The return of 'Made in Hong Kong'? Companies hope to revive city as manufacturing hub

Tucked in a windowless, 100-square foot, air-conditioned room in an old industrial building in Chai Wan, three engineers are hunched over watches, trying to repair timepieces that sell for at least HK$30,000 each.

Guided by an experienced technician, they are training to understand the 1,000 steps and about 300 tiny parts needed to manufacture a Memorigin tourbillon watch from scratch, said William Shum, Memorigin's 29-year-old director.

The company is on track to produce the first mechanical tourbillon watch made in Hong Kong - including design, assembly, and branding - by year's end or early next year. With four engineers now, and perhaps a few more in the future, the company plans to produce about 5,000 timepieces a year. "As a Hong Kong native, I want to produce something that belongs to Hong Kong and in Hong Kong," Shum said.

Memorigin, a brand that Shum launched three years ago, is among the first wave of manufacturers to return to Hong Kong since the 1980s, when companies quit for the mainland after China opened up to foreign investment.

Automatic precision clock maker Novelin is also planning to move an entire production line from Foshan back to Hong Kong at year's end. Marco-Ling Fur, which processes animal skins for garment making, returned three years ago.