World Watch Day: India's Booming Appetite For Swiss Timepieces
4 min read
What better way to celebrate World Watch Day than by doing what we all love best: talking about watches, time, and the sheer joy of a great piece on your wrist?
And we are certainly not the only ones talking about what India is wearing. While some traditional markets in the West might take Swiss craftsmanship for granted, newer powerhouses are driving an incredible wave of excitement. According to the Deloitte consumer survey, India stands out as one of the most passionate markets on the planet for Swiss timepieces. A striking 46% of consumers here say they strongly prefer Swiss Made watches for their quality and heritage, putting India right at the top globally alongside the UAE. The magic of that "Swiss Made" label casts a positive spell on a massive 70% of local respondents, and for 30% of buyers, the country of origin is the absolute #1 factor when choosing a watch. While price and design matter everywhere, India has a fun unique quirk: it is the only surveyed market where overall brand image is the single most important thing people look at when buying a watch.
From Global Data to Personal Wrist: What Indian Collectors Are Chasing
That big-picture love for a great brand doesn't just live on paper, it translates directly into the thrilling choices of everyday Indian watch enthusiasts. When chatting with local collectors, you quickly realize their tastes are fun, sharp, and deeply in tune with independent mastery. Take the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Alta Rosa. One collector shared, “Parmigiani really refocused their vision this year, and as an independent maker with a stunning pink dial, it’s an absolute standout. Another collector zeroes in on sheer comfort with the Berneron Mirage Tiger Eye: “For me, wrist proportions and comfort mean everything. The way a watch sits completely flush on my wrist is what puts a smile on my face.”
While on the other hand others are setting their sights on artisan perfection like the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronograph Flyback. As one admirer put it, “He's the next F.P. Journe. He hand-crafts just 25 stunning enameled pieces a year with breathtaking dedication.” Mainstream icons have a massive fan club here too. When it comes to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak "Jumbo" Extra-thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph, local collectors light up. One enthusiast notes, “AP brings incredible history and iconic sports design, making their push into new complications truly innovative.” Another adds, “Fitting that level of complex architecture into such a super-slim case is watchmaking at its absolute finest.”
Scaling Up: The Retail Boom Fueling the Passion
All that collector passion is backed by an explosive retail surge right here at home. Recent business updates from retail giant Titan show an astonishing domestic leap: consumer businesses grew by a massive 25% year-on-year, and the watch division specifically skyrocketed by 30%. Classic analog watches are having a major renaissance with growth in the early thirties, while smartwatches continue to find a steady groove as tech-lovers look for everyday convenience. It’s part of an unstoppable nationwide retail wave. To keep up with all of us wanting to shop more, the brand added 78 net new stores in a single quarter, bringing its massive network to 3,758 stores. Even international operations surged by 97%, showing that Indian retail energy is making serious waves around the world.
Celebrating "Time as Living Heritage" on World Watch Day
Our collective obsession with timepieces proves watches are much more than accessories: they are the very heartbeat of a truly global community, which brings me to yet another fantastic celebration you may have missed out on. Organized by a collaborative collective of prominent international watchmaking institutions, cultural foundations, and media organizations, including the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) and the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) foundation, this momentum finds its ultimate expression under this year's unifying global theme, "Time as Living Heritage." From hybrid digital celebrations and local museum exhibitions to community meetups, the movement highlights how everyone, from collectors and creators to retailers and artisans, plays a vital role in keeping watchmaking culture alive.
As World Watch Day reminds us why we fell in love with timekeeping in the first place, I have found one thing common irrespective of where we are from: the true story today is all about connection. From local collectors hunting down dream independent pieces to massive retail milestones right in our backyard, India's love affair with watches is ticking faster, brighter, and more stylishly than ever before.
