Watch Out

Bhisham Mansukhani realises that for some people, the display of time is a secondary factor when it comes to watches...

Is anymore a watch a watch? Is it just an element of banal utility, a wrap around to weigh the wrist down and not one to ponder and splurge over. Certainly not, relents Tag Heuer Link Series owner Ritesh Srinivasan, a software professional who travels incessantly on projects. “It’s a natural extension, a silent yet voluminous expression of a person’s character. Sure this watch has a tachymetre that can help me measure the precise time of our conversation or how long it takes for me to have breakfast, it can resist water seepage for up to 600 feet underneath the sea surface and is forsaken just a microsecond per decade. Good for it. I love it for the fact that it is aspired and identified with by people I relate to.”

Srinivasan loves sport, namely Formula One (F1) and says that it redoubtably influenced his decision to own a Tag Heuer Link Series, never mind a biting Rs 70,000 bill to foot. “I wouldn’t have bought another brand, not even another piece from the same brand range. Just this one. Because it’s also worn by Mika Hakkinen, a former F1 double world champion. I admire his skill and all that he stands for. I identify with him and he identifies with this watch. A lot of people just collect watches as objets d’art or because these enable them to attach certain values to something tangible. A watch is just so perfect and consistent in many respects.”

Amit Thadani, managing director, Double Bull, doesn’t think it’ll bite him enough to posses a 24 carat gold-plated Piaget for Rs five lakh, a Patek Phillipe for Rs 20 lakh, a pair of Chopard Happy Diamond watches for Rs 15 lakh a piece and the Cartier Pasha for Rs eight lakh. Thadani says, “I wouldn’t shell cash wads in exchange for an object of utility. The fact that a watch tells the time is just coincidental. A mobile phone also tells the time, the jabberer on the radio does it on the hour 24/7. So then what else can a watch do. Can it betray a sense of brilliance, of a history and reputation of quality that is attached to the brand and immediately to its owner. My Cartier Pasha has a steel strap studded with three saphires and an almost cage of diamonds on its dial while my Chopard Happy Diamond pair bears white dials embellished with diamonds placed on platinum bracelets. When someone spends a fortune to posses these pieces of art, it’s because he appreciates them, and the price attached becomes inconsequential. Nor does he wonder if it’s waterproof or has sun resistance or elemental erosion. He doesn’t even hazard such embarrassing inquisitions. He buys it for its sheer aesthetic appeal and sure, I’m not denying the wow factor – it’s nice to be noticed.”

There’s sufficient indication that there is an audience in readiness to flaunt international uppity compacted into virtually flawless elements of jewellery, nay time. Eternal desirables like Cartier, Rolex, Omega, Harry Winston, Jaeger-Le Coultre, Tag Heuer, Espirit, Swatch and Fossil have all arrived — with an ominous sense of timing. Sahni Gurinder, managing director for JOT Impex that distributes Baume & Mercier and Jaeger-Le Coultre in India, says, “Due to the increase in international travel, the Indian customer is becoming more aware of what is available globally and is willing to make more purchases in India, not only in terms of watches but many other products as well. Today the Indian consumer is conversant with most Swiss luxury brands, and the market for high-end watches is definitely increasing in India.”

Gurinder has already introduced the entire Baume & Mercier collection, which includes the likes of Hampton, its Spirit priced at a resource-guzzling Rs 1,23,000. Gurinder hankers an insight into the opulent’s psyche saying, “The corporate and celebrity segment spend on acquiring expensive watches as these watches are a symbol of their lifestyles and they are an extension of their personalities. It is not the price tag that is important but it is the values that are communicated by the brand.”

Megan Impex’s (Giordano, Triumph, Beverly Hills Polo Club) business development head Harish Chainani emphasises it’s key for brands to quickly sort out and identify who their set of clientele is. “I would cite Giordano for instance, a brand I distribute, as young and snobbish because the designs are deliberately unconventional and uncommon. In that there’s a message and it invariably gravitates those who connect with that kind of trait to the brand.”

Deepak Saluja, marketing manager, Egana India, (distributors of Espirit) has taken to actively tapping the corporate market with tie-ups with banks and annual promotions through outlets. Manisha Sangani, vice president, Priority Marketing, distributes leading American brand Fossil and DKNY and is set to introduce Armani in 2004. This Diwali she received corporate orders for considerable volumes from the likes of Sony Television and Samsung. She has forecasted an annual sale of 7,500 units for Armani when it launches and doesn’t reckon her optimism is misplaced. “The international premium watches have only recently come to town and in the broader context, the market size is still a drop in the ocean. The Indian snowballing fashion sense cannot settle for local brands anymore. This need spreads across a variety of segments, not just the high-end, so a good quality brand can come for as affordable as Rs 4,100 which is where Fossil begins from. The striking trend which will take off from this discernment for quality is that of collecting ranges. My husband and myself together own 37 watches, all Fossil. There’s even a ‘Fossil Club’ on the internet that is visited by clients of copious profiles, exchanging notes and checking on newer designs to add to their collection.”

Finex Distribution (Carier, Bell & Ross, Gerald Genta) recently launched the Harry Winston collection in India, the entry level of which is merely Rs five lakh with an incredible cap of Rs 2.3 crore, Finex managing director Raouff Ansari knows he has a very specific niche to attract and there’s only one way to do it. “The market is a select group but let’s not underestimate the depth of it. The number of people on the look out for more toys of luxury is increasing. They see it as a reflection of themselves. Money is not the issue. Value is. The luxury market cannot be sold to. It can be informed of the benefits that an acquisition like this brings.”

Prolific Swiss watch brand Tag Heuer already enjoys 34 points of sale, six international boutiques and a ten per cent month on month growth since the watch’s 2002 October launch, that’s an indication that Tag Heuer was only waiting to be received. According to Tag Heuer brand manager Manishi Sanwal, “It’s not just the hype or the international image that swells its price. No machine is used to produce these watches, they’re handcrafted in two days and then tested according to our quality benchmarks. The compliance with the benchmark has to be perfect otherwise it’s back to the assembly line. Additionally, aftersales for Tag Heuer is consistent anywhere in the world.”