Sourcing wristwatch chronographs from China

£0.20 per wristwatch chronograph

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, the relevant wristwatch lines under heading 9102 carry £0.20 duty per watch from China. They cover electrically operated and mechanical wristwatches, including those incorporating a stopwatch facility, outside heading 9101. The supplied tariff facts list no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions. Duty depends on the watch count rather than the invoice value.

The tariff attaches CITES import control. For protected-species leather straps, establish the species and confirm the permits needed for the shipment from China with your customs broker. Official guidance requires permits for species listed in Annex A, B or C. The tariff also lists CITES export control and a cultural-object export licence entry; ask your broker whether these apply if you later export the watches.

Confirm the movement, display and case material before choosing the commodity code. Precious-metal cases fall under heading 9101. The wider watch sourcing guide covers neighbouring watch types. No relevant line has percentage duty, so the illustrative order uses a specific-duty line and must not be calculated using a percentage.

Specify the movement and working stopwatch

Name the movement manufacturer and reference, and specify quartz, automatic or manual winding. Describe which hand measures elapsed seconds, what each subsidiary dial does, how elapsed minutes accumulate, and how the pushers start, stop and reset the timer. Approve a working sample: decorative subsidiary dials are not a substitute for a functioning chronograph.

Agree case and bracelet materials, plating, strap construction, crown and pusher seals, dial printing and instructions. Confirm applicable nickel restrictions for skin-contact metal parts with the relevant UK authority. Ask for nickel-release evidence covering the supplied finish, and pressure-test any claimed water resistance. Agree whether the instructions permit operating pushers while wet.

Consumer watches supplied in Great Britain must be safe. For quartz models, assess electrical-equipment and battery producer duties before selling: electrical-equipment producers must register annually, while battery registration depends on battery type and quantity put on the market. Agree a secure button-cell enclosure and swallowing-risk warnings with the supplier.

Inspection checklist

Chronograph: repeatedly start, stop and reset the timer; check elapsed-time indication, counter advancement and return to the marked starting position.

Movement: compare timekeeping with the approved sample, check winding and date operation where fitted, and look for hands touching each other or the crystal.

Seals and finish: pressure-test claimed water resistance, inspect crown and pusher action, check plating and strap attachment, and match material reports to the supplied parts.

Packing: verify movement references, battery type where fitted, operating instructions, strap descriptions and carton contents against the order.

What goes wrong

A watch may look like a chronograph while its subsidiary dials show calendar information or do nothing. Other failures include reset hands missing their markers, elapsed-minute counters sticking, stiff pushers and hands catching. Require a supplier demonstration of every advertised function, then repeat those checks on shipment samples.

Pusher seals add another place for moisture to enter. A movement substitution can change dial functions or reset behaviour even when the case looks unchanged. Record the approved movement and operating sequence, agree any substitutions before production, and use quality inspection to compare the shipment with the approved sample.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.