China’s contribution to the world of watchmaking over the past half a century has been largely about the manufacturing of components that quietly make their way into movements and finished watches of brands based across the world.
One of the biggest producers in the country has been Dandong Watches, based in the port city of Dandong in the northeast of China, where watches and components have been produced since 1957.
As well as manufacturing at scale for other brands, Dandong Watches also developed its own marque, Peacock, which have come to symbolise tradition and innovation in exceptional timepieces for the Chinese business.
Effectively, Peacock is the poster child for the most advanced horology that watchmakers in Dandong have been delivering since 1957 and kicked into high gear with the introduction in 2003 of its first watch featuring an in house tourbillon movement.
Ten years later, in 2013, Peacock went one step further with the creation of a double tourbillon timepiece.
Both single and double tourbillon watches continue to be made to this day, with ever-rising refinements to the design and architecture of the Peacock pieces.
The single tourbillon is used in a number of models, including Peacock’s Time Color, Pathfinder, Witness, Climber and Voyager.
These watches pull off the trick of feeling like they have shared DNA, but are presented in subtly different styles.
The Peacock Time Color, for example, combine exposed bridges on the dial in various shades with sporty black carbon cradling the large tourbillon at 6 o’clock.
The steel watch houses Peacock’s SL5003A hand wound tourbillon movement in a 45mm case.
It is sold on a range of coloured rubber straps for just over $1,500.
A little more sporty is the Pathfinder, which comes in a 43.5mm carbon case housing a hand wound SL5003DT coaxial tourbillon movement composed of 146 parts and weighing just 0.4 grams.
The largely black watch is enhanced with accents of colour on hands, stitching of the strap, a large 12 at the top of the dial and a minute track in green, blue, yellow or red.
Pathfinders are on sale now for $2,129.
Witness, Climber and Voyager collections use variations of Peacock’s single tourbillon movement in a range of mainly sporty styles, and with additional complications such as a power reserve on some models.
They all retail in the $2,000 to $3,000 range; remarkable prices for hand wound tourbillon timepieces.
But, if you want a premium double tourbillon Peacock watch, you do have to step up to a dramatically higher price point of $46,197 for one of the King Returns models.
There are seven variations, rose gold, black, silver, red, blue, green and yellow, which come in either a 43mm stainless steel case or a 45mm carbon fibre case.
All use the SL5301K double tourbillon semi-skeletonised movement, which uses two completely independent escapement regulating systems at 5 and 7 o’clock on the dial to make timekeeping more accurate and stable.
Peacock says that it is one of only two companies in the world capable of making this type of double tourbillon movement.
The King Returns collection comes in a choice of two designs.
Casual watches in a choice of red, yellow, blue, and green accents come in 45mm carbon fibre cases while Gentleman references are made in 43mm steel cases with the option of black or rose gold coatings.
Click HERE to find out more about Peacock.
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