If you’ve noticed a slight lull in the flow of watch parts or extended lead times on specific repairs this month, you are witnessing the ripple effect of the largest human migration on Earth.
We are currently in the midst of Chinese New Year (CNY), the most significant holiday in the Asian calendar. For the watch industry, which relies heavily on manufacturing hubs in Guangdong and Shenzhen for crystals, movements, gaskets, and bracelets, this is the time when the “World’s Factory” takes a well-deserved nap.
It’s Not Just a Long Weekend
Unlike Western holidays where businesses might close for a day or two, Chinese New Year is a massive, weeks-long cultural event.
For many factory workers in the horological districts of China, this is the only time of year they return to their home villages to see their families. Imagine if Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the 4th of July all happened in the same week, and everyone in the country had to travel 1,000 miles to celebrate it. That is the scale of CNY.
Because of this, the supply chain doesn’t just stop; it unspools and then has to wind itself back up.
The Cycle of the Shutdown
While the official holiday dates for 2026 typically land in mid-February, the industrial reality looks a bit different. Here is the typical timeline we see every year:
- The Pre-Holiday Rush (Late January): Factories rush to finish orders before workers leave. Shipping becomes congested as everyone tries to get products on boats and planes.
- The Great Migration (Early February): Workers begin leaving the cities. Production slows down significantly as staff numbers dwindle.
- The Ghost Town Phase (Now): During the holiday weeks, factories are effectively closed. Machines are powered down, and suppliers go silent. Nothing moves.
- The Slow Ramp-Up (Late February – Early March): Workers slowly return to the cities. Factories restart, but not at 100% capacity immediately. They have to inspect machinery, retrain staff, and work through the backlog of orders that piled up during the break.
What This Means for Your Repair
As a watch repair business committed to transparency, we want you to know that patience is currently our best tool.
If your repair requires a specific part sourced from overseas—be it a sapphire crystal, a specific bezel insert, or a movement component—we are at the mercy of this global cycle. Domestic suppliers often sell out of their on-hand inventory during this time, creating a temporary bottleneck. Luckily Replica Watch Repair stocks a great many parts and our inventory allows us to mitigate much of the delays associated with CNY. That said, if a part must be ordered, expect a 2-3 week delay.
The Good News: Normalcy is Around the Corner
The beauty of this cycle is its predictability. This isn’t a supply chain crisis; it’s a supply chain rhythm.
We expect the flow of parts to begin normalizing by mid-March, with full speed returning by the end of the month. The factories will roar back to life, refreshed and recharged, ready to produce the high-precision components we rely on to keep your timepieces ticking.
We appreciate your understanding and patience. Just like a mechanical watch needs to be wound to keep accurate time, the global supply chain sometimes needs to unwind to keep running smoothly. We are tracking every order and will get your watch back on your wrist as soon as the world gets back to work!