Model : Jiefang 解放
Manufacturer : Shanghai Watch Factory Nr 2 上海手表二厂
Year of Production: 1970
Case Diameter :
Weight w/o strap: g
Movement Model : SS1 (17 jewels)
Type : Hand Wind
More shots are here;
1. the inner side of the case cover with written words;
2. the caseback;
3. the dial;
4. the movement 1;
5. the movement 2;
Other collections from Shanghai Watch Factory Nr 2 are:
Shanghai 上海 Baoshihua 宝石花 I (Houseleek)
Shanghai 上海 Baoshihua 宝石花 II (Houseleek)
解放 Liberation, a significant political term in the contemporary history of the China. It is usually associated with the civil war in China between Communist Party of China (CPC) and Kuomintang (KMT), the current government of Taiwan which was then a main party in mainland China. The civil war took place after Japan was defeated in WWII. It was not only a civil war but also a war between ideologies. The CPC called it the War of Liberation 解放战争 which freed the people from KMT, imperialism, feudalism and capitalism. The People's Republic of China was founded after the end of the civil war. (see Wiki here)
Jiefang was a popular name used in all aspects of life: street , cinema, shoes, truck, etc and watch such as this was of no exception. Adding to its political colour was Chairman Mao's handwriting style 解放 on the dial of this watch. 解放 was produced by Shanghai Watch Factory Nr 2 and the other watches from the same factory that I have had are Baoshihua I and Baoshihua II (or Houseleek).
It is the very first half stainless steel (半钢) watch that I have acquired. What it means is that, except the case cover is in stainless steel, the rest of the case is chrome plated. Half stainless steel only appeared in early period of watch industry in China and later superseded by wholly stainless steel watch case.
It is powered by a 17 jewels SS1 movement (a bit more info on SS1 here). My other watches using SS1 movement are Shanghai 1120, 1123 and 1524. There is a date code of "?EG" below the balance wheel (see photo here). E should be 1970 and G should be July, a forty years old watch.
The caseback is printed with ”解放“， ”Jiefang“，”半钢防震“ （Half stainless steel, anti-shock) and "上海手表二厂“. One interesting note on this collection is that the inner side of the case cover is written with some words which may be watchmaker's notes recording the changed spare parts and the date of that change. See the photo here.
More shots are here;
1. the inner side of the case cover with written words;
2. the caseback;
3. the dial;
4. the movement 1;
5. the movement 2;
Other collections from Shanghai Watch Factory Nr 2 are:
Shanghai 上海 Baoshihua 宝石花 I (Houseleek)
Shanghai 上海 Baoshihua 宝石花 II (Houseleek)
