With the recent explosion of speculation and price increases throughout the watch space, it’s always exciting to find brands bringing forth new horological propositions at competitive price points. And after previously exploring the history of watchmaking in China, it’s even more enticing to cover CIGA Design, a young brand that proudly touts the Chinese origin of its timepieces.
As the name implies, CIGADesign does indeed focus intensely on the design of their timepieces, producing what they describe as modern mechanical art. As we’ll cover in this overview of the brand, their efforts have not gone unnoticed, and CIGA Design watches have already gained acclaim at an international level.
Read on as we review this fledgling brand via the following sections:
Who Is CIGA Design?
It’d be easy to say that Zhang Jianmin is CIGADesign, and while he did establish the brand and remains the president, there exists an entire team of designers behind both the watches and their accompanying presentation sets (more on this later).
A total of 8 designers from 8 different countries comprise the design team, including Jianmin, who himself was named as one of the top 10 industrial designers in China in 2016. To date, the brainchildren of this experienced design team have earned 17 international design awards, including a coveted GPHG award in 2021 for their Blue Planet Watch.
Along the way, CIGA Design has also garnered not just the attention but also the financial backing of large players outside of the watch industry, including JD.com and Xiaomi.
Zhang Jianmin, CIGA Design Founder & President
CIGADesign’s Record-Breaking Success On IndieGoGo
Before CIGADesign found success at the 2021 GPHG Awards ceremony, they were already achieving commercial success on the crowdfunding site IndieGoGo.
First, in early 2020, CIGADesign’s Series Z campaign broke records by becoming the best-selling product on IndieGoGo within the watch category. They did this by amassing sales of more than $2.5 million for a single watch model.
The CIGA Design Series Z Watch
Unfortunately, the record set by the Series Z watch would be broken less than a year later. Fortunately, it was by yet another CIGADesign watch. This time, it was the Series X, with a completely skeletonized movement and dial, that captured collectors.
It’s not difficult to see why CIGADesign’s watches have encountered so many willing buyers. From Zhang Jianmin’s first watch in 2013, the brand has continued to evolve and put forth new designs aimed at attracting the interest of younger generations.
CIGA Design Series X
Along the way, the design and mechanical complexity of CIGA Design’s watches have continued to increase while maintaining phenomenal attention to detail.
Perhaps most importantly, and directly in line with the brand’s goal of appealing to younger collectors with limited budgets, CIGA Design’s watches provide true value with price points starting around $300. The higher prices are reserved for more exotic metals like titanium or surface coatings, and even then, they usually only differ from the base stainless steel models by ~$100.
The Series X’s “Booklet” Box Set
In our reviews of the CIGADesign Series X and Series Z, you’ll also find that the design team’s efforts haven’t ceased with the watch itself. Indeed, the box or rather presentation sets that accompany the timepieces are worthy of praise. They’re neatly crafted box sets that by themselves exemplify how no aspect of the watches has been overlooked.
CIGADesign Wins At The 2021 GPHG
Every year, the eyes of the entire watch industry are turned towards the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, or the GPHG. As the name implies, the GPHG is a big awards ceremony “intended to salute the excellence of worldwide horological production and annually rewards the finest creations and the most important operators in the watchmaking sector.“
Created in 2001, the GPHG prizes watches from the biggest names in the business, including Patek Philippe, MB&F, Audemars Piguet, Bvlgari & more. Yet, in 2018, the GPHG created a new category to highlight watches from more value-oriented brands. Among its key requirements, this new Challenge Watch category only considers entries whose retail price is below $3,500.
In 2021, CIGA Design shocked more than a handful of established watch brands when it took home the Challenge Watch price with its Blue Planet watch. Consisting of a 3D globe that uses a unique mechanism for telling the time with a single “hand” (in this case, the mariner symbol), CIGA Design’s Blue Planet also boasted a titanium construction and overall minimalist case design.
The CIGA Design Blue Planet Watch
Originally manufactured as a limited edition of 50 pieces for the GPHG contest, the Blue Planet is now available for purchase on the CIGA Design website as well as Amazon for $899 in steel or $1099 in titanium.
It’s worth noting that this was no easy feat, either. CIGA Design’s Blue Planet entry was accompanied by established brands, such as Oris and DOXA, as well as other smaller brands that have recently gained significant acclaim within collector communities, such as Anordain and Furlan Marri.
GPHG 2021 Challenge Watch Candidates
Where Are CIGA Design Watches Made?
Unlike other watch brands that attempt to obscure the fact that their watches are manufactured in China or that they employ Chinese-made components in their movements, CIGA Design transmits no qualms about the origin of their timepieces. In fact, they proudly tout that CIGA Design watches are made in China.
Indeed, that is the point. CIGA Design wants to change the image of Chinese watchmaking in the minds of the entire watch industry. Admittedly, this is a rather difficult task, but the brand is progressing towards this goal in the only way they know how: by making watches that collectors want to buy and wear. The GPHG award for the Blue Planet watch was a big step in this endeavor, as it’s the first time a Chinese brand has been bestowed such an honor by the GPHG Foundation.
A Bright Future For CIGA Design
The 2021 GPHG award has undoubtedly brought a ton of attention to CIGA Design, though this was no coincidence. As proven by the success of their most recent releases in 2020, the Series Z & Series X watches, the brand was already making strides before the spotlight turned to it.
CIGA Design seems to have a solid foundation moving forward. Notably, they’ve harped on the fact that they have no intention of releasing future watches that are more and more expensive. This is key, as it has become all too common for smaller brands to double or triple the retail price of subsequent model releases after they gain a bit of traction among collectors looking for value at the lower end of the price spectrum.
Lastly, it’s only natural as watch collectors ourselves to want to root the up-and-coming brands, not just because they’re new, but because they’re facing off against the titans of the watch industry. With relatively limited resources, CIGA Design has been able to innovate, producing unique timepieces at accessible prices. Genuinely, it’s difficult not to be excited for what lies in this young brand’s future.
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