Swatch gets Rs 1 crore wristwatch to India

Napoleon Bonaparte wore one, as did Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill. Now, Indians, too, can carve a piece of history for themselves, with the Swatch Group launching the Breguet brand of watches in the country today.

There is just one hitch. The cheapest of these comes for Rs 4.5 lakh. The hitch grows as you move up the range; the most expensive watch in the Breguet range costs a neat Rs 8.10 crore. Among the range displayed at today's press conference in New Delhi, the most expensive piece was for Rs 90 lakh. However, the entire range is available to Indian consumers. If you think you deserve better, place an order for any of the more expensive ones and it will be delivered in a month.

Incidentally, the price tags on Breguet in India will be 25 per cent higher than they are in most other countries, thanks to the 45 per cent duty on watch imports.

It is worth it, says the House of Breguet, for every piece is handmade and nothing less than a masterpiece, carrying forward the legacy of its founder and watchmaking pioneer Al Breguet. It is a collector's item, an heirloom.