Stories
India's Watch Market Soars: Ethos Founder Reveals Global Shift
- •The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), the ‘Oscars of watchmaking’, brought its 2026 exhibition to Mumbai, hosted by Ethos, India’s largest luxury watch retailer.
- •Yashovardhan Saboo, founder of Ethos and KDDL, highlights India's transformation from an inward-looking economy to a confident nation with growing appreciation for global luxury goods like watches.
- •India's watch culture is developing across all price points, with strong sales not just for high-end watches but also for brands like Titan and Timex.
- •Saboo believes a genuine Indian watch winning a GPHG award would be a significant milestone for the country's watchmaking industry.
- •While a full watchmaking ecosystem within five years is optimistic, Saboo sees it as achievable in 15 years with significant investment in energy, resources, and real belief.
Key Questions Answered
The Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), often described as the Oscars of the watchmaking world, returned to India with its 2026 exhibition in Mumbai from September 28 to October 1. Hosted by Ethos, the travelling exhibition brought 84 timepieces nominated for this year's awards under one roof.
Yashovardhan Saboo entered the watch business in 1983 with KDDL, which supplies components to several Swiss brands, and later founded Ethos in 2003. Ethos has since grown to become India's largest luxury watch retailer with over 100 stores across the country.
While some industry figures estimate a five-year window, Yashovardhan Saboo believes that developing a proper domestic watchmaking ecosystem in India will realistically take around 15 years. He notes that achieving this requires deep commitments, energy, and genuine belief rather than quick-profit models.
