HMT watch was an Indian status symbol. Fathers handed over to their children and they in turn would give it to next generation. HMT watches were a family tradition. HMT was born in 1961 in association with Citizen Watch Company, Japan. Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, introduced the first ever HMT watch and it has captured the hearts of everyone in the country. They set up the first watch manufacturing unit in Bangalore.
Time keepers to the Nation is the tagline of HMT. The attire of men and women would not be complete without a HMT watch. Parents never stepped out of the house without stylishly wrapping their wrists with this piece of “HMT jewellery”! Birthdays and celebrations are never complete without a HMT watch presented as a gift!
I remember the day when my favorite watch stopped working. Unlike my calm and composed self, I actually reacted. I felt sad, restless and could not wait to take the watch for repair. “Why don’t you wear the new TISSOT watch? It’s time you get rid of the old watch… you have been wearing for ages,” my family asked. I respond “It is HMT Rajat.” Touching it will bring me new joy. It is more than a watch. Gifted to me by my father it became a family tradition and hence I plan to keep this watch till my last. Luckily the watch got fixed for Rs. 550.00 (bill enclosed).
HMT has manufactured and sold over 1.15 crore watches. Wearing HMT watch was the dream of most of people of that day. Former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, H.D. Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to wear HMT wristwatches and appreciated their accuracy and reliability. HMT Janata was the favorite brand of former PM Indira Gandhi who loved its simplicity.
The “dowry watch” Kanchan was always in demand. This ‘automatic’ model was so popular that it is said people would line up in front of the showroom with a letter of recommendation from political leaders recommending that Kanchan watch should be given to the bearer of the letter. In some families’ marriage would not happen without Kanchan as a gift to the groom!
At a time when Apple’s iWatch and our smartphones have replaced wrist accessories, imagine an era when a watch could hold such importance! Remember the gold-plated Sona watches by HMT and how wonderfully they used to go with every outfit! The thinnest model was also made by HMT. .
HMT was the first in India to launch a hand-wound mechanical watch, a quartz watch, an automatic watch, a women’s watch and a Braille watch. HMT had a very successful run until the 1990s era of liberalization, when newer and more advanced companies started to take over the market.
Probably HMT may have failed to understand that watches are becoming a fashion statement and not just a machine to track time. Its efforts to launch new designs and models also failed when production at its Srinagar factory stopped and it had to face a working capital shortage in the early 90s.
HMT Watches was restructured but, this could not help the company. The company failed to show significant improvements and continued to make losses regularly, which finally led to its demise.
All this show that people are loyal to none, but to themselves!!
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
This was such a wonderfully read. I’ve always believed that a watch holds far more than just time—stories, memories and a cultural legacy. Learning about HMT only gave me a deeper appreciation for this amazing timepiece. If there’s any guidance on how I can ship a Janata to Chicago, I’d be grateful, Sir!