Vintage Chinese Wristwatch Photography Hints

by admin on Jan.10, 2011, under Uncategorized

5 sheets of corrugated white plastic (like the kind used to prevent mailed photos/prints from being bent) taped together, and two 250 watt tungsten work lamps (gonna get a third for back-lighting)…

light box

light box

(note: the light box shots were auto point and shoot, so they look dark) …and an old Olympus C4000, a 4 megapixel camera white balanced to tungsten for these shots (for examples):

sea-gull and shoe

diamond zuan shi

baoshihua

zuan shi

I find it often helps to have a front on the box, both to prevent me and the camera from ending up in the reflections, but also just to reflect (or not)  light on the face of the watch…sometimes I use a white or black front depending on what kind of reflection I want…

light box

light box front

light box front

…and a couple more examples…

taihang

zhu feng or Everest

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Why Do I Collect Vintage Chinese Watches?

by admin on Jan.02, 2011, under Informational

In watch collecting, the realms of…

  • historic country and company first issues
  • prototypes and trial pieces
  • watch company internal limited promotional or award editions,
  • historically issued military pieces,
  • high jewel,
  • “fully in-house” decorated movements and watches, and especially…
  • being able to own a lineage of a historic company’s in-house movements

…are often unaffordable or even just unavailable due to scarcity to most collectors (me, for example)

But with Chinese and especially Chinese vintage watches, every category listed above can still be affordably explored, most of the time at under $100-200 per piece (actually, most still well under $100 CDN) and the available watches–beside meeting the above categories–are cosmetically and mechanically sound, attractive, reliable and capable of excellent, sometimes even chronometer like, accuracy.

Besides all this, of course, many of the current and vintage designs from the Chinese watch factories are just plain cool. :-)

From a historical point of view, in just over 60 years China has gone from putting a half dozen watchmakers in one single room to a situation where just a single one of its many companies now supplies a full one-quarter of the world’s mechanical and automatic movements, on its own.

From a collector’s point of view (or at least “me”): it’s my opinion/impression that prices for vintage Chinese watches on Ebay and on Taobao have gone up by maybe 35% over the time I’ve been collecting (three years), and the supply of a number of pieces is getting scarce. But right now I think examples of most of the good stuff are still around and available–and well worth having if you’re on a budget but you still want to have historically significant pieces. After all, it’s highly unlikely the Chinese are going to just fade away out of the watch business.

Anyways, just sayin…

And because “a post is worthless without pix”, here’s an example or two from each category from the AMCH/PR (except for “in house movements” because almost all vintage Chinese watches have in house movements…that is: movements built by the manufacturer of the watch itself, and the watches below are no exception):

Note: These prices are not “for sale” prices–I’m not a seller. The prices are just what I paid for ‘em on Taobao (delivery included) in 2009 or 2010 to give you a general idea of prices…

A historic country and company first issue:

Shanghai A-581 (Shanghai’s first generally issued watch model, circa 1956—1965). Available to careful purchasers for around $150 CDN…but be careful, hybrid or “franken” pieces are common.

A historically issued military piece:

1979 Jixing “for military” marked—issued (on a much plainer strap) during China’s 1979 war with VietNam (Sino-Vietnamese War)

Wonderful examples are available for roughly $20 CDN) and the aesthetics of these watches is a million miles from the look of any “western” military watch, but it absolutely is an issued military use “working soldier’s” watch.

Another historic industry milestone:

1960s DongFeng ST5…the very first 100% Chinese designed and built wristwatch (19 jewels, including jewels for the mainspring barrel)…pristine: $180, but excellent only around $40/$50 CDN: (Dongfeng was the second “brand” name for Tianjin—now Sea-Gull—watches)

A very high jewel piece:

1970s Beijing Shuangling 40 zuan SZB-1C (high jewel) — roughly $60 CDN, but not easy to find.

Another high-jewel (and more modern) example:

2005-2006 model Shanghai 35 jewel automatic on stock strap: $60 CDN on Taobao

Prototype/limited issue “shizhi” or “test run” example:

This is a Liaoning test run piece. Such items were generally issued to factory workers for real-world testing, but likely also issued as well to government people for approvals before larger production runs (roughly $65 CDN).

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The Art and Colour of Chinese Vintage Watch Dials

by admin on Jan.02, 2011, under Informational

Very nearly all vintage Chinese-built (Peoples Republic of China/PRC) mechanical wrist watches were three handers, and most of the various vintage brands put out plain white or off-white dial watches with variances only in movements, size, cases, numbers and or indices, like this very plain-jane (but very reliable standard movement) 1980s example from the Shanghai Watch factory:

and this much earlier–but, I think, still quite a bit more elegant and attractive–A-581 watch (also from Shanghai–and Shanghai’s first generally distributed watch model).

However, a smaller but significant number of vintage Chinese mechanical watches had ornate or colourful dials (or both)–still mostly three handers, but with a wide range of textures, treatments and colours. Here’s some favourite examples, all from my collection at the AMCH/PR

Even a black dial was a bit of a jump in the very early days of PRC watch production. Black dial A-581s are a highly sought after watch since roughly 30 white dial A-581s were produced for every black dial A-581.

However, not all Chinese vintage watches, even in the very early days of production, had flat dials (black or white/off-white). This mid-60s Shanghai A-611 (the Shanghai Watch factory’s second issued watch, improved from the earlier A-581 with shock proofing) sports a lovely textured sunburst on an off-white dial.

By the late 60s, Chinese dials were occasionally showing the “chunkier” influence of late 60s /early 70s European designs as evidenced by the thick indices and subtle dial detailing of this very early 70s black-dialed Beijing Watch factory SB-5G model (the last non “standard” watch model produced by the factory).

During the same 1967-1973 time period of the SB-5 watches at Beijing, the Guangzhou Watch factory was producing the SG3A model which was known for a somewhat unreliable movement design, but often had beautifully textured dials.

Just for fun, here’s another 1970s texture dial example: a Xiongmao (Panda) made in Xian, but I don’t know by which factory:

For most Chinese workers during these times, the purchase of a watch took some effort and planning. Three things would normally have to happen. I’ve mentioned that the purchaser would need to save the equivalent of three or four months entire wages, but also: the purchaser would need the Chinese equivalent of a ration coupon for a watch, and (normally) the purchaser would also need the approval of the leaders of the working group or collective where he made his living.

Sometimes a worker would have the permission and the coupon, but not the money saved. Many of these workers would opt to purchase the much less expensive 9 jewel Zhongshan watches. Although these watches did not have quite the prestige of the more expensive standard movement pieces, they were still highly prized and also durable, surprisingly accurate and very often exceptionally beautiful. Here’s an example known in an English translation as the “Double Phoenix”:

Many collectors of vintage Chinese mechanicals actually concentrate their entire collections on Zhongshans because there is a very wide number of intricate dial variations. It’s a bonus that they are often available for less money than their better known and higher “status” vintage Chinese counterparts.

Coloured dials became quite fashionable in China in the 1970s, and a new and very durable technique was developed to make some of the coloured dials. Here are a few examples of two-tone lacquer coated dials. These dials can look quite new even when a watch is decades old.

Although not as thickly lacquer coated, this later 1970s Liaoning Watch Factory Hongqi has a quite rare two-tone coloured dial featuring an applied peacock motif. At the time, the Hongqi was the best watch that Liaoning offered.

Sometime after this watch was issued, Liaoning developed a new “premium” brand known as Kongque (Peacock) and Hongqi became the second-tier brand.

From the late 1970s and into the 1980s, coloured dials remained popular and a second variation was developed: two colour fade dials, most often one colour and silver. These watches (from various brands) are among my favourite “fade dial” watches:

Although I noted at the beginning of this post that almost all vintage Chinese watches were three handers, the period when China was first opening up to foreign influence and an increasingly market-style economy meant that China’s watchmakers had to compete–and that meant trying some new designs. These Kongque day/night models are an intriguing example that shows an (early/mid-1980s) example of how PRC watchmakers were using ingenuity in their efforts to survive. (Thanks to WatchuSeek moderator Chascomm for this explanation: the day/night wheel runs straight off the hour wheel, so the 24 hour dial rotates counter-clockwise and the sun/moon plate is designed so the moon is never obscured by the small 24 hour hand. That’s smart and efficient.)

What I’ve just shown only scratches the surface when it comes to the variations in vintage Chinese mechanical watches, but I’m hoping it shows, to some degree at least, the pride, workmanship, artistic vision (and, sometimes, sense of humour and entertainment) of the watchmakers of mainland (PRC) China during the roughly 30 year period (1955-1985) when these watches were built.

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A Short Overview of Sea-Gull Watch History

by admin on Jan.02, 2011, under Informational

Just over a full one quarter of all the world’s mechanical and automatic watch movements are now made by one single Chinese company: Tianjin/Sea-Gull, so, I thought I’d put together a short history of the company using watches from my collection (with only a couple of exceptions and/or borrowed pictures):

Here’s some Tianjin/Sea-Gull built watches in order of build with some historical and descriptive notes…

Tianjin/Sea-Gull started in 1955 with just 4 workers that were asked by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to gather in a small workshop and build a wristwatch, and Tianjin/Sea-Gull is now the world’s largest single manufacturer of mechanical and automatic movements. The four workers built a very few watches called Wuxing or 五行 or 5 stars (I don’t have one) and because of this success, the company began making watches on a larger scale for general distribution and sale to PRC citizens. Here’s a borrowed picture of the Wuxing from Joel Chan’s wonderful MicMicMor Vintage Watch site.

Now, getting to the watches I do have :) …

WuYi (5.1) or May 1st (simple: 吴仪 trad: 吳儀)

This is an earlier Wuyi model, likely late-50s or very early 60s. The use of the older/simpler zuan symbol 占 instead of the more complicated “jewel” character 钻 indicates before around 1964, same as with A-581 watches.

“Shoubiao chang” means “watch factory”, so: “Tianjin Watch Factory” and a nice example of the kinds of engraved casebacks common on vintage Chinese watches of the period.

An earlier 17 jewel “no anti-shock” 62-A movement. Although a very reliable and well-finished movement in its own right, once the 62-A was adequately improved with shock-proofing, the 62-A was then renamed the ST-2 model. Very clearly based on an FHF 25 movement, the watch was most likely produced on machinery purchased from Fabrique d’Horlogerie de Fontainemelon as (unlike the less-than-honest practices of some Hong Kong based manufacturers in modern times) it was very much the practice of the PRC in those years to legally purchase designs and plants/production machinery like they did for the 1963 Air Force chronograph which I’ll show later, here.

Somewhat later during the 1958 to 1966 WuYi production run, the logo changed from 5.1 to WuYi in script…

…the caseback changed to reflect the movement upgrade…

and the movement was now shockproof, 18 jewels and anti-magnetic. Now designated ST2A, these were the last models in WuYi production history.

Meanwhile, in 1961, the Tianjin factory was asked to produce a chronograph for aviators of the People’s Republic’s Air Force (People’s Liberation Army Air Force/PLAAF). Since such tooling did not exist in the country, the Chinese government negotiated for–and purchased–the designs and tooling for the Venus 175 chronograph movement which Venus wanted to sell so they could develop the 188 calibre. In 1966, 1400 Tianjin chronographs were provided to PLAAF pilots.

Here’s a borrowed photo from MicMicMor of the original PLAAF chrono:

This event would benefit Tianjin/Sea-Gull in an unpredictable way some 40 years later. At about the same time Tianjin/Sea-Gull was looking to expand the market for its own branded watches in the North American and European markets, a commemorative re-issue of the original PLAAF chronograph was being produced in China. As it happens, a couple of European distributors asked for quantities of the watch as did a few other entrepreneurs and the “1963 Chinese air Force Re-Issue Chronograph” became an almost instant hit, with most sellers running out of stock in fairly short order. Sporadic further issues come to market occasionally and the 1963 re-issue has done much to increase the visibility of Sea-Gull watches in the targeted markets.

Here’s one version of the re-issue (there are a few with minor cosmetic differences) from my collection:

…and the modern Tianjin/Sea-Gull version of the movement based on the purchased Venus…

Meanwhile back in the 1960s (1966 to be exact) the Tianjin factory created their first 100% Chinese designed and built wrist watches and re-named the product DongFeng (东风 or “East Wind”) which were produced until 1973.

These watches contained the very robust, accurate and finely finished 18,000 BPH ST5A (100% Chinese designed and built) movements–a 19 jewel product with jewelled mainspring barrels. Here’s the ST5A hand-wind:

.

According to my observations, this watch runs about one second out per day on the wrist. :thumbright:.

The movement was so well-designed and accurate that the Tianjin factory was one of a very few factories exempted from the late 1960s edict that had the vast majority of Chinese watch factories cease production of any movements of their own design in favour of what is known as the “Unified” or “Chinese Standard” movement.

In 1973, Tianjin was given permission to export Chinese made watches and at this time the Sea-Gull “brand” was born: China’s very first export watch. Also, the ST5 movement was further improved to 21,600 BPH. Note the English wording on the dial…

…and the lovely (and now iconic) Sea-Gull caseback (actually 18mm lugs–I squeezed a 19 onto it :( ) :

The movements in these upgraded models are hand-finished in what has become known as “Sea-Gull stripes” and, since the engraving is hand-done, these movements are each unique and sought-after by collectors. They certainly show the pride these workers took in their products.

As well as hand-wind versions, automatic (ST5D) models were also produced. Although not extremely rare, they are still quite uncommon, especially compared to handwinds:

…and here’s the ST5D automatic movement:

The ST5D was a first high point in vintage Chinese watchmaking. Very robust and accurate with a date mechanism but too late in the game to be as big a seller as the movement deserved.

Also–during this time–Tianjin did release a very few models under its own “brand” but most were commemorative models for one thing or another. Conjecture has it that explains the “J” on the dial of this example (the black face is much rarer than a whitish-faced version):

…with an unstriped but “Dongfeng” signed ST5 movement (which dates this watch to somewhere between 1966-1973)…

…and the plain (usually limited or special issue) plain caseback:

The next high point in Tianjin/Sea-Gull watchmaking was the very rare ST7 automatic wrist watch. Certainly, this watch owes a lot superficially to the Rolex “date-just” models so popular around the world at the time, but the clear “made in China” labelling, prominent Sea-Gull logo and hanzi date clearly show this is not an attempt to produce a fake or replica (and Sea-Gull was hardly the only watch to emulate the styling). This watch marks a very serious, but failed, attempt by Tianjin Sea-Gull to enter the export market with contemporary western styling and state of the art technical quality. The dial is marked 29 jewels, but both the movement and the rotor mechanism are marked 28 zuan (jewels), and 28 is correct.

This watch contained a first class movement with micrometer regulation…that, as I noted, could not find a market: the Chinese either couldn’t afford it or, if they could, were more interested in the extremely recent influx of cheaper or flashier, and often quartz, watches–and export market customers were not aware of the high capacity for quality of Chinese manufacturers. Evidently, fewer than 3500 of these beauties were made. This example runs less than three seconds out per day, more than 35 years after it was built and with no known regulating. Unfortunately, the movement is no longer produced.

So, simultaneously having to deal with the competitive double-whammy of a bunch of previously unavailable foreign models which were then entering the PRC Chinese market and the quartz revolution that was hammering mechanical watchmakers all around the world, Sea-Gull attempted to survive by producing a smaller, less-robust but also less expensive movement known as the ST6–a movement that is still common today in both mechanical and automatic versions, and that was Tianjin/Sea-Gull’s first major world-wide money-maker (even though times stayed tough for quite a while).

Here’s a picture of the ST6 borrowed from MicMicMor:

Although the ST6 is very common in women’s mechanical watches with no huge movement spacer, it also finds its way into mens watches:

First. a late 70s stylish-at-the-time mens small watch:

and something more controversial–an extremely rare Sea-Gull lookalike/homage of the wonderful Rolex Submariner that was built during the unhappy times at Sea-Gull during the early 1980s when the company was barely surviving and looking for ways to stay in business and keep its workers employed. This watch contains the automatic version of the ST6. (Mind you–the smooth sweep and build quality on this thing astonished Don/Falcon4311 when he saw it fist-hand)

.

(From MicMicMor) The ST6 automatic movement:

Obviously things have improved greatly for Tianjin/Sea-Gull (as I noted at the beginning) and so, here–to close this post–is a much more recent 2008 example of a very affordable (around $225) Sea-Gull M185SP mechanical/automatic watch made by Sea-Gull for the world market. This still currently available watch is a favorite of mine because it is clearly Chinese (note the date) and…I think it’s gorgeous :D

It contains the very common Sea-Gull ST16 Movement (used by a huge number of manufacturers around the world) – Sea-Gull’s entry-level automatic movement, known for being simple, robust and accurate with very little second-hand stutter — and it handwinds and hacks. A very competitive movement in it’s price class, the St-16 is even the ebauche used in the legally-Swiss Claro-Semag 888.

(A very complete history of the Company is available here at the Chinese Watch Industry Wiki)

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Guidelines to Vintage Chinese Wristwatch Quality

by admin on Jan.01, 2011, under Informational

When considering modern/new Chinese built watches, this post at the very wonderful Chinese Watch Industry Wiki is a very good overview of what to expect in the way of customer service and build quality.

When it comes to vintage Chinese wristwatches, however, I’m not aware of any comprehensive (as in “all possible brands”) quality level list (at the peak, there were reportedly over 300 factories/brands in China), but this should help:

1) My experience after purchasing almost 100 vintage Chinese watches is that I now expect a generally high level of accuracy. Sure, some may be a few more seconds out a day than others but I can’t think of one “normally running” vintage example of mine that I’d expect to correct more than once (and then only slightly) during a period of a few days or a week. And, just for information: so far only 4 of my vintage Chinese watch purchases didn’t run or ran very badly on arrival. (Your mileage may vary)  That’s not bad considering that almost all were used watches, 30 to 50 years old and shipped in small packages across an ocean. The watches very well may have run perfectly when they left China.

2) Vintage Chinese mechanical watches were produced in four descending “grades” which were reflected in prices. Grades 1 and 2 are very good in my experience. My personal favourite Chinese watches (ZhuFeng and Taihang) are actually “Grade 2″ watches according to the lists below but I think they’re stunning looking and wonderfully built…I have no idea why they’re Grade 2 and not 1

And there’s a cool unexpected treat in 4th grade watches: 4th grade “standard movement” watches aren’t finished well at at all (although they usually work)…but the 4th grade SN-2 movement (found in Zhongshan brand watches, for example) is almost always killer accurate and generally has a power reserve of over 50 hours

Just a note: according to Soviet (a moderator at WUS’s Chinese Mechanical Watches forum, the old water resistance standard for Grade 1 vintage Chinese watches [i] when new [/i] was (loosely translated): “[i]there should not be water inside if the watch was put under 1 meter deep water for 1 minute,[/i]” so not built for diving or showering, and best to take it off if you’re washing dishes and so on. I’ve always looked at like “time enough to pick yourself back outta the puddle or creek”  :lol:

The wonderful list below (translated by WUS member “Seele“ from this Chinese language post) notes a large number of vintage Chinese watch brands by Grade, Place of Manufacture, Brand, Specs and 1983 pricing.

Also: unless and until you’ve developed a relationship with a seller on Ebay or on Taobao, my strong advice is to only purchase from sellers who show clear photographs of the crown, caseback and movement as well as the dial, or who will provide them if asked. That’s not to say that watches from sellers who don’t or won’t provide these photos are somehow wrong or fake, but provided photographs clearly do three things:

  1. They show that the seller is taking time and providing details with the listings.
  2. They give you evidence you can use if the seller doesn’t deliver what was promised.  And,
  3. (especially important for “collection-intended” items) They show that the movement, crown, dial and caseback all make sense together, which is to say that all items are likely original to the piece and not just assembled piece by piece from a few watches.

An aside: although I have never—not even once—had a watch not be exactly what was shown in a Taobao listing, I save the html page (save as html/complete) for all watches I buy. That gives me a photo and original seller’s text record of what I purchased, but it also provides provenance for the item which helps protect collection value.  I name the saved page as watchname_datepurchased_seller.

Also, I don’t ever mind emails asking about specific pieces as long as you understand I give opinions and not advice; the final decision is always yours ;-)

Table 2-11-77

January 1983 price list of domestically produced mechanical watches

Unit: RMB / unit

Grade
Place of manufacture
Brand
Specifications
Retail price

List price
After price adjustment

Grade 1
Shanghai
Shanghai 上海/上海
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
100
90

Grade 1
Shanghai
Chunlei 春蕾／春蕾
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
100
90

Grade 1
Shanghai
Baoshihua 宝石花／寶石花
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
90
80

Grade 1
Shanghai
Shanghai 上海／上海
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, woman’s watch
90
80

Grade 1
Shanghai
Diamond/Zuan Shi 钻石／鑽石
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
90
75

Grade 1
Tianjin
Sea-Gull/Haiou 海鸥／海鷗
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
90
90

Grade 1
Tianjin
Easterly Wind/Dongfeng 东风／東風
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
90
80

Grade 1
Beijing
Double Rhomb/Shaungling 双菱／雙菱
20-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
85
75

Grade 1
Xian
Yan’an 延安／延安
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
75
70

Grade 1
Xian
Butterfly 蝴蝶／蝴蝶
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
75
70

Grade 1
Guangzhou
Guangzhou 广州／廣州
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
75
70

Grade 1
Guangzhou
Bright Pearl 明珠／明珠
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
75
70

Grade 1
Dandong
Peacock/Kongque 孔雀／孔雀
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
75
70

Grade 1
Chongqing
Mountain City 山城／山城
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
70
70

Grade 2
Qingdao
Jinmao 金锚／金錨
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
70
60

Grade 2
Qingdao
Jinmao 金锚／金錨
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
70
60

Grade 2
Tianjin
Lanhua 兰花／蘭花
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
67
60

Grade 2
Tianjin
Mt Everest/Zhufeng 珠峰／珠峰
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
65
60

Grade 2
Beijing
Linhua 菱花／菱花
20-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
70
60

Grade 2
Beijing
Three Rings 三环／三環
20-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
60

Grade 2
Suzhou
Suzhou 苏州／蘇州
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
65
55

Grade 2
Xian
Panda/Xiongmao 熊猫／熊貓
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Dandong
MeiMei 美美／美美
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, woman’s watch
55
55

Grade 2
Dalian
Pearl 珍珠／珍珠
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, watch for the blind
65
60

Grade 2
Dalian
Pearl 珍珠／珍珠
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, woman’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Chongqing
Sanhua 山花／山花
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Yantai
Polaris 北极星／北極星
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Qingdao
Rose 玫瑰／玫瑰
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Liaocheng
Taishan 泰山／泰山
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Shenyang
Hundred Flowers 百花／百花
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
55
55

Grade 3
Shanghai
Jinji 金鸡／金雞
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 3
Shanghai
Silver Flower 银花／銀花
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
54
50

Grade 3
Shanghai
Pride of Shanghai 沪光／滬光
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
54
50

Grade 3
Shanghai
Silver Cup/Yinbei 银杯／銀杯
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
54
50

Grade 3
Tienjin
Tienjin 天津／天津
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Tienjin
Welcome Springtime 迎春／迎春
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Tienjin
Milan 米兰／米蘭
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
45
50

Grade 3
Beijing
Yanshan 燕山／燕山
20-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Xian
Magnolia 玉兰／玉藺
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
55
50

Grade 3
Guangzhou
Yangchen 羊城／羊城
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Dandong
Spring Orchid/Chunlan 春兰／春蘭
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Shenyang
Spring Flower/Chunhua春花／春花
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Dalian
Double Fish (or Pisces) 双鱼／雙魚
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Dandong
Green Clouds 青云／青雲
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Chongqing
Kunlun 昆仑／崑崙
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
45
50

Grade 3
Chongqing
Flower Creek 花溪／花溪
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Chongqing
Precious Laws 宝律／寶律
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
55
50

Grade 3
Jinan
Spring Swallow/Chunyan 春燕／春燕
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Qingdao
Double Happiness双喜／雙喜
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Yantai
Sprout 萌芽／萌芽
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
45
50

Grade 3
Suzhou
Multiple Rhombs 多菱／多菱
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Xian
Antelope 羚羊／羚羊
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Jieyang
Sunflower/Kuihua 葵花／葵花
11-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
83
35

Grade 3
Dandong
Dragon & Phoenix 龙凤／龍鳳
17-jewel, half steel, simplified packaging watch with date
83
35

Grade 4
Nanjing
Zhongshan 钟山／鐘山
9-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
40
35

Grade 4
Nanjing
Zhongshan 钟山／鐘山
9-jewel, all steel, man’s watch
30
30

Grade 4
Yangzhou
Viburnum 琼花／瓊花
17-jewel, all steel, simplified packaging, shockproof, man’s watch
45
40

Table 2-11-78

March 1983 price list of domestically produced mechanical watches

Unit: RMB / unit

Grade
Place of manufacture
Brand
Specifications
List price
After price adjustment

Grade 1
Shijiazhuang
Stone Pearl 石珠／石珠
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
-
70

Grade 2
Harbin
Northern 北方／北方
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
55
55

Grade 2
Changchun
Plum Blossom/Meihua 梅花／梅花
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
55
55

Grade 2
Hangzhou
West Lake/Xihu 西湖／西湖
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Nanchang
Lushan 庐山／廬山
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
55
55

Grade 2
Hefei
Red Star 红星／紅星
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
55
55

Grade 2
Wuhan
Wuhan 武汉／武漢
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
55
55

Grade 2
Shijiazhuang
Taihang 太行／太行
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Shijiazhuang
Red Lotus 红莲／紅蓮
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
55

Grade 2
Kunming
Spring City 春城／春城
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, man’s watch
60
60

Grade 3
Harbin
Skylark 云雀／雲雀
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
49
50

Grade 3
Changchun
Ginseng Flower 参花／參花
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Dalian
Dalian 大连／大連
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
55
50 (added later)

Grade 3
Shenyang
Precious Dragon 宝龙／寶龍
19-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
-
60

Grade 3
Jiangxi
波阳／波陽
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
-
50

Grade 3
Wuhan
Starfire 星火／星火
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
-
50

Grade 3
Nanning
Guihua 桂花／桂花
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Luoyang
Peony 牡丹／牡丹
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Kunming
云雀／雲雀
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
50
50

Grade 3
Shijiazhuang
Three Flowers三花／三花
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
-
50

Grade 3
Shijiazhuang
Zhauzhou Bridge 赵州桥／趙州橋
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
-
50

Grade 3
Shijiazhuang
Three Fishes三鱼／三魚
17-jewel, all steel, shockproof, man’s watch
-
50

Grade 3
Zhengzhou
Yellow River 黄河／黃河
16-jewel, simplified packaging, shockproof, man’s watch
40
36

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