Finding reliable custom watch manufacturers is not that easy, You need to compare and compare and compare
Know the truth before finding any watch manufacturers
There are some basic facts you need to know before looking for a supplier in depth.
Where are you looking for suppliers?
Where would you like to find a supplier of watches? You must have heard that there are 2 crucial watch production bases in the world, one is Switzerland and the other is China.
Swiss watch production requirements are higher than those of Chinese watches
China produces products of primary or upper intermediate quality, while Switzerland produces products of intermediate or higher or further higher grades, the Swiss products are produced
Swiss watches are not made by Swiss manufacturer
A Swiss watch is not necessarily Swiss-made, it may just have Swiss made stamped on it, or the Swiss manufacturer may buy all the parts from China and assemble them in Switzerland. This could be a marketing strategy. Good for you to know.
Ask the watch manufacturer some questions
Where they are located:
Chinese watch manufacturers are largely concentrated in Guangdong Province, where Shenzhen and Dongguan are more concentrated. There are fewer in other provinces. This is because it is in this part of the world that watchmakers concentrate on accessories, such as cases, straps, watch faces, etc. If your supplier is not in Guangdong province, then you have to be a bit careful if he is a middleman or a trader.
Of course, in the watch industry, no matter how big the brand is, there is no single supplier who can produce all the accessories, the best is he can produce the case himself and control the longest delivery time for parts. Such a supplier is also one of the better ones.
Another thing is that watches are not actually produced by one manufacturer, just like many products, the watch manufacturer combines his supply chain, buys parts from various suppliers, assembles them, and then ships them out, in fact, you are working with his supply chain.
Do they support customized packaging for you?
Ask for a quote with more suppliers, but choose the proper price, not the lowest price
What are the most important parts of a watch?
The most important component of the product:
the movement: The movements of watches are basically purchased from some of the major brands of movement manufacturers. For example, Japanese quartz movements are the best to use and are affordable and cost-effective, and Swiss mechanical movements are good, so you will know which brands to choose when making your choice.
The case: the case material is made of stainless steel more, other materials are less, no matter what levels of the brand, unless some limited models, they will use some other materials, the material of alloy is soft, the quality is not so good, some cheap brands will use it, some popular brands will use copper as raw material.
Watch plating: for good plating, choose PVD plating, it will oxidise over time at most and will not lose colour in large pieces and will last for many years. Never use water plating on your stainless steel watch, whoever uses it will regret it. Only go for water plating on cheaper watches.
The Watch Strap: For medium and above brand watches, use leather or stainless steel straps, do not use PU leather, it will fall off, do not use alloy straps, it looks cheap
The Watch Glass: There are two choices of glass: sapphire glass and mineral glass, the good one is sapphire glass, but expensive, mineral glass many brands choose, you can add a layer of that sapphire coating on top of the mineral glass, plus hard film, this is not so important
Have a basic understanding of the watch market
You also need to have a basic understanding of the market,
You can google: market research on wristwatches
check ours:
more market research will be released soon…..
Take a look at the various market research reports. Know your customer image, preferences, and customer profile, then you will have a better idea of how your brand should be built and what the cost price range should be. What age group would you sell to and what is their buying power?
You can also feel free to go shopping on various B2B platforms, check the prices, see some of the specifications and sizes marked by the suppliers
Go to a shopping mall, look at your local market, their styles, prices, and what brands, understand their business model, and look at the retail price of the products on the B2C platform (generally retail price range will be 50-60%*unit cost).
If you want to know the cost thing of customizing a watch, You can check this post
How to find reliable private-label watch manufacturers in China?
Multul discussion is a must, You need to talk with your watch supplier to get the trust and talk more.
Know about where is the watch manufacturer?
As previously stated the concentration of suppliers is in Shenzhen city, Guangdong province, so the suppliers that produce cheap watches are in the Xixiang district of Shenzhen. There are more people buying imitation watches in the Guangzhou area.
How to find watch manufacturers?
Online
Online can be B2B Websites, e.g. alibaba.com, madeinchina.com, globalsource.com.They are the 3 largest B2B platforms in China.
You can also search for B2B keywords on Google. e.g. “oem watches manufacturers in China, china watches manufacturer, OEM watches supplier” etc.
You can also search on various social media platforms such as ins, facebook, etc.
Offline
you can come to local exhibitions in China, such as the Canton Fair, and the Hong Kong Watch Fair(It is available every year, usually in early September）
Canton Fair: Held annually in Guangzhou in Spring and Autumn, the time for the year 2023 is October.
HK Watch&Clock Fair: There will be a wide range of ready-made watches, alarm clocks, watch accessories, watch equipment, quality control & testing service providers, as well as watch packages and some of the biggest watch name brands.
If you want to come to the exhibition, I suggest you attend the HK Watch&Clock Fair first and then come to the Canton Fair, they are close in time and distance anyway, but remember to get a visa, you can come to Hong Kong but you can’t come to Mainland China without a visa.
I remember that one time a client was planning to do so, but he did not have a visa, he could only be in Hong Kong and could not enter China.
If you want to know about the watch fair, you can read this article
What do I need to prepare to request a quote from a supplier?
- Logo(if possible, we will respond more faster)
- Your favorite watches style
- Your ideas
- Your drawing if possible
- Your favorite watch box style
- Your budget
The more detailed information you can provide, the more time you will save and the quicker the watch supplier will be able to start production.
How can I know that the watches supplier is reliable?
When all prepared and you are not a starter now, You can try to talk to some watch factories,
Try to send all the information to your watch supplier factory, ask for a quote, talk to the salesperson, and if all is ok, then buy a quality sample, Any style is ok, Just check the quality.
After you bought a sample, communication will be easier. No one likes a customer only asking, but not any feedback, this is a method that I’ve learned from our purchasing.
Your feeling when talking to the salesperson
A good salesman is open-minded, willing to communicate, and will be patient, he will be professional in the watch industry, he is one of your teachers and will tell you things you don’t know and will make you more and more professional. Of course, there are some is your personality and her personality is suitable, you can not chat together with some salesmen. You can then change someone or stop in time.
Check the supplier’s price
When quoting a price from a supplier, it is not entirely possible to consider the unit price. If some suppliers are overpriced for the same specifications, you can ask why. This way you can hear a lot of things you wouldn’t otherwise hear. If the price is really high, but the service is good and you need exactly that, then he is one of your suppliers.
Check the quality of the samples
If the service and unit price are okay, you can look at the quality of the supplier’s product and ask him to provide you with a sample of the quality, the style is close to your style is okay, so that in the early stage, you can save some of the cost of making your own samples, because the cost of samples is not cheap, it costs several hundred dollars
Check your own design sample
If he gives you a quality sample and you confirm that it is OK, then you can start the big shipment straight away. Before the big shipment is made, the supplier of each accessory will provide a sample of the accessory to the watch manufacturer and you can ask the manufacturer to send you a sample to confirm. You can then ask the manufacturer to send you a sample to confirm. This way you can make changes before the big shipment.
But this is actually a bit risky. Then you can make a sample or pre-order a sample first, and after the sample has been confirmed, you can make the mass production.
Test the speed of delivery from the factory
Look at the time the supplier took when making the samples, whether it was within the time promised to you, and if it was longer than that, whether the supplier had a reasonable explanation. If there is nothing but a delay in delivery, then it is very likely to prove that either your order quantity is insignificant to the supplier or that he does not care about your order.
It is best to decide whether the supplier is trustworthy at the sample stage and not wait until after the big shipment, as this will cost you more.
Check the strength of the watch supplier
By this time, you know the supplier well enough to try a video or phone call, and if you care whether the supplier is a factory or not, then you need to start researching
Finally, the process of finding a supplier is actually universal, communication is the first step, and quality and price is the second step, spend some time you will definitely find the most suitable supplier, and certainly not just one supplier, 2-3 as an alternative, you will not have your hands full when the supplier has problems.
