The Surge of Watchmaking in India and Discovering an Underrated Giant: the Titan Group

The luxury watch industry is facing a period of uncertainty: global economic headwinds, shifting consumer behaviours, and escalating tariffs have all taken a toll. China, once the growth engine for the luxury watch industry, continues to falter. Meanwhile, the U.S. market – though long resilient – now faces the effects of rising tariffs… In this challenging environment, more and more attention is given to India. Unlike more mature markets, India’s luxury sector is still in its high-growth phase. According to a report by McKinsey and The Business of Fashion, the number of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals in India is expected to grow by over 50% between 2023 and 2028. By 2027, India could boast as many as 100 million luxury consumers. The country’s luxury market is projected to grow by 15-20% in 2025, outpacing other major economies and fueling new demand for high-end timepieces. At the heart of this transformation is Titan Company Limited, a watch and jewellery powerhouse that has emerged as the country’s leading lifestyle company. The recent presentation of their Jalsa Tourbillon offered us the opportunity to take a glimpse into Titan’s activities and their aspiration to be India’s leading watchmaker and a recognised player in the world of fine watchmaking.

Titan was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and the Tata Group – the $150 billion Indian conglomerate with activities spanning steel, automotive (Tata Motors), information technology (TCS), consumer products, hospitality, and telecommunications. The Tata name alone carries immense weight in India’s industrial landscape. From this original joint venture emerged a lifestyle giant. In just four decades, Titan has grown into a group with a turnover of $6.45 billion, over 12,200 employees, 11 manufacturing facilities, and 3,240 retail outlets across India and abroad.

Today, Titan is India’s leading lifestyle brand, with interests across multiple verticals: watches, jewellery, fragrances, eyewear, and fashion. Its brand portfolio includes: Titan, Fastrack, Sonata, Raga, Octane, Zoop, Xyllys (Swiss-made watches or watches with Swiss movements), Edge, Nebula, IRTH, SKINN, Tanishq, Zoya, Mia, Carat Lane, Titan Eye+ and Taneira.

In the watch segment alone, Titan sells an astounding 15 million watches per year – more than the entire Swiss watch industry combined, across seven of its brands.

From a production perspective, Titan operates five manufacturing sites across India, producing cases, quartz and mechanical movements, and assembling complete watches. While Titan’s early offerings were affordable models (typically with prices below EUR 250), the company has progressively evolved in step with the market’s rising sophistication. Indeed, the group’s horological journey began with quartz movements, originally developed in partnership with France Ebauches. These have been followed by internal developments showcasing their growing capabilities, notably the record-thin Edge quartz calibres (with a thickness of just 1.15mm). Other technical collaborations were kickstarted, for instance, with Citizen and Seiko for case manufacturing and plating.  Over time, Titan has become one of the world’s largest integrated watch manufacturers, with more and more components produced in-house. While some critical parts – such as regulating assortments – are still sourced from Switzerland or Japan, Titan has plans to internalise even these in the near future.

Titan’s activities in mechanical watchmaking began in 2015 with the development of a 12-line mechanical movement beating at 4Hz, based on a 2824-style assortment. Since then, the brand has diversified its mechanical offerings with ultra-thin calibres (used in the Edge collection) and, notably, the first Indian-made tourbillon movement, presented in 2024 with the “40 years of Joy” edition and in 2025 with the Jalsa by Nebula limited edition. Looking ahead, Titan has plans to build out a comprehensive range of complications, driven by an ambition to place India firmly on the watchmaking map.

“We kickstarted our journey with technical collaborations with France Ebauches for movement manufacturing and Citizen and Seiko, Japan, for case manufacturing and plating. What started as a USD 12 million investment has grown into a diversified manufacturing network across five locations in India. Our advancement is marked by the mechanical movement journey, the tourbillon project and the in-house development of the mechanical regulating assortment – all of which signify India’s emerging capabilities in fine watchmaking,” said Manohar G, Chief Manufacturing Officer of Titan Company Limited.

A rising force in fine watchmaking…

“In many ways, Titan’s trajectory mirrors the maturation of the Indian luxury market itself”, continues Manohar G. “As domestic consumers grow more discerning, Titan is responding not just with volume – but with quality and sophistication. In this respect, the launch of the Jalsa Tourbillon 10-piece limited edition is more than just a technical milestone; it is an important statement. More broadly, given India’s accelerating luxury consumption and the group’s expanding capabilities, Titan is a company to watch closely in the coming years… It is poised to play an increasingly important role in the global watch industry.”

For more information, please visit www.titan.co.in.