Published : 2025-03-24
On March 24, 1955, the first domestically produced watch after the founding of New China was born.
In the early days after the People's Republic of China was established, in response to the national plan of "filling the industrial void", the Tianjin Municipal Light Industry Bureau allocated a budget of 100 RMB at the end of 1954 and approved the establishment of a watch prototype group.
The watch prototype group enlisted four master craftsmen, each a leader in the domestic watchmaking industry.
In a makeshift workshop on the second floor of the Huawei Watch Factory, using simple equipment such as small lathes, small drilling machines, and small milling machines, they worked day and night for over a hundred days to assemble more than 140 parts.
Then the first "made in China" watch was produced.
On the watch's dial, there were golden words "Made in China" along with five gold stars, and below the gold stars, it was labelled "15 Jewels." The watch was named "Five-Stars".
It is noteworthy that this watch prototype group is the predecessor of the "Tianjin Watch Factory", which is also the origin of the well-known "Seagull Watches".
