he 43^rd Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, one of the most important horology shows in Asia, took place amid the buffeting winds and torrential rain of super-cyclone Yagi. But, typically for this resilient city, no meteorological menace was going to get the better of the show or of the morale of the people of Hong Kong. Scarcely had the storm ended than the inhabitants were back on the streets of Wan Chai, the historic district where the Convention and Exhibition Center that hosts the watch fair is located. In less than an hour, the crossed adhesive tape protecting the shop windows had been removed and the coffee machines were buzzing again The show was back on the road. Business as usual!

For this 43^rd edition of the exhibition dedicated to clocks and watches in whatever form, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) completely revamped what is its flagship event. These last years, Hong Kong has seen its position as the preferred platform for trade between the world and continental China challenged. The Chinese market, described in this magazine in 2019 as the “cornucopia of contemporary consumption”, is experiencing an economic downturn. And that is making itself felt in imports.

While Switzerland remains the number one exporter of watches to China, the Swiss horology federation FH flagged a fall of 21.4% in exports to China between January and June 2024. Exports to Hong Kong are down 19.5%. After a recovery in 2023 related to the uptick in economic activity following Covid, this new decline signals the need for evolution in the Chinese market, the first tremors of which were felt at this new edition of the Hong Kong fair.

This metropolis, which developed as a trading platform straddling the markets of the West and China – the fourth-largest centre of global finance and the world’s ninth-largest exporter and eighth-largest importer – now needs to reinvent itself. Watch purchases are relocating to continental China, which is becoming increasingly emancipated from this large, southern city as the economic interface with the rest of the world.

In the face of this development, the HKTDC is attempting to reconquer its central position by becoming a barometer of Asian horology trends. It is also opening up to a broader, more diversified public with the aim of transforming its watch fair into a popular event.

On two floors, from 3-7 September, the HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair hosted more than 700 exhibitors from fifteen countries and regions. That included dedicated pavilions for the Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guangzhou, but also for Taiwan and South Korea – the latter’s first appearance since the end of the pandemic. Other European countries, less well-known for their watch production, such as Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Turkey and the UK, were also represented.

In the face of “increasingly diversified” watch demand, the “Salon de Time” sought to offset the more discreet presence of the big names in luxury watchmaking (a few watches by Bovet, Montblanc, Franck Muller, Corum, Baume et Mercier and others were present, in the pavilion of importer Prince Jewellery & Watch) by focusing on the latest consumer trends and a handful of innovations. After all, watchmaking is not only about ultra-luxury, and so much the better!

So, smartwatches were there in multiple variants, the most innovative overflowing from the horology world proper and into the realm of home care. Dayton, for example, has joined forces with the Germany company Oskron to develop its Link 2 Care system. Based on proprietary software and a smartwatch fitted with an accelerometer, the company promises to revolutionise care for the elderly. With its integrated GPS chip and an alert system, it will warn family members or carers should an elderly person fall.

Precise right down to the plan of the house, it will tell you whether grandma has fallen down in the kitchen or collapsed on the sofa. The system also lets you remote-monitor the patient’s vital functions (heart rate, stress level, body temperature). You can even add other connected equipment, such as a smart ring, or a heart monitor. An app then processes the data using AI to tailor the alerts and supply appropriate advice to patients.

Also trending in Asia is collaborations with pop culture. Whether stars of the big screen, video games or animations, many brands present at the fair exhibited new models sporting images of Pikachu in the case of the Swiss brand Romago, Dark Vador in the case of Solvil et Titus and Marvel super-heroes in the case of Hong Kong brand Master Time Industrial. There was even a whole stand devoted to the first Bruce Lee smartwatch, complete with Ying and Yang dial and, most importantly, the rally strap – the perforated steel bracelet exclusive to the Chinese version of the Seiko 6139-6010 Automatic worn back in1969 by the Hong Kong-American actor.

The shift in paradigm has necessarily entailed paying specific attention to the environmental impact of the watch industry. While manufacturing processes in Asia and in Europe are already evolving, with companies trying to minimise energy costs by placing solar panels on factory roofs, using water more efficiently and recycling metals, some brands are taking things even further. On its stand, the Hong Kong-based Gordon C. & Company Limited has made natural fibres a key component of its watchmaking design. With their bark cases and straps made from apple peel, its watches are especially light on the wrist.

As for German brand Lilienthal Berlin, it showcased the world’s first watch with a case made from recycled coffee grounds. This creation, which smells of freshly ground coffee beans, has won the NY Product Design Awards, Green Product Award and the iF Design Award.

The HKTDC also had the good idea of focusing on independent watchmakers, as well as giving young talents a chance. The result was a “start-up event” feel more stimulating than the well-oiled machinery of haute horlogerie or the ice-cold varnish of luxury. The presence of the Swiss pavilion of independent watchmakers reflected that intention. There were lively discussions about Swiss brands such as Aerowatch, Marvin, Adriatica, Pilo & Co, Greco and David Van Heim. The “Swiss-made” label seems still to be working well, given the crowds of Asian visitors that flocked to its display windows.

And talking of visitors, they were many at this year’s fair. For the first time, the organisers decided to open the fair to the public throughout, instead of reserving the last day for them. Paradoxically, this increased attendance did not necessarily please all the watchmakers, who had come first and foremost to meet other professionals.

“I understand where they’re coming from, but it can be detrimental to our work,” one CEO of a major European brand confided. “We devote time and staff to answer the questions of curious people who’ve come to look at our products, which means we have less time to devote to manufacturers and retailers. The success of a trade show sometimes depends on one single, positive meeting, which strengthens our brand or sparks a new idea.”

This much sought-after alchemy is often found one floor below the carpeted hush of the Salon de Time, in the part of the fair reserved for suppliers. Here, dozens of stands bear the names of the contractors who make up the region’s vast industrial fabric – Shenzen Koda Horologe, Guangzhou Besseron Watch Industrial, Zhanghzou Santai Timepiece, Hongkong Honesty Chronometer, Jieyang Chuanghong Watch Industry, Dongguan Wisdom Tech, Perfect Hard Development, Legend Watch Manufacturer, Bombay Diamonds, or Golden Dragon Industrial – all these countless little, and sometimes not so little, hands which form the backbone of the global watch industry and breathe life into some of our favourite timepieces. Or at least those that sell the most.

In this dense marketplace, it is difficult to take one step without being approached by a chirpy tout:

Sir, we have the latest models and latest materials in our factory: titanium and Damascus steel, come to our booth!

Oh ok, never mind.

Then you know you’re in the trade visitors’ fair, the place where you find the vibrant energy of industrious China, where handshakes are for sealing deals and serve politeness only incidentally.

Looking for crystals for your watches? Chin Mei Industrial offers mineral or sapphire versions, in all curves and all thicknesses. In need of a leather strap? You’ll find every colour of the rainbow at New Hing Yip Watch Straps. Still haven’t found the hands of your dreams? Biu Chun Watch Hands has the model you need!

In this grand market of time you’ll find everything – from the tiniest mechanical part to fully fledged movements. It illustrates the extent of the know-how and density of this industrial metropolis in the south of China. According to Statista, the province of Canton has the largest number of businesses in the country – 3.5 million companies registered in 2022.

Very often in Chinese watchmaking, front offices are registered in Hong Kong to benefit from the window it offers on the international market and advantageous taxation. The actual factories and workshops are mostly located in continental China. This strategy allows businesses to inscribe the letters “HK” next to the company name – a quest for prestige that some suppliers push to the point of usurpation, reproducing an image of Geneva harbour on their stand frontage.

The Hong Kong fair no doubt reflects that: a local industry still in search of its identity and recognition, although it has skills in abundance. You only have to look at the results of the 41^st Hong Kong Watch & Clock Design Competition. The design students from several schools competed against each other with inspired, original, even innovative watch concepts.

Take the horological object by Lau Cheuk Lai named Liminality, for example, a mix of the jewellery tradition and artificial intelligence, or the Chronomatrix by Man Tsz Kit, the function of remains obscure. And for the very good reason that the competition, relegated to the last day of the show when nearly all the international journalists had already left, was not translated, unlike the conferences by the heads of industry.

And yet the avant-garde work of these students seems at least every bit as relevant for the future of the Chinese watch industry as the PowerPoint and Excel presentations by the CEOs of the big corporations and deserve greater exposure. Because if the Chinese watch industry, in particular that of Hong Kong, hopes to continue being a major player on the global watchmaking chessboard, it will, of course, have to count on its vast industrial park of Canton-Shenzen. But it will also have to grant as much space, if not more, to the creative minds of its design and engineering schools as it does to those of its business schools.