Engg student designs watch for Swiss firm, in race for award

A Swiss watch on one’s wrist makes it a priced possession. And designing it and competing for a global award could make one’s name etched in time.

That is exactly what Parth Sabnis, a student of KLS Gogte Institute of Technology in the city, has achieved. The watch that Sabnis has created for Swiss company Luxius M’iWatch is representing the firm at the GPHG watch awards programme in Geneva on November 10. This is the first time that a watch will feature two dials, one of which will run on Android wear, while the other will be a traditional handcrafted dial. The watch, christened ‘Smart PDG watch,’ also makes Parth the first Indian to have his/her design featured at the awards.

Sabnis, a student of seventh semester in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, is upbeat about his feat. Due to his introvert nature, not many students in the college know him.

His latent talent came to the fore when he made public the invitation he received from the GPHG Foundation and Luxius for the awards ceremony.

Though Luxius makes luxury watches, it has also brought out a smart headset and a smartphone bracelet, designed by Parth again.

Parth, whose family is based in Bengaluru, told DH that he lost one academic year after he contracted dengue. But he made good use of it by working on the watch design. His first task was to make sure that he knew exactly what the client wanted. What resulted was a product that’s modern in technology and traditional in outlook. He spent close to 15 days modelling the watch, using Autodesk Maya software. Once the design was approved by the client, Sabnis’ next task was to produce renders for the watch. He worked on close to 100 different looks and after deliberations with the client, the final renders was displayed on the GPHG website, competing in the ‘mechanical exception’ category. The GPHG - Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix) - awards were constituted in 2001 and are given away in November every year. The categories include men’s/women’s, sports watch, technical innovation and complication. There is also a prize for the best watchmaker and a special jury prize.