Some trade fairs simply showcase new products. Others illuminate entire industries, their supply chains, and market dynamics. The Hong Kong Clock and Watch Fair, opening September 2 for its 44th edition, falls squarely in the latter category.

Tourbillons at the 2025 Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair

“When times are tough, you must go to the markets!” legendary Hublot CEO and marketing oracle Jean-Claude Biver told me emphatically during a November 2009 interview, when I was reporting for Deutsche Welle radio on how the subprime crisis was ravaging the watch industry. It was Biver, so I could feel the VU meters on my trusty Sony TC-D5M pinging.

While the world isn’t experiencing anything close to that financial crisis today, the watch industry remains, to put it politely, dynamic. According to the Fédération Horlogère (FH)  luxury Swiss brands continue to dominate high-end segments even as export volumes from Switzerland have dropped 50% over the past decade.

Meanwhile, despite a brief rebound in July, when consumers bought quickly to beat the 39% tariffs imposed by Washington, the lower segments are struggling. As for the rest of the world, it is not doing too badly, apparently, but that is the kind of information that will be revealed during the fair.

Amarildo Pilo explaining his watches at the 2024 Hong Kong Clock and Watch Fair

And getting out to the markets is why Amarildo Pilo, who leads the Swiss Independent Watchmakers’ Pavilion (SIWP), returns to Hong Kong annually along with a merry band of nine brands, including Aerowatch, Marvin, Mathey Tissot and his own Pilo & Co. “We mustn’t forget that Hong Kong is an international center,” he explains. “You have all the countries whose statistics remain positive—Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Even though the Chinese market is relatively down, we still hope to reconnect with customers, meet new contacts, and find distributors ready to invest.” Other markets, including European ones, are also showing definite promise year-on-year: Brazil (+65%), France (+57%), Germany (+15%), and India (+35%).

Hong Kong by night

All-purpose fair

This year’s fair welcomes over 650 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions from September 2-6. Of the exhibitors, at least 140 will be watch brands offering products ranging from affordable smartwatches to haute horlogerie pieces in the Salon de Time.

Angleswatch

It is here that you will find the ten brands of the SIWP, a mix of Asian and European brands, and in a separate space, the prestigious World Brand Piazza, which exhibits nine renowned international brands including Baume & Mercier, Corum, Montblanc, and Ulysse Nardin.

Lucky Harvey watch

More importantly, though, the Salon de Time is where Chinese brands exhibit their latest products, and many show remarkable creativity, boldness, and even a sense of humour, like Lucky Harvey or Angleswatch. Shanghai Watch, China’s oldest brand, will be returning to the fair after a hiatus in 2024, to celebrate its seventieth year.

Elaborately engraved dial of this Sea-Gull watch

The history of watchmaking in China is fascinating as a cultural phenomenon, because it was born as a competition in 1955. One of the first Chinese movements was made in Tianjin. It later became Sea-Gull, a company that makes its own watches these days.

National pride

Many of these brands have embraced guochao, which translates roughly as the “national trend” movement launched about ten years ago to celebrate China’s cultural heritage through modern design. Significantly, it pervades products as much as their advertising.

Much could be written about guochao (I explored its significance in Wristwatch Annual a few years ago), but suffice to say here, it is a natural evolution away from copying Western designs to creating distinctly Chinese luxury products.

Among some of the notable products expressing national pride and “cultural confidence” are Sea-Gull’s “Three-Legged Golden Sunbird” minute repeater with a dial inspired by Chinese mythology or FIYTA’s “Chang’e Flying to the Moon” celebrating China’s space exploration achievements.

CIGA Blue Planet with compass

Need I mention CIGA Design’s famous “Blue Planet,” which won a GPHG prize and featured a compass as a minute hand, a tool that was invented by the Chinese.

The HKCWF reflects the city’s position as the world’s second-largest watch trading hub. It is the place where you can find a vast array of suppliers to the industry, from strap-makers, to watch hands, from tools, to high-quality sapphire crystal parts.

OEM (original equipment manufacturer) companies at the Hong Kong Clock and Watch Fair

Literally hundreds of small companies engage in OEM/ODM  manufacturing, and if your heart beats for watch-kitsch or a kitchen clock that lets out bird calls at the top of each hour, you will be richly rewarded.

Fashion show at the Hong Kong Clock and Watch Fair

The Fair even has a hall devoted entirely to fashions and the occasional show. And if you cannot resist purchasing a product,  you will be able to, but pick-up is at the end.

Learning more

Two conferences will address current market challenges. The International Watch Forum on September 2 will feature research from watch association representatives, while the Asian Watch Conference on September 3 will examine sustainability regulations, including the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulations (ESPR).

The ESPR, which entered force in July 2024, mandates stricter requirements for reparability, durability, reliability, and upgradeability while preventing premature obsolescence. Many brands go out of their way to use recycled materials. Lilienthal, a German company, came last year with straps made of coffee grounds… This year, they will be showing what they can do with tea leaves. But traditional mechanical watches are in fact poster children for sustainability. So, while challenging for many industries, watchmakers tend to respond to ESPR demands with a kind of “Coals to Newcastle” shrug.

For more information, please visit www.hktdc.com/event/hkwatchfair/en

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