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·While I'm still waiting for the perfect vintage Seamaster listing to come up, I've been turning my attention to some other interesting niches in the vintage watch world.
One such niche that has struck me as particularly compelling are Dongfeng watches from China. Translated as "East Wind," my understanding is that this was the name printed on domestic models of what would eventually be sold as Seagull to the international market in the mid-70's. For obvious reasons, the name Dongfeng, with its explicit reference to Mao's slogan, "The East wind prevails over the West wind," would not have been particularly palatable to consumers in the capitalist world.
Nonetheless, these watches carry the status of having (one of?) the very first entirely Chinese made mechanical movements, the ST-5, which from my research is still well-regarded. As someone already a bit preoccupied with this era of Chinese political-economic history, I'm totally fascinated by this story of watchmakers attempting to create a domestically manufactured "People's Rolex" amidst Western embargos, the Sino-Soviet split, the Cultural Revolution, etc. In the context of where Chinese industrial capacity was during this period, it was a really remarkable endeavor.
Seagull has released some modern reproductions of these watches, but they seem to largely be overshadowed for international watch enthusiasts by the Seagull 1963 chronograph. Apparently original vintage Dongfeng references are quite common in the PRC (often heavily Frankensteined of course) but there are only a very small handful of listings online. Of note is that a very small number of Dongfeng dials had Chinese script in Mao's handwriting which said "Serve the People" - this is the dial variation which was reissued by Seagull, but is apparently also commonly added to redialed vintage models to boost their nostalgic patriotic appeal.
I couldn't find anything about these watches on OF, so figured I might start this thread for folks to share any Dongfeng pictures or information they might have. I've included some assorted pictures and links I've found elsewhere online, and will follow up if I do end up acquiring one of these fascinating (and exceptionally affordable) watches.
A wonderful history of Sea-Gull's ST5
Chinese Watch Wiki: DongFeng
Before Sea-Gull, there was Dongfeng (East Wind)
One such niche that has struck me as particularly compelling are Dongfeng watches from China. Translated as "East Wind," my understanding is that this was the name printed on domestic models of what would eventually be sold as Seagull to the international market in the mid-70's. For obvious reasons, the name Dongfeng, with its explicit reference to Mao's slogan, "The East wind prevails over the West wind," would not have been particularly palatable to consumers in the capitalist world.
Nonetheless, these watches carry the status of having (one of?) the very first entirely Chinese made mechanical movements, the ST-5, which from my research is still well-regarded. As someone already a bit preoccupied with this era of Chinese political-economic history, I'm totally fascinated by this story of watchmakers attempting to create a domestically manufactured "People's Rolex" amidst Western embargos, the Sino-Soviet split, the Cultural Revolution, etc. In the context of where Chinese industrial capacity was during this period, it was a really remarkable endeavor.
Seagull has released some modern reproductions of these watches, but they seem to largely be overshadowed for international watch enthusiasts by the Seagull 1963 chronograph. Apparently original vintage Dongfeng references are quite common in the PRC (often heavily Frankensteined of course) but there are only a very small handful of listings online. Of note is that a very small number of Dongfeng dials had Chinese script in Mao's handwriting which said "Serve the People" - this is the dial variation which was reissued by Seagull, but is apparently also commonly added to redialed vintage models to boost their nostalgic patriotic appeal.
I couldn't find anything about these watches on OF, so figured I might start this thread for folks to share any Dongfeng pictures or information they might have. I've included some assorted pictures and links I've found elsewhere online, and will follow up if I do end up acquiring one of these fascinating (and exceptionally affordable) watches.
A wonderful history of Sea-Gull's ST5
Chinese Watch Wiki: DongFeng
Before Sea-Gull, there was Dongfeng (East Wind)
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