Now the brand is eyeing a new milestone. Titan’s two watches, the Edge UltraSlim and the Edge Squircle, have been longlisted in the ‘Challenge’ and ‘Time Only’ category, respectively, of the 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), the watchmaking industry’s most prestigious award ceremony where top designs and brands of the year are felicitated based on votes by an international jury. This is the first time an Indian watch brand has made it to the longlist. “It is a matter of great pride,” says Kalpana Rangamani, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Premium and Luxury Watches, Titan. 

The Titan Edge UltraSlim is a 40.5mm grade 5 titanium watch with a slimness of 3.3mm. Its dial entails a rotating disc with a single hand that doubles as both the hour and minute hand. Long thin bars mark the hours, and there are smaller markers for the minutes at 10-minute intervals; the 30-minute mark is a small dot. The dial has a fine micro-blasted finish, and the watch is powered by the in-house T9081 quartz movement, a mainstay in all Edge watches. The Titan Edge Squircle on the other hand, as the name suggests, has a shape that is a mix of a square and a circle. Crafted in matte-black ceramic, the 38mm x 45mm piece has a thickness of 4.4mm, and features two different finishes on its dial, with case and bracelet also done in different satin and matte effects. Furthermore, there is a ripple machined over its sapphire crystal to make the design unique.

“Innovation and pushing boundaries are not new to [the] Edge [collection],” says Rangamani. “The engineering team, materials team, and the Design Excellence team are working on a pipeline of projects that continue to do this. So, honestly, it’s not like we thought of the UltraSlim for the GPHG. It was already work in progress, but there was the thought of how do we make this watch even slimmer. It is also an innovation in time telling. Once we had the GPHG filter, it forced all the teams to say how can we take this a few notches higher, make it even more powerful.”

Design and engineering are the cornerstones of Titan’s Edge collection, and this is evident in the UltraSlim and the Squircle. In the UltraSlim, the brand has worked with grade 5 titanium for the first time, a material known for its hypoallergenic properties. “To use that material and achieve those levels of tolerances and slimness was really the challenge for the manufacturing team,” says Rangamani. Another challenge was accuracy, given the disc hand and its pinion-less design. In the Squircle, material innovation and finishes take centre-stage—the brand worked with matte-black ceramic, and ensured that there was a seamlessness in the way the bracelet and the curves on the link complemented both the case and the curvature of the wrist.

The UltraSlim has been in the works for about 3.5 years, and the Squircle for about 1.5 years, given that it was already available in a different form in the market. The GPHG participation also comes on the heels of a greater focus on Titan’s premium watches, which includes Edge, Nebula, and Xylys. “About a year ago we realised that the premium and luxury market in India was becoming bigger and more exciting, and therefore brands within our portfolio, Edge being one, needed dedicated focus. So, the watches team was further divided,” says Rangamani.

The Edge as a line has continued to evolve while staying true to its philosophy over the past 22 years. In terms of material innovation, it has graduated from metals and stainless steel to ceramic and now titanium. In terms of design, the brand has innovated with different colours and shapes. And Rangamani says that they are continuing to push the boundaries on slimness. “The UltraSlim is only where we have gotten so far. It is in no way the limit of where we can go. So, we continue to hold on to the dream of having the slimmest watch in the world.”

The UltraSlim is priced at `90,000 (approx.), and the Squircle at `80,000 (approx.), both a limited edition of 10 pieces. The decision on the production of the watch was a thought-out one. “It sharpens our story telling. We realise that within the premium segment there are different types of consumers and one significant part is watch collectors and enthusiasts, and a big draw for them is limited editions and stories that add to the specialness of what they wear. This will give consumers a chance to buy into the brand through different stories. There is also a consumer value proposition. Matte ceramic is a difficult material to work with, and in the UltraSlim, it is grade 5 titanium. So, you are offering something that is difficult to make, as a limited edition,” says Rangamani, who is enthusiastic about the future of the Edge line. “Our dream is not just to participate [in GPHG]. It is to win, and we are not going to give up till that happens,” she says.

Images: Courtesy Brand 

This story first appeared in WatchTime India's Watches for Women 2024 issue.