On Beijing's central axis in high summer, inside the China National Arts and Crafts Museum (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum), a Shenzhen Shuibei gold and jewelry art exhibition titled "Molten Gold, Refined Essence" is drawing crowds of visitors.

Deep within the shimmering gallery of light and shadow, the most captivating sight is HIPINE's "ICH Twelve Earthly Branches" gold watch collection. Twelve timepieces, each "spiritually paired" with one of the twelve two‑hour periods that govern the cycle of heaven and earth.

In Sync with the Times

Turning the pages of this company deeply rooted in Shenzhen's DNA, you'll find a growth story that resonates miraculously with the city itself. In 2013, Shenzhen HIPINE Precision Technology Co., Ltd. was established, with its headquarters firmly set in the Shuibei Gold & Jewelry Cluster, targeting a niche that few had noticed at the time – gold watches.

In its very second year, HIPINE broke the material's "innate shackles" with cutting‑edge technology – the supramolecular hard pure gold project achieved a breakthrough, earning a third‑prize Science and Technology Award from the China Gold Association, and successfully overcoming the traditional softness and deformation issues of pure gold.

Thanks to these technological advances, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology awarded its 2,000‑square‑meter R&D center the prestigious title of "Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for High‑Hardness Precious Metal Precision Smart Watches." HIPINE also partnered with the Gemological Institute of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) to establish a "Joint Smart Wearable R&D Center," built a smart manufacturing base in Shenzhen, and saw its total patent and copyright applications rise to 237.

For over a decade, HIPINE has been on a non‑stop "level‑up" journey in technology – it is an innovator in micron‑level precision setting and a national "Specialized and Sophisticated Little Giant" enterprise. It has participated in seven national and industry standard revisions, served as the primary drafter of the "Pure Gold Watches" group standard, and its gold watch designs have won nine international and domestic awards, including the German iF Product Design Award, the US IDEA Design Award, the French Paris DNA Design Award, and the US Muse Design Award Gold Prize. Later, HIPINE teamed up with Huawei to launch the world's first smart gold watch powered by Huawei's smart movement.

In 2020, HIPINE co‑branded with the cultural IP "New on the Forbidden City" to launch the "Zhenxi" mechanical gold watch series, followed by the "Celestial Rotation" mechanical watch series, both making waves in the market.

Honoring the Past While Blending with the Present

In the summer of 2026 in Beijing, HIPINE unveiled its new "ICH Twelve Earthly Branches" watch collection – undoubtedly the fruit of years of accumulated technical prowess and cultural depth.

Over the past five years, HIPINE has seized every opportunity to visit numerous representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, tirelessly exploring the perfect fusion of ancient ICH crafts with the confined space of a watch dial. The master artisans they have collaborated with include Wang Pengwei, a Hebei Provincial Arts and Crafts Master and representative inheritor of the national‑level ICH project "Dingzhou Kesi Weaving Technique," as well as Zhong Liansheng, a China National Arts and Crafts Master, representative inheritor of the national‑level ICH Cloisonné Making Technique, and Chief Arts and Crafts Master at Beijing Enamel Factory Co., Ltd.

Examining the "ICH Twelve Earthly Branches" collection closely, it encompasses eight ICH techniques: Kesi (silk tapestry), Su embroidery, engraving, cloisonné enamel, mother‑of‑pearl inlay, lacquer, gold carving, and gold inlay. Behind each of the twelve distinctive timepieces lies a dedicated representative inheritor steeped in ancient craftsmanship, working hand‑in‑hand with a technical team that pursues perfection – a journey of sincere cooperation and painstaking R&D.

Among them, the "Dragon Hidden in Water Rhythm" watch (paired with the Yin hour, 3–5 AM) was born from a five‑year battle with time. Kesi is famed as "an inch of Kesi, an inch of gold," dazzling the world with its unique "warp‑through, weft‑cut" technique. Metal threads are inherently rigid and brittle, making it extremely difficult to balance the tension with soft silk on the loom. Wang Pengwei and HIPINE worked closely together, through thousands of trials, boldly pushing the limit of gold wire drawing from the industry's standard 0.2 mm down to 0.1 mm.

Moreover, the grace of Su embroidery transforms into three flowing tableaus on HIPINE's dials. "Splendid Rivers and Mountains" takes its soul from the classic "A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains," "Crimson Blossoms in Full Glory" captures spring flowers in a moment, and "Green Hills Reflected" invites the "Immortal Mountain Pavilion" painting into the composition.

Two models, "Tiger Howling in the Night" and "Dragon Soaring in Rosy Clouds," use cloisonné enamel to depict the awe‑inspiring might of a nocturnal tiger and a golden dragon in flight. With the aid of high‑power microscopes for coloring, the team minimized errors, truly bringing this thousand‑year‑old craft to life in millimeter‑scale spaces.

Gold carving and mother‑of‑pearl inlay also succeeded after multiple attempts. "Palace Glow" recreates the majesty of the Forbidden City's three main halls; "Ginkgo Autumn Charm" delicately carves three‑dimensional ginkgo leaf veins; and "Spring Dawn in the Jade Hall" transforms shell into a half‑opened magnolia.

Also on display is a smart ring that is equally stunning – it retains the warm, classic texture of gold jewelry while housing a sophisticated smart monitoring system. A gentle touch of the fingertip reveals health data at a glance, giving traditional Chinese‑style attire a futuristic "tech flair."

For this collection of truly collectible timepieces, Hu Shaohua, General Manager of Shenzhen HIPINE Precision Technology Co., Ltd., offered a plain yet profound interpretation: "The 'ICH Twelve Earthly Branches' series is about a 'soul pairing' – each hour's unique philosophical character is matched with the distinctive temperament of a specific craft. This exquisite combination is not only a deep cultural decoding but also a two‑way journey between ancient craftsmanship and Eastern philosophy in the contemporary era, embodying the ancient wisdom of the five elements in flux and the unity of heaven and humanity."

Indeed, the debut of HIPINE's "ICH Twelve Earthly Branches" watches in Beijing has generated tremendous acclaim. It is a triumph for the company, yet also a snapshot of the "hundred flowers blooming" among Shuibei's gold and jewelry enterprises – and a vivid footnote to the miracle of Shenzhen's urban development.