Huge waitlist for watches with Kannada numerals

At least 380 people are waiting for the next batch of HMT watches featuring the state emblem gandaberunda and Kannada numerals on the dial. They have left their contact details at the brand’s four showrooms across north and central Bengaluru, hoping for a callback when fresh stock arrives.

According to staff, a limited number — about 20 to 200 per location — arrived last Thursday and sold out by Saturday. They said they hadn’t seen such an interest in these collectible watches before and credited viral online posts from early buyers.

A source recalled that the transport department had placed an order for making gandaberunda-themed mechanical, hand-wound watches over 20 years ago. In all runs since, the watches were battery-powered quartz. The latest set came in all-white dials with either stainless steel body, silver case and black belt, or golden case with brown strap. Both men’s and women’s sizes were released, priced between Rs 1,750 and Rs 2,075.

Between Sunday and Tuesday, the HMT outlets at Jalahalli and on M G Road saw a steady stream of people turning up only to find they were too late. A vast majority were drawn by cultural pride. The gandaberunda — a mythical, double-headed bird — is Karnataka’s official state emblem and traces its roots to the royal insignia of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom.

For IT professional Kaushik A K, the watch symbolises “going back to his roots”. Puneeth, a maths professor, sees it as a way to honour his father’s love for HMT. IT consultant Shrikanth H had hoped to add it to his Janata and Surya collection, while his colleague Hanooma P S was drawn by the emblem’s roots in Mysuru where he comes from. Startup mentor Suresh Agasanahaller “wanted something in Kannada because dials with Roman numerals are everywhere”. One visitor had skipped the earlier “orange-dial edition”, holding out for this white-dial release, only to miss out again.

A viral tweet announcing the arrival of gandaberunda watches on Thursday seemingly set off a chain reaction. Friends began tagging Nithin M Kamath, knowing his growing interest in vintage timepieces. By the time he rushed to the M G Road outlet on Friday, the stainless steel variant had already sold out. Undeterred, he picked up two pieces each of the other two variants — two for himself, one for his mother, and another for a friend. “I like my watch straps thicker, so I plan to customise these anyway,” he reasons. In addition to being a watch collector, Kamath was drawn to the gandaberunda watch for more personal reasons — his mother once worked in Karnataka’s horology department, and he felt the design resonated with his identity as a standup comedian performing in Kannada. He plans to wear them to his shows.

After Kamath flaunted his haul on X, actor Abhay dashed to the same store on Saturday afternoon. He found himself 16th in a queue of 35. Abhay had first noticed the watch years ago on a film director’s wrist and was finally able to get his hands on two — one in a silver-black combination and the other in golden-brown. “A friend was accompanying me. When I pointed out that even people wearing watches far more expensive than HMT's were standing in line, he understood the hype. Out of FOMO, he bought one too,” he shares. Abhay is now waiting for the right outfit and a grand occasion to inaugurate his new timepieces.

The online buzz reminded Juhi Pandey of the two gandaberunda watches owned by her husband and founder of the popular HMT Watch Collectors Facebook group, Prashant Pandey. One arrived after his demise in 2021, featuring a maroon dial with the emblem in yellow. It was the 18th piece from a limited edition, designed by a fellow watch connoisseur. “He chose 18th because that was his birth date,” she shares, while adding that the gandaberunda watch reminded him of the Janata model with Devanagari script.

Metrolife couldn’t reach HMT officials for a comment on the next release.