TheauthoratWulinSquare,HangzhouinJune1986.JUSTpriortotheNewYear,mysonsentmeaWeChatmessage,askingmewhatIwantedasaNewYeargift.Sincehehadjuststartedanentry-levelpositionathiscompany,Iknewhehadlittlemoneyforgifts.Assuch,ItoldhimthatIdidn鈥檛needanypresentthisyear.Myreplyseemedtodisappointhim.Tomakehimfeelbetter,Itoldthatifhereallywantedtogetmeagift,Iwouldlikeawatch.Afewdayslater,thewatchwasdeliveredandIlovedit.Itwasverynice,andwelloverRMB1,000.Inthatmoment,IdecidedIwouldwearthiswatchforever.
MyFirstWatch
Surelythemainfunctionofawatchistoindicatethetime.Butawatchcanalsodisplayaperson鈥檚socialstatusandwealth.Thesedays,however,withtheriseofsmartphones,wearingawatchnowseemsalmostunnecessaryindailylife.Forthosewhostillwearone,thewatchismostlyjustanaccessory,likeabraceletoraring.
Beforethe1980s,watcheswereviewedasluxuriesinChina.AwatchofafamousChinesebrandcouldcostRMB120,equivalenttoathree-monthsalaryofanaverageworker.IfitwasimportedfromSwitzerland,itwouldbemuchmoreexpensive.
Somepeopleevenworetheirwatchesinbed.Inwinter,theywouldrolluptheirsleevestoshowofftheirwristwatches.Whentheywantedtoknowthetime,theywouldintentionallyswingtheirarminanexaggeratedmannertoremindpeoplethatheorshehadawatch.
BeforeItookmyfirstcollegeentranceexamin1982,theteachercautionedustobettermanageourtimeduringthetest,andthatwasmosteasilyachievedbywearingawatch.However,myimpoverishedfamilycouldnotaffordone,andnoneofmyrelativeshadone.Seeingallmyclassmateswiththeirwatcheson,Iwasoverwhelmedwithshameanddisappointment.Onanunrelatednote,Ifailedtheexam,butsodidmanyofmywatch-wearingclassmates.
Thenextyear,mymother,usingalmostallofhersavings,boughtmeawatchworthRMB30.Despitethelarge,unsightlyfaceofthewatch,Icouldtellthetimeanyway.Idecidedtotakethecollegeentranceexamagain,thistimewearingmynewwatch.However,thinkingbacktothattest,I鈥檓notsurewhetherIeverevencheckedthetime.
ThefirstwatchIboughtmyselfwasanelectronicone.ItcostmeRMB7.However,itwasnotwaterproof.Onerainyday,Ireturnedhomebyridingatractorwithnoroof.Myelectronicwatchwassoaked,andasIhadexpected,didn鈥檛workanymore.Mymotherscoldedmeharshlyformyfoolishmistake.IwasverydejectedandhidundermyblanketuntilIfellasleep,stillwearingmybroken,electronicwatch.Duetothewarmthofmybody,thewaterevaporatedandluckily,mywatchstartedtoworkagain!Despitethismomentarysuccess,itwasshort-lived,asthewatcheventuallyfailedtoturnonandIknewtherewasnowaytofixit.AfterIstartedworkandfinallymadeadecentsalary,Iboughtmultiplewatches,mostofwhichwereprettycheap.Then,likeeveryoneelse,Ibegantousethemobilephonewhichsoonreplacedmyneedforawatch.TheproductionplantofShanghaiNo.3WatchFactory,photographedin1986.ATreasuredObject
Thegenerationborninthe1950sand60shaveexperiencedthecountry鈥檚tremendouschangesunderthereformandopening-upinarangeofaspects,includingpolitics,economy,education,culture,values,andlifestyle.Thechangingpositionofwatchintheirlifereflectsthecountry鈥檚growth.
Iwasbornintoaruralfamily.Myparentsearnedameagerincometosupportthewholefamily.Topaytheirchildren鈥檚tuitionandbooks,theyhadtoborrowmoney.Inanerawheremanypeoplecouldn鈥檛affordthingslikewatches,wirebroadcasting,whichindicatedeachnewhour,becamepeople鈥檚bestwaytokeeptrackoftime.Backthen,ruralChinesepeoplerarelymadetripsbybusortrain,letaloneplane.Therefore,therewasnorealreasonforthemtoneedtoknowtheexacttime;aroughcalculationwouldbeok.Duetothis,awatchwasactuallynotanecessityforthem,butdespitethis,theystilllongedtohaveone.
Backthen,ruralpeoplewhopossessedawatchwerethosewhohadajoborenjoyedprestigeintheirregions.Itwasaneraofplannedeconomy,andalmostalljobswereprovidedbythegovernmentorthestateownedsector.Ruralpeopleunanimouslycalledthosewhoworkedforthegovernmentorthestate-ownedsectorgongzuoren,meaningpeoplewhohadajob.Forthosewithoutmoneyorajob,awatchcostingmorethanRMB100wasnothingmorethanadream.Iftheysawsomeonewholuckilyownedone,mostpeoplecouldonlyexpressmixedfeelingsofadmirationandenvy.Tomakeone鈥檚fortuneandbeabletoaffordawatchandwell-madeclothes,ruralchildrenhadtostudyhardandgetacceptedtocollege,andthentheycouldbecomeagongzuoren.Myparentsdrilledthisintometoinspiremetostudyhard.Thethreemajoritems,consistingofawatch,abike,andasewingmachine,wereonceatokenofahappylifeinthe1970sandearly80sinChina.Atthattime,inbothruralandurbanareas,fornewlyweds,awristwatch,abike,andasewingmachinewereregardedasthemostdesireditemsonecouldhave.InruralChina,ifafamilycouldaffordoneortwooutofthethreeitems,thechancesfortheirsontomarryagirlweredrasticallyhigher.Irememberinourvillage,therewasayoungmanwhobecameinfatuatedwithagirl.Thetwowerebothintoeachotherandlaterstartedtotalkaboutmarriage.However,thegirl鈥檚parentsinsistedtheboyshouldbuythegirlawatch.Failingtocollectenoughmoneytobuythewatch,theyoungmanhadtoendtheirrelationship.Thiswasnotararecaseinruralareas.
Inthatera,peopleevencreatedcomicalsongstoexpresstheimportanceofthethreeitems.Feige,Yongjiu,andFenghuang,oncethemostfamousbikebrandsinChina,togetherwiththeHudiebrandforsewingmachinesandShanghaibrandforwatches,oncerepresentedthemanufacturinglevelofChina鈥檚lightindustry.However,forthecommonpeople,thesebrandsrepresentedaluxurylife.
IntotheFuture
AsChina鈥檚reformandopening-updrivekickedoff,people鈥檚creativitythathadbeenpentupforsolongwassuddenlyunleashed.Bythemid-1980s,thesupplyofwatcheshadincreased,withmanybrandsappearinginruralshops.Theformerthreemajoritemsfornewlywedshadmorphedintothreenewones鈥揳TVset,arefrigerator,andanairconditioner.Withanincreasedaverageincomeandincreasedsupplyofgoods,watcheshadbecomeanordinaryobjectinpeople鈥檚dailylife.Thus,itsroleasatokenofwealthdiminished.
Duringthe1990s,awidevarietyofwatchesbecameavailableforChinesecustomers.Apartfromthetradi-tionalmechanicalwatch,quartzandelectronicwatchesquicklybecamethefavoritesamongChineseyouth.Byconstantlyintroducingnewmodelsandfeatures,theglitteringwatchadvertisementsonTVexposedconsumerstoadazzlingarrayofchoices.Withinaperiodofadecadeormore,manybigchangesoccurredinChina.Peoplecouldn鈥檛helpbutmarvelatthegreatachievementsofthecountry鈥檚reformandopening-upandapplaudtheleadership鈥檚wisedecisions.
IoncetookatrainingsessionabouthowthedetailsdeterminesuccessorfailureofChina鈥檚domesticwatchindustry.Intheindustry鈥檚heyday,theHangzhoubasedwatchbrandYingxiong,inordertoimproveitsaccuracyandrivalwiththeShanghaibrand,investedalottoimportwatchpartsfromSwitzerland,whichwereassembledinitsfactory.Theerrorofthebrand鈥檚watchdecreasedto45secondsfromoneminute,butstillfailedtomeettheirgoalof30seconds.Tofixthis,thewatchfactorysentitstechnicianstoSwitzerlandtostudythewatch-makingprocess.IttookthemtwomonthsandUS$1milliontofinallyfindasolution:toachieveahighaccuracyrate,beforeassemblingtheparts,theyneededtobesoakedinkerosene.Bydoingthis,theirwatches鈥檃ccuracyimprovedby50percent.TheChinesewatchbrandFIYTAdisplaysitsproductsatanexhibition.Nowadays,thepopularityofcellphoneshasfurtherdiminishedthetimingroleofawatchinpeople鈥檚life.WiththeadventoftheInternet,bigdata,andAI,traditionalindustrieshaveexperiencedthehardshipsoftransformationandtechnologicalupgrading.Seemingly,smartphonesareoftenviewedastheculpritstranglingmanytraditionalindustries.Previouslyboomingbrandshavenowwanedwhilenewdomesticwatchbrandsareontherise.Theirexquisitewatchesaremorelikeworksofart,butstillfailtoimpressconsumers,noraretheyabletocompetewithinternationallyfamedluxurywatchbrands,whicharestillviewedasasymbolofwealthandsocialstatus.
Despitetheminutedifferencesbetweendomesticallyproducedwatchesandtheworld-renownedwatchbrandsintermsofproductiontechnologyandquality,theirdisparityindetailsdecidestheirpositioninthemarket.Inthissense,China鈥檚watchindustrystillhasalongwaytogo.IlookforwardtothedaywheninternationalconsumerswillscrambletobuyChina-madewatchesasatokenoftheirsocialstatus.C
WANGZHUSHENGisthegeneralofficedirectorofZhejiangTianshiNanotechnologyCo.,Ltd.