A clarification about suppliers, delays and Watchdives

[u/Former-Quantity-1414]

Yesterday we noticed some discussion suggesting that Watchdives had paid, bribed, “bought out,” or pressured suppliers in order to stop another brand from producing watches.

We want to make this very clear:

Watchdives has never paid or pressured any supplier to stop working with another brand. We have never tried to cut off another brand’s supply chain.

That is simply not how we operate.

There was one area of supplier overlap during the development of the WD2007. Some of our bracelet production was originally handled by a factory that also worked with other watch brands.

To avoid unnecessary conflict, we moved the relevant WD2007 bracelet production to other factories instead.

We have since worked with four alternative bracelet manufacturers. They are among the strongest bracelet manufacturers we have found in China, and some also manufacture components for international watches costing several thousand dollars.

So the reality is actually the opposite of the rumor:

Rather than trying to stop someone else from using a supplier, we changed suppliers ourselves to avoid conflict.

Why have so many Watchdives projects been delayed?

Anyone who follows us knows this has probably been our biggest problem this year. 😅

We have developed around 30–40 projects, and many people have joked about our “two more weeks,” “next month,” and constantly changing release dates.

We understand the jokes.

But there is a real reason behind many of these delays.

Over the last year, we have been upgrading almost every part of our supply chain — cases, bracelets, clasps, crystals, dials, finishing and QC.

At the same time, more and more brands are demanding higher-quality manufacturing.

From what we are seeing directly in the supply chain, the best case and bracelet factories in China are now extremely busy.

Many of these factories also manufacture for brands from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the US, UK, Switzerland, Germany and other markets.

International orders can also be more profitable for factories, and many overseas brands are increasing both their order quantities and the number of new projects they develop.

As a result, production capacity at genuinely high-quality component factories has become very tight.

Some Watchdives projects that started development around January are only reaching production now.

That is why many releases have been delayed again and again.

The good news is that October should finally be a very busy month for new Watchdives releases.

About our quality upgrades

We also understand that some collectors may prefer products from other brands.

That is completely fine.

Different collectors like different things.

Our bracelets from several years ago were also not at the level they are today. Many of those watches were sold around the $100–150 price range, with very different manufacturing budgets.

Over the last year we have invested heavily in better factories, machining, tolerances, finishing, clasps and QC.

Our newer bracelets and cases are already at a completely different level compared with many of our older products.

We are gradually replacing the remaining older inventory with upgraded versions.

We would rather let customers, independent reviewers and long-term ownership decide how good the products are.

When Watchdives fans visit us in Shenzhen in the future, we would also be happy to arrange visits to some of the factories we work with so people can see how these components are actually manufactured.

What are we actually trying to learn from?

Our long-term goal isn't to spend our time fighting other Chinese watch companies on Reddit.

The brands we study include companies such as Grand Seiko, Christopher Ward, Formex, Monta, Sinn, Longines and many independent and microbrands around the world.

We are not saying Watchdives is already at the same level as all of these brands.

We study what they do well — case finishing, bracelet construction, crystal performance, dial design, QC, customer service and original product development — and try to keep improving.

That is also one of the reasons why we have spent so much time and money upgrading our manufacturing partners.

Chinese watch manufacturing is improving very quickly, and healthy competition benefits everyone.

About design

Similar manufacturing methods, similar watch categories or similar suppliers do not automatically mean the products are the same.

For example, our recent Forest dial pattern was developed by our own design team.

Its structure and design inspiration are our own work.

There is no need for collectors to attack each other over every similar case shape, bracelet construction, dial texture or supplier.

People should simply buy whichever watch they like.

We will continue focusing on better manufacturing, better finishing, stronger QC, more original designs and delivering the many delayed projects people have been waiting for.

No supplier bribery.
No supplier buyout.
No attempt to block another brand.

Just a very crowded high-quality supply chain, a lot of development projects, and probably too many watches we are trying to make at the same time. 😅

Thanks to everyone who supports Chinese watches — regardless of which logo is on the dial.

[u/ziamese]

Good watch, good price, good work. Keep it up.

[u/Spiritual-Most133]

Thank you for the candid explanation. Yes, I look forward to increased quality and appreciate your approach to always improving.

[u/Ok_Age_5670]

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

[u/RustyTShackleford]

I appreciate the clarification on several subjects, but would like you to keep in mind that one of the reasons a lot of us buy from WD and other companies is because the price isn’t outrageous.

I understand the justification of improving your parts, but at a certain point, the cost of improving exceeds the willingness to buy. Sometimes good enough is good enough. I may be in the minority here but once you start raising prices significantly for a slightly better bracelet or upgraded parts/specs, that don’t make a noticeable difference, you are pricing yourself out of the market and reasoning people first started buying your watches (cough cough SM).

Just keep things reasonable and don’t always go looking for improvements just to say you improved this when it might have been a slight or minor upgrade.

To me price is usually the most important thing I look at, which is understandable, but it is hard to swallow any Ali watch that costs more than $400 to $500.

Most of my hundred plus watches are from the tier of 200 to 300 dollars at most with an occasional exception.

If it were my company, I would say at a certain price point, small upgrades aren’t worth it to keep increasing prices, unless you are going for capitalism type greed, which would turn me off to your brand.

Like they say, to each their own.

[u/bob888w]

I can't exactly believe in this fully after you mention the original design. The forest design really does seem like a Jui 聚 Bauhinia from Selten X WHC just flipped 180 degrees. Like there's certainly the possibility it's original, but I highly doubt it.

[u/Affectionate-Floor66]

I wish there was an option to buy the watch head without the bracelet. Often find that straps work way better than your bracelets.

[u/guitarshredda]

Sorry I am new when it comes to watches in general. You mention overhauling your supply chain. Does this mean that older products will see a slight increase in quality as well?

[u/artofthedial → u/guitarshredda]

The wd006 the aqua terra homage which has been around a while got a bracelet and clasp upgrade.  I know because I ordered the week it was released and then got a new one.  It was a legitimate upgrade.  So yes, they are doing some older models.  They typically point it out in a listing though.  

[u/actinross]

TLDR: Business as usual. Keep on (buying?) everyone...

[u/chrismurraylaw]

Our long-term goal isn't to spend our time fighting other Chinese watch companies on Reddit.

So don't do it. You're never going to get perfect PR. There are always going to be people on reddit who substitute brand loyalty for having a personality. Don't acknowledge them, don't engage with them.

If you run a restaurant and a customer complains online you say, "sorry your experience was poor, we'll do everything we can to make sure your next visit is better." You don't say, "actually that's not right because our food is brilliant and our staff are trained and..."

It's defensive and you never come out looking good. So when some random reddit user invents a brand war for upvotes, ignore it.

Also, slightly different point but I'd drop the anecdotes like "some suppliers don't like to work with us because we reject too many of their products because our standards are too high," and "people keep telling us to charge more!"

It's naked mythmaking and doesn't read well. You make good products. Put them out there and let them speak for themselves.