Dad's watch still works: HMT watches may be disappearing but its memories are everlasting

And there is a collector of HMT watches. We met one yesterday. Four years ago, the then 33-year-old Hari Balakrishna stood rooted on the pavement when he saw an HMT showroom in Dadar. He could not believe the company existed and that the watches were still available.

It is an oft-familiar tale of anyone who knows of HMT in the country today. An HMT is remembered by a generation that usually got it a farewell gift after working for over 20 years in an organisation.

Recently, BEST is said to have placed an order for around 800 watches from HMT for its employees. An HMT in the time of Titan watches? On being asked about it, a BEST official remarked that the watches were purchased based on the company’s budget. It is an affordable goodbye gift. Yes, HMT is a budget-friendly watch and is recalled by Gen Z-the generation that does not know of a world without Internet or a cell phone-most of whom asked, “What is an HMT?” A generation that is a little older than Gen Z was surprised that the company was still around. You get the picture? HMT is a vintage watch that most have seen being passed down from grandfather to dad.

Collectors rally
For Balakrishna, the showroom was an eye-opener. “I was surprised that the company was around and still made watches,” he says. Since then, he has been on a collecting spree. So far he has managed to collect 120 HMT watches.

He says that the watches infuse in him a ‘pride of being an Indian’ and he buys them for their nostalgic value. For after all, ‘dad’s watch still works’. And it was bought in 1963. And then goes on to list the ‘did you knows’-it is a company that has been around for over 50 years. In the 60s, the watch had a curved dome dial. That gave it a retro feel and holds a vintage appeal even today, says Balakrishna.

Unlike today, watches made by HMT were made to fit the wrist of the wearer, he explains. The 35mm case is still the smallest in comparison to what is today considered small by watch companies-a 40mm plus size.

India’s own
HMT is only among a few companies worldwide that makes its own movements. Movement, also known as caliber, is the mechanism of a watch as opposed to its case. Most watch companies source movements from other companies. An HMT watch, irrespective of which year it was manufactured, can be still repaired in the company’s showrooms, says Balakrishna. At the showroom in Dadar, he says, he was told that people who travelled to Mumbai from rural Maharashtra came here as they still value an HMT. It is difficult to get an HMT in other showrooms, he says. “The Titan is good, but it is so good to have an HMT. It is a wholly made-in-India watch and has so much history to it,” says Balakrishna, adding, “I hope I am able to buy some more before they disappear completely.”

He reels off his favourites-Janata, skeletal, chronograph, Rajat. Since 2010 to 2014, HMT launched at least 20 new models, he says. “I wonder why the company had to shut down. Do you think they will reverse the decision,” he asks.