The Fascinating Evolution of Watchmaking in India: From Imported Swiss Treasures to Homegrown Icons

Watchmaking in India embarked upon an intriguing journey encompassing wealth, colonial impact, national pride, and the fight for industrial self-reliance. The country’s watchmaking history starts in the 19th century with the import of opulent Swiss watches meant for the wealth-laden Indian royalty during the 1858-1947 British Raj era. Intriguingly, Swiss watch manufacturers mirrored local Indian aesthetics by infusing their designs with Hindu symbols and Indian elements, helping them merge into the local market. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso featuring a miniature enamel painting of an Indian beauty stands testament to this unique cultural blend.

Operating in conjunction with Japan’s Citizen Watch Company, HMT set up their factory in the contemporary city of Bangalore in 1961. They produced hand-wound and automatic models, with quartz variants added to their array in the 1970s. The brand wove an endearing narrative across India with models like the Rajat, Janata, Kohinoor, and Pilot, encapsulating both Indian tradition and functional usability. HMT continued to diversify and expand its operations, and by 1975, the company had established further factories across the country.

However, an unfortunate combination of mismanagement and prolonged financial losses led to the closure of HMT’s watchmaking branch in 2016. The brand’s enduring impact on the Indian public, though, was reflected in its popular slogan, ‘Timekeepers to the Nation,’ an accolade earned by producing over 115 million watches over its operational span.

The 1980s brought a ‘quartz crisis’ to India’s watchmaking industry with the arrival of Titan, a brand launched by the Indian conglomerate Tata Group. Titan effectively assembled key individuals from HMT’s management and work-force team and dove into creating affordable, trendy quartz watches. The newly emerging brand thus posed a severe challenge to the ageing and utilitarian HMT timepieces. The path trodden thus by Titan was much in the vein of Switzerland’s Swatch, revolutionizing Indian horology with a fresh aesthetic and demographic focus, thereby marking another significant stride in India’s fascinating journey with timepieces.