Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. India’s first Wandering Hours Timepiece, the Titan Stellar 3.0 and its Crystallized Titanium Case
Another proof that India is upping its game in terms of mechanical watchmaking...
Our visit earlier this year to India’s prime watchmaking company, Titan, truly was an eye-opening experience. Besides witnessing the impressive scale of production there (it is immense, and a whole different level than Swiss watchmaking), we’ve also discovered that the industry giant had some unexpected horological capacities. Titan, to celebrate its 40th anniversary, unveiled India’s first tourbillon watch. And if you need another proof that the Indian company is able to create cool and complicated timepieces, here’s the new Titan Stellar 3.0… A daring, sporty-looking crystallized titanium and bronze watch with an unusual display. Indeed, what you’re looking at is India’s first wandering hours watch.
After introducing its first in-house, made-in-India tourbillon watch, Titan now unveils something rather different but no less special, a watch with an unusual display of the time, once again at an impressive price – and it’s not all about the display and complication, but the whole watch, this new Titan Stellar 3.0 Wandering Hours, which feels quite appealing.
Part of a sub-collection named Stellar and inspired by the cosmos, this new model first surprises with its case material. Indeed, it relies on a combination of crystallized titanium for the case-middle and caseback, paired with a brushed and polished bezel in bronze – quite a good-looking combination, if I’m honest, with a nice contrast between the warmth of the bezel and the cold, textured look of the case. The blackened crown is flanked by guards (not pushers…) and the Stellar 3.0 uses a rather familiar tonneau shape that’s not without reminding of classic luxury sports watches. It’s not a small watch, though, measuring 42mm in diameter, close to 14mm in thickness and 49.5mm in length. A sapphire crystal on top and a screwed exhibition caseback finish this 50-meter water-resistant watch.
The main talking point with this new Titan Stellar 3.0 is, of course, its dial and original display. Instead of traditional hands rotating around the dial, it relies on a so-called wandering hours motion. A central carousel carries here two satellites (each with 6 hours), rotating one position every hour. The central carousel revolves in a standard 360-degree motion once every 2 hours, and its arms point at the 180-degree minute track positioned from 9 to 3 o’clock on the upper part of the dial.
The base of the dial has a deeply embossed texture and serves as a canvas for this unusual wandering hours display, but also pairs nicely with the colour and texture of the case. The two orbiting discs are black with a fine concentric pattern.
Powering India’s first wandering hours watch is a movement conceived and produced locally by Titan. The calibre INH 7AW-D2 is an automatic movement with a central rotor, boasting about 40 hours of power reserve and rated at -10/+30 seconds/day accuracy. It is here wound by a specific black rotor with a golden moon.
Availability & Price
Worn on a black FKM rubber strap, the Titan Stellar 3.0 Wandering Hours Automatic is a limited edition of 500 pieces, priced at INR 179,995, or about EUR 1,760 or USD 2,050 at the time of publication. For more details, please visit www.titan.co.in.
