Colonel Of The Watch

In India to announce the launch of a new range of watches and the setting up of an assembling unit through a joint venture, von Kaenel (The `von' is part of the family name but I do wish I was a Count ) thinks he has found a lucrative market. Of course our price range, from Rs 70,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh, is very high, he admits, though it is only a beginning. We will be manufacturing our own brand in India very soon at affordable rates. And if you too think our prices are high, well, question the Indian government.

 

Lest you think he is just another of those faceless corporate types trying to sound interesting, listen to this. My hobby, he says in his heavily accented English, is the Army. A former colonel of an infantry regiment in the Swiss Army, von Kaenel is currently publishing a series of books on local military history. And he has a huge collection of rifles as well. They're very old, he says deprecatingly of his armoury.

Well, colonel, we hope you sell your watches. But if not, please don't throw a crack infantry regiment into the breach.