Horophiles, ahoy! This is how you test craftsmanship in your luxury watch

Do you love to wear a piece of art on your wrist? In other words, do you like owning luxury watches? If so, you must know what sets apart a luxury watch from a regular one. According to Rahul Kapoor founder, The India Watch Club, “you have watches, and then you have timepieces. Parameters such as movement, certifications, craftsmanship, material used and appreciation are the key points of differentiation.”

The total size of India’s watch market is valued at Rs 10,000 crore; of this 20 per cent is controlled by international brands, says Gaurav Mehta, founder of Jaipur Watch Company. Mehta defines a regular watch as a basic quartz movement watch with a brass case and a mineral or plexi glass as the crystal, produced in mass quantities. Luxury watches are produced in limited numbers and even the material for casing is precious metal or high-grade steel or titanium, or something unique like carbon fibre nowadays. The movement is also high-quality automatic or has complications or in-house modifications. Technical qualities like water resistance, shock resistance, anti-magnetisation, scratchproof crystal, etc, also help you distinguish a luxury watch from a regular one.

In the luxury watch segment, there has always been a close tie between Swiss and Japanese brands. Traditionally, Swiss-made watches have been perceived as being of higher value, but brands like Grand Seiko have in the recent past demonstrated the supremacy of Japanese watchmaking technique. Gradually, Indian brands are also creating a space for themselves in the luxury segment with better and improved offerings. The bestseller in India, according to the watch retailers, is the analog watch display model.

What distinguishes a men’s watch from a ladies’? Earlier there was a tangible difference between men’s and women’s watches, with the latter having smaller dial sizes and more jewellery-orientated pieces. But there are more women now preferring larger dials and more men opting for rose-gold watches on silicon straps with purple or red dials. So, the lines seem blurred. Also, watches are no longer a formal accessory or piece of jewellery. They are seen more as technical marvels and lifestyle accessories.

Is there a thumb rule for selecting a watch for oneself? It’s important to go for provenance, says The India Watch Club’s Kapoor. Look at brands, their heritage, and their story. It's important to know what you are buying, as each watch has its roots in a specific area or region. For example, GoS is a brand from Sweden whose watches are designed from Viking heritage. Rolex, once known for formal watches, today has some of the best diver pieces.

Another factor is usage and wearability. Where do you want to wear a watch and how often is one question you should ask yourself. If you are looking for a formal watch for evening wear, the look and feel of the watch should match your attire and often be elegant and classy. But if you are looking for an everyday watch, the strap perhaps shouldn’t be an exotic leather; a silicon strap can make your watch look more utilitarian.

According to Samir Tandon, an expert watch collector, the purchase of a high-value item like luxury watch should be based on evaluation of several factors, such as brand, design, safety features, strap, movement & mechanism, and availability of service centres. It is very important to have accessible service centers of the brands you own. Tandon feels a mature collector looks for old brands that have endured the test of time and prefers watches to have a simple design with the basics of time, date and day. The edges of the strap need to be smooth and the weight of the watch must be equally distributed across the band on the wrist. Safety and protection are important — the watch should have sapphire crystal, as a minimum protection of the view area (front and rear for automatic watches), the bezel should be raised above the front glass and the watch should have at least 1ATM water resistance.

Are luxury watches only for self-use or can they also be a kind of investment with resale value. Gaurav Mehta says: “Some brands hold high resale values and they can far exceed the original purchase value depending on the rarity of the product. Even a vintage HMT watch (if a rare model is found in a good condition) will resell for a price much higher than the original price. Also, we have seen a higher resale for watches with some precious metals, as the cost of the metal increases more than the value of the original product.”