Watch out for watches that dazzled on rich wrists | Economic Times

Gustafsson & Sjögren, the luxury watchmaker from Sweden, has sold three pieces that cost about ₹24 lakh each in India last month, says Raahul Kapoor, a Delhi-based seller.Even when the pandemic was sweeping across the country, people were in the queue for the limited-edition watches that now have an eight-month waiting period. The name may be unfamiliar to most, but aficionados are willing to bide time for this brand that is known for watches made of hand-forged Damascus steel and which depict scenes of Aurora Borealis and the Sarek national park of Lapland on their dials.Earlier this year, a Pune-based watch enthusiast picked up a Cecil Purnell through Kapoor, cofounder of Excedo Luxuria that retails and distributes luxury brands. The watch cost an eye-popping ₹3.4 crore.While the global scenario of watches is poor, Kapoor says the pandemic hasn't affected his Indian buyers. The super-wealthy, Kapoor says, continue to invest in what he calls "a partner legacy".“They know it's like buying jewellery or an art collection to own a piece of history,” he says.Meanwhile, brands like Cecil Purnell have been pulling out all the stops to woo customers — from hand-delivering watches to indulging them with expensive meals and sculptures to make sure the sale goes through.For the luxury segment of watches — below the super-luxury band — the pandemic year of 2020 has been a mixed bag. While their businesses suffered as retail stores stayed shut for nearly five months in India, the ultra-rich who were unable to travel abroad to buy their favourite products shopped here. The market bounced back to some extent for certain categories, say retailers.Industry observers say the segment that got pummelled was the middle-of-the-order category or what is called the bridge-to-luxury section. Statistical organisations in Switzerland — from where a majority of watches are imported into India — don’t often make the distinction between luxury, bridge-to-luxury and premium watches while collating numbers. According to IDC, the watches category witnessed 139% year-on-year growth with shipments of 2.6 million units in 2020.