Common markings on Chinese watches
From Chinese Watch Industry Wiki
Common markings on Chinese watches
Modern Chinese watches are usually marked in English for the international market, however older watches may be signed in English, Simplified Chinese, Pinyin (Chinese written in Roman characters) or any combination of these. Early watches were mostly signed in Chinese with use of Pinyin gradually increasing through the 1960s. English was introduced with the first exports in the 1970s. It is not unusual to see 'Made in China' written in both English and Chinese on the same watch.
Some common Pinyin inscriptions
BAN GANG half steel i.e. plated brass case with steel back
QUAN GANG all steel
FANGCI antimagnetic
FANGSHUI waterproof
FANGZHEN shockproof
SAN FANG 3 proof i.e. shock, water and magnetic proof
ZIDONG automatic
ZUAN jewels
17 ZUAN 17 jewels
ZUANBIAO jewelled watch
DIAN ZI BIAO electronic
SHIYING quartz
SHOUBIAO CHANG watch factory
ZHONGGUO China
ZHONGGUO ZHIZAO made in China
Identification marks on the Standard movement
The Chinese Standard movement is customarily identified by a three character code, beginning with Z followed by two characters defining the factory of origin.
ZBE Beijing Number 2
ZBJ Beijing Number 1
ZCQ Chongqing
ZFL Feng Lei Instruments
ZGZ Guangzhou
ZHE Harbin
ZHF Hefei
ZHQ Hongqi
ZHZ Hangzhou
ZJS Shijiazhuang
ZLC Liaocheng
ZLN Liaoning
ZLY Luoyang
ZNC Nanchang
ZNN Nanning
ZQD Qingdao
ZSE Shanghai Number 2
ZSY Shenyang
ZSZ Suzhou
ZTJ Tianjin
ZWH Wuhan
ZXZ Xuzhou
ZYT Yantai
Some early examples of the Standard movement use different identifiers. Some examples:
SS7 Shanghai Number 1
SZ-1 Original production run, Shanghai Number 2
ZB-1 Beijing
SZB-1C Beijing, automatic
Other movement identification marks
A standardized format of movement designations was introduced in 1965. It is however a fairly flexible standard. Here are a few examples with explanations:
HJ1A pocket watch Jilin series 1 shockproof
SB-5 wristwatch Beijing series 5
SD2 wristwatch electronic series 2
SJL8 wristwatch Jilin series 8
SM1A-K wristwatch Diamond series 1 shockproof fast beat
SN-2 wristwatch Nanjing series 2
SS4H wristwatch Shanghai series 4 high grade
ST6D wristwatch Tianjin series 6 shockproof auto date
