From Mao to Colette: A Shanghai Watch Brand Becomes Part of Global Street Culture

In the 1950s, the Shanghai Watch Company manufactured watches worn by China’s most eminent leaders including Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.  Recognizing the unique heritage of this Chinese brand, PSFK friends Jellymon and W+K Shanghai approached the Shanghai Watch Company to produce 5 new designs with a distinctive modern Chinese flavor.

Jellymon, an innovative design studio based in Shanghai, made repeated trips to the government-owned watch factory to convince the largely defunct watch company to a collaboration.  The product director described the process of making the watches as a big headache and the most complicated he’d ever been involved in.  But the results are stunning and a largely forgotten brand is now a part of global street culture.

There will be one hundred watches of each design produced and are available in selected stores around the world, including Colette in Paris, Kidrobot in New York and The Source in Shanghai.

Lin Lin, Creative Director of Jellymon, says:  “We wanted to re-introduce and rejuvenate Chinese heritage brands, so the younger generation in China and aboard will understand and appreciate them again. It has been a great challenge from contacting the factory to designing the watches and spreading the message. We feel proud to be part of a Chinese historical brand’s story.”

Below are close-ups of the 5 watch designs, each of which has a unique Shanghai / China story behind it:

Jellymon: Shanghai Watch Co. x W+K 上海 x Jellymon

W+K Shanghai: Shanghai Watch