Helios brings Italian premium watchmaker U-Boat to India to take advantage of upcoming festive season

Helios brings Italian premium watchmaker U-Boat to India | Image Source: Haider Ali Khan

Titan-owned watch retailer Helios on Friday (September 13, 2024) introduced and added Italian watchmaker U-Boat to its portfolio ahead of the upcoming festive season to sell its premium analog watches in India.

U-Boat will start selling 41 different premium analog watches, priced between ₹1.22 lakh and ₹6 lakh.

These watches will be available at 11 Helios branded stores across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. They can also be purchased through the Helios website.

Helios will be responsible for after-sales service of U-Boat watches.

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With U-Boat in its portfolio, Helios expects a 45 per cent revenue growth in India this festive season, said Rahul Shukla, vice president and head, sales and marketing, watches and wearables, Titan Company.

He added that sales of premium watches mainly come from metropolitan areas and first- and second-tier cities.

Rahul said the analog watch market in India is moving towards premiumization. However, he points out that digital smartwatches like the Apple Watch, Pixel Watch and Garmin have a different set of buyers.

Italo Fontana, founder and owner of U-Boat, said India is a key growth market, along with the United States, the Middle East and its native Italy.

U-Boat watches have the crown on the left side of the dial, rather than on the right, as is common in watches from other brands. To which Italo replied, “We do things differently.”

U-Boat Watches | Photo: Haider Ali Khan

U-Boat watches typically use materials such as carbon fiber, T5 titanium, 925 silver, and bronze. It uses a frosted sapphire crystal and patented systems, including a secure crown hook lock and a crown release button.

Based in Tuscany, Italy, U-Boat has been producing watches designed by Italo Fontana himself for 20 years.