modern aviator, diving, military, skeleton, or even a tourbillon watch. People have good things to say about Sea Gull watches, which is unsurprising given how cheap they are compared to Swiss and German timepieces.
It is the world’s biggest manufacturer of automatic chronograph devices, making one-quarter of all of them. Sea Gull watches are just as good as, or even better than, Japanese watches that cost about the same.
Most people agree that the Sea Gull watches that cost $300 or less are well worth the money. Their watches aren’t too expensive, so you won’t have to worry about whether or not you can afford to treat yourself to one.
FIYTA
In China, Fiyta is the most well-known name that is made there. They’ve made at least one official watch for the Chinese Olympic swimming team, two official timepieces for the space program, and several copies to sell as souvenirs.
Thanks to its adventurous spirit in aeronautics, Fiyta can use its expert production skills to make timepieces with beautiful designs. The quality of Fiyta watches is the same as that of the most well-known luxury names. The brand is betting on high-precision mechanical parts, some made by the company itself.
Most of the watches and leather bands have buckle clasps that can be pulled back.Since 2003, the company has been making watches for astronauts. The model Fiyta made just for astronauts won the Red Dot Design Award. In 2014, Fiyta came out with a wristwatch with a 3D face. This design makes it possible to read the time in two ways.
So, this watch can be used to scan your face and features. Fiyta is one of the best watch brands on the market because it has been making watches for 30 years and is still improving. Fiyta watches are very cheap, so that you can get any of them for less than $500.
EBOHR
Ebohr Luxuries (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. was started in Shenzhen in 1991. It is a high-end watch company of Citychamp Watch & Jewelry Group Ltd. It has done an excellent job combining creating, making, and selling high-quality watches.
Their watch collections include sports, business, casual, and formal watches and a wide range of clocks for men, women, and pairs. Most of them are priced in a reasonable range. It is now part of the defense network for Citychamp. In the Chinese city of Shenzhen in 2018, the jeweler opened the Ebohr Timepiece Culture Museum. Ebohr still makes high-quality, helpful, reliable, and collectible wristwatches.
The Chinese watchmaker in Shenzhen does their best work with the Ebohr Complication line. EC things can cost anywhere from about $600 to a few thousand dollars. Ebohr is the place to go if you want to buy an excellent Chinese watch at a fair price.
Beijing
Beijing Watch also makes high-end watches, especially ones with tourbillons, metal, and embossed designs. It is a high-end watch made in the United States.
The Beijing Watch Factory opened in 1958 and is in Changping, the backyard of Beijing. The factory faces the Wenyu River and faces north to south. It is next to the military center and leans against it. Beijing Watch Factory has been immersed in the culture of ancient capitals for the past 50 years, growing talents, studying the art of watches and clocks, and pushing the limits of craftsmanship to create a corporate culture of “humanism, collaboration, truth-seeking, and innovation.”
Beijing brand watches were the first watches made in China to have tourbillons. They were finished in 1996. In 2004, Beijing Brand Watches sold a limited-edition red tourbillon watch. That was also the first time that China made and sold high-end watches.
Geya
Shenzhen may be the wristwatch capital of China, and Geya is also made there. Geya started in 1993, and for the past 21 years, its business goal has been to provide “first-class quality and first-class service.” Geya Watch has always made classic pieces people love using the most advanced design ideas, watchmaking methods, and tools worldwide.
Geya does most of its research and development for new products in Shenzhen, which is the city with the most energy and ability to come up with new ideas. The “Geya” and “Geya” watch brands are famous in China. Each year, they make more than one million watches. In the past few years, Geya has put forward the brand core value idea of “free and true temperament,” giving Geya a whole new meaning, and worked hard to improve product research and development, creating a unique style of Geya.
Memorigin
Memorigin is a brand from Hong Kong that makes watches with tourbillons. William Shum started it in 2011, and in 2014, he set up a branch called Memorigin Watch.
All of the brand’s watches are made with tourbillon gears that are made in-house. Watchmakers put each of these gears together and test it to ensure it meets the brand’s quality standards.
Memorigin’s design is based on how Chinese and Western cultures meet in Hong Kong. That is a nod to and a continuation of the 5,000 years of Chinese cultural history.
ROSSINI
Rossini is a jeweler who does things differently. Rossini is proud to have built a name as a leading brand by winning several notable awards for its high-quality custom designs.
Rossini has won “Chinese Famous Brand Products” awards and is the only Chinese wristwatch named one of the “Top 500 Asian Brands.”
Rossini moved to Zhuhai in 1984 and started the first joint company in the Chinese watch business. And it is committed to making high-quality, high-taste, high-tech well-known cultural watches for customers. It has caught the attention of hundreds of thousands of people with its simple design and wisdom.
Rossini is slowly growing into a large group of fashion boutiques with stores worldwide. Rossini has set up the first watch-related culture and industrial tourism project in South China. They also make watches and eyewear boutiques and market their brands.
Rossini watches are set to be affordable for people with lower incomes. That means you can buy them for a fraction of the price of similar watches. The cost of most of their mechanical watches is less than $300.
Peacock
The business was started by William Shum, who went to school in the United States. He wanted to start a watch company with designs from the East and the tech that made Swiss watches famous.
The result is a group of beautiful, high-quality watches, each with its style, which is sometimes funny.
As you would expect from a high-end item, the artistry is beautiful. Gold is used to make only a few of the boxes. Most of the pieces are made of high-quality stainless steel.
The sapphire crystal that guards the watch faces and holds the case together is much harder to scratch than regular glass.
Memorigin was started in 2010, and it now has over 100 different kinds of watches that range in price from $3,800 to $38,000. They are meant to show how much Hong Kong loves Chinese icons, pop-culture folk art, and bling.
TIAN WANG
Since 1990, “Tian Wang tells you the Time” has been played repeatedly before Central Chinese news broadcasts. Tian Wang may have made a billion watches, but the business was almost unknown and had no history or other way to be recognized.
Its main advantage is that it is in charge of its marketing network from when it is made until it is delivered. Tian Wang makes, sets up, and sends out everything himself; there are no middlemen.
In 1980, two Hong Kong businesspeople started the Winning Metal Products Manufacturing Company Limited (WMP), whose primary business was making watch parts.
Tian Wang is another brand of watch made in China that is very cheap and deserves to be on the list of the best Chinese watch brands.
You can quickly get one of their high-quality automatic watches for less than $500, making it one of the best and most cheap brands on the market.
LONGIO
Mr. MiChanghong started Longio in 1996. After putting their brand on watches, they became known worldwide as one of China’s best and most unique watch companies.
Longio is known for making both expensive and inexpensive fancy tourbillon clocks. Styles as they came from the past, weird avant-garde forms, and macho solid sports watches, like chronographs, are all in their product line.
A logo based in Hong Kong makes custom luxury watches and offers ODM/OEM services. Longio watches have consistently shown the spirit of the artisan in terms of new ideas, growth, and getting things just right.
Longio is a Chinese company that makes patterns that have something to do with Chinese culture instead of copying trends from other companies. Longio’s excellent craftsmanship is used to make each collection of time art.
CORGEUT
Corgeut might be the brand you’ve been looking for if you’re looking for the best Chinese automatic watches. Corgeut is a Chinese business making watches that are authentic tributes and illegal copies of designs. Many of the watches are made differently on purpose to look the most accurate.
Even though the name has only been around for a few decades, it has been making watches for over 20 years. Using and protecting a brand name with copyright seems wrong when other businesses freely copy designs without making them their own.
Corgeut makes tribute watches that are of excellent quality. The style could be more memorable. Yes. Rarely does a Corgeut cost more than $150.
SAN MARTIN
A company called San Martin is based in China. China is where their watches are made. A lot of people have never heard of the San Martin name. It’s a watch company in China.
Many times, their cheap things make the more expensive ones look bad. Because of this, reviewers, including you, have given them much attention.
A regular £200 San Martin watch has a Seiko automatic mechanism and a sapphire display and can be worn in the water. Also, the quality of the building will be high. From figuring out who the first watch owners were to how the watchmakers got there, San Martin is a one-of-a-kind place. They sometimes get ideas from less well-known models, like old Japanese watches.
PERPETUAL
The Perpetual Watch Company began in 2004. The place where they work is in Hong Kong. They sell between 60 and 80 watches every month. Their watchmakers make and check the watches they sell. You can buy a perpetual look only on their website and at ex-workshop prices.
The best thing about perpetual clocks is that they never need to be set again. That means the watch knows how many days are each month and when leap years happen.
A permanent calendar watch will cost you $30,000 or more on average. On the other hand, perpetual watches are a great deal, with one costing just under $1000. On the other hand, low prices usually mean a minor drop in quality, reliability, or price.
RARONE
It is known for its unique design, high-quality, cost-effective products, and perfect service system, which have won customer praise. Some shopping malls sell Rarone watches. Watch prices run from 300 to 2,000 yuan, with a few high-end models going for over 10,000 yuan.
They developed hundreds of designs using the current timepiece technology and the company’s top designers’ excellent market sense and creativity.
Over the years, it has become a mix of research and innovation, style, production, and marketing, bringing the world some of the most advanced conceptual designs and watchmaking skills.
Using precise tools, the brand carefully puts together each part one at a time. So, each watch is a work of art with beautiful craftsmanship, useful features, and a perfect look.
POSCER
Poscer is a brand of watches made by the Shenzhen Myrg Watch Company. It was started in 1997. The name is very close to the car company “Porsche.” Even though Porsche makes watches, it is still not the same as “Poscer.” After all, “Poscer” is a brand name from the U.S.
In 1997, the company was started in Shenzhen, the watch city of China. Poscer’s attention to research and development, design, and staying on the original path to build core competitiveness has made it one of the most well-known brands in Shenzhen’s market and industry.
MEGALITH
Even though Megalith is a relatively new brand (it was started in 2015), it has been able to make its name known over the years. Megalith is relatively new, and its designs are unique compared to other watch brands. The design style is trendy among young people, and it’s also cheap and helpful.
Megalith strongly thinks that a watch is more than just a way to tell time; it’s also a great accessory. In the past few years, sports watches have become more popular. They add a new shine to your personality. If you’re looking for an everyday sports watch, Megalith is a name to watch.
Atelier Wen
Atelier Wen is a name that is a mix of Paris and Beijing. This independent watch brand started when creators from China and France worked together. Their name is both Chinese and French. It means “culture workshop” in both languages.
Also, the pieces are made with mechanical moves that work independently. With parts that are also made by hand. Artelier Wen makes watches that will last for generations and cost a lot.
Conclusion
This article is not exhaustive, but we hope it serves as a helpful introduction to Chinese watchmaking. Many optimistic predictions for the future of these brands are made. On the other hand, learning about their background can illuminate why they’ve been so successful.
