Why are HMT watches underrated outside of India?

Buffy Acacia

What do watch collectors covet most these days? Affordability? Historic significance? Vintage design? There are plenty of brands which tick those boxes, but not many which could give you change from a $100 bill. HMT is a brand that’s strayed around the periphery of the Western market for decades now, and anyone who’s fond of browsing eBay would have come across the HMT brand plenty of times. But why is HMT such an overlooked brand outside of India, and should that change?

Origin stories for European watch companies usually begin with a single watchmaker or a family, gradually expanding their business. HMT was actually founded by the Indian government in 1953 as Hindustan Machine Tools Limited. The original focus wasn’t watchmaking, and it generally operated in heavy machinery and industrial tooling. India as an independent nation was a relatively recent development, having only departed from a century of British colonial rule in 1947, so government-run companies like HMT were important for rapid progression of India’s economy, especially when there were many import restrictions in place. When HMT was to set up a wristwatch division in 1961, it couldn’t do it alone. That’s where Citizen came in.

In 1959, the Japan Clock & Watch Association was approached by Indian government representatives to find watchmaking assistance. Eiichi Yamada, president of Citizen at the time, was the only member who wanted to pursue the deal and test the waters of operating outside of Japan. The technical assistance agreement took months to finalise, with India setting lofty annual targets of one million watches, and holding Citizen responsible for any potential failures. Nevertheless, the deal went ahead with trust, and there was a sizeable staff exchange. 400 members of the Citizen staff went to India, and 200 HMT employees went to Japan, where they each learned and implemented as much as they could. The success of the agreement led to Citizen’s expansion into other international business, as well as HMT’s watch division opening in 1961.

Notable HMT models

The classy and casual HMT Janata was the brand’s best-seller throughout the ‘60s, but the military-themed Pilot and Jawan were also popular. Really, almost every HMT watch was popular. Indian shoppers may not have had much choice, but the brand was adored for its variety and reliability. Sadly, it was not immune from the fallout of the quartz crisis. Having built itself up as a producer of mechanical watches in the ‘60s, HMT didn’t have the resources or the desire to pivot towards quartz movements until the late ‘70s. That allowed competitors like Titan, part of the multi-billion-dollar Tata Group, to overtake it. It wasn’t a catastrophic disaster like it was for many Swiss companies, but HMT certainly took a hit.

By the 1980s, India allowed for much more importing, so HMT had to compete with digital watches out of Japan and China, as well as luxury offerings out of Switzerland. Still, HMT kept making mechanical watches of both old and new designs. Eventually, it was no longer sustainable as a watchmaking operation. Between 2014 and 2016, the watchmaking division of HMT was shut down and converted for other industrial manufacturing. However, that wasn’t the end of the HMT brand. The website was down for a while, but it returned selling brand new watches. The manufacturing is outsourced to third parties and the movements are now sourced directly from Miyota/Citizen, but many of the designs are inspired by those ‘60s and ‘70s originals which are still desirable as vintage collectables. Possibly, too desirable.

Despite being incredibly affordable from the get-go, HMT watches have been faked to an outrageous degree. Whether they’re pieced together from random vintage examples or completely counterfeit, purchasing a second-hand HMT can be a minefield. Because of this, the international reputation of the brand has been harmed, and it’s a major turn-off for potential customers who only want to guarantee they’re getting an authentic product. The official HMT website only ships within India, so you need to use a post forwarding service or make friends with a local who can buy one for you. Online groups can help you find people to buy them for you, however they can charge a premium, and it can be difficult to justify tripling the cost of a watch with a price tag of only US$50. However, building up a network of fellow HMT collectors will also help you discover which online sellers on platforms like eBay are legitimate, and protect you from being scammed.

If you’re willing to do the due diligence, there are plenty of modern HMT watches worth seeking out. They’re certainly not luxury pieces, but for the price, they hold up well and the designs are fantastic. Collectors and appreciation groups have encircled HMT in the last couple of years for good reason, because it’s incredibly difficult to find this kind of value for money anywhere else. Being a government-owned brand definitely puts some limitations on its international expansion, but perhaps with enough attention, it may become more of a global player in the future.