[seagullfan]

I was just browsing Taobao to see what BJWF, Sea-gull, Shanghai were offering for the 11.11 sales (nothing too interesting) when I saw this:

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?sp...737&pvid=4a0f7f1d-55bd-4218-b5b9-67e7bbf20258

That's the Maison Celadon Imperial Peacock dial mated with an automatic BJWF movement... the price is much lower than a genuine Celadon at 300ish dollars.

Benjamin/MonsieurXu - I'd get on to BJWF to make sure they aren't selling your custom dials to 3rd parties - very disappointing if that's the case!

 

[lovedeep]

It is worrying.

 

[KtWUS]

That is a considerably less elegant housing for the peacock in my opinion.

 

[seagullfan]

Yup - and I can only imagine what kind of QC (if any) goes into these Frankens... allowing anything like this only leads to a potential dilution of the perceived quality of MC watches.

And considering the fact that it should be highly unlikely that another factory replicated the dial it stands to reason that this was done by BJWAF internally...I'd be interested to hear what they have to say about the source of the dials.

 

[Qidamin]

Not only the dial is the same (some other watches have it too), but they have also put the exact MC logo on the dial...

 

[Chascomm]

Not only the dial is the same (but some other watches have it too), but they have also put the exact MC logo on the dial...

And that is exactly the heart of the problem. The front of the watch bears the Maison Celadon logo but the back says Beijing Watch Factory. What does this mean?

 

[woodville63]

That's not cricket! Somebody in BJWF is being naughty.

 

[Qidamin]

That's not cricket! Somebody in BJWF is being naughty.

Well, it is also possible that the guy have asked somewhere else to someone else to make the same dial then he just put it in a cheaper Beijing case. Everything is possible in China!

 

[woodville63]

Well, it is also possible that the guy have asked somewhere else to someone else to make the same dial then he just put it in a cheaper Beijing case. Everything is possible in China!

Granted. If that's the case will BJWF do something about the misappropriated IPR?

 

[mxu]

We are taking this very seriously and are investigating this matter. From discussions with the BWAF management, it is clear that this abomination is not an official BWAF product nor is it officially sanctioned. The most likely suspect is an assembler somewhere in the production process, whether currently or previously employed, having stolen or re-made one of our dials and installed it in a nightmarish franken mix of parts.


The case is of a design BWAF has not used in at least the last four years, according to their management. They cannot ascertain, without seeing the actual piece, if it is authentic or not. It is notable that this online seller has not sold a single one of these abominations in his selling history.


On Monday, BWAF will be speaking with the heads of their various production departments, and tightening control of our brand components. I reiterated heavily how seriously we are taking this, and will be bringing this up when I meet the BWAF owner in December in Beijing.


Let me state that the only way to be sure of obtaining an authentic Maison Celadon watch is to order or commission one from us directly through official channels, or through our authorized dealers worldwide. Every Maison Celadon watch is accompanied with a bespoke letterpressed Certificate of Authenticity handwritten by me personally, which is practically impossible to replicate.


If you are looking to buy a Maison Celadon watch through secondary channels, feel free to contact our Concierge at [email protected] and we will help to ascertain the authenticity of the piece in question. With our low production volumes, serial numbering on every piece, and records of every original owner, we will be able to establish the provenance of every Maison Celadon watch that comes forth from our workshop.

 

[sidney004]

You're in good company Ben. Rolex, Patek, Omega, Cartier and other top Swiss brands have the same problem.

 

[seagullfan]

Good to hear that Ben - and good to hear that on the face of it this isn't due to BWAF themselves.

I guess in one sense imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - a silver lining from this is at least people find it worthwhile trying to recreate a genuine MC watch.

I've been touting your company as an example of high quality Chinese watch pieces so will be sure to let you know if I come across any such frankens/IP infringing pieces.

 

[Time On My Hands]

I keep checking back to see if there's any progress with this. These dials are a signature of a beautiful niche watch and project, and it's really quite damaging to see them being used in a charmless frankenwatch.

 

[Qidamin]

By the way, the guy seems to have other Beijing watches I have never seen before (cheap models). I wonder if they are real Beijing watches too.

 

[KtWUS]

Wouldn't buy anything from that seller. Some of the Beijing models look real but who knows given that the seller is willing to list fake models too.

Also, the horrendous fake-peacock listing in the OP has been removed, thankfully.