11 September 2008:- Titan has collaborated with World Wildlife Fund India to launch a
unique range of watches inspired by some of India’s highly endangered
species. The idea is to spread awareness
in the country through a
collection of exclusively designed watches..

The Titan-WWF collection is inspired from six endangered species namely
the Tiger, Indian Rhino, Gangetic River Dolphin, Red Panda, Whale Shark
and Oliver Ridley Turtle. Novelist Shobha De unveiled this collection in Mumbai.

Titan has been a household name in India ever since it stepped in the world of horology. At first they collaborated with the American watch making giant Timex which eventually broke in the year 1998 and now Titan and Timex are the 2 main competitors in the lower and middle class strata of Indian watch industry.

Titan has a market share of 65% in the organized watch sector in India which is way ahead of its closest rival Timex. The success story of Titan has been a case study of all Management Courses. How Titan broke the Monopoly of HMT and more importantly changed the perception of Indians towards watches is purely exemplary.

That said apart the strong point of Titan was always Quality at an Affordable price. Titan was never priced unreasonably high though Tatas could have easily asked for a higher price point keeping in mind the Quality of their watches. On the other hand they never priced their items so low so they loose their aspirational value in the minds of consumers. Their pricing strategy is just too perfect which made Titan gain the Numero Uno position in which it is in now.

But it is not that Titan hasn’t had their share of failures..Titan failed miserably in Europe.Explaining why Titan failed to make a mark in Europe, Harish Bhat COO, Titan said in an interview that "Europeans are very conservative when buying watches. They look at it as as durable.If they were to spend money, they would go for a traditional Swiss brand. If people wanted a disposable, they picked up a Japanese watch. Italy and France have a marginal designer watch market, but that’s about it.We miscalculated on that. We spent (millions of rupees) on advertisements which we thought would help make a dent in the European market. It didn’t happen. We have learnt our lessons".

That said apart Surely Titan learnt their lessons and become one of the largest selling watch brands in the Middle East. Titan has been doing constant up gradations in their portfolio. They just never let it stale. Starting from Edge and Regalia; they gradually moved to Nebula which no doubt is the most affordable luxury watch in the world. Recently they added another feather to their cap by launching Nebula Gold Mechanical Watch which is the first from the stable of Titan which otherwise manufactures only quartz watches.

Talking about the latest WWF Collection it is an extension to their strategy of novelty. First they launched Heritage Collection about a year back based on the beautiful monuments of India including The Taj Mahal, Stambha, Lakshmi Vilas Place, Jharokha,Konark, Jantar Mantar, Ajanta, Mandala and Kurukshetra. This year Titan chose endangered animal species of India to be put on the dials. The result is this unique unisex Titan WWF collection. The collection based on 6 animal species has made inroads for 13 new designs in the already vast Titan portfolio.

Now coming to the actual review of the Titan WWF collection, I bought a Brown circular dialed leather strapped beauty. It’s base animal is Tiger so the claws are all over the dial to represent the carnivore.The most striking aspect of the watch is the second hand which is absent but still present..Sounds like an oxymoron...Well it isn’t...Because Titan has placed the seconds hand as in a chronograph but the needle is missing...Instead of the needle their is a tiny bulging dot which has got a circular movement which is a sure shot visual treat..Technically there is nothing new in this watch and it is a regular Titan quartz watch with no exceptional design..But the exceptional quality is the thought behind its making which surely deserves an applaud..Well done Titan...

Pricing wise as always it is justifiably priced between Rs 3000/- to Rs 3800/-. My watch model made me poorer by Rs 3250/- but made my collection much richer than the amount I paid. I don’t see much TV nowadays so can’t comment whether they have started airing a commercial for new collection. But I read somewhere that they are planning so in the near future. I hope it will be as good as their previous commercials which will bolster the sales of this niche Collector’s Collection..Best of luck Titan..Way to go..

Jacques du Manoir Pocket Watches

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's one worldly possession was an Ingersoll ‘Turnip’ pocket watch, which he wore tied on a string around his waist, hidden between the folds of his dhoti. As he bent down or stopped, the watch would spring free to dangle to reflect the setting suns rays. This one sight has been recorded by many journalists and biographers

What better way to start something with mentioning about Mahatama Gandhi and that too with a thing that is least talked about among all about the Mahatama.

With this I want to share some horological advances that world has witnessed for past many centuries. The history of pocket watch probably started in late 1400s when an Italian clock maker offered a pocket clock to the Marchese di Manta. However, pocket watches first appeared in the market in the 15th century when locksmiths from Nuremberg, Germany started manufacturing portable timepieces.

Pocket watches were a norm till World War I and wrist watches were just making way for them. It was considered very girlish wearing wrist watches. But it was this period only when the officers on duty recognized the ease of wrist watches and slowly pocket watches become a thing of past.Today, pocket watches are still in use but more as decorative and antique items and signify refinement and elegance.

That said apart any sort of horology interests me to no end and I sat my eyes on a living piece of history during my regular window shopping of watches. It was The Great India Mall, Noida and I was ambling (read ogling) in the Swiss Junction outlet which offers Swiss Military watches, Wenger watches,Hanowa watches, Cover watches,AC Carbinor watches, apart from other imported Swiss Made items like caps,bags, swiss knives,toys, etc. Swiss Junction outlet is basically a part of Network India Ltd. which is a listed company in Bombay Stock Exchange.

I must say I like a lot of watches there especially chronograph steel banded watches with a lovely red plus sign. But the thing that caught my fancy most was no ordinary wrist watch. It was a gold plated brass made pocket watch from "Jacques du Manoir" sitting pretty in its box and looking magnificent inside the glass door.

After ogling long I suppressed my carnal desires and returned back. But being a self proclaimed watch aficionado I searched what "Jacques du Manoir" is all about. To my pity I couldn't find much about the brand itself as there was no official website for the brand. All I could find was that Jacques du Manoir is a well know brand of Swiss made Pocket Watches featuring genuine Swiss movement and solid brass cases.

I searched harder but to no avail. But as it is said no effort is wasted if you work it out earnestly and though I couldn't gather much information about the brand but got well acquainted about the history of horology especially Pocket Watches. Pocket watches are living pieces of history. So, I shed off my inhibitions one day and returned back to "The Swiss Junction" outlet. I enquired about the watch and the owner told me that Jacques du Manoir pocket watch will cost me Rs 3990/-. Being an Indian I asked about discount. No discount, he said. But a day earlier there was a scheme in which the company was offering 15% discount. A little bit of negotiation and he agreed to give me a back dated bill so as to avail discount. Agreed and I rushed to the ATM counter as I couldn't pay by card for availing discount and finally after spending Rs 3392/- I got to lay my hands on the prized "Jacques du Manoir" my first ever Pocket watch.

Jacques du Manoir is a brand of Bolux group based in Grandval (Suisse) Switzerland. It comes with 2 years of international warranty. The case is made up of solid brass with beautiful engravings. There is a latch which on pressing outwards opens up the shell. The opening movement itself is butter smooth.The dial is a white one with a regular 3 hand movement along with date. It is based on quartz technology (would have been better if it was a mechanical movement).Jacques du Manoir has also some wrist watches in their portfolio though they looked fairly simple but still very very elegant ones. I liked one wrist watch from their portfolio in particular with Roman numerals and the seconds hand was like as in a chronograph. I wished to buy that one too but I restricted myself to my first love that was Pocket watch (To be honest I didn't had enough dough to cough).

Most importantly it brings you to travel back into time. It reminds me of old Hindi cinema in which Pran dressed in a 3 piece suit smokes a cigar and then takes out his pocket watch out of the suit. More recently in the movie "Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic", Ajay Devegan has shown possessing a pocket watch.Horology amazes me to no end and Swiss people are master horologists. Time and again, they have been tested by Japanese and Americans but their reign is still unchallanged.


P.S:- In between Pocket watches has still left some practical use as they are used extensively in trafficking of rail roading. Another variant of pocket watches is Hospital Pocket watch. An indigenous Indian manufacturer HMT has one in its portfolio by the name of "Nightangle watch" as well as a full fledged "Pocket watch".

Kenneth Cole: From Shoes to Watches

Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. was founded in 1983 by Kenneth Cole selling shoes out of the back of a truck trailer in front of Bryant
Park, U.S. As of now Kenneth Cole has diversified its portfolio into bags, sunglasses, belts, jewelry, ties, fragrances and most importantly things of our interest i.e. Watches.

That was a prologue. Honestly speaking I never heard of Kenneth Cole before. It was 2 days before 24th March when a special person brought a packet with her who eventually is also a MS’er. I opened the packet and even before opening I somehow has the hunch of this being very special. Every gift is special by the way. But still...

What I saw was so beautiful that I couldn’t lift my gaze of it. A moment before I was angry with her as she also bought a Waterman Charleston fountain pen and a Vintage Sunglass collection piece. I was busy giving lectures to her about her being extravagant whilst opening the box of Kenneth Cole. All that was gone for a moment; it was the moment in which I saw my watch.

Coming to the watch itself, it is a black croc leather strapped & rectangularly encased timepiece. The beauty of the watch is in its partially exposed movements. One can clearly see the gears and springs working and providing the necessary mechanical energy to the hands of the watch. The gears and springs looks so delicate that you don’t want to jerk your hands to avoid damage to the watch. Though the watch doesn’t disappoint in this manner too as it has the capacity to withheld shocks. It is only in one’s mind because he gotta see what he gotta shouldn’t. As it is like seeing an open heart beating inside a man’s body. The back side of the watch also is exposed. The jewels or rubies can be seen and in fact the derrière of the watch is more attractive than the frontal side. It is a pity that it can’t be a mode of show off unlike J.Lo.

Technically it is a simple analogue 3 hand movement watch. It is a mechanical automatic watch and not a quartz one. So one has to take care of this baby. Mechanical watches need servicing at regular intervals which is generally 3-4 years. As most of the watches manufactured now are water resistant this one too is. Though can’t comment upto what level. Must be 30 atm at least.

Overall in less than a weeks time I am addicted to this. One of the reasons may be and should be is that it is a gifted one and the person saved money from her salary for past 6 months. The other impartial reason is it is really very good watch.

Swapnsand, If you are reading this Thank you very much for this gift.