Collectors watch as the value of China's timepieces rises

Li Wei wears a Shanghai-brand watch that was made in 1966. It looks new.

"Since the birth of Chinese watches in 1955, their movements have more or less mimicked Swiss products until this piece, which is among the first independently designed by Chinese people," says the 48-year-old who is a member of the Beijing Collectors' Association, and head of the Chinese watch division of Watchlead.com, an online forum with more than 40,000 members.

"Each watch has its own legend in my eyes," says Li. "They don't have to be equipped with tourbillon or other fancy gadgets."

He does not want to say how many Chinese watches he has collected because he says the number doesn't matter.

"When you collect to outnumber others, you have gone in the wrong direction," he says.

Li used to be an old camera collector, but was astonished to find many old Chinese watches were sold cheaply in Beijing's antique markets.

Chinese watches reached their zenith in the 1980s, but later declined in popularity due to quartz watches and the entry of Swiss brands.

"I realized the history of our own watch manufacturing would soon vanish if we did not do something."

"It is sometimes hard to find the makers' name because of the collective tradition in those years, when individuals were usually not emphasized."

It took years for Li to track down the Qingdao Watch Factory in Shandong province, in 2008, to find Sun Tiankong, who made a watch Li owns.

"The old man immediately told me the watch was made by him, with a simple glance," Li recalls.

"He was too excited to sit down when talking about how he made it."

Li was overjoyed to find it was the oldest watch made in Shandong.

He continued writing articles online introducing the origins of old Chinese watches and this attracted others.

"Once I write down a story, I feel relieved to have recorded a period of history. I do this work not for patriotism, but I want to be responsible for what I love.

"You cannot simply say Chinese watches are not as good as Swiss ones. When you regard them from a historical point of view, you will see how many achievements have been made," Li says.