Jewelry heavyweight eyes smart watch market

China National Gem & Jewelry Imp & Exp Co Ltd (Sino Gem) and Huawei has inked a cooperation agreement in Shenzhen last week, marking the Stated-owned jewelry heavyweight's official entry into the high-end smart wearables market.

"The cooperation between Huawei and Sino Gem holds epoch-making significance for the development of the smartwatch industry. It will accelerate the empowerment of the entire jewelry industry toward a more intelligent and technological advancement in sports and health technology," said Zhang Wei, president of Huawei Terminal's BG smart wearables and sports health product line.

This partnership will continually expand the value boundaries of fashion jewelry and precious metal watches, serving as a major initiative to explore and develop new quality productive forces, Zhang added.

Based on Huawei's precise monitoring of vital signs such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels, the watch is expected to assist users in understanding their risk factors for altitude sickness, sleep apnea and arrhythmias through health research initiated by professional medical institutions, said Gong Yuansong, vice-president of Huawei Terminal's BG smart wearables and sports health product line.

During the signing ceremony, Dai Ning, general manager of Polycac, said the Sino Gem brand under Polycac has always been committed to promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent Chinese traditional culture. Following this, in order to meet the needs of different consumer groups, from material selection to craftsmanship and aesthetic design, Sino Gem's smartwatches will be using different precious metal materials such as silver, platinum and gold, said Zhang Yubo, general Manager of Sino Gem.

"By integrating Chinese cultural elements, we hope our products can redefine smartwatches by combining the luxury essence of jewelry with cutting-edge technology. They will become a shining example of 'Made in China'," Zhang said.