A deposit is the point where information asymmetry stops being an inconvenience and starts being money at risk. Everything below is designed to be answerable before you transfer anything, by any supplier who genuinely runs production.

1. Ask for process photos, not catalogue renders

A render is a design file. A photo of a half-assembled watch on a bench, next to the dial lot it came from, is production. Ask for three: cases before assembly, dials after printing, and finished units in trays before packing.

A supplier with a working line produces these in an afternoon. A trading account has to go ask someone, and the photos arrive with a different watermark.

2. Ask which parts are made in-house and which are bought in

Almost nobody makes everything. Movements are bought, crystals are bought, cases may be cast elsewhere and finished on site. That is normal. What matters is that the answer is specific.

If every question returns "we do everything ourselves", that is not reassurance — it means either the answer is rehearsed or the person answering does not know the process.

3. Ask what the lead time is measured to

"20 days" is meaningless on its own. Twenty days to dispatch means the clock stops when the box leaves the factory, and you still have air freight, customs and last-mile on top. Twenty days to delivery is the number a buyer actually needs, because it is the one that determines whether you hit a launch date.

Ask the question in those words. Vague answers here correlate strongly with vague delivery later.

4. Order the sample with your own mark on it

A generic sample proves the factory can make a watch. Your sample proves it can follow your artwork. Case-back engraving is the cheapest test of this, because misalignment is obvious the moment you turn the watch over.

Check three things on arrival: whether the engraving sits centred relative to the case-back curvature, whether the crown threads engage smoothly, and whether the bracelet end-links sit flush against the lugs. Those three catch most assembly shortcuts.

5. Ask for the QC checklist, in writing

Not a certificate — a checklist. What is inspected, on what percentage of units, and what happens to a unit that fails. A supplier who inspects everything will say so and usually mention the one thing they always find.

Anyone who answers "quality is guaranteed" has told you nothing about their process.

6. Ask what they will not do

This is the question most buyers never ask, and it is the most informative one. A supplier who says "we do not do gem-setting, we outsource it to a partner we have used for years" is describing a real boundary. A supplier who says yes to everything is describing a sales process, not a factory.

Red flags worth walking away from

• A price far below every other quote, with no explanation of what was removed.
• Refusal of a short video call showing the assembly area.
• Payment only to a personal account with no company name attached.
• Sample photos that are visibly the same images used by three other suppliers.

What good looks like

A good supplier answers these six questions without needing to check with anyone, sends process photos unprompted, and tells you the lead time to delivery rather than to dispatch. That combination is worth more than a lower unit price, because the cost of a missed launch is not measured in dollars per unit.

If you want to run these checks against us, start with a quote request and ask for the process photos in the same message.