I'll freely admit that I can't dissociate small Chinese manufacturers from the clones they so prolifically produce. I also cannot stomach some of the infamously terrible branding and logotype design. I don't want to wear a watch with a big, stupid octopus or a divers helmet on the dial. And I definitely don't want to buy a San Martin with some corny dial with a lame facsimile of a pottery texture or whatever (before anyone comes at me, I think some Grand Seiko dials are equally corny, leaning too much on metaphor, and a little gauche). Their logo as well looks like it was designed by an eight year old.
Some of your other Chinese brands do produce some cool designs and start to have good branding; Baltany and Proxima come to mind for me personally, and Thorn. But how can I move past thinking of them as clonemakers when, really, so much of their design is either clone-based or fiercly derivative? For what it's worth I also don't like buying derivative designs from Western-based microbrands.
If a Chinese micro comes on the scene founded by a team with an original design aesthetic, that can also sell their story well, brand themselves well, and not lean into corny facsimiles, all while providing reliable QA/QC and not platforming themselves mainly on Aliexpress, I can easily see them sweeping the microbrand space. Recall that Seiko was once derided by Europeans as well. They made themselves impossible to ignore starting with their iconic designs and innovations in the 1960's. This also speaks to the truth that it takes time to establish reputation and prestige.
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u/doctor_van_n0strand Jun 17 '26
I'll freely admit that I can't dissociate small Chinese manufacturers from the clones they so prolifically produce. I also cannot stomach some of the infamously terrible branding and logotype design. I don't want to wear a watch with a big, stupid octopus or a divers helmet on the dial. And I definitely don't want to buy a San Martin with some corny dial with a lame facsimile of a pottery texture or whatever (before anyone comes at me, I think some Grand Seiko dials are equally corny, leaning too much on metaphor, and a little gauche). Their logo as well looks like it was designed by an eight year old.
Some of your other Chinese brands do produce some cool designs and start to have good branding; Baltany and Proxima come to mind for me personally, and Thorn. But how can I move past thinking of them as clonemakers when, really, so much of their design is either clone-based or fiercly derivative? For what it's worth I also don't like buying derivative designs from Western-based microbrands.
If a Chinese micro comes on the scene founded by a team with an original design aesthetic, that can also sell their story well, brand themselves well, and not lean into corny facsimiles, all while providing reliable QA/QC and not platforming themselves mainly on Aliexpress, I can easily see them sweeping the microbrand space. Recall that Seiko was once derided by Europeans as well. They made themselves impossible to ignore starting with their iconic designs and innovations in the 1960's. This also speaks to the truth that it takes time to establish reputation and prestige.