One To Watch Qin Gan – Independent Watchmaker From China

Qin's father owned a watch and clock repair shop in Chongqing, so he was born into watchmaking, and this is where he first began to learn his skills as a watchmaker. While he would go on to first pursue a career as a designer, he continued to explore watchmaking, completing his first watch, featuring a dragonfly automaton, in 2014.

From there, he joined Poly Hong Kong, a large Asian auction house, as a restorer. A few years later, he left the auction house and soon after completed his second watch, featuring a striking mechanism. Qin continued to produce other complicated prototype pieces (flyback chronograph, tourbillon, repeater), some even featuring miniature paintings on the dial. However, Qin felt these watches weren't suitable for the tastes of the rest of the world, so he got to work on designing and crafting an elegant, modern dress watch.

The first Pastorale, introduced in 2021, was a simple, steel, time-only watch that was finished by hand. It was well-received and, at $9,000, even a compelling value proposition.

Three years later, the Pastorale II updated the original Pastorale to make the dial, case, and movement more refined. This all comes at a healthy price increase – the Pastorale II costs $46,000. But it now features a gold case and dial, along with a movement that showcases more of Qin's hand finishing. Qin says he'll only be making 15 pieces a year, and while it'll be hard for many to stomach the cost when compared to more established brands, the Pastorale II's movement, dial, and case seem well executed down to the details, and put on display Qin's talents as a craftsman.

The Pastorale II uses the caliber 1810, Qin's in-house caliber based on the architecture of the vintage Longines 30L movement. As you can see, though, the movement design has been modified to display Qin's finishing techniques.

I spoke with Sebastian Wang, a part-time rep for Qin Gan, to better understand the Pastorale II. He explained that movement components are machined in Hong Kong, but they arrive in rough condition, and all finishing is done by Qin by hand. The bridges feature polished bevels, interior angles, gold chatons, and wide Geneva striping. The 36-hour power reserve feels a little low, and it beats at 2.5 Hz. The swan neck regulator adds another elegant touch and even the gear teeth are polished by hand.

When Qin first began putting the finishing of his watch on social media, there was a little social media dust-up about the concave finishing of Qin's screws. They look similar to the screws in Simon Brette's Chronometre Artisans, but in reality, both make reference to antique pocket watches. Comments left by both indicate a mutual appreciation for the other's craft – cool to see that game recognize game, even when it's halfway across the world.

Unlike the first version, the Pastorale II features an 18-kt white or rose gold case measuring 38.5 x 9.5mm. Again, the case is machined in China and arrives at Qin Gan's workshop in rough condition. Qin then goes to work hand-finishing each component – lugs, midcase, caseback, and bezel. To take an example, Wang explained to me that the bezel arrives as a flat piece of gold, and Qin slowly polishes this into the concave, polished component for the Pastorale II. The elongated lugs are chamfered and actually screwed into the midcase using the screws you see in the caseback band.

The dial of the Pastorale II is also a major upgrade. It's a gold base finished with enamel. The indices are then laser engraved and filled with enamel, giving them an additional dimension. The hands are heat-blued and mirror-polished by hand.

Finally, the logo at 12 o'clock is Qin Gan's name in Chinese, in the style of traditional calligraphy. For a Chinese watchmaker setting about to make a statement about his watchmaking to the world, this feels like an important step (the Pastorale I had his name in English on the dial).

The movement, case, and dial come together in a package that seems considered, refined, and balanced. Each component has a ton of detail to discover – none scream for attention, but all are there for those who take a few minutes with the Pastorale II.

Wang explained that for Qin, the hardest part of producing a high-quality, independent watch in China is that there is very little surrounding industry to support. For example, in Switzerland, you can find other watchmakers to assist with anglage, Geneva striping, and so on. Entire companies are dedicated to dial production. But Qin is doing everything himself. While he has some part-time support and is looking into training other watchmakers in the high-level skills it takes to produce a watch like the Pastorale II, this will take at least a couple of years.

Speaking with the people at Qin Gan, they clearly have a goal of telling the story of Qin's watchmaking and craftsmanship to a global audience. While Qin's strength is actually in complications, the Pastorale II is meant to illustrate his understanding of fine watchmaking and that his talents can match those from any other country.

At $46,000, it'll be a tough sell for many. But for now, Qin Gan can only make 15 pieces a year so that doesn't matter so much anyway. And this is the conundrum: While the price feels high, I also don't doubt that Qin's not really making money on these things, at least not for a while. He's been refining these details for the last three years and no doubt it'll take years to recoup that investment of time and money.

But this is also the challenge of starting any new brand. I hope Qin Gan succeeds because the Pastorale II illustrates watchmaking that deserves to be appreciated far beyond China.

For more, on Qin Gan and the Pastorale II, follow on Instagram.