Master Watchmakers of Beijing Watch

  • The Beijing Watch Factory has always attached great importance to talent and talent cultivation, making continuous contributions to the Chinese watchmaking industry with elite talents in design and technology.

    On June 19, 2012, the inaugural China Watchmaking Masters Awards Ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People. The China Watch Association selected the first twelve Chinese watchmaking masters, among whom three master watchmakers from the Beijing Watch Factory, Xu Yaonan, Shi Wenli, and Su Wenbin, were honored.

    The master watchmakers' exquisite skills and outstanding contributions have been highly recognized and praised by the industry, reflecting the profound cultural heritage of Beijing Watch Factory in the field of high-end watchmaking. Their valuable experience will become precious wealth on the road to the development of Beijing Watch.

Dubbed as the "Father of Chinese Tourbillon" by the media.

Xu Yaonan

Master Xu Yaonan has over 60 years of experience in watchmaking. As the appointed master watchmaker of Beijing Watch, he has always been involved in and led the product design and manufacturing processes, ensuring the quality and craftsmanship of the products.

Master's Journey
In 1962, after graduating from Tianjin University, Master Xu became one of the founders of product design and manufacturing processes at Beijing Watch.
In 1973, he participated in the design of the "Unified Movement" organized by the Ministry of Light Industry, and later led the design of the ZB2 type slim watch movement.
In 1972, Master Xu and Master Shi Wenli jointly researched automatic watch movements, which took eight years. In 1990, their work was published by the Light Industry Press under the title "Principles and Maintenance of Automatic Watch Structures".
In 1996, he successfully designed China's first tourbillon movement, the "Chinese Lingyan", breaking the historical barrier of Chinese inability to produce their own tourbillon watches, and earned him the title of "Father of Chinese Tourbillon".

Notable Works
Master Xu has masterfully crafted tourbillon movements such as the Golden Eagle Tourbillon Wristwatch "Dancing Dragons" and the world's first full enamel movement tourbillon wristwatch "Butterflies in Love".

Major Achievements
He led the design of high-complexity movements such as the visible tourbillon, tourbillon with calendar mechanism, double tourbillon, sapphire pallet double tourbillon, and double escapement movements with double barrels for long power reserve.

The Culmination of Theory and Extraordinary Craftsmanship

Shi Wenli

Master Shi Wenli possesses a high level of theoretical knowledge and has published numerous papers in professional magazines such as "Clocks and Watches". His co-authored book with Master Xu Yaonan, "Principles and Maintenance of Automatic Watch Structures", is considered pioneering in the field.

Master's Journey
Born in 1938, Shi Wenli is a senior engineer.

After graduating from Tianjin University in 1964, he participated in the design and trial production work at Beijing Watch.

Starting from 2001, in collaboration with Master Xu Yaonan, he designed tourbillon calendar mechanisms, tourbillon power reserve mechanisms, tourbillon retrograde calendar mechanisms, double tourbillon watches, and double tourbillon power reserve mechanisms. During the same period, he independently completed the parameter calculation for the double-axis stereoscopic tourbillon.

In 2011, Master Shi and Master Xu collaborated again to complete the design of China's first double escapement double barrel movement B24.

Notable Works
Design work on products such as the Ruka - 18K Gold Double Escapement Double Barrel Long Power Mechanical Watch and the Taiji - Double-Axis Main Tourbillon Watch.

Major Achievements
Oversaw the design of ZB1C integrated automatic mechanical movements, ZB2-2 integrated automatic and calendar mechanisms; among them, the integrated automatic movement and slim calendar mechanism alone have accumulated production of nearly one million units at Beijing Watch. Pioneered the design and theoretical model of the differential wheel assembly for double tourbillon and double escapement movements at Beijing Watch.

Master of Hand-Assembled Tourbillon Movements, Mastering the Art of "Cardless Balance Spring".

Su Wenbin

The "Chinese Tourbillon" was the only high-end wristwatch in the country at that time to fully adopt the "cardless balance spring". The accuracy of the watch's timekeeping depends on precisely determining the length of the balance spring. Master Su devoted himself wholeheartedly to the study of the "cardless balance spring", honing his skill in adjusting it through continuous improvement and refinement.

Master's Journey
Born into a family of watch repairers in 1942, Master Su accumulated a deep understanding of horological culture.

For the trial production of new Beijing Watch products, Master Su has been extensively involved, assembling and debugging most of the new product prototypes and providing modification suggestions. With over half a century of technical experience, he has perfected his skills in watchmaking.

In 1996, he single-handedly completed the assembly and adjustment of the three prototypes of the first-generation tourbillon watch, as well as the assembly and adjustment of all 30 rose gold limited edition "Chinese Tourbillon" watches released to the market in 2004.

Notable Works
Master Su's exquisite craftsmanship was evident in the assembly and adjustment of the first-generation tourbillon wristwatch and the limited edition "Chinese Tourbillon" wristwatch.

Major Achievements
Assembly, adjustment, and production of tourbillon multi-functional series mechanical watch TB01 and other products.

China's Youngest Master Watchmaker of Tourbillon Watches

Zhao Zhenling

Zhao Zhenling is a rising star in Beijing's brand of young design masters, with exceptional talent in movement design. He has participated in the design and production of various complex and multi-functional movements, making him a key figure in the next generation of Beijing Watch's technical team.


Notable Works:

In 2008, at the age of only 22, Master Zhao designed and produced China's first tourbillon minute repeater watch.

In 2013, he led the design of the "Wuji" triple-axis tourbillon.

The production of Beijing Watch's tourbillon movements and long-power reserve movements with double escapements are all crafted by Master Zhao.