High-end Chinese watch portal

The Chinese watch industry of the 70s and 80s was focused almost entirely on producing basic, affordable and reliable mechaniacl watches for the everyday worker. This role is now filled by quartz watches, and the majority of the vintage factories are no longer in operation. However, the "best and brightest" manufacturers of the vintage era are still in business today and, reflecting the realities of the 21st century mechanical watch market, many of them have set their sights on the "high-end" or luxury watch market. These manufactures have began to produce watches featuring the most technically challenging of complications, such as perpetual calendards, quarter and minute repeaters and tourbillons. Some of them have explicitly declared their intention to develop the quality of their products to a level on par with the Swiss industry.

An emerging trend in the high-end Chinese watch market is to produce watches using extremely finely hand-painted enamel dials, providing a modern venue for traditional Chinese craft skills.

High-end manufacturers

The "big three" manufacturers, Beijing , Seagull and Shanghai , have the strongest presence in the high-end market, and all three manufacture tourbillon movements. Beijing and Seagull are more closely associated with the high-end market, and also produce repeaters and perpetual calendars.

Tourbillon movements are also produced by Guangzhou Five Goat Watch Company , Liaoning Watch Factory and by factories contracted by PTS Resources . However, these movements are generally manufactured more cheaply and are used in "affordable tourbillon" watches, without as much focus as the big three on high quality fit and finish.

Perpetual calendars

Tianjin Seagull are the only Chinese manufacturer to produce perpetual calendar movements. There are two such movements, the ST2590 and the ST9150 , the latter of which is also a minute repeater .

Repeater watches

Main article: Chinese repeater watches

Tourbillons

Main article: Chinese tourbillon watches

Enamel dials

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