It’s not just Gen Z and TikTok users who are having a very Chinese moment these days. The watchmaking industry appears to be Chinamaxxing, too.At the annual Watches & Wonders trade show in Geneva this April, independent Chinese watchmaker Behrens made its debut, becoming the first-ever brand from the country to do so.Drawing inspiration from the Bronze Eye-shaped artefact of the ancient Shu civilisation in Sichuan, Behrens transformed its exhibition space into a fusion of mechanical watchmaking and contemporary Chinese cultural expression.
Behrens debuted the Pupil collection at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026. (Photo: Behrens)
For Jean Philippe Tarot, founder and editor-in-chief of Montres de Luxe, the moment felt both surprising and inevitable.“At first I was a little bit surprised, but then I remembered that [another Chinese brand] CIGA Design won a GPHG Prize in 2021,” he said, referring to the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve, often regarded as watchmaking’s equivalent of the Oscars. “Which, in my opinion, marked the very beginning of the recognition of Chinese brands in the watch industry.“In 2026, the fact that a brand like Behrens is attending Watches & Wonders is obviously very symbolic. It’s the very first time a Chinese watchmaker participates in a high-end watch fair in Geneva, the capital of the watch industry.”More importantly, Tarot sees the development as a form of validation.
