Premium watches have started to play a larger role in our overall business: Titan MD CK Venkataraman

Mint

07-07-2025

Last year, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Titan released its Flying Tourbillon watch, developed entirely in-house. The tourbillon is considered one of the most prestigious complications in watchmaking. It was invented over 200 years ago by the legendary Abraham-Louis Breguet to counteract the effects of gravity on timekeeping accuracy. Watchmakers around the world create tourbillons as statement pieces, a showcase of their technical prowess.
This year, the complication features in Titan's recently released Jalsa, its second flying tourbillon in the Nebula line. Jalsa will serve as Titan's official entry into the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), the world's most prestigious watchmaking awards. This comes at a time when Titan's watches and wearables division has grown nearly 20 per cent in FY25, crossing ₹ 4,500 crore in revenue, a reflection of its strategic push into premium timepieces alongside its core businesses.
The Jalsa combines a flying tourbillon movement, comprising 144 components and set with 14 jewels, with a marble dial that pays tribute to Jaipur's rich artistic heritage. (Unlike a regular tourbillon, a flying tourbillon is mounted only from below, giving it the appearance of floating within the watch.)
The dial's artwork, painted by Padma Shri Syed Shakir Ali, one of India's most renowned masters of traditional Mughal miniature art, depicts the Hawa Mahal and a royal procession. Executed entirely by hand using natural pigments and a single-strand squirrel hair brush, the miniature painting is set within a 44 mm, 18k rose gold case inlaid with red agate. Titan MD CK Venkataraman
The minute hand doubles as a magnifying lens, sweeping across the dial to momentarily enlarge sections of the intricate artwork beneath. The watch, limited to just ten pieces, is priced at ₹ 40.5 lakh.
In this interview, C K Venkataraman, managing director of the Titan Company, talks about the development of the Jalsa, the growing luxury and premium watch segment in India, and Titan's ambitions on the global horological stage.
The whole 'tourbillon movement' thinking is, of course, years old. Our team developed a very powerful concept and then actually engineered it and built it in a very short time. The tourbillon watch was launched about eight months ago in its first version. Now, this one is a very special watch. And there are three basic parts to it. One is the special materials. The second is the complication: the flying tourbillon. And the third is the dial. These three coming together is what makes this particular watch very special and worthy of entry into the GPHG.
Recognition, of course. This is the pinnacle of horology. But more than that, everything we've done to complete this project has helped us raise our overall standards in thinking, capability and global partnerships. That capability-building will impact the watch business across all segments. This was about creating the best, but also about making us much better and stronger across the board.
The flying tourbillon movement is very much a Titan creation. That said, like with most high-end watch complications, there are certain highly specialised components that are sourced from expert partners, particularly in Switzerland. These are parts that even top global brands don't always manufacture in-house, simply because it's not efficient or practical to do so. So while we collaborated with a few global suppliers for select components and for finishing the movement body, the intellectual ownership and engineering integrity of the movement are entirely Titan's.
The luxury watch market in India is strong and growing. Even with the first tourbillon, which was around ₹ 26 lakh, there was a strong response from aficionados, believers in India's ability to play in the top leagues globally and those with a deep affinity for Titan. It's a mix of these, and maybe a few more traits, but it's a large and growing segment.
Very much so. If we set aside Nebula, our gold jewellery watch brand for a moment, Titan's premium watch play largely sits in the ₹ 25,000 to ₹ 2,00,000 price range. We see this as a significant and growing opportunity in India. In fact, we consciously reimagined this space about three years ago. That involved not just a structural overhaul, but also a renewed strategic emphasis, including a few important collaborations. Premium watches have started to play a larger role in our overall business
Today, we have three key lines that operate in this premium space. The first is Edge, a design-led collection that has seen several successful iterations over the years. The second is Nebula, which blends traditional Indian craftsmanship with solid gold cases and jewellery-like aesthetics, and can go all the way up to ₹ 7–8 lakh. And then there is Xylys, which has a more contemporary, global design appeal and caters to a different aesthetic segment. Together, these three brands have helped us make substantial progress in the premium category. More importantly, this momentum has contributed meaningfully to the overall premiumisation of Titan's analogue watch portfolio.
Origin is just one part of the story. Real product value matters at any price. Take the Squircle, a design from a few years ago using the Edge platform. I think it retailed at around ₹ 40,000. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything close to that design, finish, durability, and engineering from any brand globally at that price.
There are people for whom the brand name is very important. There are others who value what's actually being offered. And there are many who care about both. So someone might very well buy a ₹ 3–4 lakh Swiss watch, and also buy a Titan because it offers real value. Both markets will continue to exist. And we see a huge continuing opportunity, even if imports become easier and prices come down.