Watch Manufacturer List: A Guide to Watch Brand Owners And Wholesalers

BLSCM Watches
11 min readMar 30, 2019

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If you are in the watch business, a watch manufacturer list is a resource of potential business partner that you will cooperate with.

Today, I will share with you a ready to pick-up watch manufacturers list that can help your watch business go viral.

Perhaps, you have landed on this article because you are looking to jump into the watch business or already are. Either you opt for wholesaling or retailing some name brands, you want to start a watch brand of your own, or you’re looking for a workforce to produce watches under your brand’s name.

If it’s the former, there are a lot of hot brands that’ll bring in sales. And if it’s the two latter, there are some excellent private label watch manufacturers providing OEM and ODM services that can help you in your business.

Before anything else, there are a lot of things to consider. There’s the movement, whether you prefer automatic, mechanical, or quartz. There are also particular styles, either dress; casual; fashion; and etc. Multifunctional watches are also being crafted for particular purposes, such as sporty types; for diving; not to mention smartwatches, and etc. Then there are those that are high end or more affordable.

Many watch manufacturers, name brands and private label brands alike, supply all sorts of these watches. Moreover, in watch manufacturing, there are four major countries in the industry, namely Switzerland; Japan; China; and America. All of which, we will delve more into later in this article.

Once you’ve decided what kind to go with, then you can find the best candidate to suit your preference. And to lend a helping hand, we have here, a list of manufacturers to serve as a guide in your search.

Watch Manufacturers to Choose From

Swiss Watch Manufacturers

When it comes to watchmaking, its Switzerland that’s in the lead with their top quality craftsmanship. Watchmaking, for the Swiss, is an established industry and a centuries-long tradition for families of watchmakers that are preserved and grows through research and innovation. In result, their watches are the finest in the world. And a lot of manufacturers from Switzerland have made a name for themselves around the world.

Name Brands

Rolex — This internationally acclaimed brand is known for its luxurious timepieces that are innovatively designed with high standards and best quality of materials. With their prestige to add to that, their watches imply high status to wearers of such watch. Although it was founded in London, England around 1905, it had moved its operations to Switzerland in 1919.

Breitling — Timekeeping precision, functionality, and sophistication are what characterize this luxury watch brand. Together with the sleek appeal in their watches is the exceptionally precise timekeeping, as all their models are certified chronometers. Some of their models are also designed for specific purposes, such as aviation; diving; military; sports; and etc.

Swatch — The fashion watch brand provides stylish watches that are more affordable compared to the aforementioned brands. Their designs usually have a pop of color with artistic designs. Watches with refined style are also produced by this brand.

HUGO BOSS — Another brand from Switzerland that has gained a reputation for their fashion-forward timepieces is HUGO BOSS. This brand boasts modern aesthetics that are quite stylish.

Private Label

121time — At 121time, they have three approaches in producing watches. One way is for clients to make designs based on the 121time brand portfolio, where clients can place a logo on existing dials or can also make a dial design to go with one of their cases. The other one is by starting from scratch. In that approach, clients can choose between Swiss or Japanese movements. And for the third, new cases can be created through a CNC machine. They can be made with chronograph or classical execution. Various coatings can also be made on them.

Blanchefontaine — They offer partial or complete services in the production of watches. Their services include the design, creation, technical development, to realistic renderings and prototypes. They provide both quartz and mechanical watches. And for branding, you can add your logo on the dial or packaging.

Japanese Watch Manufacturers

Another country leading in the industry is Japan. In fact, with their innovations for their quartz movements, they dominated the global market during the 1970s until the early 1980s and became a threat to their Swiss counterpart. But Switzerland, soon after, still regained their spot at the top. Nevertheless, the Japanese watchmakers have their own strengths that set them apart from the Swiss watchmakers.

One difference they have that is quite convenient is the affordability of their watches. But the lower price does not mean lower quality. As while the Swiss are known to make high-grade luxury watches, the Japanese are known for their technological advancements applied in the inexpensive yet quality design of their watches. And at some point, companies like Citizen and Seiko took on the luxury watch domain, also producing elegant jewel-studded timepieces with high quality that, of course, came with cutting edge technology that they’re all about. Apart from their quartz watches, Japanese watchmakers are also renowned for their superb digital watches and hybrid watches.

Name Brands

Casio — This world-renowned company is famed for their series, such as G-Shock; ProTek; and Wave Ceptor to name a few from several of the watches that they produce. With their versatility in watchmaking, they craft various types of watches from sport; outdoor; dress; casual; multi-band atomic watches; and even data storing digital watches that they first introduced in 1983 called Databank. But they only make quartz watches.

Seiko — This company is another innovator in the industry, as it was them who introduced the first quartz watch in 1969, the Seiko Quartz Astron and again made another first in 2012, the first GPS solar watch, the Seiko Astron. As the pioneer in quartz watches, they provide the best quartz watches in the world. They produce high-end and affordable watches, where high quality and reliability is provided in both kinds.

Orient — Since 1950, Orient has been offering high-quality stylish watches in affordable price points the market. Although they became a subsidiary of Seiko in 2007 and fully integrated in 2017, Orient continues to create their own movements and maintains its own identity. What sets this company apart from Seiko is that it is more experimental when it comes to style, while Seiko is rather traditional. But similar to Seiko, Orient also produces luxury watches at lower prices.

Citizen — This innovative company invented the first solar-powered watch in 1976, the Eco-Drive as their environmental approach of making use of natural and artificial sources of light for power instead of batteries that can fill landfills, as well as the world’s first multi-band atomic watch in 1993 that’s extremely accurate in timekeeping, the Skyhawk A-T. Citizen goes by their slogan, “Better starts now” and strives for improvement in the watches they provide with their excellent and creative craftsmanship.

Private Label

Kyowa — At Kyowa, their clients are covered in all aspects of OEM and ODM from the design to the manufacturing of watches. They also offer design consultation and complete after-sales services. In the production of the watches, they have two plans clients can select from according to their preference. They could either go with the custom-made plan, where a watch is designed from scratch as the clients please or with the semi-custom-made plan, where existing cases are used and clients place their logo on the dial, as well as even have a new design made for the dial and choose the plating color and band.

Chinese Watch Manufacturers

In the history of watchmaking, the Chinese have had a bad reputation of being copycats, as they were accused of creating cheap copies of reputed brands. But that isn’t entirely so. Actually, the watchmakers from this country devised some of the most cutting-edge technology in the industry; designed the most unique and striking watches; fabricated the most resilient watches; and have made a ton of sales in the market, among several other accomplishments. Such achievements had led the country’s growth into one of the world’s biggest watch manufacturers.

Name Brands

Beijing Watch Factory — This prestigious brand based in Hangzhou, China is the oldest watchmaker in the country. They are known for their modern expression of oriental culture with unique aesthetics in refined designs. Mechanical movements are their expertise, and they have produced seven series of highly complex movements, including tourbillon; tourbillon minute repeater; double tourbillon; bi-axial 3D-printed tourbillon; tri-axial 3D-printed double tourbillon; two-pin escapement mechanism; and long time-keeping tourbillon.

Fiyta — This award-winning watch manufacturer skillfully crafts watches powered by Japanese movement with high quality in precision, resilience, and aesthetic. Fiyta is even partnered with the Chinese Space Agency as their official timekeeper and produced space watches to be worn over the space suit that is quite resilient to withstand the adverse environment in outer space the watches get exposed to.

Sea-Gull — They are reputed for the reliable movements that they produce and sell over a quarter of the watch movement sales worldwide. Apart from supplying for other brands, they also sell watches with their own brand name in their own striking designs.

EBOHR — Excellent quality is ensured at EBOR with the skillful craftsmanship of their luxury watches. With their innovativeness in design, they produce the most fashion-forward timepieces. They also boast the Chinese tradition in some of their designs.

Private Label

Bolong Watches Factory — As the one-stop service provider for OEM and ODM, Bolong Watches Factory can supply everything for the fabrication of watches and more. The company started out as a custom watches manufacturer, then soon expanded their business to establish their Bolong Watches Supply Chain; Bolong International Logistics; Bolong Industry Chain Finance; and 1 Heart Brand Marketing. The expansion of their business brought in advantages for a better service for clients. With their watches supply chain that allows higher production efficiency, they are able to offer wholesale prices affordable with a 10% discount. With their logistics company, they can ensure that deliveries are done promptly and safely. The company also backs up clients’ brands with marketing support, and what’s more, is that it’s for free.

American Watch Manufacturers

Although not as big in the industry as the Swiss, America had its own mark in watchmaking. They are, in fact, the pioneers in the mass production of watches with the use of machinery. To this day, though not at the top, America has been producing quality timepieces and making history, themselves.

Name Brands

Martenero — This brand’s style is what they call, “tradition refreshed”. They fuse tradition with a modern perspective. Although their watches are designed in a contemporary manner, their craftsmanship is still rooted to tradition. Their aim is to provide modern watches with timeless appeal.

RGM — Aspiring for innovation while preserving tradition with the aim of providing the finest watches, RGM’s tagline, “America’s premier watchmaker” holds true. They provide nothing but exceptional watches of high quality and timeless elegance. They also offer bespoke services, wherein they can customize an existing model or fully customize a watch.

Bulova — Their success has been marked by the aesthetics and technological advancements in their timepieces. There’s the extremely precise timekeeping they developed, which functioned with their tuning fork technology introduced in the Accutron. Their progress in timekeeping also had an impact in sports with their Phototimer — a precise electronic timing device with a camera used in competitive sports, as well as in aeronautics in their collaborations with Lindbergh and NASA on 46 space missions. Other notable developments of theirs are the Precisionist collection that has impressively accurate timekeeping, including a continuously sweeping second hand along with an equally impressive style to match and the Curve collection — another one of Bulova’s firsts — a curved chronograph movement for a sleek and ergonomic design.

Timex — This is the watch brand that “takes a licking and keeps on ticking”. Over the years, Timex’ watches have been tried and true with their high quality in design and durability without having to come at a high price. They provide watches for all kinds of persons and tastes, whether in casual or dress styles and whether for the sports-minded; adventurers; professionals; or etc. They’ve even also developed their own smartwatch.

Private Label

Belair — Providing an affordable and simple way to create a watch collection, Belair can craft in any style a client wants without any hassle. Clients simply have to select a watch and specify how they want it designed. Clients’ logos can be added on the dial. They can have dials customized in multicolor and even give their watches an elegant touch by using a die-struck medallion for their dial material. However, there is an initial fee for the dye used in printing and private label printing will come free once having purchased the minimum amount.

Name Brand Watch Manufacturer vs Private Label Watch Manufacturer

Watches Design

Earlier, in this article, we have cited the desirable qualities of the aforementioned manufacturers. Although each has their own strengths, both name brand manufacturers and private label watch manufacturers also have their downsides.

Big name brand watches are reputed and sought after by consumers and collectors. You can select a brand that you’re interested in that could also sell well. However, along with their reputation and prestige, those watches may come at a high price. Nevertheless, every business needs capital to start.

Private label watch manufacturers are reliable workforces to aid in manufacturing. Whether for established name brand manufacturers; those who have started a small watch brand; and those who wish to start their own watch brand, private label watch manufacturers can be counted on with their OEM and ODM services starting from the design all the way to the production. Some of them even offer additional services like marketing support, after-sales services, and etc. Even for those who don’t have much idea about watches, building their own brand can be made easy with the help of private label watch manufacturers. Another advantage, especially for those who are just starting is that the order quantity can be at a minimum, so it can be suited to a client’s budget. But the downside is it is the unfortunate event that one can come across fraudulent “manufacturers”, which puts one’s investment at risk. So you must be careful to make sure of legitimacy by checking on the company’s background before making transactions.

Conclusion

Finding a reliable watch manufacturer is not an easy thing. Whether it is name brand manufacturer or a private label manufacturer, they have their workmanship difference, minimum order quantity, after sale services and marketing support.

In this article, we just listed the main watches manufacturer in different watches production countries and hope this will help you.

Have you cooperated with any good watch manufacturer before? How about their services?

Please comment below to share your experience. We will offer you our suggestions in the reply.

Source: https://bolongwatch.com/watch-manufacturer-list/

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