Hyderabad: A peep into world of bygone-era watches

Hyderabad: There was a time when luxury wrist watches were passed from one generation to another as a goodwill gesture. But in contemporary times despite the technological advancements in electronic and smart watches, the vintage timepieces continue to shine in the modern era. Acquiring vintage and luxury watches turned a symbol of elite status which generates a lot of interest and enthusiasm in the collectors' community.

In the current times, one can own a smartwatch or other wrist watches easily, but many find it difficult to own decades-old vintage timepieces or even to get their service done. In the heart of the city, at a shop named 'Pre-owned Luxury Watches' one can own a vintage timepiece of any brand starting from just Rs 1,000. When entered inside the shop in Abid road (Abids), watch lovers can find hundreds of decade-old tickers of which many brands are also unknown to people except for horologists. The shop has turned into a gem for the vintage watch lovers.

Mohammed Zaid Khan, an owner of the shop said that the business was started by his father Hafez Amjed Hussain and for the last four decades they have been selling vintage watches.

"If horologist step inside the shop, the lover may not step out without purchasing the timepiece, as there are more than 10,000 watches of various brands available here." We have more watches in our collection, but some were not for sale," he added.

Speaking to The Hans India, Zaid Khan said "Any vintage watch lover who visited the shop was never disappointed. The timepiece which the customer desires is on their wrist."

When asked about the availability of the watches with specific brand with their oldness, Zaid assured that the customer's requirement of the brand with its aera can also be available in his collection. "With a time of 1-2 day, 99 per cent I can assure that the customer's requirement is fulfilled in my collection."

It is difficult to find various age-old brands in the market.

Most of the companies were also shut, but their tickers are worth buying, as they are not easily available. Zaid said that brands like hmt, Seiko, Citizen are also available which range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and other brands from thousands of rupees to lakhs.

He said for instance, a Seiko watch of the 1960's with an automatic chronograph famous as bullhead, whivch is hard to find anywhere, is available at the cost of Rs 40,000.

Brands such as Henri Sandoz, Jayco, Allwyn, Camy, Titoni, Enicar, Ricoh, Favre-Leuba, Orient, Fortis, Felca, Edox, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Titus, Movado, Waltham, Baume & Mercier, TAG Heuer's, BALLwatch, Ebel, Mido, Oris, Corum, Charriol, Omega, Rado and various others are available in his collection. "These all timepieces are sold with 14 months warranty and also provide service and repairs to such vintage watches," said Zaid.

When a shopper at the shop was looking for a vintage Swiss watch, Zaid presented him with a dozen Swiss watches from different companies. "I was shocked to see various decade-old watches on one roof. It is nothing but a museum of timepieces. From wrist watches to alarm clocks and vintage pocket and locket watches in roman numbers and analog variants are available here. Pleased to visit the place and shop with yearning," amused Tariq Omer, a septuagenarian.

Moreover, these watches are also shipped to other states and various countries.

Social media followers from Kuwait and Oman also contacted him for the vintage watches, which he dispatched and were glad.