Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    AN annual watch and clock fair that opens at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center today will set aside an exhibition zone exclusively for German timepiece brands to unveil their latest watches that have not yet debuted in the Chinese market.

    In addition to presenting the six brands — Laco, Elysee, Braun, Nivrel, Zeppelin and Burgmeister — the 25th China Watch and Clock Fair will feature a weeklong event showcasing German watch and clock culture.

    “It’s the first time German BBD Group has participated in the fair, and we treat each other as strategic partners,” said Yao Tian, president of German BBD Group’s China division, which brought German brands to the fair. “We plan to invite more famous German brands to participate in the future, in order to give German watches more limelight in the fair.”

    Last year, the fair highlighted Swiss-made watches. China and Switzerland signed a free trade agreement in July, but Switzerland requires at least 60 percent of Swiss timepiece components to be made in Switzerland.

    “Germany-made watches are of similar quality as the Swiss ones,” Uwe Staib, chairperson of the Federation of German Jewelry, Watches, Clocks, Silverware and Related Industries, said yesterday. “Moreover, we allow the use of components imported from China. We hope a similar contract will be signed between China and other European countries.”

    The fair, widely regarded as China’s premier exhibition for the timepiece sector, will showcase more than 500 watch brands from 20 countries and regions and is expected to attract nearly 60,000 buyers from around 60 countries and regions. Seminars on a wide range of topics involving new trends in the timepiece industry will be given alongside the five-day fair.

    “The Shenzhen Fair and Basel Fair are the two most important exhibitions,” said Du Xi, general manager of Fiyta Sales Co. “I’m impressed by the rapid growth of the fair in scale, quality and organization.”

    Zhu Shunhua, executive vice president of the Shenzhen Watch and Clock Association, the fair’s organizer, said Shenzhen-made watches and clocks account for 60 percent of the country’s total market share. Shenzhen is the biggest watch and clock manufacturing center in China, with more than 1,000 clock and watch-making firms that have a total annual production value of 10 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion).