ndustrial designer Zhang Jianmin approaches watchmaking through questions: Why use conventional hands to tell the time? Why conceal the mechanism beneath a dial? And what can a mechanical watch express beyond the hour? These questions run through CIGA design’s development, from Blue Planet to the EDGE collection and the Hunter Tourbillon.

In this interview with Europa Star, Zhang Jianmin explains how CIGA design is extending its exploration from appearance into the mechanics themselves, drawing on Shenzhen’s manufacturing ecosystem while seeking an international audience for its ideas.

Europa Star: How would you define CIGA design’s identity today, and how has it evolved since the brand was founded?

Zhang Jianmin: We are a mechanical watch brand with original design at its core.

I started out as an industrial designer, so from the very beginning of CIGA design, I have approached watches somewhat differently from traditional watchmakers. I tend to ask questions from a design perspective: Why must time always be read using traditional hour and minute hands? Why must mechanical structures always be hidden? Beyond telling time, can a watch also express a person’s aesthetic, attitude, or even their understanding of time?

What has truly changed over the years is our ability to answer these questions. In the early days, we explored watch design primarily through appearance, structure, and the wearing experience. Later, we began to delve deeper into the mechanics themselves. From Blue Planet’s rethinking of traditional ways of reading time to our exploration today of skeletonized structures, complex mechanical systems, and movements developed in-house, we are bringing design step by step into the very heart of the mechanics.

For me, the essence of CIGA design has remained unchanged; what has evolved is the depth of our exploration. My hope is that design can go beyond shaping how a watch looks, and become a way of reimagining the watch itself.

What does it mean today to be a Chinese watch brand on the international stage?

Today, Chinese watch brands are no longer defined by manufacturing alone.

Switzerland and Japan have both built remarkable watchmaking traditions. Swiss watchmaking has a deep heritage of craftsmanship, culture and emotional value, while Japan has established its own standards for precision, reliability and practicality. There is much we respect and can learn from both. China has its own strengths. Shenzhen, where we are based, and the Greater Bay Area are home to a highly developed and efficient watchmaking supply chain. It allows us to take an idea from concept to development and production very quickly.

But manufacturing is only part of the story. Chinese brands are increasingly looking to express their own ideas and perspectives through the products they create. So for me, the key question on the international stage is not whether China can make a good watch, but what China can bring to an industry with more than two centuries of history.

For CIGA design, I believe the answer lies in original design, new forms of mechanical expression, and our own understanding of time. Through that, we hope to bring new possibilities to watchmaking.

“Today, Chinese watch brands are no longer defined by manufacturing alone. (...) The key question on the international stage is not whether China can make a good watch, but what China can bring to an industry with more than two centuries of history.”

CIGA design puts design at the centre of its approach. How does your creative process differ from that of traditional watch brands?

As an industrial designer myself, when I founded CIGA design, I wanted designers to have a strong voice within the brand.

In many companies, design may be just one part of the product development process. At CIGA design, however, design is often where a product begins. We don’t necessarily start by asking, “What kind of watch should we make this year?” Instead, we may begin with a question, or even an idea that sounds a little unconventional at first.

Blue Planet is a good example. We didn’t start by deciding to make a traditional watch and then designing a distinctive dial for it. We started with a much more fundamental question: Can time be read in a different way?

Once an idea takes shape, our designers, movement developers, engineers and manufacturing teams work together to find a way to make it possible. The complete and highly efficient supply chain in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area also allows us to test, refine and validate ideas quickly. I have always believed that truly valuable design is not simply about making something that already exists look better. It is about asking new questions and finding new answers.

The Blue Planet and the GPHG award gave CIGA design major international visibility. What changed for the brand after that recognition?

When Blue Planet won the GPHG Challenge Watch Prize in 2021, it marked a very important milestone for both CIGA design and me.

It introduced the brand to more international media, collectors and watch enthusiasts. But for me, the more important change was not simply the increased visibility. It was that people began to see CIGA design differently.

In the past, when a Chinese watch brand appeared on the international stage, people might first ask where it was made, how much it cost, or how it compared with traditional Swiss watches. After Blue Planet won the award, I noticed that more and more people began discussing the watch itself: Why does it display time this way? How does the mechanical system work? Why use the Earth as a way to express time?

The conversation began to shift from “This is a Chinese watch brand” to “This is a watch brand with its own design philosophy.”

At the same time, I have always been very clear that one GPHG award alone cannot build a great brand. Many of the world’s great watch brands have taken generations to establish the position they hold today.

So I have never seen the GPHG award as an end point. It gave CIGA design an opportunity to be seen by the world. What we need to do now is prove that we can continue to create.

“The conversation began to shift from “This is a Chinese watch brand” to “This is a watch brand with its own design philosophy.”

How are CIGA design’s operations organised today — from design and product development to manufacturing, distribution and international expansion?

Today, CIGA design has built an interconnected system spanning design, research and development (R&D), manufacturing and global markets, with design remaining the starting point of everything we do.

Beyond our own design team, I have always wanted CIGA design to remain open to creative collaboration. So far, we have worked with designers from six different countries. To me, design should never be limited by geography. Great ideas can resonate across cultures and borders.

Once a design concept takes shape, our movement R&D, engineering, materials and manufacturing teams become involved at an early stage. The complete supply chain in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area allows these teams to communicate and collaborate very efficiently.

We take a flexible approach to movements and manufacturing. We develop our own movements, while also using proven Swiss or Japanese movements when they are better suited to a particular product. For me, the priority is not where each component comes from, but whether it helps us achieve the design we originally envisioned.

In international markets, we connect with consumers through distributors, retail partners, e-commerce and local partners. Our experience of international expansion over the years has made one thing increasingly clear to me: globalisation is not about simply replicating what works in China around the world. It is about finding people in different parts of the world who understand and connect with our design philosophy.

“So far, we have worked with designers from six different countries. To me, design should never be limited by geography. Great ideas can resonate across cultures and borders.”

What are the key models or launches for CIGA design this year, and what do they tell us about the direction the brand is taking?

This year marks CIGA design’s 10th anniversary, and for me, our new releases represent more than just new products — they mark a new stage for the brand.

Over the past ten years, we have been exploring new possibilities for mechanical watches. Blue Planet reimagined the traditional way of reading time, while the EDGE collection brought the mechanical structures usually hidden beneath the dial into view. The two express this idea differently, but they share the same thinking: through original design, we want to rethink what has long been taken for granted in watchmaking.

The Hunter Tourbillon continues this thinking, while taking our exploration deeper into the mechanics of the watch itself. We opened up the movement as much as possible, allowing its operation, structure and depth to be seen directly. To me, mechanics have a pure beauty of their own. They do not need excessive decoration. The role of design is to allow that beauty to be truly seen and experienced.

This is also the direction we want to continue pursuing at CIGA design. Design should not be limited to the appearance of a watch. It can extend into the movement and mechanical structure, and even change the way we read and experience time.

For our first ten years, we explored how a watch could be designed differently. Over the next ten, we want to go further and explore how the mechanical watch itself can be redefined.

In the future, when people see CIGA design, I hope they remember more than a distinctive appearance. I hope they also recognize the thinking behind each watch — our own perspective on design, mechanics and time.

How do you see the expectations of younger watch consumers changing, particularly in China?

I often ask myself: why do people still choose to wear mechanical watches today?

Thirty years ago, the primary purpose of wearing a watch was to tell the time. Today, we all have phones that can do that instantly, so a mechanical watch is no longer something we wear simply because we need to know the time.

Increasingly, it has become a form of personal expression — a reflection of our taste, values and even the way we choose to live.

This is particularly true for younger consumers. They have grown up in a global, digital world, with easy access to different designs, cultures and brands from around the world. As a result, they are less likely to judge a watch solely by its heritage, country of origin or its place within a traditional brand hierarchy.

What matters more to them is the personal connection: Do I genuinely like it? Does the design offer something new? Does it feel like me?

This shift is particularly visible in China, where more and more young consumers are drawn to original design, individuality and products that allow them to express who they are.

So while smartphones have made the timekeeping function of a mechanical watch less essential, I believe its value as an expression of design, artistry and emotion has become even more important. Mechanical watches are not losing their meaning — they are taking on a new one.

Looking ten years ahead, what would you like CIGA design to have contributed to contemporary watchmaking?

Watchmaking has more than two centuries of history, so ten years is only a brief period in this industry.

Looking ten years ahead, we hope CIGA design will be known by more people around the world and that our watches will reach more markets. But our ambition goes beyond the number of countries we enter, stores we open or watches we sell.

More importantly, we want to contribute something new to contemporary mechanical watchmaking. That could be a new way of displaying time, a new mechanical structure, or a design language that reflects the era we live in.

Blue Planet led us to reconsider something that had been taken for granted in watchmaking for centuries: Why must time always be read with traditional hour and minute hands? Over the next ten years, we hope to keep questioning conventions like this.

We also want to show the world that Chinese watch brands can offer more than excellent manufacturing — they can bring original design, mechanical innovation and their own perspective on watchmaking.

CIGA design is not trying to become the next version of another brand, nor are we trying to replace anyone. We want to stay true to our own design language and spirit of innovation, while continuing to explore new possibilities for mechanical watches.

If, ten years from now, CIGA design has created truly original work and left something of its own in contemporary watchmaking, I would consider that a real achievement.