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Before you buy a watch with the above phrase in the listing, you might want to know what you're ordering. The watches may look great in photographs, but a surprise will likely await you when the package arrives. Sometimes you'll find a better product than you expected, but often you will have a rude awakening.
Let's find out what you should look for.
A Quick Background Check
During the 1950's and 60's, the words "made in Japan/made in occupied Japan" and "cheap junk" were synonymous. That changed during the next two decades. Outsourcing by industries in the United States helped transform Japan into a country known for quality and precision .China's image in the many areas like the watch industry is evolving. You can still find plenty of "cheap junk" peddled by trading companies in the Mainland, but you can also find watches that challenge those made in Switzerland. The trick is knowing the difference.
The majority of excellent Chinese watches fall under the category of "homage" timepieces. They resemble popular watches from the past. Companies in bastions in Biel, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China and many places in between produce homage watches, though few people recognize them. Many consider them remarkable because those watches never cease to allure buyers.
Are Chinese watches unique? Let's take a look.
First things first: The Design
Personal preferences come into play when you select any product that catches your eye. Consider that the subjective part of choosing a watch. You either like a specific design or not. That can become a problem if you receive a gift and you want to exchange it, but you don't want to offend the giver. If they fail to see you wearing it, that could also be a problem.
My great grandfather left me his LeCoultre Memovox. I didn't like it and never wore it though it's a highly-sought-age vintage timepiece. After a couple of years of arguing with myself about family heirlooms, I listed it on eBay and wound up with more money than I ever imagined. I used that to buy three watches I preferred to wear.
Many buyers with some background in high-end watches like Rolex or Panerai turn their noses up at vintage designs. They believe all fake watches come from China. You may find a rare fake in China.
People who make fake watches are counterfeiters who steal the brand name and designs from the original manufacturers. I find little evidence of this activity in China. Central trading sites police counterfeit producers carefully. I found the majority of the fake watch trade coming out of Singapore and Thailand.
You will find "homage" watches made in China and even Switzerland for that matter. If you see a design you like, it may originate as a tribute to another watch. Parnis, for example, makes homage watches as does Raymond Weil. The latter pays homage to the several Breguet Classique timepieces.
Once you settle on a design, it's time to move to the objective decision making process. Considerations exist that you should know. They include the case, dial, crystal and movement.
The Watch Case
When buying a Chinese watch, the case can give you ample information to make a purchase decision.
In today's market, buying a solid gold watch makes little to no sense. People who spend $250,000 on an exquisite timepiece want others to know they can afford it. Such watches do not represent a sound investment. You can't redeem a watch for the market price of the gold used to make it. They also use generic movements modified with inlaid gold and polished visible parts.
Today, even the best managed brands use high grade stainless steel and other quality materials to make their watches. Chanel, for example, has created quite a sensation around their high-tech ceramic watches. Beneath the ceramic lies stainless steel.
Makers of low-priced Chinese watches use zinc alloy to make their cases. Producers inject the alloy into molds similar to those used for plastics. Those watches look like the real thing, but you will find them fragile. It's difficult for buyers to tell the difference; the process used to coat stainless steel also works on zinc.
Stainless Steel
The better manufacturers use high-grade stainless steel to make their watch cases. The steel is stamped out of a dye and molded into shape. They use the same material for the crown and clasp. Look for either 312 or 316L grades of stainless steel in a watches specifications.
Using price as a guide, you will find these watches inching toward $100 and up to $500. That does not mean you won't find a bargain on eBay. Depending on circumstances, I've bought them for $50 to $75.
Thickness
You can find another "give-away" by looking at the case. The higher quality watches have a thickness between 6 and 12.5 mm. Those will accommodate Swiss, Japanese and the best Chinese movements. If the thickness is thin, then expect better quartz watches. You need a larger case to house lower quality movements.
If you find a case with a thickness around 15mm, the manufacturer built it to house an less expensive Chinese movement. That doesn't mean you found a bad watch, just one that should cost less than $60.
The movement
The term, movement, originated with mechanical clocks. Over time, it came to mean the internal mechanism, which keeps time or moves the hands on any timepiece. Today, the term, movement, is used for quartz and mechanical mechanisms.
A variety of Chinese companies manufacture movements for wristwatches. Watch experts acknowledge Sea-Gull as the finest Chinese company making mechanical movements. You can easily say that Sea-Gull is on par with Swiss movement manufacturers.
The better Chinese watches also use Japan's Miyota quarts and automatic mechanical movements. Miyota is a mature brand owned by Citizen, Ltd. The company manufacturers quartz and mechanical movements. Miyota achieved fame by building Citizen's Eco-drive movements, even though the company has a solid track record dating back over 60 years.
Occasionally, Chinese watches use Swiss ETA movements. You'll find these rare. They are typically made and branded for timepieces for other companies outside of China. In these instances, China makes the cases, crystals and dials. They also assemble the entire watch.
The Dial & Crystal
People refer to the watch face as a dial. Manufacturers make custom dials for approximately 50 cents. They will add a buyer's logo and customize the dial as needed.
You might notice watches with the same case and dial, but with different logos. Chinese companies create their own product known as ODM (Original Design Manufacturer). Resellers pick and chose from existing designs, then provide logos and perhaps minor design modifications. This allows resellers to buy watches quickly and cut the cost of producing their own.
You''ll find many high-end watch companies using the ODM concept. A precaution needs mentioning here. You can't expect to find the same movement in similarly designed watches. The Chinese manufacturer will offer lesser movements if a buyer wants.
Always look for Sapphire crystals, because the are actually made from hardened, clear high-tech ceramics. When you see other descriptions, take care. Mineral glass looks nice, but scratches. Eventually, a nice watch will look old and ratty.
Final Note:
Chinese watch manufacturers have improved their quality in each of the last five years. Consider increasing your budget and look for watches such as Sea-Gull
Look for watches with stainless steel and high-grade ceramic cases, sapphire crystals, leaner case thickness and then go with the design that fits your taste.