HMT Gold biscuit watches

This was during 2013. It was a time when my love for HMT watches was blossoming and we used to spend our saturdays in HMT company showroom at Unity building. Mr. Bhagavan YS used to treat us like family and the showroom was my daughter's playground. His encouragement and knowledge really helped me as a collector and admirer of HMT watches. I was able to see these silent timekeepers in a different light all thanks to him. It was he who told us about the Utsav gem series watches (will talk about it some other time) and the elegance gold biscuit watches.
From the time we came to know about the watch we pestered him to get us the gold biscuit watches. My wife's birthday was fast approaching and I really wanted to gift her something special. I was scouring through shops and e-commerce websites. Mr Bhagwan knew what my wife wanted but I had no clue. Out of the blue, I got a call from him. He said that he has my wife's gift and that I should bring her along with me to collect it from him. I sensed the happiness in his voice but even after asking him many time he did not reveal it. So we went thinking it would be a watch in her name. I was sure it did not exist but with HMT you never know as HMT is full of surprises. So we went there confused, but to our pleasant surprise it was the elegance G06 watch aka the gold biscuit watch from HMT. The excitement of my wife knew no bounds. She is a cheerful person but the twinkle in her eye and her excitement on that day will forever be in my memory. We got the watch and pretty soon the happiness was shared with the entire family.

Now my search for the gents version G10 increased. I was able to track one in the Tumkur showeoom. So i travelled all the way only to be told that it wasn't there. My search continues to this day. If you come across a G10 for sale then please let me know.

A little bit more about the watch. HMT released these Elegance G10 watches in the 90s. G06 = Gold case and bracelet + .06 gram 18 krt fine gold plaque on the dial. This is the ladies variant. Gents variant is G10 = Gold case and bracelet + 1 gram gold plaque on the dial. These are quartz movement (calibre 2050) watches and have a 5 micron 23.5 k gold plating on the case and bracelet.Its water resistant and has a stainless steel watch back. The sapphire glass crystal is scratch resistant.This watch comes in a larger dimension for men and smaller dimension for ladies.

Another interesting thing about this watch is it's bracelet. This unique bracelet is made out of the scrap left after cutting metal plates as part of the watch making process.

The watch is unique, thus rare and collectible. If you get one grab it else let me know and I will pick it up.

G06 ( Ladies watch)

G10 (Gent's Watch)

(Pic courtesy Tarun Agarwal)

Thank you.
My YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/hmtwatchcollector

When HMT Sona spoke to me

The charm of this watch is beyond definition. Not every watch has people rooting for it for generations. Initially when I bought this watch I kept it in my collection as a possession. Never to be worn as I thought it was not something that I could carry with elan.

Then one day the adventurer side of my watch collector personality overpowered my neural intelligence and I ended up with the golden Sona on my wrist. I clearly remember wearing it with a white shirt. I kept it kidnapped under the cuff of my shirt but such is it's aura that it kept oozing out of its confinements.

People who follow my choice of watches every day were quick to observe. "Hey buddy what are you hiding there ?". "Nothing man".."hey guys looks like a special day he is wearing a very special watch." "Ok guys" said I as I gave up " it's a gold plated watch, HMT SONA.. happy now" said I as if I had committed a crime. "Dude!! you know what my father had this watch. It looks super cool. Can you help me get him one". Pretty soon my watch was showered with appreciation. I looked at the watch and she glowed back at me. I heard her say.." you don't carry me off, its the other way round sonny". I smiled back..

Vintage HMT Tareeq - Story of a survivor.

A brief introduction - One of the earliest known HMT Tareeq watches were quite similar to Janata watches. They had Pie Pan shaped dials with a date window. These looked inspired from Citizen Homer date version watches. They came in GP as well as Stainless Steel cases with (to the best of my knowledge) milky white, Steel sunburst finish, yellow,grey and black dials.

The Gold Plated case, indices and hands Vintage Tareeq

The Stainless Steel Tareeq

Coming to the story of the vintage Tareeq watch that i want to share with you.First of all please accept my apologies, if you don't like the dilapidated looks of my watch. I found this watch over a weekend visit to the scrap market. I have a habit of checking watches even if they are under a rubble of discarded watches. I found it in in much worse condition than what you see here. It's crystal had popped off and the watch was lying face down in dirt. Its dial had accumulated mud which was mingled in adhesive flowing from a can lying next to it. The good thing was that the watch had its case back and hands secured. I would usually not think twice before walking away from such a watch but then it seemed, as if, the watch was looking up to me to get it rescued from where it was lying without affection and in a state of neglect. I took the watch in exchange of a price that made the transaction worth it for the seller. I brought it home, where it stayed on my desk for two days with me trying patiently every night, brushing-off dirt and adhesive from its face.  I did all that I could to reveal its long last self of the dial. Once.the crystal was replaced I wound it and it ticked back to life, yes...it ticked back to life like a survivor whose heart kept ticking under the debris of a calamity. The date function worked just as it should. A few months back, I had brought a strap which looked as if it had lost its color due to exposure and age. I could not find an appropriate companion for this strap, little did I know then that a match for it was lying under rubble. They look happy together now and let me say that this is one watch that I respect a lot and which has given me a lot of satisfaction for the time I invested in it. It's like an old friend on my wrist who has seen a lot in the last 35 years of its existence.

The Watch after cleaning

With its new strap

Manufatured in 1982 in Bangalore factory of HMT watches

Friends, I urge you to go out and search for yourself watches that are waiting for you under similar conditions.They might not look great but if you give your personal attention to them they will give you a satisfaction that is unparalleled to, if I may dare to say even a new watch.

As always, I look forward to hearing back from you. It motivates me and encourages me to keep on with this journey of exploring HMT watches. You can also check out my Video blogs on YouTube here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/HMTwatchespicturegallery

A lucky find – HMT Rakhee

Today is Rakshabandhan, a day that celebrates the bonding between brothers and sisters. On this day, sisters tie a silken thread – Rakhee on their brother’s wrist praying for their long life and the brother’s promise to protect their sisters from every evil.

The house of HMT watches made a special watch in the early 70s to celebrate this festival with a ladies watch called Rakhee. A watch which is both unique as well as refined and was a perfect gift from brother’s to their sisters. It was released in two forms one as a pendent watch (a watch that can be worn around the neck) and the second one on a bracelet. The unique thing about this watch was its case which had a delicate Bidri work. Bidri craft is practised in Bidar-Karnataka, in Andhra Pradesh and in Maharashtra – bordering Karnataka. The metal used is a blackened alloy of zinc and copper inlaid with thin sheets of pure silver. (Source – Craft council of India). Each watch has a hand crafted case with Bidri work and thus each watch has a different and unique case making each HMT Rakhee watch unique and different from the other. These watches came with a 17 jewel hand winding mechanical movement. In my opinion, they are very rarely seen these days as their production stopped decades back.

Picture credit - Tarun Agarwal

Being a watch collector fills your life with excitement. The excitement that can be compared with the one felt by a pearl hunter or an excavator of artifacts. Most collectors talk about the role of luck, of being the right person at the right place. I believe more in the adage – “Harder I work, luckier I get”. But then I have days when luck shines upon me and the incident I am going to narrate here is of one such day and the story of my HMT Rakhee watch

Late in the year 2014, one night I was on call with my friend Jaideep and we were discussing HMT watches. Our discussion digressed to old/Vintage HMT watch advertisements and I started searching them on the net and came across an old HMT watch newspaper advertisement for sale. It was from the 70s and advertised HMT Rakhee watch. I was pleasantly surprised as I read through the advertisement and my admiration for the HMT watch company moved a notch higher. As we discussed, I told Jaideep that we should count ourselves lucky to even know that such an HMT watch even existed and that adding such a watch to our collection is nothing less than a distant dream. It was a Friday night and I had plans for the next day. I dozed off dreaming about HMT Rakhee.

Next morning, I took my wife to the city market area for shopping and quite forgot about the watch amidst the hustle and bustle of the busy market. We started back by afternoon to have lunch at Jaynagar. While driving back I spotted a small shop with a few watches at display. Much to the chagrin of my wife I decided to stop by and check them.  I stepped inside the shop and found the usual assortment of quartz watches on display. Though disappointed, I was also happy that I did not have to spend much time at the shop. As I was stepping out the engaging shopkeeper asked me if he could help me. I told him that I was searching watches with mechanical movements. He directed me to a neglected display case inside the shop. I decided to leave it at that, as we were getting late but the shopkeeper said – atleast take a look, you never know. I sighed and stepped back inside the shop, as my wife rolled her eyes in despair. I looked at the watches and to my utter astonishment there on a leather strap was an HMT Rakhee staring back at me as if asking me of what I was waiting for. A few minutes later I floated out of the shop with a light heart and a lighter pocket, a broad smile and an HMT Rakhee to my wife who stared at me with a magnifying gaze. Later that evening Jaideep was overjoyed with amazement as I narrated him the events of the day. Both agreed that it was nothing less than a great stroke of luck. Next, I bought the original advertisement of this watch and I treasure it now.

I have always believed that HMT watches are full of surprises, most attribute this to the numerous variants and models that were made by this company of which many are unseen and unheard. In my opinion it is also applicable to the collecting aspect of these watches as one might get and unseen gem at most unexpected places.

So that my friend was one lucky day for me which gave me a watch and an experience that I will treasure throughout my life.

Happiest day in the life of an HMT watch collector

As a watch enthusiast, I would often hear from fellow enthusiasts about the watches they got from their father. Here is the story of my father’s gift to me and the happiest day of my life.

My father is my hero and his impact on my life is immense, my love for watches germinated from the time I saw my father’s wrist watch. My father’s daily beater was a Ricoh Japan, automatic movement watch. It had an emeraldish greenish-blue dial, a day-date calendar and was nothing less than a wonder to me. He would put it next to his pillow at night and I would often look at the lumed dots glowing softly in the night and wondered when I would get one for myself. In the 90s his Ricoh watch ended up in his cupboard and was replaced by a Timex watch, which had a quartz movement. This Timex watch stayed on his wrist ever since. He often received other and more expensive watches but the Timex watch ruled his wrist.

My father knew of my obsession with watches and HMT watches in particular and we would often talk about them. Last year when I had visited him, he gave me his Ricoh watch and the child in me got the most cherished object. A couple of years back, I told him that I bought for him an HMT “Provash” automatic, which is quite similar to his first name “Pravesh”, he gave me his evergreen answer “Please don’t get me a watch, I don’t need another watch”. I respected his decision and lost all hopes of seeing another watch on his wrist and thought the Timex will be his daily beater forever.

My Father's Ricoh Japan watch on my wrist today

However, god wanted to fulfil yet another dream of mine. I got a call from my father a few days back and he told me he wants my advice on a wrist watch. He informed me that his Timex watch has stopped working and is with the service center and he has not been wearing any watches for some time. My heart was filled with joy when he said that he wanted to wear an HMT watch from now on. He said that it’s our good old Indian brand and with me always advocating the use of HMT watches he wanted to wear one. As always, his requirements were clear – a gold plated quartz watch with day-date function and dial shape other than round (his timex watch had a round dial and he wanted to try something new). He also said that he did not want many options as it might confuse him and that the day calendar should be in Hindi. After some thought and search, I zeroed down on Sangam Premium MGGG 06 PRE WD. I shared a few pictures with him and he liked it instantly. The only problem was that the day calendar was in English and Japanese while he wanted it to be in Hindi and English. However, when I told the seller about it, he offered to change the Japanese calendar to Hindi and with the change incorporated; watch was shipped.I knew that my father would want to wear the watch on the first day of Navratri and luckily the watch reached him a day earlier. Today, he wore the watch after the pariva pooja of first day of Navratri and sent me a wrist shot. Words fail the expression of my happiness. Today, without even a shadow of doubt, is the happiest day of my life as a son, who also happens to be a watch collector....an HMT watch collector. 

My Father's wrist shot with his HMT Sangam Premium watch

New HMT Watch Showroom in Bangalore

I recently visited the HMT watch showroom at Barton Center, M G Road Bangalore. The showroom at unity buildings, J C Road was shut down and shifted to this new facility. Since, not many HMT watch fans are aware of the existence of this new showroom, I decided to share the sights of my visit through this blog.

Barton center is very close to the M G Road metro station on the main road

Barton Center - Its a famous landmark on M.G. Road 

HMT showroom has put a banner on its window which faces the road and an HMT Digital clock (top edge of the pic)

HMT watch showroom is on the first floor, a view from the tube lift

At the entrance of the showroom

The only showcase inside the Huge showroom, which is a property owned by HMT watches for decades. Other showcases were expected in a few days

Watches

It was good to meet Mr. Bhagwan,showroom manager and an old friend. Amidst closure of several showrooms, HMT opening a new showroom is nothing less than a pleasant surprise. So, next time you visit the M G Road, do visit the showroom. 

A Curtain Call – Closing down of the HMT Chennai Showroom

The Curtain Call – The closing down of the HMT Chennai Showroom

HMT Chennai Showroom

My association with HMT Chennai showroom goes back to the year 2013. It began with a phone call, asking them if they had any of my favourite HMT watches in stock. This was followed by an overnight bus journey over the week end. The visit helped me tick-off a dozen HMT watches from my wish list. I made some good friends at the showroom who helped me a lot in my journey as a collector and enthusiast.

In the last few months, HMT watches have started closing off their showrooms in major cities of India and a few days back their showroom in Chennai closed its operations. The news of its closure brought back so many memories. It’s been quite a while that I could visit them and now it’s too late. Below is an eyewitness account from my friend Jaideep Ramdas, an HMT watch collector and enthusiast from Chennai

  

I had visited my favourite showroom one fine Friday, a couple of weeks back. It had been a while since I had been there, owing to work and other commitments. I was in for a shock when I saw the state of the showroom. It was completely rearranged and seemed different. The display shelves were moved to a corner and their red velvet steps empty. These were the same shelves that I use to keep gazing at longingly. Once packed with HMT watches, they were now bare. Huge steel cupboards, the Godrej almirahs, the staple of every Indian household and offices were all lined up together. It was always a pleasure when Mr. Govindaraj opened these. You could always expect a surprise, a grey dial Sameer or a nice HMT watch strap. There were packed cardboard boxes everywhere and some heavy vintage pedestal fans.

Mr. Govindaraj, seeing the expression on my face, explained to me that they had started the process of closing down the showroom. All the things were getting packed and being sent to HMT Bangalore. Apart from that, some old cupboards and fans would be auctioned internally. Though I knew the showroom was going to close, seeing it happen was very sad. The Chennai Showroom was and will always be very special to me. A majority of my collection were purchased from this showroom. It was from the Chennai showroom (at a different location) that I started on my watch journey after reading that famous post on HMT Pilot watch by Frans Mattez. My first purchase was a Janata and a Sona.

For the last four years, a visit to this showroom and long chats with Mr. Govindaraj and other members of this team was my routine on Saturdays. The knowledge and the rich experience these people possessed was amazing and they were willing to share it. Our discussions were quite informative and enjoyable Mr. Govindarajan, Mr.Natraj , Mr.Nagaraj and Ms. Divya were a huge support in my watch collecting journey. I consider it my good fortune to have met them, learnt from them and also am guided by them in this endeavour. The Chennai showroom was also a meeting point of other watch collectors who later became friends. It was great to meet another person who had an interest in HMT watches and chat. Every visit to the showroom would be a surprise because

you never knew what you were going to get, whom you were going to meet or what you were going to learn.

Last Saturday, when I visited the showroom, it was in the final stages of closure. Though I was mentally prepared, I still felt sad. One of the most iconic brands was shutting down its presence in my city. The highlight of the day was meeting Mr. Muhamad Bakhar, a former employee and one of the senior most technicians. It was great talking to him about watches and his experiences with the company. As I bid bye to the HMT showroom and the team, I could not help thinking of them. These people along with the other HMT staff represent a breed of committed professionals and are the unsung heroes of brand HMT. They have kept the flag of HMT watches flying high inspite of the circumstances.

Hats off to you gentlemen! Here’s wishing you all success.

L to R - Mr. Nagraj, Mr Natraj, Mr Govindaraj, Mr.Jaideep

L to R - Mr. Muhamad Bakhar,Mr. Nagraj, Mr Natraj, Mr Govindaraj,Mr.Shekar

Monsoon woes and HMT watches – How to maintain your HMT watches during monsoon.

It’s that time of the year again when both plant and animal kingdom feel rejuvenated. Monsoon is at the doorstep of India. This is a testing time for the lovers of HMT mechanical watches. I know of many HMT watch fans who switch to HMT quartz watches to ensure the safety of their mechanical watches during this time. To those of you who are new to HMT mechanical watches and wonder what’s all this fuss about rains and saving mechanical watches from it. I can understand your amusement.  Most of you might have might have been keeping time so far, using quartz or modern mechanical watches. Such watches offer high level of water resistance as compared to the HMT mechanical watches. Your next question might be “Hey!, but my HMT has water resistant printed on it and I am not doing deep sea diving with these watches in any case. The least that I expect is for it to withstand the rain.” I agree with you, it does have water resistant etched on its case back but water resistance in the context of HMT watches means that it can withstand a few accidental splashes of water and it can resist water on it for those few seconds before water is wiped off using a soft and clean, dry cotton cloth. It cannot survive inside water even if the depth is a few centimetres.

Watches with higher level of water resistance have few characteristic features which are not available in HMT watches. A threaded crown and case back secured with gaskets made out of rubber, Teflon or nylon. Majority of these watches are hermetically or vacuum sealed and have thick watch crystals. Such features are absent in HMT mechanical watches which result in lower water resistance.

I remember this person who was new to HMT watches. He told me that he washed his HMT watch in the kitchen sink using dishwashing soap and scrubber as the watch case was not clean to his satisfaction. This incident had happened a day before he met me. I explained the horror of the possible outcome and urged him to rush the watch to a reliable watch repairer. He told me in our next meeting that the repair person was in splits when he explained his act of cleaning the watch. Luckily, nothing much happened to his watch but it was a very close call. 

  

HMT watch division has made quality watches ever since it’s beginning that offer resistance to most of the adverse conditions of Indian climate with minimum maintenance.  The problem with quality, especially water resistance is more evident these days as majority of watches brought and sold are brought from sources other than HMT watches themselves. We will concentrate on the water resistance aspect in this blog and understand what HMT does to make its watches withstand the damage water/moisture can possibly do to its watches. HMT ensured water resistance in small but effective manner in its watches. A few noteworthy features are mentioned below

• Crown-stem tube this extends from the end of crown tunnel to the crown covering the crown stem. It’s visible once the crown is pulled out to set time. In most of the second hand watches brought from resellers these are cut off as it’s a hassle for average watch repairers to set the crown length through the tube while assembling the watch if it’s a Franken watch.
• Crystal holder ring it’s that shiny metal ring often seen on HMT watches with flat crystals. It holds the watch crystal firmly to its place preventing external exposure to the watch from the crystal side. Average watch makers mistake this ring for an ornamental feature and either get rid of it or cut it to make it easy to fit on the dial.
• Rubber Gasket. It is inside the case back and seals seepage of moisture inside the watch from the case back end. This has to be replaced every time the watch is serviced but this change of rubber gasket is often neglected which makes it ineffective.
• Movement holder ring and the rubber gasket inside it These have to be intact as they are essential to water resistance and well being of the movement. In most of the second hand watches the movement ring is cut and the rubber gasket is missing. This leads the movement being shaky and normally is the reason when the dial shakes a bit every time the crown is moved or pulled out to adjust time.
• A sealant which is applied across the watch stem entry point inside the watch. This greasy sealant would dry off quickly once applied protecting it from the hazards of external atmosphere.

These days, most of the HMT watches bought by watch enthusiasts are either repaired or assembled using parts salvaged from old used watches and therefore none or most of the above mentioned quality features related to water resistance are present. We should now understand the damage that can be caused due to exposure to moisture and the precautionary steps that can be taken to protect watches. Water/moisture seeps inside watches from three entry points – Crystal, Crown and Case-backs. If any of these three Cs are faulty or does not have the aforementioned features, moisture will seep inside the watch and damage it. There are two types of damages that are done on a watch – visible and the invisible damage. Visible damage is flaking, peeling or discolouring of dial; discolouring of hands; rusting or discolouring or fungal deposit on the case, crown. Invisible damage is the damage which happens to the insides of the watch and is not visible unless the case back is opened. It includes rusting of different watch parts which at times damages the movement beyond repair.

Precautions

So what should you do to save your watch from the assault of moisture this monsoon? The first step is to buy a quality HMT watch, check the watch thoroughly and ask all possible questions before you buy a watch if you are buying them from any source other than HMT watches. Best is to buy it directly from HMT watches before they shut down completely. Let’s now talk about the watches you may already have. Here are a couple of options:

A watch Pouch

• The easiest way is to switch to a quartz watch for the monsoon season, if you want to enjoy the rains with a watch on your wrist. HMT quartz watches offer better (not fully waterproof) water resistance as compared with a mechanical watch. I suggest you to give your daily beater mechanical watch for service before you give it the monsoon rest. Upon return from the service centre wear the watch for a couple of days to ensure that it has been regulated properly. This would also ensure that the lubrication oil applied on the watch movement spreads evenly across the movement parts. Post this; watch can be stored inside a watch pouch or in the plastic box in which it came originally from the company with a few silica gel sachets. If you don’t have either of these two then you can put it in any plastic box with silica gel sachets in a cool dry place where it’s not moved around a lot. I therefore suggest, not storing them in drawers that are used daily and the stuff is sifted through regularly. Make sure you wind the watch once a week. This will ensure that the watch is up and running to the optimum accuracy levels for regular use post monsoon.
• If you wish to use your mechanical watch during monsoon, I suggest you to check your watch crystal once in a while to check for cracks in the crystal as these are an open invitation to moisture. Get the crystal changed immediately and ask your watch repairer to check for the gaskets and other aforementioned features to ensure the optimum water resistance of the watch. If at any time you see tiny droplets inside the crystal or fogging of crystal, take your watch immediately to a good watch repairer. Easiest way to save watches whenever you are caught in rains is by keeping a zip pouch handy. Slip the watch inside it once the first drop of rain falls from the sky. But before you put the watch inside ensure that you wipe off all the water using a clean dry cotton cloth (example a handkerchief). Even if you get drenched the watch will be safe inside the sealed zip pouch. The only problem with this option is that you would have no watch on your wrist each time it rains.
  
        Remember, prevention is better than cure. The information shared in this blog is from my own personal experiences and the ones that i have learnt from the experiences of other watch enthusiasts, repairers and friendly staff members of HMT watches. 

I hope you find this blog useful, as always would love to know your thoughts.

Enjoy the rains

  

Unboxing pictures of White and Brownish Maroon Pilot watches - recieved from hmtwatches.in

I was quite excited when I ordered a couple of watches from the official retail site of HMT watches https://www.hmtwatches.in/ . This was the first time I was ordering a watch through the website. The transaction was quite smooth and the experience was really good. Immediately after I had placed my order I got an email confirmation just like any other retail website of present day.

I ,like many been in touch with the HMT office urging them to start an online retail shop. This became a reality in October of 2014. I must confess the watches that were available on the site since then were either not exciting or were in my collection already. So, finally I saw something I wanted and placed the order two days back. I was expecting the package to arrive in a week but I guess being in Bangalore reduced my waiting time for between the day of placing order and receiving the package was a gap of just one day. 

My observations - The watches were packed quite well and there was enough protection to save the watch from any damage due to shocks or moisture.Shipping charges INR 80 per watch are charged over and above the price of the watches and these watches are shipped across India via the India post - Speed post. These watches are sent in sturdy HMT boxes unlike the flimsy plastic ones seen in the showrooms. They come with a printed invoice and signed guarantee card. HMT does not ship watches outside India, I guess they have more than enough orders in India itself :-) . The only way out for those who want these watches outside India is to order using the details of a friend in India and asking them to receive it on their  behalf and shipping it across to them.Though the chances are remote still, If you find any issues with your watch please reach out to the person in charge of retail business. His number is mentioned on the envelope. You will find him very helpful.

I share with you the un-boxing pictures. I would rate my experience 10/10.   

I have also uploaded an unboxing video on youtube you can access the same by clicking on this link  - > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMjJi-LUYzA

The Package - Next to It are My Oliver F27 fountain pen and the HMT Akarsh watch

The First look - Beautiful red box with HMT printed on the Top

Under the multiple wrappings of tape is a sturdy envelope 

Both the boxes were wrapped in polythene bags for further protection specially from moisture

More Polythene wrapping - Inside the bigger\polythene envelope is another pack of polythene 

The Product - HMT White and Brownish maroon Pilot watches. Neatly tucked inside the sturdy boxes wrapped in polythene covers

Invoice was inside the envelope and Guarantee cards were inside the boxes  

The Gorgeous white Pilot. 

The Brownish Maroon Pilot

HMT Doctor's watch - Mechanical Fob watch

This is a very unique HMT medical practitioner’s fob watch which I added it to my collection recently. I have the quartz fob nurse /doctor's watch in my collection and always wondered if there was a mechanical one from HMT as well.Well, this is the answer to my query. Indeed HMT made mechanical fob watches for medical practitioners. What i have learnt is that these watches were produced in very limited numbers and were part of an institutional order.In my opinion this watch is based on the iconic Janata watch.I would really appreciate if fellow HMT watch enthusiasts or members of the noble profession of medicine could share more information about this watch.

Please refer my description against each picture to understand more about the watch.

This is a full length view of the fob watch

The font size of arabic numerals is much larger than most of the HMT watches making it easy to read for the doctor/nurse.The sub markers for minutes and seconds are also marked to help read the pulse of the patient

The milky white dial makes it easy to read and also the printing on the dial makes it easy to identify it with the medical profession.

The case of the watch has a single lug while the other side has a smooth clear finish indicating that the case was customised to make it a fob watch

The steel bracelet has the place to insert a safety pin to attach the fob watch to the doctors lapel

This is how the watch appears to the doctor when he is reading time. Note that HMT logo would appear upside down to him.

This is how the watch would appears to everyone except the wearer of the watch. Note that numerals would appear upside down to them.

This watch was manufactured in the HMT watch factory number four at tumkur 

Quartz nurse/doctor's fob watch from HMT. The design of this is quite different from the mechanical fob watch.