Horology in the Far East: China

We often think that our Western world has invented the concept of timekeeping, yet the Chinese had their own approximately at the same time. However, early Chinese timekeepers were marred by the lack of development of the concept of the pendulum and the hairspring, relying instead on water clocks.

However, horology in China took a huge boost when European-styled clocks were brought in the Empire by the Jesuit monk Michele Ruggieri, around 1600.

Put put the situation in context, in 1600 horology was still in its infancy, and clocks were somewhat inaccurate, as the spiral spring, driving the balance wheel, was invented only in 1675 by Huygens.

So, these early clock designs relied on the use of verge and foliot timekeeping elements. What you see here is a Japanese clock from 1700, using two foliots to track uneven hours. Please notice that there is only one hand on the dial, and this must mean something about their precision.

From 1600 to the 1900s

After the introduction of the first specimens, horology diffused itself in the country, with the first clock-building workshops set up in the major cities like Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou and Guangzhou. The first Chinese royal watchmaking workshop was founded in 1723, some decades before Blancpain.

The Europeans quickly understood the possibilities of a huge, rich market like Imperial China. During that time, the most important watchmakers were the British, which were living their golden hour.

British exporters started to manufacture watches specifically for the Chinese market, with designs made to appease the prevalent design of the country. These timepieces became known as Chinese caliber watches.

The first Chinese caliber watches were verge-fusee, typical of the British horology, and decorated in a way to suit Chinese aesthetic taste. Also, the British made good use of one of the most unsavory tricks of their trade. To protect the originality of the British movements, which were the best of the world because of their use of jewels as bearings, an edict by the King strictly enforced the complete British make of the watches and cases to sell in England.

However, this did not apply to watches that were exported to other countries. So, a few companies bought lesser-quality French and Swiss movements from the Continent, placed them into British-made cases, and exported them worldwide — something that was not against the British laws — omitting the fact that the movements were not British-made.

And this happened to lots of watches which were shippied to foreign countries, between which China.

However, with the introduction of the Lepine caliber around 1770 and the discovery of the technique to make jewels, Swiss horology started to catch up with the British one, and eventually became stronger, with some Swiss companies setting up factories on Chinese soil and diffusing in the market.

Over the years, these Western companies taught the art of horoloy to Chinese locals, so some companies making clocks and watches started to appear. Of course, they did not have the same appeal of imported timepieces from Britain or Switzerland, but they showed to the locals that Chinese-made watchmaking was possible.

After the turmoil of the Quartz Crisis, a new generation of watch lovers has started to emerge, and it is very interested in recovering the traditions pertaining to its past. Affluent Chinese watch lovers have developed a taste for early Chinese calibers so to recover the heritage of their past.

The demand started to soar, so much that in 2012 a collection of 15 pocket watches made for the Chinese market sold for $2.4 million at Christie’s, more than five times the high estimate of the auction house.

Features of a Chinese Caliber Watch

The aesthetic differences between Western and Chinese productions is striking. While Western watches of this period were comparatively plain, the Chinese were instead beautifully finished, and typically ornate.

They featured gold, gems, pearls, and enamel work of the highest quality, which required excellent craftsmanship and long realization times, up to 2 years for a single timepiece.

More, Chinese watches were comparatively bigger than Western ones, being around 55–60 mm in size against the typical 40–45 mm of Western ones.

1900s up to today

While the rise of Communism in China initially destroyed the watch production of the country, in the early 1950s the country decided to once again kickstart the Chinese watch production under the direction of the Ministry of Light Industry. Some of these factories became the manufacturers we are seeing today, such as Beijing Watch Company, founded in 1958, which is currently one of the top high-end watch manufacturers of China.

The Chinese obtained designes of movements and machinery from the Swiss. Some were paid while others were simply copied. So, the first Chinese calibers rolled out from the factories in these years.

The main Chinese caliber was the Tongji — the Chinese Standard Movement — which debuted in 1969 and since then has represented the backbone of Chinese mechanical watches. These movements, from the most basic to the most advanced, are possibly the most produced watch caliber in the world.

Some of these factories fell prey to the same situation which plagued the Swiss production — quartz watches — but eventually, the mechanical watches survived, and the venerable Standard Movements is still manufactured today after 50 years since its first introduction in horology.

Another notable Chinese-made caliber is the chronograph Venus 175, a sturdy, high-quality bicompax design which equips the best Chinese mechanical chronographs.

The Chinese watches of today

China is starting to move away from its origins as a supplier of low-quality watches. Designs such as the calibers created by the Beijing Watch Company, featuring complications such as tourbillons, are definitely closing the gap with Western-made timepieces, such as in this State of Mind Tourbillon.

While the finishings are still subpar in respect to the Western ones, the quality of the timepieces made in China and around China is improving steadily year by year.

It is not a surprise that some companies based on South East Asia are getting much attention from the Western world, like what is happening with Malaysia-made MING watches (which have a prestigious prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve), Singapore-made Zelos watches, and quite recently, Celadon, a newer brand based in Singapore which aims straight at China as a market, and shows to have all the possibilities of emerging also in the global landscape.

If you are interested in the evolution of horology, I examine this topic in depth in my book, The Watch Manual. Check it out at the website, and download 8 complete chapters for free.