Precious time

Is there a market for a watch priced at Rs 12 lakh? Titan Industries certainly seems to think so. At the unveiling of its latest collection, Nebula Celesté, the company showcased three models— Iris, Andromeda and Serendipity—with a minimum price tag of Rs 6 lakh, going all the way to Rs 12 lakh. Celesté, according to Titan’s Head-Marketing, Suparna Mitra, is positioned as a “fusion of watches and jewellery.” The watches offer features like 18 karat gold, white diamonds and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass.

While there are no specified sales targets, the watch seems to have a clear target user. “We think there is a huge demand for premium watches in India. We are looking at the ultimate connoisseur who can appreciate exquisite design,” says Mitra. According to her, the watches priced at below Rs 1,000 are in the mass market category while those priced above Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 are in the mass premium category. “The super premium category is made up of watches priced above Rs 10,000 up to Rs 1 lakh,” adds Mitra. It is estimated that there are 80,000-1,00,000 watches sold in the superpremium segment.

The Celesté collection will make its debut in Mumbai and then in other cities. In a country like India, a product category like premium watches is normally up against the more conventional forms of asset purchase like gold and jewellery. Mitra thinks competition will not be just from premium and luxury watches. “High-end jewellery will also be our competition.”

— Krishna Gopalan