Luxury watchmakers lure Chinese collectors with timepieces with Eastern influences

Edouard Bovet brought watches to China in 1818. Years after that, Qing dynasty connoisseurs took “Bo Wei” – the Chinese pronunciation of the brand – as a synecdoche for Western timepieces lavishly decorated with Eastern enamel paintings, pearls and engravings. 

Today, luxury watchmakers are still catering to the Chinese market by creating designs with an Eastern touch. In fact, brands are doing more than simply adopting chinoiserie. For seasoned connoisseurs, the brands highlight savoir faire, limited editions and customisations.

“Quality and brand heritage are probably the most important factors for Chinese connoisseurs,” says Pascal Raffy, CEO of Bovet. “Affluent Chinese collectors have inspired the house since the 19th century, and the story continues with the ultimate bespoke services we provide – from personalised miniature painting to unique hand-engraving on cases or even calibres.” European heritage watchmakers have been luring Chinese customers with exquisite horological treasures. 

“The brands have been very much attuned to catering to the tastes of Chinese clients, going all the way back to the 18th century,” says John Reardon, Christie’s international head of watches. “Many of the greatest enamel masterpieces from the 18th and 19th century were made for the Chinese market. Many of the most amazing automata were specifically made for China.”

Fast-forward to today, despite a slowdown in the luxury market over the past two years, China  remains a strong force in driving sales growth for high-end watches. According to a report by Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Asia generated one-half of all export sales in 2017 while both China and Hong Kong were the first to bounce back from the market slowdown.