My trip to China's mainland in May 2025 was a revelation, whirlwind of futuristic cities, bustling markets and homegrown innovation. Amidst modern streets of Shenzhen, I sought a tangible keepsake to
commemorate the journey. While souvenir shops peddled trinkets, I
gravitated toward something deeper: a mechanical watch from a Chinese
brand, a symbol of the nation’s growing engineering prowess. After some time of doing research, I found the only boutique by Seagull in Shenzhen. By just using public transportation (the metro), getting to that shop from I was staying was easy and very relaxing. As it is the starting of summer, the air-conditioning was a godsend! It is also makes it sweeter when the cost of public transportation in China is really dirt cheap with extensive coverage.
At the boutique, I was surprised the number of models available. There was a large number of watches with tourbillon movements which I have not seen before. While looking at the watches on display, I came across a new series of dive watches called Okeanos. This series is a blend of mythic storytelling, technical ambition, affordability and coupled with Seagull’s 70-year legacy as China’s oldest
watchmaker. As the first under the Okeanos series and the first having the 1000-meter water rating for the brand, I settled on the Seagull Okeanos 70th Anniversary Professional Ultra Diving Watch.
It made it the perfect memento for my first trip to mainland China.
