A flick of a wrist and a pull on the sleeve seemed a timeless action over a decade ago when people looked at their wrist watches to tell time. Today, this act has changed as watches are more than a mere timepiece and sometimes opted for as a fashion accessory, a fitness device or an investment.
For instance, a typical oversized Rolex watch has stayed true to its design for decades. A rather bulky piece in a case size of over 40 mm is a great investment and a prized possession. That’s because the size shows off more elaborate and technical aesthetics on the timepiece.
Watchmakers have developed intricate functionality as well. Some rare horological marvels take the spotlight to set up new world records. For instance, this year, Bvlgari’s Octo collection made its acclaimed entrance into the world of haute horlogerie. The 2022 brand’s Octo Finissimo collection has created a legacy like no other brand with the world’s thinnest mechanical watch at 1.80 mm thick in a sapphire crystal top. The watch sports a monochromatic look in sandblasted titanium, and the timepiece matches its ultra-thin case with an integrated bracelet. What’s new in this version? It has a unique QR code engraved on the barrel’s ratchet wheel which can connect to a NFT and the metaverse. It has manual winding, regulator display, and 50 hours of power reserve, making it a limited edition with 10 pieces created in the world.
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While brands produce watches in limited numbers like Bvlgari, there are some with unique storytelling and a superior ownership experience for the buyer. Two homemade collections—Bangalore Watch Company and Jaipur Watch Company—cater to those who look for uniqueness and have a heart for Indian history.
Meanwhile, Swiss brands like Rado, Longines, Tissot, and Omega in the luxury watch segment have also carved a niche in the market with newer designs.
India too had its HMT watches, which were the nation’s first set of hand-wound watches that gained popularity in the 1990s due to affordability and sturdy style.
In the early 21st century, Quartz and Titan replaced HMT with their sleek designs. Today, smart, fashionable and luxury watches—high in functionality and style—are in demand. Take for instance Titan. Realising the vast potential for watches in India, the brand segmented the market to cater to specific consumer groups served under brands like Raga, Fastrack, Sonata, Xylys, Zoop and Nebula—all these have an iconic status with consumers. Titan also launched Titan Edge, the slimmest ceramic watch at a thickness of 4.4mm in ceramic material. So from a basic time-showing device to an all-purpose smart and fashionable design, wrist watches of astonishing complexity, mostly costing hundreds of thousands of rupees, are regarded as the hallmark of quality.
Other watch functionalities like iridescence, which makes a watch appear to change colour when viewed from different angles, as in the case of Daniel Wellington which launched the mother-of-pearl dial for its best-selling Quadro and Petite collections, is one sought after watch.
If we look at the end of the 20th century, the watch landscape was largely changed as the most affordable mobile phone included just about any function— entertainment, social interaction or work tool—that the fanciest watch ever had. Somehow easy accessibility to cell phones had faded the craze for watches and man became inseparable with mobile phones that showed time on immediate access.
But with innovation and technology came a new wave of fitness watch brands that did much more than just tell time and made the wrist look like a status symbol. Swiss-made Favre-Leuba with its rich heritage in watch engineering and design, spanning over 282 years, launched The Raider Sea Sky for biking enthusiasts with dial variants in brilliant yellow and orange, offering a unique, unorthodox style and highly functional companion for modern explorers.
