For Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling, the average selling price is the highest in Chennai in India

Who said Chennai is a conservative city, and Chennaites don’t spend too much? For the Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling, the average selling price of its watch is the highest in Chennai than the rest of the country. And what was the price?

It is a whopping ₹6.75 lakh a piece as against ₹6.25 lakh in other cities, said Pradeep Bhanot, Managing Director, Breitling India Pvt Ltd. The company’s watches are priced between ₹4 lakhs and ₹25 lakhs.

“In Chennai, we see a lot of people coming and buying and looking at gold watches. When they buy gold watches, obviously the average price of the gold watch is far higher,” he told businessline. “We also see a lot of steel gold watches getting sold. But the number of gold watches, which we probably sell in Chennai, are higher than with this side in the rest of the country,” he said.

Bhanot was in Chennai on Friday as part of Breitling’s Heritage Watches exhibition at Breitling Boutique.

To mark 140 years of watchmaking, from May 2024 Breitling embarked on a global heritage tour, showcasing curated vintage timepieces from the archives in Breitling Boutiques across Europe, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Australia. On display was a collection of the most noteworthy vintage and modern watches from Breitling’s 140-year history, said Bhanot.

Breitling showroom at Palladium, Phoenix Mall, Chennai
| Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH

In India, the exhibition was in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. Some of the timepieces on display were Navitimer, made in 1952 for pilots and Chronomat (1942), which was said to be world’s first smartwatch.

Bhanot said Breitling in India has boutiques at Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. Breitling watches are also available at 26 points of sales with leading luxury watch retailers, he said. Over the next 18 months, Breitling India will have 10 operational boutiques, he added.

Breitling, which is in India for over a decade now, is among the top three Swiss luxury watch brands, he said. In 2024, India imported Swiss watches worth nearly ₹2,500 crore. Demand for Swiss luxury watches in India is growing at 20-25 per cent, he said, declining to give Breitling India’s revenue.