# Vintage Chinese Watches Help Much Appreciated



## Russ Cook (Feb 12, 2006)

Been having a sort out again of watches that are not part of the collection,just rediscovered these two Chinese watches .

I have found a note with them with Dong Feng and Yanan written on,[someone has kindly taken the trouble in the past to give me some information]Unfortunately i have forgotten anymore information.

I have had a look on e.bay,but there seems to be a dearth of vintage chinese for sale,perhaps i am looking in the wrong place.

Many Thanks In advance.

Russ.


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Russ, have a plough through Ron's site here (CLICKIE HERE) wher there's lots of good info, and I'm sure I've seen both movements before - they could be two versions of one if you know what I mean! :yes:

And there's links there to another two good sites on Chinese pieces. A bit of research should give you some stuff. Selling? let me know? :to_become_senile:


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## Russ Cook (Feb 12, 2006)

Hello Mel,

Many Thanks for the information,what a brilliant site.

Will keep you informed re;selling.

Regards,

Russ.


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## AlbertaTime (Aug 1, 2009)

The DongFeng contains a "Dongfeng" (East Wind) signed ST5 movement, and was a Tianjin Watch factory product from 1971 to 1987. DongFeng as a brand followed 5.1 and WuYi and preceeded Sea-Gull, but all were/are built by the same company. The movement is, according to the Chinese Watch Industry Wiki (that forum member Chascomm has so diligently worked on) a "modern, thin, accurate and...high quality" movement with "19 jewels, including jewels for the mainspring barrel". It was a high enough quality movement that the ST5 was kept in production with permission even after the mandating of the Chinese Standard (Unified) Movement. Most other Chinese watch movements had to cease production at that time.

The second watch, the Yan'an, contains a standard movement built by the Hongqi (Red Flag) Watch Factory (ZHQ is the factory code for Hongqi) in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province in China, and is named after Mao's army base in Yan'an which is also in Shaanxi Province.

Now, it's kind of interesting--or confusing--because although Hongqi branded watches were built by the Liaoning Watch factory in Dandong, Yan'an branded watches were built by the Hongqi Watch Factory in Xian. (Maybe Chascomm can sort out that confusion for me/us  ).

One thing leads me to believe that the Yan'an may be a hybrid is that the crown does not fit as tightly to the watch case as I usually expect with Chinese vintage watches--you can see how close the tolerance is on the DongFeng, for example--and that's sometimes a sign that a watch has non-original parts/has been repaired. I can't--and wouldn't--say for sure, but it's something I look out for.

A side note: I look on cultural revolution era hybrid watches quite differently than I look on modern era "frankens" because watches were very highly prized and hard to come by during those sometimes difficult times (one needed both sufficient income and a card of permission for the purchase) and as a consequence watches were not near a disposable item. Whenever possible, broken watches were almost always fixed rather than tossed--and they were generally fixed well because even a repaired watch was something to be worn with pride. Owning any working watch was special.

I'd be happy to have either or both watches in my collection--and I'm especially impressed with the Dongfeng as it's an early--and very good quality--product of the Tianjin/Sea-Gull company that is now known for making over 1/4 of the world's current production of mechanical and automatic movements.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Russ Cook said:


>


Nice pair, I`d be quite happy to have both in my collection B)


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## Russ Cook (Feb 12, 2006)

AlbertaTime said:


> The DongFeng contains a "Dongfeng" (East Wind) signed ST5 movement, and was a Tianjin Watch factory product from 1971 to 1987. DongFeng as a brand followed 5.1 and WuYi and preceeded Sea-Gull, but all were/are built by the same company. The movement is, according to the Chinese Watch Industry Wiki (that forum member Chascomm has so diligently worked on) a "modern, thin, accurate and...high quality" movement with "19 jewels, including jewels for the mainspring barrel". It was a high enough quality movement that the ST5 was kept in production with permission even after the mandating of the Chinese Standard (Unified) Movement. Most other Chinese watch movements had to cease production at that time.
> 
> The second watch, the Yan'an, contains a standard movement built by the Hongqi (Red Flag) Watch Factory (ZHQ is the factory code for Hongqi) in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province in China, and is named after Mao's army base in Yan'an which is also in Shaanxi Province.
> 
> ...


Alberta Time,

Thank you very much for taking the time to give me that fascinating information,i really had no idea that the Chinese watch industry had such a fascinating and diverse history.I will also continue to read your excellent watch resource with great interest.



mach 0.0013137 said:


> Russ Cook said:
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Thank You Mach.

Alberta Time,Mach and Mel,i have been having a clear/sort out to help pay for further upcoming watch repairs,whilst realising they do not have a great intrinsic value,i have not really got an idea what to do with them.I am going to put them on test and have a think about it.

Many thanks once again for all your input.

Regards,

Russ


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Ron, the Standard Movement was *meant* to be readily interchangeable between watch brands was it not? even though the parts themselves might not be exact replacements between different movement makers (tolerances and manufacturing standards) :dontgetit:

Or have I got that wrong? One then assumes that maybe the only differences might be longer or shorter stems depending on case sizes? Ouch, where's the aspirins - Chinese vintage watches - who knows? You and Chascomm? :lol:


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## AlbertaTime (Aug 1, 2009)

mel said:


> Ron, the Standard Movement was *meant* to be readily interchangeable between watch brands was it not? ...
> 
> Or have I got that wrong? One then assumes that maybe the only differences might be longer or shorter stems depending on case sizes? Ouch, where's the aspirins - Chinese vintage watches - who knows? You and Chascomm? :lol:


No--you've got it pretty much exactly right. :thumbsup:

Standard movement parts were absolutely intended to be readily interchangeable, even among different grades of watch. And, yes, it also makes sense that a different case size would require a different stem. That's why, when a stem doesn't fit well, I assume that some part or parts are not original to the watch.

The other thing to note is that many crowns were signed with the logo of the manufacturer (Shanghai, Sea-Gull, Beijing etc) so looking at the crown might provide additional clues.


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## Russ Cook (Feb 12, 2006)




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## AlbertaTime (Aug 1, 2009)

Russ Cook said:


> [IMG alt="rjr9hwcz.jpg"]http://www.theimageboard.com/uploads/rjr9hwcz.jpg[/IMG]


The three pointed crown is (for sure) a YinLing (éŠ€è± Silver Link) crown. As far as I know, Yin Ling is a brand from Shanghai.

The other is DongFeng as it should be.

Russ, as for what to do with these watches...well, if I were you, I'd hang on to the DongFeng. Although not worth a fortune even yet, it's price on the open market has probably doubled over the past year


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## AlbertaTime (Aug 1, 2009)

Russ Cook said:


> Alberta Time,
> 
> Thank you very much for taking the time to give me that fascinating information,i really had no idea that the Chinese watch industry had such a fascinating and diverse history.I will also continue to read your excellent watch resource with great interest.


I appreciate your kind words about my website. I'm sure you can tell that I love examining and learning about the finer points of these Chinese watches, and I learned things myself today while trying to figure out the background of your very interesting Shanghai/Yinling -- Honqi/Liaoning -- Yan'an/Honqi hybrid, so I've had a great time with the challenge.


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## Russ Cook (Feb 12, 2006)

AlbertaTime said:


> Russ Cook said:
> 
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> > Alberta Time,
> ...


Alberta Time

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me all the invaluable information.I have allways been interested in the human aspect with my Russian collection,and to find out that watches, such as the ones above, would have been so cherished by the people that wore them in China is all a bit humbling,so i have decided to hold onto them.

Thank you once again for your help.

Best Regards,

Russ,


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## AlbertaTime (Aug 1, 2009)

Russ Cook said:


> Thank you so much for taking the time to give me all the invaluable information.I have allways been interested in the human aspect with my Russian collection,and to find out that watches, such as the ones above, would have been so cherished by the people that wore them in China is all a bit humbling,so i have decided to hold onto them.
> 
> Thank you once again for your help.
> 
> ...


Of course, you're welcome.

In the 1960s, a Chinese worker with a good job wouldn't save for four months to get a watch. Instead, such a worker would have to save the equivalent of every penny he made in four months to get one, and that's if one was available and if the proper paperwork was in place.


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