Microbrands And Indies Of The Far East: The Rise Of Chinese Fine Watchmaking
8 min read
A well-recognized fact in the luxury watch industry is the overwhelming impact of China. For at least a decade now, China has been a driving force behind the luxury watch industry’s rapid growth, accounting to a major percentage in total Swiss watch exports. Yes, 2025 marked a slight dip with new markets such as India gaining momentum, but historical data only points to favorables, specifically in regards to luxury watch consumption.
But Mainland China means more than just consumption.
While one facet of China is embracing bleeding-edge technology and the inhuman future of AI, robotics and automation, much as we see in the Western world, the other is very much relatable for those of us in the mechanical watch hobby. This a world that embraces longevity, sustainability and products that last lifetimes. It is very much the reality of watchmaking tools, techniques and plain old enthusiasm taking root in a market that started on luxury watch consumption in the 2010s, and has now moved into the creation phase of luxury watch culture.
Evident from the outcomes of this practice, this is not a trend but actually something with real staying power and it represents a foreseeable and sustainable future. Synonymous with revived watchmaking in the US, Britain, and increasingly France, Chinese watchmaking at the highest level represents a very impressive growth and demand trajectory.
Horology in the Far East
If there’s a generational transition that could redefine the luxury watch industry at large - that’s the rise of Chinese fine watchmaking. It is very important to recognize as the said represents the future on a whole bunch of different levels. This very-high echelon of Chinese artisanal haute horlogerie not only represents blue sky imagination, but, rare with the category, excellent value as well.
Undeniably, the cost structures in China provide competitive advantages for high-end watchmaking. Chinese fine watches aren’t built to accommodate a market price, because with the cost of labor, materials and supply chain, the said product can be brought to the market at a much accessible price point. Also quite impressive, there’s genuine willingness to do something different and the Fam Al Hut Mark 1 Möbius is there to prove all sentiments with a pricing of $32,000. If it were Swiss, the thing would cost deep in the six figures!
With what’s coming out of Mainland China, there’s absolutely no compromise with design originality, advanced movement manufacture, chronometric precision, movement decoration, and overall product quality.
Also, remember, this is just the opening round!
China deserves more
There’s an unfortunate reality. The larger watch media, the blogger sphere, and social media tend to latch onto things that are readily apparent on mainstream channels. That’s why there exists an oversaturated visibility for a specific kind of watchmaking. Chinese high-end watches deserve genuine purist praise. Moreover, what China is offering is a sort of realization that fine watchmaking isn’t just restricted to the West. Chinese indies and microbrands prove that quality and artisanal haute horlogerie is not in the purview of Switzerland or Germany alone.
Agreed, the locus of skill and knowledge for really high-end luxury watchmaking craft is still Glashütte, Switzerland, and increasingly Japan. China doesn’t, at this point, have a position where they are seen as a watch craft country. But, the sheer quality and participant numbers of Chinese independents and microbrands prove that China is capable of far more than manufacturing for others.
The new “Made in China”
As this article is a continual instalment in our monthly microbrands series, I’ll give you five Chinese high watchmaking brands to justify the current episode. However, this part is intended to be more than just brand discovery. It aims to inspire legitimate attention and recognition that Chinese fine watchmaking truly deserves. In doing so, it’ll present a serious non-Western equivalent to what has been a default synonym for high-end watchmaking. In doing so, it calls for greater justification when a specific product is deemed better only on its geographical merit.
Fine watchmaking exists as a borderless craft and yes, while its locus is very much centered to specific regions, the practice itself isn’t. So, here are five indies and microbrands that bear the poinçon of watchmaking finesse in the Far East.
Qin Gan
Qin Gan is a second-generation Chinese watchmaker extraordinaire based in Chongqing. Born in 1970 in the mountainous west, Qin Gan spent some thirty years as a restorer of antique watches before making his international debut with the Pastorale I in 2021, which he followed up with the Pastorale II in 2024. Before registering his eponymous brand in 2017, Qin Gan (pronounced Chin-Gan) produced a few of his original complicated timepieces with the creations ranging from miniature painting timepieces to a retrograde, petite sonnerie, and mechanical automaton.
If we focus on the Pastorale II, a refined realization of Qin Gan’s watchmaking skill, it is a powerful statement and, at least in terms of craftsmanship, expresses what independent watchmaking in China can be. Here, Qin’s talents as a craftsman meet no barrier and every single detail, especially on its in-house caliber 1810 (based on the Longines 30L movement architecture), is finished to the nines.
Details such as polished bevels, sharp inward and outward angles, gold chatons, and wide Geneva striping are executed at a superlative level. Personally, this is as close to Philippe Dufour-level decoration I’ve seen on any movement. A few others might be better by a degree, but here the work feels traditionally honest. For the Pastorale II, a picture of its finely decorated movement is definitely worth a thousand words.
Celadon HH
If Qin Gan is an ideal case study in ultimate movement decoration, Celadon HH equally inspires with its métiers d’art. Founded in 2021 by Singaporean collector Benjamin Chee, Celadon Haute Horlogerie manufactures high-end handmade timepieces in China using traditional skills and techniques. With a distinct focus on traditional craftsmanship deeply rooted in Chinese culture, Celadon HH exhibits a superlative prowess in cloisonné enameling.
In most of Celadon HH’s creations, the intricacy of cloisonné is impossible to find fault with and equally challenging to find a par for. Exhibited in its Century collection, powered by a manual-winding movement made by AHCI master watchmaker Lin Yong Hua with a reputation for very complicated quirky watchmaking realizations, there exists one of the most authentic applications of the ancient enameling technique of cloisonné, an art form which has over 600 years of history in China, involving no less than 45 steps. It’s performed by Xiong Songtao, a third-generation master enameller.
Comprised of an impressive amount of gold wire to form the intricate motifs for its dials and complemented in equal awe by the brand’s flagship Calibers CH5 and CH1, Celadon HH’s creations are signature realizations of peak Chinese haute horlogerie craftsmanship finished to exquisite extremes.
Logan Kuan Rao
Self-taught, more like YouTube taught, independent watchmakers creating almost entire watches by hand are a rare entity and deserve much recognition. Moreover, when their craft yields watches that are a genuine visual delight, it’s all the more worthy to take note of. The said can best be attributed to young Chinese indie watchmaker Logan Kuan Rao. His distinct style, characterized by bespoke movement architecture lends a delectable aside to the more mainstream style of the craft.
Qualified as a material engineer, Logan Kuan Rao operates his own independent watchmaking studio in Guangzhou. His first serially produced watch, the Orca, cleanly integrated an Orca shaped bridge with the movement and the follow-up creation, the Wuwei delivers a unique raw aesthetic, at least on its movement side, making it unique in every sense of the word. In a rare dichotomy of objectives, the Orca excels in hand-finished decoration and the Wuwei renders an inverse to the same in equally pleasant proportions.
His very special project, the “Double Detent Escapement Prototype 2025” literally doubles down on the finesse of its deliverables and packs in a hand-wound movement almost entirely made by Logan. Here, the caliber is regulated by a double detent escapement, making it a one-off movement for a truly one-off watch.
Qian GuoBiao
Another self-taught watchmaking genius, Qian GuoBiao, is the best known cabinotier in China. Working at his workshop in Dongguan, he is regarded as “the tourbillon doctor.” He makes his watches almost entirely by hand, often exposing the mechanics on the dial face. Master Qian has manufactured some of the most complicated timepieces to emerge from China including split-second chronographs, double balance wheel mechanisms, chiming watches, as well as retrograde mechanisms.
Offering timepieces with intricate mechanical innovation and a very high degree of hand finishing, Qian GuoBiao, who has a background in micro-mechanics and a lifelong passion for metallurgy, creates true horological masterpieces that reflect hundreds of hours of labor and artistic devotion.
Mineroci
As a Chinese watchmaking brand, Mineroci is absolutely punishing the region’s quality of horological yield while realizing a very familiar style of watchmaking with genuine Chinese heritage. This Beijing-based independent watchmaker brand, founded in 2018 by Chang Qu and Zhengyang Pan, focuses on high-end horology with serious mechanical substance. Their Sino reinterpretation of classic Swiss haute horlogerie is realized at their advanced workshop, equipped with a wide range of production competencies. Here, they undertake everything from movement design to parts production as well as finishing. They even manufacture their own silicon escapement, including the balance wheel, pallet fork, escape wheel, and even the hairspring.
With a highlight on exceptional mechanical architecture, showing honest homage to Ferdinand Berthoud and George Daniels, and very high-end movement finishing, Mineroci excels in attention to detail that easily rivals any Swiss independent haute horlogerie product.
A strong foundation
China has a surprising number of very skilled artisans that, at least for now, aren’t very well-known outside of China. While we’ve highlighted only five, there are many independent watchmakers and microbrands who not only deliver a very distinct flavor of horology from an equally distinct region but, common to the lot, realize the very best of self-taught skill. That’s special.
One thing that is true and needs to be realized is the very high quality of independent watchmaking in China and the number of participants who have laid the foundation of a very strong watchmaking scene in the region even without formal accolades.
Chinese high-end luxury watchmaking deserves utmost respect and recognition.
