Who Manufacturers DG (Dixmount Guangzhou) Movements?

China's largest domestic watch company, Citychamp (Formerly China Haidian) manufacturers DG movements among a basket full of other watch products. They have 50% of the Chinese market.


In the west, we see many references to Seagull, Fiyta, Shanghai, and Beijing watch companies. The majority appears on eBay and Amazon. We have little exposure to the Chinese domestic market.

Citychamp owns 50% of the Chinese domestic market. They reached that plateau through diversification in their retail brands, maintaining distribution through retail outlets, movement manufacturing and acquisition of two top tier Swiss watchmakers.

Formerly known as China Haidian, the company changed its name in 2014. Here's a quote from their Press Release dated July 7, 2014:

Citychamp is primarily engaged in the design, production and sales of watches and timepieces. The Group possesses proprietary brands, including "Rossini" and "EBOHR" which are two of the four major Chinese watch brands, as well as renowned global watch brands "Corum," "Eterna" and "Rotary." The Group is also committed to exploring the distribution business of the non-proprietary brands. Currently, the Group has approximately 280 self-owned brand retail shops and distribution outlets, distributing more than 25 international brands in Beijing, Fujian, Guangdong, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Shenyang, Sichuan, and other major cities in Mainland China.  

Address: Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong 119 F World Trade Plaza, Room 1902-04

China Haidian 

In 1991, Hong Kong investors funded the original Haidian Group with its principal business engaged in real estate.  In 2005, the group diversified by purchasing EBOHR watch company.  Two years later, the company made another acquisition of a Chinese watch brand, Rossini, for $500 million.

The Group also funded PAMA in Shenzhen to produce watch cases and related accessories. Looking back, entering the watch and jewelry business became a more attractive pursuit.

Dixmont and Guangzhou (DG Movements)

In 2011, Citychamp also provided investment for a startup known for manufacturing Dixmount and Guangzhou watches and DG movements. While Seagull has limited the sale of its movements to manufacturers, DG has seen a growth surge by also catering to parts houses and the retail trade globally.

A literal translation for Dixmont-Guangzhou's parent (subsidiary of Citychamp) is known as Guangzhou Five Goat Watch Co. Ltd. While that name has little meaning to westerners, it must have some idiomatic translation in Chinese.

The Chinese government organized the Guangzhou Watch Factory in 1958 as part of the standard Chinese watch. It evolved into a non-state owned business. Since 2011, the factory has seen rapid advancement in its products, which include Tourbillion watches.

Swiss Acquistions

In 2011, Haidian Group purchased Eterna for $34 million with Porsche Design and Wuyanfg movement factory.

In April of 2013,  Haidian purchased Corum for approximately $90 million, taking advantage of the slowdown in Corum's revenue. Haidian voiced no pans to move either Eterna or Corum to China, but realized the opportunity to cater to the Chinese domestic market for Swiss products.

Interesting Recap

While Citychamp's public relations firm has attempted to cast the company as the Chinese equivalent of the Swatch Group, Ltd. that's a ridiculous comparison. Owning 50% of the Chinese domestic market makes for a good story of its own. One might recall that while the Chinese manufacture 98% of the world's volume of watches, they only reap 50% of global income. In contrast, the Swiss make 2% of the world's watches and yet owns 50% of global income.

Never-the-less, Citychamp has enough muscle to continue purchasing watch companies. Part of that muscle comes from increasing its capital by divesting itself of its real estate portfolio.

Please visit my store Adelsten & Söhne