Shwatch; The traditional watch once worn by Mao Tze-Tung; now fashionable for modern Chinese teenage punks.

What is Shwatch? Is it ‘Shanzhai’ (山寨copycatting) of Swatch? Nope.

The Chinese characters ” Lao Luo” literally means “old chaos”; modern slang translates this to “fucking cool”.

Shwatch represents the Shanghai Watch Factory, which was established in 1955. In China, Shwatch is famous for its high quality. For the past 53 years, the Shwatch brand was very traditional, which led young Chinese to regard Shwatch watch as ‘old fashioned’.

But things changed in 2008. Shanghai Watch Factory cooperated with creative agency W+K Shanghai and the creative design company JELLYMON. They produced 5 fresh designs, adding bold silver and gold and a modern Chinese attitude to a watch that has been resurrected from the past.

The fresh designs took a classic watch and brought it kicking and screaming into the present. On the back of the watches you’ll find the Chinese characters 老乱 (Pronounced “Lao Leow”) which in Mandarin means “Old Chaos” and in Shanghai dialect means “fucking cool”. For young people, fashion is a way to represent their individuality.

For Lao Leow watch, the character on its back 老乱is not only a symbol of fashion, but also an adjective for its owner. Several weeks later, maybe we’ll find 老乱 having been tattooed on Chinese movie stars!

It’s a great example of how a traditional Chinese brand can be given fresh energy by a cross-cultural collaboration. What Shwatch have done is genuinely “Old Chaos”! If you put “Shwatch” in Google, you will find pages upon pages of people trying to buy Lao Leow watches.

Shwatch factory.

Shanghai Watch Factory watches were worn by China’s great leaders; Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai. From Chairman Mao’s wrist to the international stage, Shwatch has made a big step in the direction of high fashion.

The five styles are being sold both locally and abroad in NYC and Paris. If you want to have one, you need to be quick; Lao Leow Shwatch worldwide launch features a limited 100 pieces per design.
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Client: Shwatch
Design Agency: JELLYMON Shanghai
Advertising Agency: W+K Shanghai
Published: 24th November 2008

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Tagged as: China Fashion, Lao Leow, Shwatch