Recently, good news comes from TianjinSeagull Watch Group that, through nearly 10 years of research and developmentby the Scientific Research and Innovation Team, it has completed the trialproduction of the third version of 2.5mm thin automatic watch with excellentperformance in all data, and the product is expected to be launched next year.

Recently, the reporter has visited theHigh-end Equipment Intelligent Manufacturing Center of Tianjin Seagull WatchGroup located in Tianjin Airport Economic Zone, where the production lines arerunning at maximum speed and sparing no efforts in production. "The markethas been steadily outperforming so far this year, with orders already lined upfor next Spring Festival.” Xu Chuangyue, Chairman and General Manager of theGroup, remarks.

From the favored one in the era of supplyshortage, to the breakthrough one in the period of product transformation, andthen to the pathfinder to the international market in accordance with the trendof globalization, Tianjin Seagull Watch Group, as a national enterprise deeplyrooted in the genes of independent innovation, has been attacking and breakingthe monopoly of overseas technology, and has been overcoming the obstacles andstanding at the head of the tide of precision manufacturing, and has steppedinto a new journey with a new race track.

Adherence to the "Chinese core"of the national watches through innovation for several generations

The Seagull Watch, born in 1955, hascarried the emotional memories of several generations of Chinese people, and isa genuine leader of national watches.

How exactly are precision instruments madeup of hundreds of tiny parts to be worn on the wrist made? No answer wasavailable to this question in China before 1955.

Sixty-eight years ago, Tianjin WatchFactory, the predecessor of Tianjin Seagull Watch Group, created the firstmechanical watch in New China, ushering in a new era of watchmaking industry inChina. Today, this valuable "Five-star Watch" is preserved in theTianjin Museum.

"From the moment we stepped out from0 to 1, the Seagull employees have been in the pioneer spirit of bravingdifficulties and challenging ourselves.” Xu Chuangyue says. Starting fromscratch, from good to excellent, it is these traditional skills passed downfrom generation to generation, and craftsmanship, that have become an importantfactor in the development of a time-honored brand to adapt to the developmentof the times, and to continue to innovate for the new era.

In the 1990s, Seagull re-aligned its focuson mechanical watches after a short period of disorientation, and establishedits position as a high-end watch manufacturer; after the Millennium, Seagullmade an effort in the two major directions of movement exportation andenterprise customization, and became an example of China's manufacturingindustry to support the world; in the second decade of the 21^stCentury, Seagull has seized the trend of consumption upgrading and tapped intothe traffic of the new e-commerce business, and continues to serve more Chinesepeople.

For a "Chinese core", Seagullhas always been committed to independent innovation and R&D. Theultra-complex movements such as double tourbillon, repeater and perpetualcalendar have been successively overcome by Seagull, and the ever-improving"Chinese core " has become a milestone of mechanical watchmakingindustry in China.

In 2019, Tianjin Seagull Watch Groupcompleted its restructuring of mixed ownership, actively integrated into thestrategy of "manufacturing city", and ushered in a brand-new stage ofdevelopment under the dual empowerment of the state-owned platform and privatecapital.

“"In the development of more thanhalf a century, Seagull has experienced countless challenges, internally, ithas faced the problem of inheritance of the industry and technician iteration,and externally, it has faced more market competitors as well as the changingaesthetics of the consumers, etc.” Xu Chuangyue says that after therestructuring of mixed ownership, Tianjin Seagull Watch Group has proposed anew goal of strategic transformation, with all innovation directions aiming atconsumer demands. "We have proposed to all staff that it is necessary tobe attentive to consumer demands, whether on the technical or production end,whether in product design or sales, and that we can only face the challengesand competition if we fully understand the market.” Xu Chuangyue says.

In this regard,Tianjin Seagull Watch Group has taken two major adjustments - the establishmentof the Science and Innovation Center as the innovation "hub", whichintegrates departments of traditional technology R&D, movement design,industrial design and market research to synchronize the alignment with themarket, technology and production; and the adjustment of the salary structure,strengthening the incentives for innovative talents and apprenticeshipinheritance, as well as introduce fresh blood of excellent design anddevelopment from the outside.

Under the new institutional mechanism, theproduct quality and productivity of Seagull have been significantly improved.Currently, Tianjin Seagull Watch Group has established the largest precisionmechanical watch movement manufacturing base in China, with an annualproduction capacity of 3 million movements in 11 series and more than 200varieties, and an annual production capacity of 200,000 finished watches in 6series.

Embracing the "National Tide "and entering the new track as an experienced force

For an established brand to remain vitaland young forever, it is the imperative to open up a new track. The advantageof the time-honored brand lies in the "history", including ancientbrand, traditional skills, good reputation, and favorable word-of-mouth.However, the deficiencies of a time-honored brand, to a certain extent, alsooriginates from the "history", for example, the concept of aging,insufficient marketization, especially in the low acceptance of the young groups,making it difficult to satisfy the demands of the current consumer upgradingand the development of the times.

With the continuous enhancement ofcultural self-confidence, more and more young people are expressing theirsentiments and fashion attitudes through the pursuit of "nationaltide", and the rise of "national tide" has opened up a new worldfor the revitalization of time-honored brands. Similar to many time-honoredbrands, Seagull has practically demonstrated that craftsmanship never fails,and that time-honored brands can also make a splendid transition.

"New technology projects are nowbeing established every month. On the one hand, we have continuously madeefforts to explore new materials, processes and technologies, and successivelyovercome the technical difficulties of ultra-thin watches and complicatedwatches, successfully tested the production of non-cardinality tourbillonwatches and 2.5mm thin automatic watches, and realized the application ofsilicon parts in high-grade mechanical watch movements, etc., therebyreinforcing the quality and reputation of Tianjin Manufacturing. On the otherhand, aiming at the young group market, we have developed high-end complicatedmovements and trendy wristwatches based on key core technologies that areforesighted, innovative and disruptive.” Zhou Wenxia, Chief Engineer of theGroup, says.

In April 2022, Seagull announces across-border collaboration with a renowned gaming product, with the launch of aco-branded watch. Traditional watchmaking craftsmanship and youth trends havecollided, enabling a mutual access of Made in China and Chinese culture tofashion trends and young people.

“This product has pooled the efforts ofseveral generations of Seagulls people behind it.” Zhou Wenxia tells thereporter, "This is the first association of the domestic watch brand withthe classical mobile game, which requires the product underlying technology tobe rearranged and developed. In this regard, Li Jiaqi, the national-levelmaster watchmaker of Seagull, has led the design team to propose a newskeletonized design scheme for the movement. The young industrial appearancedesigners have added their understanding of e-sports and the study of the aestheticsof young consumers to complete the appearance design ideas. Moreover, the newlyintroduced brand operation team, in conjunction with the preferences of thee-sports crowd, has interfaced with well-known domestic enterprises forcooperation. This represents a successful attempt based on market-end demandand the joint efforts of multiple parties from product operations, industrialdesign to technology sources.”

After the launch, this co-branded watchhas quickly become the most popular product sold by the Seagull brand in theprice range of RMB 2,000 to RMB 4,000.

"Facing theimpact of the market surge again and again, Seagull watch will cherish theprecious brand adhering to the inheritance, but there is still a long way to gofor the rejuvenation of the time-honored brand.” Xu Chuangyue remarks, "Wehave aimed at several new goals. For example, the moon phase wristwatch seriesof Seagull have acquired a number of domestic invention patents and it isplanned to launch the patent layout in Switzerland. Meanwhile, by leveragingthe platform and resources of our shareholders, we have further intensified thelayout of our offline retail channels, which are expected to double this yearas compared to last year. Furthermore, Seagull has also opened up a new trackin precision instrument manufacturing, and the revenue in this area is expectedto account for 20% of the total revenue this year. By 2025, when Seagullcelebrates the 70th anniversary of its establishment, we will be confident thatwe have created an industry benchmark in the global watchmaking industry, sothat the time-honored brand can shine with the 'glory of national products'.”