Swiss Watches Now Tick Tock in Chennai

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CHENNAI: Like Hollywood movies, even the new collection of watches from famous brands reach India almost a year after its release worldwide. But not any more. The Omega boutique at Express Avenue currently houses a collection of 30 newly-launched watches, which have not gone into production yet. This means that customers in Chennai get to check out the new designs along with the rest of the world. Imagine world wide release of a flick.

Sumil Mudgal from Omega tells us that customers in India are being given such an opportunity for the first time. “And Chennai is the first city we are showcasing it in. This is because the city has a huge market and the customers here are well-informed,” she says. After Chennai, the collection is set to tour Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.

The watches  on display have been selected from the 100-odd watches that were showcased at the Basel World 2014 Jewellery and Watches Festival — an event which brings together top brands like Rolex, Dior, Gucci and others besides Omega — in Switzerland in March. “I have chosen the best 30 as reference from each family of watches displayed at the festival,” says Sumil.

The collection includes Constellation Pluma, which as the name suggests, has feathery patterns engraved on the dial that is made of mother of pearl. Taking the feminine factor a notch up is the Deville, which in Chinese translates to butterfly. If it was feathers in Pluma, the dial in Deville flaunts tiny butterfly figures. Master co-axial calibres and its variants, besides the classy look, are known to be the only ones immune to magnets. While any watch in close proximity to a magnetic field would stop working, this one would stay unaffected, says Sumil. Yet another in the collection, Seamaster 300, boasts of the provision to check time clearly even when underwater.

“One that I could not bring to India is the Moonwatch collection, which was launched this year to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing on the moon,” says Sumil. When the astronauts landed on the moon in 1969, they wore Omega watches. Since then, Omega is an official part of the equipment to space, she says.

By bringing the new pieces to the city, the brand aims to make its customers aware of the international scene. “Usually the retailer decides which watch will sell the most. He might select 10 out of the 30 from the new collection. The customer will not even know about a few designs. With this initiative, we give them an opportunity to see all of it,” says Sumil. “The store manager here has reached out to the customers interested in the brand. The moment the watches go into production and are ready for sale, they will be intimated,” she adds.

The prices of the new pieces start from Rs 2 lakh. The display is on till July 20 from 11 am to 8 pm.

Express News Service  19th July 2014 07:33 AM