How HMT became India's 'Timekeeper' before Titan

Hindustan Machine Tools, more commonly known as HMT, was established in Bengaluru on February 7, 1953, as a Central Public Sector Enterprise. The company's initial purpose was to manufacture machine tools to support India's industrial development. HMT later expanded its operations into various engineering businesses and eventually ventured into the watch manufacturing industry.

In 1961, the Government of India entrusted HMT with setting up a watch manufacturing business, leading to the establishment of a watch factory in Bengaluru in collaboration with Japan's Citizen Watch Co. This marked HMT as the country's first manufacturer of wristwatches, acquiring the precision technology required for watch production and assembly.

By the 1970s and 80s, HMT commanded a significant share of India's watch market, with its second watch factory in Bengaluru and additional facilities in Srinagar, Tumkur, and Ranibagh. The brand's iconic models, including Pilot, Kohinoor, Sona, and Janata, became integral to Indian middle-class life, often passed down from fathers to sons or gifted during significant occasions.

However, HMT's reign came to an end with the entry of Titan, a new watch brand launched in 1984 by Tata Industries and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Titan's quartz watches were more accurate, cost-effective, and marketed as fashionable accessories, leading to a decline in HMT's market share. Despite the closure of HMT's watch manufacturing unit in January 2016 due to mounting losses and a lack of revival opportunities, the brand's legacy as "India's Timekeeper" remains significant.