The race to create ultra-thin watches, it seems, is a never-ending one. Every decade has had its champions. The current leader is the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept, which measures just 2 mm and is the world’s thinnest mechanical watch.
Last week, Titan Company, the world’s fourth-largest watchmaker, announced its ambitions to be counted among the very best with the launch of the Titan Edge Mechanical. This limited-edition collection of 200 watches is powered by the Edge Calibre 903 that measures just 2.2 mm and has a power reserve of 42 hours. Designed by former Titan design chief Michael Foley, the watch, which costs Rs 1.95 lakh, is available in both stainless steel (6 mm) and rose gold (5.85 mm).
In an interview to Moneycontrol, Suparna Mitra, the CEO of the watches and wearables division at Titan, takes us through the genesis of the movement, Titan’s ongoing “premiumisation” journey, and the direction the company is headed in. Edited excerpts:
When did the work on the Edge Mechanical begin?
In a way, the project started over five years ago. That’s when we thought that we should extend the Edge proposition of ‘slimness’ to mechanical movements. Back in 1987, we came in and conquered the Indian watch market with quartz technology. This time, we wanted to see what we could do with mechanical movements. Our internal team took that up as a challenge.
The Calibre 903 is among the slimmest commercially produced mechanical movements. Out of its 106 precision parts, 81 are manufactured at our Hosur facility. The rest of the parts are manufactured by our suppliers in Switzerland. The movement is assembled and qualified in Switzerland. So, it is a movement that has been kind of designed and conceived in India and partially sourced from Switzerland.
Would it power other premium watches from Titan?
Yes, that’s the idea. We are looking at building on this. This is just the first step to create and build a collection of exclusive timepieces.
What did your research on the premium segment in India tell you?
The last five to six years have seen renewed interest in high-end mechanical complications. There are a lot more people with an interest in fine watches. There are customers who want technical brilliance in their timepieces and are willing to pay for it.
Was there a reason why the watch was branded Titan rather than Xylys?
The Titan brand itself has been on a journey of premiumisation. For example, we’ve been doing very well with the Ceramic Edge. While it is an inclusive brand, Titan has also stood for the best in watch-making and it is the flagship brand that has been part of the Make in India story.
The Titan Edge itself has been an iconic line. At the time of its launch, in 2002, it was a breakthrough technology. We launched the Edge Skeletal Series in 2014, which was followed by the Edge Titanium, and then we had the Edge Ceramic in 2017. Some of these products have won Red Dot design awards.
The Edge has a fairly large customer base in India, and these customers were asking for watches with high-end mechanical movements. These are the loyalists who are in the loop on all the new releases, enjoy the whole experience and have the whole collection.
Do you see its appeal extending beyond the Titan Edge loyalists? There are some fine watchmakers operating in the same segment as the Titan Edge Mechanical.
People with an interest in fine watch-making will be open to the Titan Edge Mechanical. Some of them would be collectors and connoisseurs with other premium watches and we see them appreciating the craftsmanship that has gone into it and the fact that it is an Indian brand.
We also see a market for us abroad and we would be open to shipping it to our customers abroad. That is another customer group we are actively targeting — the successful global Indian who would be proud of what an Indian brand has achieved.
Murali K Menon works on content strategy at HaymarketSAC.
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