This year’s Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair had 807 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions with important increases in buyers from the Chinese mainland (+12.2%), Japan (+14.5%), USA (+5.7%) and Europe (+4%).
According to the survey carried out by Oracle Added Value, an independent market research company, timepiece buyers placed 14% more orders this year, with increased quantities (13%) and unit prices (10%) for each order. The unit price increase was attributed to higher raw materials costs and varying exchange rates. The survey added that ‘…the changing sourcing trend also contributes to the rising unit prices. Buyers are now sourcing higher price items for higher-end market.’
Which brings me to my own personal impression: Hong Kong manufacturers, whether producing their watches in Hong Kong or on the Chinese mainland, have dramatically improved both their design work and the overall quality of their timepieces. Original design is now taking over from the blatant copies of yesteryear and the derivatives of popular models are making way for more imaginatively ‘fashion’ watches.
Of course, you can still find an OEM manufacturer that will make you a thousand watches that look a renowned Swiss manufacturer’s model, just as you will find in the Temple Street Night Market a Patek Philippe or a Calvin Klein model that the brand hasn’t even thought of yet. Nevertheless, there is no question that Hong Kong has at last woken up to the fact that it is possible to be creative and also make money.

The Brand Name Gallery
A perfect example of this change of attitude is the increase in the number of exhibitors in the Design Gallery. Launched just five years ago with a mere handful of exhibitors prepared to put themselves on the line as a brand (an heroic jest in the year 2000), the Gallery has attracted more brands each year. This year, we saw a dramatic expansion of the floor space with 86 brands from 70 companies participating. True they were not all from Hong Kong, nevertheless, in addition to the locals in the Gallery, there were almost as many booths dotted around the principal show area of the Convention and Exhibition Centre showing a brand name.
One of my first stops whenever I go to the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair is chez Voilà because it was one of the first Hong Kong companies to adventure out into the hitherto unknown world of total branding by creating a name and stopping its private label business. The other brands that have done well in this is domain are Jacques Farel and Solar Time who produce the Triumph, Immersion, Navigare and Giardano brands.
Roger Khemlani, Voilà’s owner and designer, was on edge when I first saw him. “People complain about the Chinese copying, but it’s the American’s that are copying now. It’s like the Wild West out there!” he protested. In fact, Roger Khemlani has several lawsuits in progress for copying – including one where someone has simply put the Voilà name on a watch that he didn’t make or design.
Khemlani showed me his latest creation, which I cannot talk about or illustrate here because he believes, with cause, that someone will have a copy out there before he’s put it into production. Suffice it to say that I think he has a winner. Nevertheless, his recently released collection of ‘Lost in Time’ is a clear indication that he is on the right track.
Jacques Farel is another creative Hong Kong based company. Managed by the Swiss Froidevaux family of father, son and daughter, the brand has an interesting selection of watches with Swiss movements that range from a Kid’s Collection to elegant ladies’ and sports watches.
“Jacques Farel is a blend of Swiss Management and design with production facilities in China,” Joanne Froidevaux, the daughter and designer explains. “The benefits of having production facilities in China means we can offer high perceived value but with affordable retail prices due to lower manufacturing costs; quality products as Jacques Farel emphasizes on strict quality control which is possible with the man power available in China, and having the possibility to react quickly when introducing new models.
“We have concentrated, as a first step, on expanding the Jacques Farel brand and timepieces in Europe (UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Scandinavia), the Middle East and the Asian countries as well as in Hong Kong. Our next step will be to look into selling in China.
“Our strategy is to continue to come up with unique and signature products, of high quality and intricate details with exciting, efficient presentation material, so as to give Jacques Farel all the right tools to gain better exposure and presence at the retail level. Today, it is no longer just about the watch and the price, but the quality, the packaging, the presentation, and the creativity behind each timepiece that needs to be thoroughly studied and implemented,” Joanne Froidevaux concludes.
Some of the other brands in the Design Gallery that displayed well designed, quality timepieces were 3T Pyramid with their trendy watches aimed at the younger generation, Ellesse and Everlast which we wrote about in the post-Basel issue of Europa Star, Latitude with its ever-expanding range of digital timepieces, Pasnew with some attractive rectangular digital and analogue watches, PowerDisk with an innovative watch that includes MP3 and USB technology, Tunlees with its colourful fashion watches and finally, one of my personal favourites o.d.m with its vast and vibrant range of digital and dress watches.




Voilà, jacques farel, o.d.m.



pasnew, Innovate



Triumph, Milus


Meanwhile elsewhere …
Solar Time is a Hong Kong company that now has four brands of varying styles and prices. “The Triumph brand now has a completely redesigned collection and captures the real spirit of the brand. It is now more masculine, more retro and more faithful to the lifestyle of the brand,” Vishal Tolani, the Business Development Director of Solar Time explained. “We also have a brand called Immersion, which, as the name implies is all about diving watches. Italian styling, dynamic, colourful and sporty, they are in the 100 to 500 euros price range.
“Our Giardano collection is a more fashion-backed brand in the 65 to 120 euros price range. The latest addition to our family of timepieces is the Navigare collection. It is a well-known clothing brand from Italy and is influenced by lifestyle trends. The prices range from 67 to 210 euros.”
This group of brands under the Solar Time banner offer some of the most attractive and original Timepieces in a very modest price range. Well designed, particularly well made, they offer an excellent quality/price ratio – even for Hong Kong.
There has been much talk about the plethora of tourbillon watches this year. Everybody and their brother appear to have one. However, from what could be seen in Hong Kong, the Chinese movement manufacturers are really coming along in leaps and bounds with their inexpensive tourbillon movements.
Many of the Chinese ‘brands’ have purchased the movements from the three major Chinese tourbillon manufacturers that I am personally aware of – PTS Resources, SeaGull and Innovate Enterprises, and have created attractive looking models. The Managing Director of Innovate Enterprises happily showed his vast (at least for this sort of complication) tourbillon collection and happily sent a photo for publication (see illustration). Another company Deabo, had a stainless steel tourbillon that sells at US$ 1,250, a red gold version at US$ 4,800 and a platinum model with Chinese indices at US$ 12,500.
Although this may ‘diminish the value of Swiss tourbillons’ as one Swiss manufacturer stated, there is no doubt that the Chinese movement manufacturers are making dramatic in-roads into the mechanical movement preserve. Not only in the tourbillon sector, but also with chronographs. It can only be underlined that the Chinese are making a determined effort to compete with the rest of the world in the mechanical movement sector.

The cherry on the cake
The evening of the next to last day of the Fair was taken over by Milus. Owned by the Hong Kong company Peace Mark, but fiercely independent and based in Switzerland, Milus organized a ‘Highly Personal’ soirée that continued through to the early hours of the morning. The stunning and entertaining event was to herald the launch of the new Tarasea and Eridana collections, but more of that in a forthcoming edition of the magazine. However, as a foretaste of what’s to come, take a look at the new 100% Swiss made Aurigos watch.
And as the sun sets on an excellent 2005 cru, 2006 looks like it could be even tastier!


Source: October - November 2005 Issue

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