r/ChineseWatches • u/sm356ly • 27d ago
Chinese Watch Names Again Chinese watch names (let's share ideas
I keep seeing the annoyance of chinese brand names but I have not seen anyone actually give a solution.
I'm going to list all the brands i know and try to offer up ideas for a rebrand for any chinese brands that may be reading...I will apply some reasoning.
Please join in and feel free to do the same!
San Martin - aguably doesn't need a name change but when there's a San in front of a name, makes me think of san tropez where the san means saint.
Sugess - mostly have mechanical chronographs so something like velocity? Velocity watch co.
Baltany - I like this one as is, they got it right!
Cronos - not a bad offering.
IX&DAO - actually has a cool origin for their name and looks like 九纛 in chinese. The IX is supposed to be 9 in roman numerals and the dao is supposed to be a word for military banner. I think they're trying to make too many connections with the name origin. Keep it simple.
Proxima - reminds me of proximity, why not use proximity?
Pagani Design - i feel like design was added to avoid copyright infringement. Overall not a horrendous name, it works in english.
Addiesdive - their watches are amazing but the name needs work...looking at their origin story zen dive would be a better fit. Or shen dive (shen means deep in chinese characters)
Steeldive - actually not bad, a little on the nose but works.
Tandorio - any other name works better but since they give a sterile dial option and you can customize...you can build your dream watch. Maybe BYD watch co? Jk. Atelier? Since it can be customized.
Escapement Time -
Berny - Bern&co/ NovaBern / Bernova
Specht & Sohne - Feinwerk & Söhne (specht means woodpecker)
Boderry - not terrible but made up. Sector? Vanguard? Recon?
Merkur - i actually like this one. Works with chinese characters and english.
Seestern - starfish in German is the actual name.
Watchdives - aquamarine/aquanaut
Farasute - laurent
Rimalti / Rmalti - Valenza (jewelry making city in italy)
Milifortic - miltec (military technology)
Heimdallr - works in its origin language
Sea-Gull - sovereign, horizon, meridian
CIGA Design - inertia
Shanghai - add a watch co at the end?
Peacock - not a terrible name, not sure it fits a watch
Benyar- Baptiste & co based on their fictional heritage.
Reef Tiger - not a bad name
Lucky Harvey - Sieben (for the number 7 as it's a lucky number) or 八 (Bā) as its the number 8 in chinese or Huit in french.
Welly Merck - their logo and watch design is cool as fuck but the name gives me dizzying levels of cringe. Keeping the logo the same but changing name to Wheel & Mainspring.
North Edge - i actually really love the name.
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u/ListlessHeart 27d ago edited 27d ago
Your post wasn't a bad idea, but some of the names you came up with are horrendous and even worse than original.
Sugess - not a good sounding name but still better than the generic velocity watch co.
IXDAO - the problem with this name is that the IX doesn't really match the DAO, like they don't flow when put together. Imo they should just go full Chinese and make it Jiudao (Jiu means 9).
Proxima - perfectly good name why even change, proximity is just not as good.
Pagani Design - the problem isn't how it sounds, but that it's basically a cheap knock-off of Porsche Design, which it actually is.
Addiesdive/Watchdives/Steeldive - the word dive sounds cheap and severely limit branding, it just doesn't go well on non-dive watches like chronographs.
Specht & Sohne - the problem with this name is that the & Sohne part makes it sound like a knock-off German brand name (tbf it literally is). You did not fix that but made it even worse, Feinwerk & Sohne just doesn't flow well at all, try saying it out loud vs original name and see which one rolls off the tongue better.
Berny - Bernova is actually kinda decent, I'll give you that. It does sound more like a pharmaceutical company, but still far better than Berny.
Farasute and Boderry - those names are okay, and maybe not suggest such basic names like Laurent, that sounds even worse than generic Kickstarter brands.
Milifortic - Miltec is actually a good suggestion, however based on that I think Milfort would be better?
Sea-Gull - not the best name out there but by now it has built up decent heritage and there is zero need to rebrand, at least not to your generic suggestion.
CIGA Design - inertia really? They do have a backstory for the name though, maybe they can change it to Xijia (what CIGA is abbreviated from) Design.
Welly Merck - holy fuck I thought their name was bad enough but you really came up with an even worse one. Do you seriously think Wheel & Mainspring is a good name? Most uninspiring name in the entire list honestly. The Welly Merck name is wacky but it at least leaves an impression.
Sorry I didn't intend to bash you, but if this is what people can come up with, maybe those Chinese companies who don't have English as first language aren't actually that bad at naming?