# My new HMT Pilot watch from India - thread no. 2 of 3



## fmattes

MODERATOR'S NOTE:

Due to its length, this thread has been split into three threads.

You can find the previuous posts in this thread: https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=359113

Crusader


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## badsez

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

any opinions on the HMT braille watch, other than that it has a cool strap.

also, do u know if hmt sells watch winders?

thanks


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



badsez said:


> any opinions on the HMT braille watch, other than that it has a cool strap.
> 
> also, do u know if hmt sells watch winders?
> 
> thanks


Braille watch has same movement, just different glass.

No, HMT does not produce watch winders.


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## badsez

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> Braille watch has same movement, just different glass.
> 
> No, HMT does not produce watch winders.


Thanks. Do u know of any good watch winder makers in india?


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



badsez said:


> Thanks. Do u know of any good watch winder makers in india?


No idea. Sorry.


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



badsez said:


> Thanks. Do u know of any good watch winder makers in india?


Nobody makes watch winders in India.

I have not visited the HMT store for the past three months as I was otherwise busy. Lost their phone number too. I will visit them in person soon and post an update for all the queries asked here. The store is in the opposite corner of the city from where I live, so I need to set aside some time for it.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I joined recently and i am a big fan of hmt watches,especially their mechanical line-up of classic looking watches .I have a Sathi ,Janata ,Sona and Rajat . The Sathi(Hindi for Partner)is same in design as the Janata/Jawan/Tarun/Pilot models. I can vouch for the reliability and ruggedness of this particular watch as it has been a faithful partner of mine since last 16 years and has sustained 2 motorcycle crashes with me,and god knows how many knocks at gym .So it has literally taken a beating and kept on ticking.
It really is a pity that due to various reasons such a good and classical looking line of watches are struggling for good sales numbers,maybe not many have any sense of aesthetics left after being bombarded by the marketing team of titan watches. 
Any way the reason i am here ,in this thread is that,i got infatuated with the white dialled pilot i saw here and trust me i went to the factory outlets here in bangalore looking for the same .But i found out that only black dialled ones are available and i searched at the local watch dealers for the same, but in vain .The person at the hmt factory outlet was a typical government employee i guess.He told me flatly that no white dialled pilot watch has ever been made and nor will it be made in any foreseeable future.The guys at the other outlet in Unity building were a helpful lot and they told me that Janata and pilot watches are made at their factory situated in Ranibagh,but only their outlet at hmt factory(here in Bangalore) gets pilot watches . 
I will be grateful, if anyone here can be kind enough to guide me, as to where i can get a white dialled (newly being made ) pilot watch in Bangalore .


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## Crusader

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Welcome to the forum, Anand!


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## Barry H

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Well, I've read the whole very interesting thread - but lost the plot a bit towards the end...

I just love the clean, retro design of this Janata - and the red second hand is a master stroke! Got this pic from the HMT website. Does anyone know the case material/size/lug width and how I could get hold of one (or two) of these?? Any info appreciated. Thanks in advance!


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> I can vouch for the reliability and ruggedness of this particular watch as it has been a faithful partner of mine since last 16 years and has sustained 2 motorcycle crashes with me,and god knows how many knocks at gym .So it has literally taken a beating and kept on ticking.


I agree entirely. I have witnessed these watches being abused over years and still run and run.



Anand184 said:


> Any way the reason i am here ,in this thread is that,i got infatuated with the white dialled pilot i saw here and trust me i went to the factory outlets here in bangalore looking for the same .But i found out that only black dialled ones are available and i searched at the local watch dealers for the same, but in vain .The person at the hmt factory outlet was a typical government employee i guess.He told me flatly that no white dialled pilot watch has ever been made and nor will it be made in any foreseeable future.The guys at the other outlet in Unity building were a helpful lot and they told me that Janata and pilot watches are made at their factory situated in Ranibagh,but only their outlet at hmt factory(here in Bangalore) gets pilot watches.


The authorised distributor I spoke to hadn't seen this white pilot before and he was under impression that someone modified Sona which has similar pattern on dial. He checked with their Bangalore head office and had no response.



Barry H said:


> Does anyone know the case material/size/lug width and how I could get hold of one (or two) of these?? Any info appreciated. Thanks in advance!


I couldn't get my hand on that one but I managed to get this one. Will let you know when I have it in my hand in two weeks time. The case material is Stainless Steel. Not sure if it is 316L, though. I would think, not.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Crusader said:


> Welcome to the forum, Anand!


Thanks Crusader ,i am glad that there are so many people with similar taste in aesthetics and i am sorry for the typo the watch model's name is Saathy.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I wouldn't blame your dealer either ,because from what iv'e heard, the sales people at hmt's Bangalore (factory) are not at all a helpful lot . The watch(white dialled pilot) is being made for sure and if you can see from the pictures in the thread the dial is similar to that of Tarun except the numbers 12,3,6 and 9 are in metal and that's what made me take interest in this particular version of the hmt Pilot.It seems to be available in Chennai unit .The modification i am sure has been made by hmt's Ranibagh unit.What i could make out from the response of the factory outlet at Unity building ,is that they place orders for the watches based on how quickly they move off the counter.So my guess is that ,the white dialled pilot never made it to Bangalore ,as they don't place orders till the current lot is sold off, and by that time the Ranibagh unit might have gone back to making black dialled Pilots.I sure hope i can find one though.


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Barry H said:


> Well, I've read the whole very interesting thread - but lost the plot a bit towards the end...
> 
> I just love the clean, retro design of this Janata - and the red second hand is a master stroke! Got this pic from the HMT website. Does anyone know the case material/size/lug width and how I could get hold of one (or two) of these?? Any info appreciated. Thanks in advance!


That Janata model has been discontinued. A pic of the current Janata is posted elsewhere in this forum.


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> I wouldn't blame your dealer either ,because from what iv'e heard, the sales people at hmt's Bangalore (factory) are not at all a helpful lot . The watch(white dialled pilot) is being made for sure and if you can see from the pictures in the thread the dial is similar to that of Tarun except the numbers 12,3,6 and 9 are in metal and that's what made me take interest in this particular version of the hmt Pilot.It seems to be available in Chennai unit .The modification i am sure has been made by hmt's Ranibagh unit.What i could make out from the response of the factory outlet at Unity building ,is that they place orders for the watches based on how quickly they move off the counter.So my guess is that ,the white dialled pilot never made it to Bangalore ,as they don't place orders till the current lot is sold off, and by that time the Ranibagh unit might have gone back to making black dialled Pilots.I sure hope i can find one though.


The white Pilot is based on the Sona dial. It is available only in their Chennai store. The black Pilot is now being made only by their Jammu unit, and is available only at the HMT Chinar outlet in Bangalore.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Gansan said:


> The white Pilot is based on the Sona dial. It is available only in their Chennai store. The black Pilot is now being made only by their Jammu unit, and is available only at the HMT Chinar outlet in Bangalore.


Thanks Gansan.I am based in Bangalore and ,i would be very grateful to you ,if you could help me procure one from Chennai .The white dialled version of pilot is a beautiful watch and i don't know how long it will be in production. Let me know if its possible and as to how it could be done.
Cheers
Anand184


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## j4ester

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

BODY { FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma; FONT-SIZE:10pt } P { FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma; FONT-SIZE:10pt } DIV { FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma; FONT-SIZE:10pt } TD { FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma; FONT-SIZE:10pt } Warm greetings to all- i am Jai from Chennai, India. I chanced upon this forum while searching for HMT watches -the Pilot in particular. I was really surprised when I saw that the Pilot thread had recent activity and was also glad to see that there were so many people interested in HMT watches. I followed the threads and wanted to find out the location of the HMT showroom in Chennai. I eagerly sent out mails to Gansan and Perumal. By the time I reached home, I received replies from Gansan and Perumal. I spoke to Gansan and he gave me the directions to the HMT Chennai showroom.The next day I went there and bought two watches from there - a Janata and a Sona. The Janata looks very much different from the picture displayed in the site. It is a simple and elegant piece. The Sona is also a cool watch and have received compliments for it. 
I spoke to the person at the showroom and he informed me that they were not expecting new consignments of Pilots any time soon. He asked me to contact the people at marketing office or the Banglore office.I told him that there were a lot of people who wanted to own the Pilot - he just gave me a smile and asked me to convey the news to the Marketing office.

I am really thrilled about owning the Janta and the Sona and convey my warmest thanks to Mr.Gansan and Mr.Perumal for the information they provided

Cheers.
Jai


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## Crusader

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Welcome to the forum, Jai!


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## j4ester

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Crusader said:


> Welcome to the forum, Jai!


Thank you so much. Hope to learn a lot from this forum and in the process find a "Pilot"

Jai


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



j4ester said:


> I am really thrilled about owning the Janta and the Sona and convey my warmest thanks to Mr.Gansan and Mr.Perumal for the information they provided
> 
> Cheers.
> Jai


Welcome to the forum Jai! Glad that you found the showroom and bought a couple of nice watches. The white Pilot is actually based on the dial of the Sona you have purchased.

So the Pilots are not expected a the showroom now. No point in me going there this weekend!


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

can somebody tell me where these White Pilots are made? I am loosing patience and intend to call factory directly. These dealers/distributors don't have much information and marketing office won't respond to my e-mail.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Gansan seems to be the best bet .I am sure he'll help us out.


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> can somebody tell me where these White Pilots are made? I am loosing patience and intend to call factory directly. These dealers/distributors don't have much information and marketing office won't respond to my e-mail.


To the best of my knowledge, the black Pilots were made by HMT Chinar watches, Jammu. The white ones were being made by their Ranibag unit.

But when I visited the showroom during March, the manager told me the watches were being re-positioned and some of the models (including all Pilots) were being assigned to HMT Chinar, and supply may become even more irregular till things get sorted out.

That was the last time I saw the Pilots in their show room. Please relax, everyone! The manager became quite friendly with me and I have placed an order with him for a case each of black as well as white pilots. He will call me when they arrive. I have stored all the PMs I received for Pilots, and will PM everyone back once I have the watches in hand.

Bangalore based members can approach the HMT Chinar show room in HMT colony. Black Pilots and Janatas are usually available there on a regular basis.


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## lucasszy

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

PM sent!


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Folks kindly bear with me please,because i have become a huge fan of hmt watches . Why hmt watches?. I don't know .My friends think that .I am stuck in time. If so ,let it be ,because i am stuck in an era which according to me was the most creative ,which is the 70's.
I was born in 1974 ,so i was a bit too young to enjoy "Free Love" . But i guess growing up as a kid ,the sights and sounds of that era has left an indelible mark on me. 
That was the time ,when men were 'Men' , with chest hair and sideburns and the guys whom you were supposed to look like were men like Clint Eastwood . The time when bell-bottoms ,broad belts, boots and jeans were the 'in' thing. 
I still worship and think that the actresses of that era were some of the most beautiful women who have walked on the face of the earth. One such beauty graces my desk top and i won't be changing changing her in the near future either. The women in that era were supposed to be women. They were well proportioned with lots of curves and, hour glass figure was in fashion(which i think what real men desire), and they didn't need any CG to enhance their figures!!!!. The golden era of mini skirts and mini dresses, when a woman's legs weren't supposed to be bony .
The cars of that era looked as though they were meant to look like an extension of of the person driving it. Not the kinda cars you get to see today, which look like the result of a one night stand between a drunk mini-van and a hatch-back. Need i say anything about the music and movies of that era?!.
The line-up of mechanical watches ,of hmt are beautiful because they are like me ,refugees of that golden era. The kind you can't find in any of India's other watch makers .Whose line-up mainly consists of sissy designed , cheap-quartz-tech'd and over-priced range of watches .The Titan's newly introduced automatic range isn't even a patch on that of hmt's !!.
The clinching factor in favor of hmt's mechanical range is ,you can buy a piece of the 70's era ,fresh, right off the production line!!!!.
As for as my immediate goal is concerned , its to get a white dialed hmt Pilot . But its taking too long to get one , so to satisfy my immediate urge ,i am going to buy an hmt Rajat, my second Rajat in as many months. I just love this watch and i have become a full convert to the beauty of Automatic watches. When i laid my eyes on one for the first time , the feeling was similar to seeing a beautiful woman .You just have to have her!.Now i need one more.


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Anand, if it comes to the shop I will get the word first. Meantime buy a Janata, which is the next best thing and easily available.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Gansan said:


> Anand, if it comes to the shop I will get the word first. Meantime buy a Janata, which is the next best thing and easily available.


H Gansan .
It's perfectly okay , i can wait as long as it's gonna take .No sweat.
I actually have a Janata, which i bought it in 1997, when we were staying in Mysore .I read else where that you had previously owned a Ideal Jawa motorcycle.Ideal Jawa(later known as Yezdi) were manufactured at Mysore.It was a fantastic motorcycle .
Sadly it had the same issues as the hmt, which is ,a good product being ruined by bad management ,marketing and labour problems.The similarities between the two is rather uncanny isn't it?. Which begs the question ,did it have anything to do with the political environment of that time ,because though Ideal Jawa was a private co ,it had got the technology from Jawa of czecheslovakia and hmt got the technologies from Citizen and both suffered because of competition from other better managed co's.
I just hope that since hmt is a public sector co,that it won't share the same fate as Ideal Jawa.


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## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I am a great Jawa addict! 
I own a 1946 250cc model that is still stored in UK and a 1934 250 SuperSport that is in pieces, in boxes awaiting restoration and assembly.
I had no idea about the Indian connection!


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yeah?!!
They have become sort of a cult bike here in india especially here in Bangalore.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I have rode quite a few of those bikes ,the very first model had " made in czecheslovakia" written on the cylinder.Later when they became known as Yezdi ,it got a few modifications made .Like, electronic ignition in place of the points and a different carburettor.The later models were called 250 Classic and Road King both of these had the same 250 cc single 2 stroker. They even released the twin cylinderd 350 cc version of Jawa as well ,they didn't pursue it well and it had Yamaha RD 350 for competition!! .


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## pacifichrono

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I have been impressed with this HMT I recently purchased. Very sharp!


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

The Ideal Jawa folded up because demand petered out, it was not sabotaged by anybody! They did not upgrade technology and when the fuel efficient Indo-Japs entered the market, the people went for them with a vengeance!

Janne, have a look at this:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/26263-jawa-yezdi-still-being-produced.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/43249-yezdi-350-thread.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-1950/52766-my-jawa-350-a.html?highlight=Jawa

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-1950/49460-1970-jawa.html?highlight=Jawa

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/53075-yezdi-250-a.html?highlight=Jawa


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



pacifichrono said:


> I have been impressed with this HMT I recently purchased. Very sharp!


What is the model name of this watch? Is it Jawan?


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## pacifichrono

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Gansan said:


> What is the model name of this watch? Is it Jawan?


Hmmmm...not sure of the model name. It has a cal. 020 17-jewel "Parashock" movement. I believe it was made c.1970.


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I have spent 31 years in Mysore and believe me , what i said about Ideal Jawa and the reason for its downfall wasn't some conspiracy theory . It was one of the biggest manufacturing industry in Mysore and trust me if something happened people heard about it.The reason it went out of business was because of some serious labour issues which was instigated by the Left Wing and some serious mismanagement.
I can say this with some confidence,because our neighbours and lot of dad's friends were working in Ideal Jawa. 
Those were the time of 2 strokes mind you and legendary (for India ofcourse) bikes like Yamaha RX 100 ,Suzuki Shogun were selling in some numbers and they were equal with the Jawa in terms of gas guzzling , and not everyone was worried about how much gas they were burning. I am sure you have made back to back comparison between a japanese 100 cc bike and a Jawa , technology or otherwise ,there's no comparison !!!! .Period.
The reason for the downfall of Jawa the bike is similar to that of hmt watches and not because of it being a bad product.There weren't any supply chain near the beginning of the end,no availability of spares in other states and marketing was non existent and there were so many lock-outs staged by the union that people lost faith in the co.


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Guys, not mean to be rude but lets keep the post to the topic.


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Agreed!


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Sure thing.


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## OH Redhawk

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> Found the factory site. But not where ti buy one. Where did you buy yours? Really cool watches! ISO 9001 certified! WOW!


You know that ISO 9001 is simply a manufacturing quality system certificate, right? Any company that can slap together a plant quality manual and pass an audit can be awarded an ISO 9001 cert. Not sure what this has to do with watchmaking - as there is no direct correlation with quality or robustness.

There are however, ISO dive watch certifications...not sure what those are (def not 9001), as I have only seen it referenced on my Marathon and a few other dive watches. To be honest, that HMT watch does nothing for me.


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## Crusader

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



OH Redhawk said:


> There are however, ISO dive watch certifications...not sure what those are (def not 9001), as I have only seen it referenced on my Marathon and a few other dive watches.


It is a rather strict regimen, prescribing, e.g. a fully-minuted, unidirectional bezel, a lumed second hand, a minimum break strength of 20 kilos (44 pounds) for the strap system, and a test at 125% of the stated dive depth.


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## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



OH Redhawk said:


> You know that ISO 9001 is simply a manufacturing quality system certificate, right? Any company that can slap together a plant quality manual and pass an audit can be awarded an ISO 9001 cert. Not sure what this has to do with watchmaking - as there is no direct correlation with quality or robustness.
> 
> There are however, ISO dive watch certifications...not sure what those are (def not 9001), as I have only seen it referenced on my Marathon and a few other dive watches. To be honest, that HMT watch does nothing for me.


Simply a manufacturing quality system certificate? Simply - I do not know about that!
If you look into the ISO 9001 (Avoid Wikipedia -as it is the best disinformation site on the 'net) you will understand it is a quality assuring system.

Pity the HMT does nothing for you! Have you had the pleasure of owning one? Get one, try it, and if you do not like it, give it away to a WUS'er!


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## OH Redhawk

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> Simply a manufacturing quality system certificate? Simply - I do not know about that!
> If you look into the ISO 9001 (Avoid Wikipedia -as it is the best disinformation site on the 'net) you will understand it is a quality assuring system.
> 
> Pity the HMT does nothing for you! Have you had the pleasure of owning one? Get one, try it, and if you do not like it, give it away to a WUS'er!


I am quite familiar with ISO as I am partly responsible for ISO 9001, AS 9100 (Aerospace), and NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractor Accreditation Program) compliance at my facility.

9001 is a standard cert that almost any company can achieve. I have not had the opportunity to hold or wear an HMT watch - I am basing my opinion solely on pics I see on the web, which we all know does not tell the entire story! Perhaps I am missing out.b-)


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## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

HMT have a distinct Vintage/60ies feel to them.
I am a guy with several JLC's and similar grade watches. Funny enough, I think HMT's are quite nice.
As said, if you do not like it, just construct a game here on wUS and give it a new home!


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

who cares that the manufacturing facility is ISO9001 certified or is it a reflection on the quality.

I have seen these watches for 30 years of my life being used and abused and they still run. Back in 70's only three watches were natively being made in India (Allwyn, Ricoh & HMT). Theses watches were worn by millions of Indian people for years. Bare in mind, HMT is government unit and its sole purpose was to provide affordable & durable watch to Indian people. Profit was last on the list. For the money they are selling, trust me, they are 100 times better. If you slap some fancy Swiss or Jap brand on the dial, they will sell for much much more. Quality & Cost go hand-in-hand and for the cost of these watches, honestly, ISO9001 or not, doesn't matter.

On Ebay one can buy those mushroom brands for @ $10.00 and we all know that they are good for tearing it appart and using it as test subjects in learning process. On the other hand, HMT are selling for same amount but they last a generation. For it to last long, there has to be some quality process it had to go under and that has been proved. For 10 bucks, its not worth getting ourselves into ISO debate.


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## OH Redhawk

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> who cares that the manufacturing facility is ISO9001 certified or is it a reflection on the quality.
> 
> I have seen these watches for 30 years of my life being used and abused and they still run. Back in 70's only three watches were natively being made in India (Allwyn, Ricoh & HMT). Theses watches were worn by millions of Indian people for years. Bare in mind, HMT is government unit and its sole purpose was to provide affordable & durable watch to Indian people. Profit was last on the list. For the money they are selling, trust me, they are 100 times better. If you slap some fancy Swiss or Jap brand on the dial, they will sell for much much more. Quality & Cost go hand-in-hand and for the cost of these watches, honestly, ISO9001 or not, doesn't matter.
> 
> On Ebay one can buy those mushroom brands for @ $10.00 and we all know that they are good for tearing it appart and using it as test subjects in learning process. On the other hand, HMT are selling for same amount but they last a generation. For it to last long, there has to be some quality process it had to go under and that has been proved. For 10 bucks, its not worth getting ourselves into ISO debate.


I agree, I don't really care about ancillary stuff...a good watch is a good watch! I admit, I knew nothing of HMT before I entered this thread - from what I _had_ seen, I thought they were a mushroom brand. I now know otherwise, which is why I love this forum :-!


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



OH Redhawk said:


> I agree, I don't really care about ancillary stuff...a good watch is a good watch! I admit, I knew nothing of HMT before I entered this thread - from what I _had_ seen, I thought they were a mushroom brand. I now know otherwise, which is why I love this forum :-!


Well, welcome to this thread. One would get aquainted with all the knowledge of HMT if gone through this thread page by page. However, it is pain to go through three pages of dialogue.

FYI, movements used in HMT are manufactured locally in India but the design is Citizen because it was joint venture between Citizen of Japan and HMT of India. For years, QA was done by Citizen and up to their satisfaction.


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## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yes, the movement is a 60ies 17 jewel Citizen one. No frills, no finishing, but it works.
The only thing I have been alerted to by my watch maker: The movements are not too well cleaned at the movement factory or assembly. 
Most of the ones I have had tiny bits of metal, dirt etc inside them.
They did run well, despite this, but after cleaning and adjusting they are much better!
Now that is a good idea, maybe it is possible to service them in in USA (or what ever country you prefer, and change the dial to Made in USA (or whichever country it is done in).
The cost of cleaning and servicing will add a lot of cost to the watch!

The last is a Tongue-In-Cheek statement, of course!


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



pacifichrono said:


> Hmmmm...not sure of the model name. It has a cal. 020 17-jewel "Parashock" movement. I believe it was made c.1970.


I am unable to spot this model. Gigfy, can you chime in please?


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## Beau8

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Congrats! ;-)


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## VA27

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I just stumbled across this thread and I like the black Pilot! PM to Gansan, and thank you for your hard work on this!

Bob


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



pacifichrono said:


> I have been impressed with this HMT I recently purchased. Very sharp!


Never seen this model. Looks too good to be true but 30 - 40 year old watch is in very good condition. Could it be that dial has ben reconstructed?

In any case, looks good. If this was selling now, it would sell like hot cake.


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



VA27 said:


> I just stumbled across this thread and I like the black Pilot! PM to Gansan, and thank you for your hard work on this!
> 
> Bob


Got it. BTW, I like your signature!:-d


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> Never seen this model. Looks too good to be true but 30 - 40 year old watch is in very good condition. Could it be that dial has ben reconstructed?
> 
> In any case, looks good. If this was selling now, it would sell like hot cake.


Things will be much more clearer once the picture of the back is shown.I have read elsewhere that some people are selling watches as vintage hmt Jawan for a premium in excess of 100$ ,mostly on e-bay ,but which are actually new pilots or janata with badly done dials and re-engraved case backs to make them look like vintage Jawan or Pilots.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Did call up the hmt Chinar outlet a few minutes ago ,but it seems not even black pilots are available and he had no idea as to when they will be available again.As far as white pilot is concerned ,same answer again ,he completely denied even the existence of white pilots !.It has begun to sound like the denials which were made by the pentagon whenever UFO crash landings were reported.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I think we can pretty much forget Pilot (white or black) unless Gansan is successful in sourcing them.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I second that ! over to Gansan then !


----------



## pacifichrono

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Another shot of the HMT. The caseback has nice engraving...I'll try to upload a photo tomorrow.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> Did call up the hmt Chinar outlet a few minutes ago ,but it seems not even black pilots are available and he had no idea as to when they will be available again.As far as white pilot is concerned ,same answer again ,*he completely denied even the existence of white pilots *!.It has begun to sound like the denials which were made by the pentagon whenever UFO crash landings were reported.


Same thing happened at the Chennai showroom, where the manager flatly told me the black pilots were no longer in production. But I had about a dozen of them on hand (procured from Bangalore for our members) at that time, so took all of them to him with the bill. He was speechless with surprise. He then told me not to go to Bangalore any more (as if I was travelling there just to buy watches!) and that he will get all my requirement. I told him I will take a minimum of two cases any time he calls me and left. I am still waiting for his call.

As and when they become available, this man will get them for me. Then I will pm everyone. Even my black pilot is gone. It was "borrowed" by my brother some months back and I have not seen it since!


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yeah hmt watches are like that ,once someone sees and feels one for real ,he'll want one.Coming back to the attitude of hmt sales showroom guys, seems like "left hand isn't aware of what the right is doing" .Quite amazing ! in this day and age of networked production and sales environment.The curious thing is, the response and information seems to vary from one employee to another ,even from the same showroom!


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Gansan said:


> Even my black pilot is gone. It was "borrowed" by my brother some months back and I have not seen it since!


A testimony that even a non-WIS appeciates them!!
In sweden we have a saying, loosely translated:
Relatives are the worst! ;-)


----------



## pacifichrono

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I sent photos of my black-dial HMT to the corporate offices in India. They confirmed by email (a month later!) that this model is not among their current models, and that the seller's dating of late 1960s was correct. I was actually a bit surprised by this.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

P-C! Nice to know it is a "real" Vintage Pilot!
But I guess the dial has been restored? As it looks so perfect, no yellowing of the lume or any discoloration of the dial!
I would expect that it would age a lot, as the WR is quite low.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> P-C! Nice to know it is a "real" Vintage Pilot!
> But I guess the dial has been restored? As it looks so perfect, no yellowing of the lume or any discoloration of the dial!
> I would expect that it would age a lot, as the WR is quite low.


+1 on that. HMT may have confirmed the dial design is authentic but this watch has received TLC before being sold.

Anyway, it is beautiful none the less. Enjoy wearing it.


----------



## pacifichrono

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

As promised, here is the caseback. Movement, too.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Thanks for the pictures. That case back and movement are spotless, its definately not old and has gone through some sort of modification process.

Regardless, the dial design did existed at the time according to HMT response and hence you kinda have genuine watch.


----------



## swisschalet

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I stumbled across these HMT watches while doing a google search on pilots watches. Just read through this entire thread and have fallen in love with the HMT Pilots watch. Being a first generation Canadian with my parents being from India, these watches really appeal to me. Gives me a sense of connecting to my roots (however true or false that might be).

Gansan, I sent you a pm in case you can get a hold of more of these watches. I'm interested in the black face and white face versions, if anybody else can help also. Thanks for all the hard work.


----------



## Crusader

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Welcome to the forum, swisschalet!


----------



## pacifichrono

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



swisschalet said:


> Gansan, I sent you a pm in case you can get a hold of more of these watches. I'm interested in the black face and white face versions, if anybody else can help also. Thanks for all the hard work.


If you search eBay each week for "HMT Pilot" you should find some in a short amount of time.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Guys, I have done a mini review on few HMT watches I recently acquired. Thought you all might be interested to take a look.

https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?p=2173186#post2173186


----------



## j4ester

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I have wanted to share, with the HMT lovers here, my experiences in the pursuit of a Pilot and the reviews of the watches I have managed to get. Have been putting off this task for a while now but an incident today has pushed me to get it done.

I recently got myself a Rajat. I had learnt through this forum that Rajat was the first automatic watch in the HMT range and thought- why not get a piece of history while I test my patience waiting for the elusive Pilot to show up.

The Rajat is a good looking watch in a very retro way but comes with a bad steel bracelet. Overall the watch looks good though when seen individually, the parts lack a finish. The hands look very flimsy and the day and date indicator looks very cheap. The day goes blank at around 1130 pm. And the printing quality is not exactly great. Despite all these, it is a lovable watch J. It is close to 1 am as I write this and the watch is on my wrist. I can t seem to get enough of it J. The bracelet does not compliment the watch. It looks cheap and tacky.

Last evening, I went to the LWS( local watch shop) to get the bracelet changed. I was well acquainted with the owner of the store. He and his assistant looked at the watch and asked me where I got it from and when I had brought it. When I told him I got it from the showroom in Bangalore and it was hardly a week old- he was not only surprised but astounded. Then he asked me the cost. When I told him it was Rs.750 ($16- approx)( after discount), he was certain that it me that it was a fake. His expression was as if I told him that I had bought a Rolex Submariner for Rs.750. He said there was no way this was an original watch as HMT had stopped production long back. He also told that 1) it might have been a refurbished or assembled piece 2) There was no way you could get an automatic watch for Rs.750. He, however, consoled me saying that it was ok-good if it ran for a few months. When I told him that it was bought from an HMT showroom in Bangalore- and came with a guarantee card- he smiled and informed me that when a watch could be faked, how difficult was it to forge a guarantee card. He also asked me the address of the place so that he could ask his cousin in Bangalore to check out the place. He wanted to know why I had suddenly got interested in Automatic watches of all things L

I was really stunned- when a watch shop owner does not know that HMT watches are still being produced and are available and the fact that they were affordable by most people- what can you really expect the ordinary person to know about these watches.

I think it is time that HMT takes some basic steps to at least let people know that they are alive and ticking, though not in a big way. There are so many people in this forum ( form India and abroad) who love these watches and want them. There are many like Gansan who have spoken to the Company officials and have let them know the interest that people have in these watches. Yet no one bothers. What more can people like us do - Start a "Save the HMT watch "campaign or ask it to be listed on the endangered species list. 
The more I look at my Janta, Sona and Rajat, I am thrilled. I am happy that I have the good fortune of possessing these watches without having to spend a fortune. While I wait for my Pilots (which is the topic of another post) I shall be content with my three other HMTs. I will also try to spread the word around about these watches.

Cheers
Jai


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Amazing that a watchmakerin India had that lack of info!!!


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Hmm, that watchmaker's knowledge is questionable. HMT has been doing bit of marketing lately on telivision and by other means. If you look up on youtube, you will find few videos of HMT advertise on tele. Just recently they also launched ADLS & NASL range of automatics and they have been advertising them also. How can a watchmaker not notice that?


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I really don't know what to say!! ,looks like you got the watch i was after!!  .I had phoned and enquired about its availability and when i got there some company representetive i guess had bought a bunch of them .Sadly one of them was Rajat too and that was the last available Rajat in Bangalore!!.Hey welcome to the world of automatic watches ,that is if this is your first.
I have a few hmt watches and i say it without any remorse ,Rajat is my favourite !!.I just love this watch's design,its feel and especially its dial !!.Rajat has made me a automatic watch fan.I wouldn't want any changes to be made to the watch's design and yes the bracelet doesn't match the watch's quality.This is a freakin good watch!.I bought it after reading about it in PMWF the author there states that this watch is his favourite of all the watches he has collected ,hmt or otherwise.Ever since i bought this beauty ,i've never worn any other watch! and i have made up my mind to get a second Rajat !!.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

The bracelet quality on my Rajat is not that bad. It is not comparable to $50-100 dollar bracelets but for the price it is not bad and will last for some time. Same story with my Kedar bracelet. Rajat Dlx bracelet is good.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Any watch seller who says that the rajat he bought is a fake or a assembled one is plain nutts!! and if i were you i would stay away from that guy!


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I agree with you completely !! .


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

The watch can be faked, warranty card can be faked, how can one fake HMT showroom in a city where HMT has their Head Office. Stay away from that nut head.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Better to be nice to him, and educate him!
In fact, he propably knows all about HMT. But they are competition, are they not? So better for him to say they are Gone With The Wi nd, and sell one of his own stock!!


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> Better to be nice to him, and educate him!
> In fact, he propably knows all about HMT. But they are competition, are they not? So better for him to say they are Gone With The Wi nd, and sell one of his own stock!!


Absolutely possible. It pays to read on forums and educate ourselves. Look on that watchmaker's face would have been priceless.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Its the same story all over the place,most of the dealers sell titan watches and they make a huge margin from them and same can be said about the other fake japanese watches they push ,if you ask for automatic that is.That con was probably shocked to find that people are buying hmt's again ,which isn't such a good news to his business!! .Particularly if people buy from the company outlets!! .Its a disgrace that such people exist in the name of watch sellers! .What I've seen is once they find that customer has some knowledge,they back track and admit ,that hmt's are damn good watches!!.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I'd have given him a piece of my mind!! and in no uncertain terms either!! Its shameful that he calls himself a watch seller .


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

just a quick update, I was speaking to Hyderabad HMT showroom guy yesterday and he mentioned that so many people are asking for Pilot and hence they have requested their employer (HMT) to start production again. Something is brewing for sure and HMT is aware of recent increase in demand particularly of obsolete models.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Cheers to that!! Its high time they woke up from the slumber and got their acts together!!


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Hey any guy who watches t.v here in india and has a retarded opinion of mechanical hmt watches would probably end up buying a titan or any other brand than hmt and because of such *&!!## lowly watch sellers that hmt watches has such a low sales numbers and such bad mouthing is the reason people have believed that hmt is gone with the wind! . So in my opinion you should give such watch sellers exactly what is coming to them.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> just a quick update, I was speaking to Hyderabad HMT showroom guy yesterday and he mentioned that so many people are asking for Pilot and hence they have requested their employer (HMT) to start production again. Something is brewing for sure and HMT is aware of recent increase in demand particularly of obsolete models.


Sounds like us, boys! (sorry, and girls!)


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> Better to be nice to him, and educate him!
> In fact, he propably knows all about HMT. But they are competition, are they not? So better for him to say they are Gone With The Wi nd, and sell one of his own stock!!


All large multi-brand watch stores I have visited here say the same thing. They are surprised when I tell them HMT is still in production. I would blame only HMT, when their own store managers in Bangalore and Chennai don't know about the white / black Pilots respectively, what do you expect from huge boutiques that stock many brands, which offer them more margin? If HMT guys push their watches to these stores at suitable terms, they will not be averse to selling them.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> Its the same story all over the place,most of the dealers sell titan watches and they make a huge margin from them and same can be said about the other fake japanese watches they push ,if you ask for automatic that is.
> 
> Particularly if people buy from the company outlets!!
> 
> What I've seen is once they find that customer has some knowledge,they back track and admit ,that hmt's are damn good watches!!.


Let us not get carried away here. The main appeal of HMT watches is their mechanical models. Also their tradition/history/classic looks, at a ridiculously low cost. When it comes to quality and finish, Titan is light years ahead. I heard they too are introducing a mechanical line, though I am yet to see them.

Genuine Japanese and Swiss automatics are easily available if one visits reputed watch boutiques. Fakes come mainly through the grey market.

And selling HMT watches _only_ through company outlets is a sure way to kill the brand. It is a Government company, may be cross subsidized from the other divisions of HMT, otherwise all the employees will be without a job now considering their dismal sales. When their salary is assured, sales or no sales, what else can one expect?


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Frankly i don't see any difference in quality between hmt and titan.I trust the opinion of people who swear by the quality of hmt.Titan has released mechanical range of automatics and if you search else where ,you will find that their line-up of automatics seems to be of chinese make.Given a choice between hmt's reputation regarding quality and that of a chinese one i'd always opt for hmt any day.
Here in india if you look at the websites of citizen and seiko ,you will find only high end line of watches are available.One reason could be ,that they don't want to position their watches at a lower price range than that of titan.The reason is indian public seems to judge the product based on its price.Higher the price, better it should be than a cheaper make ,seems to be the main line of thought when it comes to purchasing watches and not as to what kind of movement the watch has.Otherwise how can you justify the premium titan charges for their quartz watches? .
Let's not go into the topic of cost per watch,because i have gotten a custom made hmt made and i know exactly how much a quartz movement costs.
You might wanna search about titans automatic in affordable watch thread.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Its not as easy as its made out to be .A major part of a brand depends on its marketing and if your marketing team is good ,you can sell anything at a premium .A major part of marketing is the brand positioning and titan is making a huge amount of money by selling cheap quartz movement technology for a huge premium.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

The only thing of titan that's light years ahead of hmt is its marketing and sales team .


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

My friend, no amount of marketing blitz can sell a bad product. At the same time, the lack of it can ruin a perfectly good product. Look no further than HMT!


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

What's stopping citizen and seiko from releasing watches similar to their citizen eagle 7 range and seiko 5 range?.If they had done that why would any guy wanna go and buy the same from a local watch dealer who operates in the grey market?.
The simple reason is these big jap co's don't want to sell mechanical movement watches for a price less than titan's quartz watches.Do you want to compare the brand name of titan with citizen and seiko? .Unfortunately most of the people who go out to purchase a watch have very little idea about watch movements and good watch brands. They base their decision on the price of the watch.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

True,but here we are comparing technologies and quartz is cheap. So titan cant justify its premium pricing.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

India is a price conscious country.The marketing teams of co's rely on "snob value" to sell products.That gives rise to misunderstanding that more the price =more the quality .Which in most case might be true ,but not when it comes to products of titan and hmt.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> What's stopping citizen and seiko from releasing watches similar to their citizen eagle 7 range and seiko 5 range?.If they had done that why would any guy wanna go and buy the same from a local watch dealer who operates in the grey market?.
> The simple reason is these big jap co's don't want to sell mechanical movement watches for a price less than titan's quartz watches.*Do you want to compare the brand name of titan with citizen and seiko?* .Unfortunately most of the people who go out to purchase a watch have very little idea about watch movements and good watch brands. *They base their decision on the price of the watch.*


So the simplest way to increase sale of HMT watches and put the company back on it's feet is to hike the prices to the level of Titan and Timex. QED!

Or is it?

Titan is perfectly comparable to large brand names. They are after all the sixth largest watch co. in the world.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Sales numbers are a result of marketing and branding and if you take only sales number titan might as well overtake seiko! does that mean titan has the same r&d capability as that of seiko?


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Gansan said:


> So the simplest way to increase sale of HMT watches and put the company back on it's feet is to hike the prices to the level of Titan and Timex. QED!
> 
> Or is it?
> 
> Titan is perfectly comparable to large brand names. They are after all the sixth largest watch co. in the world.


That's like saying hero honda's splendor motorcycle is the largest selling bike in the world and hero honda is easily among the top 10 co's in terms of sales and turnover in motorcycle industry .Does that make hero honda an equal to that of honda? .Can the splendor a derivative of honda cub be compared to that of a maker who has in its product range motorcycles like the fireblade?


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Both hmt and titan are doing business mainly with borrowed tech which is from citizen.But the question here is titan has become a market leader in india at the cost of hmt's market share does that mean it did that with better watches? .No.
The fact remains the same .Marketing matters a lot and in countries like india the technology used or its cost hardly matters to the buyer.


----------



## j4ester

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> I really don't know what to say!! ,looks like you got the watch i was after!!  .I had phoned and enquired about its availability and when i got there some company representetive i guess had bought a bunch of them .Sadly one of them was Rajat too and that was the last available Rajat in Bangalore!!.Hey welcome to the world of automatic watches ,that is if this is your first.
> I have a few hmt watches and i say it without any remorse ,Rajat is my favourite !!.I just love this watch's design,its feel and especially its dial !!.Rajat has made me a automatic watch fan.I wouldn't want any changes to be made to the watch's design and yes the bracelet doesn't match the watch's quality.This is a freakin good watch!.I bought it after reading about it in PMWF the author there states that this watch is his favourite of all the watches he has collected ,hmt or otherwise.Ever since i bought this beauty ,i've never worn any other watch! and i have made up my mind to get a second Rajat !!.


 I agree..The Rajat is a watch that grows on you- The watch does not look great in the display case nor in the pics we get to see. The place it looks best is on your wrist. So please do not dismiss the Rajat based on the first sight. It will not be love at first sight. Wear it on your wrist and then it will be a marriage of a life time ( till probably the Pilot comes along

The watch was bought by mistake by a friend to whom I had mailed pics of Pilot and had mentioned Rajat in the mail. But I am so glad that the mistake happened. The watch is great-in fact I have been negecting my Sona and Janta ever since I got this.. like I neglected my Titans and Timexs when when I got the Sona and Janata.

I dont know what will happen (if) and when i get my Pilots.


----------



## j4ester

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> The bracelet quality on my Rajat is not that bad. It is not comparable to $50-100 dollar bracelets but for the price it is not bad and will last for some time. Same story with my Kedar bracelet. Rajat Dlx bracelet is good.


The complaint that I had with the bracelet is that is does not compliment the beauty of the watch. I feel the Rajat would have looked great with a Kedar Style Solid steel bracelet. The case looks solid, so if it was complimented by a equally solid looking bracelet - it would have been wonderful. Am now on the look out for a Kedar style bracelet in steel


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



j4ester said:


> The complaint that I had with the bracelet is that is does not compliment the beauty of the watch. I feel the Rajat would have looked great with a Kedar Style Solid steel bracelet. The case looks solid, so if it was complimented by a equally solid looking bracelet - it would have been wonderful. Am now on the look out for a Kedar style bracelet in steel


Anand might be able to help you. He said he bought one recently.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> Anand might be able to help you. He said he bought one recently.


Yes the bracelet like that of kedar is available in market .It's got steel finish but feels like aluminium and isn't as as stiff as the one on rajat.Another problem with it is the lug size needed for it is 18 mm were as the rajat's lugs are 16 mm.Otherwise the bracelet does look rugged but sadly doesn't match the appearance.Iv'e got the above mentioned bracelet fitted to a janata .The rajat still has the original bracelet.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yes pictures hardly do justice to this watch.Once you hold one in your hand ,you can feel its quality and its a beautiful watch.
Have you ever had the problem of the watch stopping at night time?.If you did,what i have learnt from experience is,all it needs is to be shaken gently a few times from side to side before you leave it stationary. Honestly, i have just hand wound it once since i bought this watch.What i have read is that ,its advisable for an automatic watch to be hand wound completely once a week or once in 15 days to keep the accuracy.
Good luck and congratulations on buying a piece of history.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

It really is amazing isn't it ? ,that we can buy such an good watch ,that too nothing less than an automatic for such a price?!


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Thanks to a kind forumer, I got hold of a "bunch" of various HMT's. Generally speaking, the leather (?) bands are of a really awful quality, which brings the first impression down hugely, specially if you are a non-WIS walking in to the showroom with the purpose of buying a watch.
Stiff, badly made, strange material, you name it.
But it is easily fixed.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Personally iv'e never kept the original straps/bracelets of any of the watches i have possessed . I had more than a few titan watches ,mostly which i got as gifts and i had gotten their straps/bracelets changed as well .


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## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

At present i have one titan watch ,an titan exacta ,which i have still kept with me because of some sentimental value pertaining to its purchase .But i have never given away any of my hmt watches ,no matter how bruised and battered they are.
Yes hmt watches are retro looking and some people might buy them for the way they look.But for many the reason they buy hmt watches is because of what is inside the case.Which is a reliable and rugged mechanical movement.That's what hmt watches are known for.Personally,the reason i have been using and buying hmt watches , is because of their cases and movement.Yes there are many 10$ mechanical watches out there ,but how many can come near hmt's reputation for legendary reliability and quality?.
Really for the price at which you can buy such a good watch ,that too with mechanical movement,does the quality of the strap matter?. I don't think so.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Once people in india start to appreciate the qualities of a good mechanical movement in a watch. Which incidentally may not be too far away, as titan has launched their mechanical range .I am sure there will be more people asking for hmt watches.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

If they start advertising.
In fact, if the HMT supremos were business minded, they would also expand the range upwards in quality and design, and start selling more worldwide.
There is a large niche for wellmade and welldesigned watches in the 50-100 USD range.
And with the cost of Indian labour, you should be able to get a watch with superb value!!


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

The sad reality is , its a public sector behemoth .As gansan mentioned the personnel at the outlets get a fixed salary regardless of how many watches they sell .The same kind of thinking and planning can be expected as the hierarchy moves up.To put it shortly ,its gonna need one hell of a shake down to correct the downward spiral its in.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

If Titan buys HMT, they would take HMT to extraordinary heights. However, its a dream of mine. But then again, forget about the low prices if that ever happens.


----------



## swisschalet

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I've been googling hmt watches and a number of hybrid versions come up. There's a few different white faced pilots and a black face Jawan model which is similar to the pilot. Does anybody know if any of these are available?



















Also, is this one authentic?









all of these pics were taken from the web


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## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> Really for the price at which you can buy such a good watch ,that too with mechanical movement,does the quality of the strap matter?. I don't think so.


Not for WIS like us. But we are just a small percentage of the watch buying public, and it is very important for too many people. After all, one will judge the quality by what one can see and feel externally. The movement is not visible. In my opinion, HMT watches lack two things - Fit and finish and attention to detail. If these two things are there, people will not mind a higher price.



Anand184 said:


> Once people in india start to appreciate the qualities of a good mechanical movement in a watch. Which incidentally may not be too far away, as titan has launched their mechanical range .I am sure there will be more people asking for hmt watches.


I do appreciate a good mechanical movement, but I like my Quartz watches equally well. For most non wis who go to the shop to buy, a watch, is a watch, is a watch - period! They could not care less what is inside, so long as the watch is reliable and they get their warranty.

I saw the Titan mech range on their website. It includes a hand wound model as well. They are sourcing the movements from Sea Gull, same as Timex does. I would rather wait till they launch their own movements. I am not inclined to buy them now though the watches look gorgeous.



Anand184 said:


> To put it shortly ,its gonna need one hell of a shake down to correct the downward spiral its in.


You bet! The more visits you make to enquire about the Pilots, the more snotty they act.



munno said:


> If Titan buys HMT, they would take HMT to extraordinary heights. However, its a dream of mine. But then again, forget about the low prices if that ever happens.


That will make my day too. They will totally revamp the company and introduce many attractive, new models. I would not mind the price increase.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

The Jawan is a discontinued model. They look like refurbished to me, though may be authentic.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

yeah i agree with what you say.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Here let me narrate a incident which happened when i was doing my masters degree.
This incident happened in mysore .A class mate of mine who was from out of state and was staying in the collage hostel .His exam serial number was one number ahead of mine so he used to sit next to me in exams.On one exam day he came to the exam hall and he was panicking and when i enquired what was the reason for his anxiety he told me that his quartz watch had gone dead during the night .I mean , i am sure you can imagine the kind of anxiety it might have caused to him as the collage was situated on the outskirts of the town and there weren't any watch shops anywhere close by .Besides he couldn't have gone out in search of a shop to get the battery changed or for the watch to be fixed as there are so many things to be studied and he couldn't afford to take his mind off from the exam.So he was anxious and begged me to keep my mechanical hmt Saathy(partner) in between us on the bench so that he can see the time too. 
After we came out of the exam hall ,he asked me just one question and nothing about how the exam went or as to how the paper was .He just asked me where is the nearest hmt showroom .At that time titan had taken over the market ,but still hmt showrooms were around and i had no idea hmt was in trouble .So back then i wasn't advising anyone to go and buy a hmt mechanical watch. He went to the only hmt showroom in mysore(sadly it has closed down now) and he bought himself the hmt janata .The surprising thing was i quickly began to notice that more and more people were wearing hmt mechanical watches as the exam season got by in the campus.Word seems to have travelled from one person to another and the students had understood its safer to go to exams with mechanical watches .
Back then as it is now ,mainly because of titans advent of quartz tech ,almost everyone was of the view that mechanical tech was cheap and outdated and all high end watches are exclusively quartz!. My friend had gotten that quartz watch as a gift from his uncle who had gone to dubai shopping festival ,people in india were so convinced that even when they went outside where other parts of the world had taken once again to mechanical watches ,the indians would go and ask for quartz watches when they were shopping for watches outside india!!.
Even today when watching wimbledon telecast on tv and the advertisement of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual comes on,when ever i ask someone who is there with me to guess what kind of a watch that is,they reply with utmost conviction and confidence that its an costly watch so it HAS to be a quartz watch!!.
Practically i am sick and tired of trying to convince my friends the benefits of mechanical watches and as to why military personnel all over the world are issued with mechanical watches.So nowadays i simply try to convince them by saying high-end watch= mechanical.But still even today when so many high end watches are available in the market ,i always get the same question when people see me wearing hmt mechanical watches .They ask me ,why are you still wearing mechanical watches when quartz watches are available.


----------



## Hary

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I joined the club! :-!

Thanks to a friend of mine, he managed to secure one piece of HMT from India for me. As pilot watch lover, I welcome any addition of pilot watches, especially from exotic place like India. Based on my few hours experience with the watch, I am very pleased with it. It has vintage look, simple and clean dial :thumbs_up: Accuracy after 6 hours ca. +3sec, fulfill absolutely my expectation.


----------



## VA27

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Nice watch! Thanks for the pix!


----------



## H3O+

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I really, really want one of those white dial Pilots. The square numerals are what does it for me- they remind me of the Explorer I, which is one of my favorite watches.



> In fact, if the HMT supremos were business minded, they would also expand the range upwards in quality and design, and start selling more worldwide.


If these watches are US$12, then I'm willing to bet someone could make a killing importing a few every now and then and selling them at, say, US$25.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Looks like the trail(thread) has gone cold.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

No, it is just that everyone is waiting for you to post more news!


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

The news is ,no pilot's available .I did call the showroom and another interesting piece of news is that ,it seems there was even a off-white dialled pilot released a few months back that too with gold coloured numericals !!.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> The news is ,no pilots available .I did call the showroom and another interesting piece of news is that ,it seems there was even a off-white dialled pilot released a few months back that too with gold coloured numericals !!.


that would look cool. I suppose, they didn't have that in stock, did they?


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

No no ,i was asking the sales guy,the reason for the availability of white pilots only in chennai and he then told me that it had been available here(Bangalore) also for a short period of time and that he himself had bought one.When i described the white pilot's appearance he told me that,it was the wrong description and that the (white)pilot had off-white dial and had golden coloured numericals .That is, it seems ,it had the same pattern as the white pilot ,which is the sona kind of pattern at the centre of the dial and steel numericals for 3,6,9 and 12. But the difference being the colour .He told me that only 4 pieces had arrived back then and he had never seen that model again.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Another reason for the variety in pilot models and their rarity , could be that ,hmt caters to institutional orders and they customise the dials for these orders.So their opinion seems to indicate that these varieties could be the excess stock from the institutional orders which were made available to the showrooms .Hence the availability of variants in such low numbers.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

yeah, its possible.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I love that HMT dial with Krishna on. Model 11. Only Instit. orders, unfortunately.
check out the Instit. cataloque, I know some of those watches would be an instant hit!


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

They do sell some models with Krishna, Ganesha etc. from time to time during festive season.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

They don't sell the left over stocks of the institutional (bulk order) models. I tried to get a few of them for a forum member, but the Chennai store manager said sales of such pieces is not permitted. He says normally there won't be excess pieces at the store level, as only the exact numbers ordered will be supplied. Most (almost all ) of these watches will be Quartz models.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

What the showroom manager said does make sense .But this is hmt and we have a fair idea as to how it operates.Maybe it happened only at the bangalore outlet ,because institutional orders are catered to by the plant at Tumkur. Or could it mean that this variant of pilot was once a production model?.If so , then we need to be at the right place and at the right time too,to buy such variants .Which is pure chance at its best.
Coming back to the watch. As far as i am concerned ,with regard to fit-and-finish,quality of mechanicals,build,price point,attention to detail and design is concerned .Rajat is the best hmt money can buy.But for shear aesthetics ,it has to be the white pilot.She's a real beauty!.Now imagine the same watch in off-white color with gold colored hour markings ,numerals and hands.She'd be a beauty with classical looks. Just like in other aspects of life ,you need to be lucky to lay your hands on such a rare beauty.
If only the decision makers at hmt knew what they had in their hands.Its a pity that they didn't put her in series production.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

If the Sales gurus at HMT had more grey matter, they would:
1: Sell over the internet, a'la Laco
2: Change the factory site.
3: Change some of the wording on the HMT site


----------



## j4ester

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> If the Sales gurus at HMT had more grey matter, they would:
> 1: Sell over the internet, a'la Laco
> 2: Change the factory site.
> 3: Change some of the wording on the HMT site


if they had more grey matter- They would make the HMT Pilot in enough quantities and see to that it is available in their showrooms.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> If the Sales gurus at HMT had more grey matter, they would:
> 1: Sell over the internet, a'la Laco
> 2: Change the factory site.
> 3: Change some of the wording on the HMT site


4: Manufacture enough Black and White Pilots to stock up all the showrooms close to a WUS member.
;-):-d !


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> Coming back to the watch. As far as i am concerned ,with regard to fit-and-finish,quality of mechanicals,build,price point,attention to detail and design is concerned .


I think the ADSL-03 automatic is the best HMT watch right now, in all the above counts.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yeah its a very good watch .I had seen it in the showroom a few months back and it has quality written all over it.On 31st i bought my second rajat and ADSL wasn't there.I had asked the sales personnel as to the ADSL's movement and they said that it didn't share it with the rajat.Is that the case?.But i remembered reading somewhere in the forum that it did share the movement with rajat .But it doesn't have the day complication.Any idea as to what movement ADSL has?.I am thinking of making ADSL my next purchase.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I think it has a new in-house movement developed by HMT.

http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&so...t+blog&usg=AFQjCNHTOMqvIFYiSOYEFot-supUh-Jp7Q


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

In your "redirection", Gansan, there is a chrono. Any idea what it is>

What is the approximate cost of the ADSL?


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Gansan, can you take one picture without any glare so that we can see dial in detail, please.


----------



## MaTTK

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

My sister in-law is visiting from Chennai to help with the new baby and surprised me with an HMT ADSL for my Birthday. She originally got the blue dial like Gansan's but liked grey better (as do I)


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Matt, that is looking good. Is that strap original or you replaced it?

To all members,

Please post some pictures of these ADSL watches if you have one as they are kind off non existant on internet and HMT is not publishing it either.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Janne said:


> In your "redirection", Gansan, there is a chrono. Any idea what it is>
> 
> What is the approximate cost of the ADSL?


That is the HMT with "complications" we are waiting for!
The cost of ADSL when I bought it was INR 2300 (USD 48 approx).


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> Gansan, can you take one picture without any glare so that we can see dial in detail, please.


Will try. It is a cell phone shot, so has to be done outdoors resulting in some glare on a bright day.


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



MaTTK said:


> My sister in-law is visiting from Chennai to help with the new baby and surprised me with an HMT ADSL for my Birthday. She originally got the blue dial like Gansan's but liked grey better (as do I)


That is a nice one. The other dial colors available are blue, black and white.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

It pays to have sis in-laws like that !


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

From what can be made out,the chrono looks like an chunky and awesome watch !


----------



## MaTTK

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> Matt, that is looking good. Is that strap original or you replaced it?


That's the original strap. It's padded and is somewhat nicer than the ones on the Pilot models but it's still pretty stiff. I like the strap watch color combo but am not partial to brown on me so I might change it for a simple Timex black one (like all my HMT's have had done).

Matt


----------



## Shambles

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

This thread inspired me to get a white HMT Pilot - so I'd like to add a couple of words, and pictures.

The pictures speak for themselves. I'm not attempting a review, but I have to say how much I love this watch. It does not look or feel like a _cheap_ watch - to all intents it's a _vintage_. It looks and wears like something from the early '60s. It's a simple, timeless design, in a 35mm dia. case (which might be to small for some people, but it's all face, and doesn't look tiny on my admittedly thin wrists). Now, my grail watch is a 1016 Explorer, which probably explains my love for this HMT.

Funnily enough, it was the picture earlier in the thread of the HMT on a Hirsch strap that did it for me - as it turned out, I bought the watch photographed (but not the strap) a little later, on the sales forum. . . but then went and put it on a Timefactors canvas strap. And it just works. (I got two canvas straps, shipped, for US $20.)

Here goes. . .











(Pitty I managed to get my leg in the wrist shot, and various thumb prints at other points. . . and I should have reset the time at ten-to-two each time around. . . but this is more of a documentary than an art thing.)


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

congratulations!. That model is very shout after and many here want's it. Did you say you got it here on sales forum?


----------



## Shambles

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yes. It came up on the sales forum, at $40 (plus $5 shipping).

When it arrived it had clearly never been worn. Incidentally, it was the best packaged watch I've ever bought.

So, I stuck the $45 watch on a $10 band. . . and it's one of my favourites.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Shambles said:


> Yes. It came up on the sales forum, at $40 (plus $5 shipping).
> 
> When it arrived it had clearly never been worn. Incidentally, it was the best packaged watch I've ever bought.
> 
> So, I stuck the $45 watch on a $10 band. . . and it's one of my favourites.


that feeling you're enjoying is priceless. Wear in good health.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Well ,considering the number of WUSers who are after this beauty, congratulations are due ,as you got lucky with her.Yes ,if one just thinks in terms of the price , chances are that ,they will definitely be pleasantly surprised once they have the watch in their hands and that's the beauty of hmt watches.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Today i went to the hmt showroom to get my second rajat regulated and i got chatting with the watchmaker at the showroom .He told me that the best hmt watch till date ,is the hmt NASL(automatic) and interesting thing that he told me about the watch was regarding its movement.It seems hmt is manufacturing Citizen Miyota 82xx movement under licence and its being made completely here at hmt's plant in Bangalore.So its a fantastic watch !.My guess is that the hmt ADSL is also using an earlier 82xx version of Citizen miyota.But the NASL is bigger in size hence it would make a nice watch for people with wider wrists like me. This would be a far better option than a titan auto using chinese movement !!.The curious thing is, that the titan showroom is literally next door to the hmt showroom !! and i wonder how many are going and buying titan auto without even being aware of the fact that there's a better automatic watch for a considerably lesser price just on the other side of the wall !!.


----------



## Shambles

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Regulated. . . that's an interesting idea. Although, right now, mine is still running in, but it gains between five and 15 seconds a day (ie over a 24-hour period). I'm one of those people that likes to observe their watches against an atomic clock.

And Munno, thanks ("The feeling is priceless"). I did not want to sound obsessed about the cost of this watch so much as make it clear that it is amazing value for money.


----------



## Janne

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

5-15 sec a day is not bad.
But i had all my HMT's cleaned and lubed, as the movements were very dirty.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yes the watch i was talking about was the automatic hmt Rajat.It is an excellent watch.The watch maker checked it and told me to observe it for some more time ,as when he checked, it was running a bit fast.But i had noticed that it had lost half a minute over a period of 5 days.So its nothing really. For me its the best hmt watch in terms of 70's style design ,its movement and for its price .


----------



## Gansan

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> Today i went to the hmt showroom to get my second rajat regulated and i got chatting with the watchmaker at the showroom .He told me that the best hmt watch till date ,is the hmt NASL(automatic) and interesting thing that he told me about the watch was regarding its movement.It seems hmt is manufacturing Citizen Miyota 82xx movement under licence and its being made completely here at hmt's plant in Bangalore.So its a fantastic watch !.My guess is that the hmt ADSL is also using an earlier 82xx version of Citizen miyota.But the NASL is bigger in size hence it would make a nice watch for people with wider wrists like me. This would be a far better option than a titan auto using chinese movement !!.The curious thing is, that the titan showroom is literally next door to the hmt showroom !! and i wonder how many are going and buying titan auto without even being aware of the fact that there's a better automatic watch for a considerably lesser price just on the other side of the wall !!.


NASL automatic from HMT? I have not seen it before, must check it out. And I assume from your post that there is still no word of the Pilots?

I saw the Titan automatics last week. They are nice actually, but contain the Sea Gull movements from China. From what I observe on the Chinese watches forum, they seem to be decent movements, but I did not buy one. May be later.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

well,i have seen the hmt NASL and it had a white dial and before that, i had seen one with navy blue dial.From what i can make out ,the watch looks as though its over 40 mm wide and it is chunky.As far as titan automatics are concerned the basic model itself is nearly 3 times the price of an hmt NASL .Personally looks aside ,i wouldn't pay such high price for a seagull when they can be bought for less than 1/10 the price in north indian markets. Titan has also come out with a limited edition jewelry automatic watch which is made of solid gold and has ETA movement .If i am not mistaken it costs over 2,000 $ .
You are lucky to have bought an hmt ADSL ,because of late they seem to be selling out pretty quickly along with rajat and other automatics.
The fact that hmt has taken a license to manufacture the latest Citizen miyota automatic movements is a good sign isn't it?.
Yes,the last time i called up the chinar outlet i got the answer that they(pilots) aren't available yet.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Well the issue regarding the rajat running slow has been sorted out.All it needed was to be kept in a dial up position when its not being worn .Now i have noticed that its gaining about 15 seconds per day ,which is perfectly fine with me.So ,yes the watchmaker at the hmt showroom knew what he was talking about.
Another interesting thing which i have noticed from the other WUSers who have bought the pilots, is that the quality of the case or the case-back isn't as good as the ones which are made in Bangalore and Tumkur plants or issues like dirt inside the case .What i mean is , that the models made in jammu and ranibagh units aren't as good in quality as far as watch cases are concerned.As far as i know the movements are made only in Bangalore and Tumkur plants .So quality of the movements are never an issue with any hmt mechanical watch.


----------



## j4ester

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Does anyone have a picture of the NASL .Could you please post it? Is it easily available or as elusive as PILOTs


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

NASL & ADSL are available but selling fast as the awareness grows. However, HMT has done very poor job on marketing and hence there are no pictures published anywhere except someone takes them in shop on mobile etc. and puts on web.

I heard from someone that HMT show rooms charge for ADSL & NASL pictures/brochures etc.

If someone could post pictures, that would be really appreciative.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Yes i had seen ADSL and NASL models ,back then i wasn't interested in buying any of them as i had no idea what movement they had and i had assumed they were just worked-on movements based on that of the Rajat .I wasn't much taken over by their looks either as they according to me didn't have the nostalgic looks of the Rajat and they were relatively pricey too .But now that i know why they are pricey,i have been wanting to buy one and i am interested in NASL now as its bigger than ADSL .
As munno said there must be some awareness now ,because i've never seen them in showrooms of late and they aren't as scarce in production as the elusive Pilots either.
Yes,hmt certainly have missed out on marketing once again. While titan is going gung-ho about making sure people know that their range of automatic watches have Seagull movements and hmt hasn't even announced that ADSL and NASL have the latest Citizen miyota movements in them.


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I saw an old hmt pilot(black) owned by an dad's friend .From what i can make out at a cursory observation of the watch ,the watch's case seemed to be better made than my hmt Janata(1996 model) the lugs were thicker and case-back was well made too with better finish.The dial was similar to the present day black pilot and it i am sure has radium ,which has been discontinued since some time now.From what i have read in the posts it seems to indicate that the pilot has fit and finish issues with lugs being uneven , with sharp edges and lack of symmetry .
The thing is i have an hmt Saathy(1993) ,which is similar to the pilot except for the dial and it is a well made watch .Definitely better made than my janata for sure.
So can anyone who has both the black and white pilots do a quick comparison of the two ,with regard to finish of the case etc .As ,from what i can make out from the pictures itself, is that the white pilot seems to be better made than the black pilot.The reason i am curious , is because of the fact that black pilot is made in Jammu were as the white pilot is made in Ranibagh unit.


----------



## jbaca

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

here is my jawan and pilot side by side


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

where is picture?


----------



## Anand184

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Jawan looks genuine enough.


----------



## akshayb

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Thanks guys for enlightening me about jewel of Indian watches HMT Pilot, I took time this afternoon and bought one Pilot and one Janata, I could not find white dialed Pilot though.
I used to wear HMT Vivek in my school days. but I think that model is not available any more.:-s

Thanks for this beautiful thread.:thanks


----------



## akshayb

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



Perumal said:


> i will get you HMT watchs, you need to pay me the cost of the watch and postal expenses, if anyone interested do let me know am not doing this as a business, am suprised to see you people prising HMT watchs and you had enlighted me, my father used to advise me to buy HMT but i got carried away by new techy stuffs  now i know its value...


please tell me from where you bought this white pilot from.:-s

Thanks


----------



## akshayb

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

AHOY BOYS 
HERE IS THE PAIR THIS FORUM INSPIRED ME TO BUY. THERE IS A OTHER DESIGN IN JANATA THAT I WOULD POST TOMORROW. 













































THANK YOU ALL OF YOU ON THIS THREAD FOR MAKING ME MAD, ALSO.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Nice ones. May I ask how long ago you got it? It appears that the white Janta of yours is no longer available and instead I could get this one. I wanted the one you have with red second hand and those numerals. 










The other Janta would be this one, I believe. Again, I couldn't get the one with red second hand.










And yes, that White Pilot is nowhere to be seen. I'll love to get one of those.


----------



## akshayb

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



munno said:


> Nice ones. May I ask how long ago you got it? It appears that the white Janta of yours is no longer available and instead I could get this one. I wanted the one you have with red second hand and those numerals.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The other Janta would be this one, I believe. Again, I couldn't get the one with red second hand.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And yes, that White Pilot is nowhere to be seen. I'll love to get one of those.


This one I bought two days back there is another one in which Janata in English written in center. I will try to post pics this evening.Janata in Hindi is in my new want list, thanks for pics.


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## akshayb

*Here is another HMT JANATA*

*Here is another HMT JANATA'S PICs. So there are three models of Janata on this thread now.*:-!


----------



## akshayb

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

And here is my HMT JANATA DELUXE.I am amazed with it's finishing. It is really hard to believe that you can buy this kind of watch in these prices.









Akshay​


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*



akshayb said:


> And here is my HMT JANATA DELUXE.I am amazed with it's finishing. It is really hard to believe that you can buy this kind of watch in these prices.
> 
> Akshay​


This one is older version of Janta Delux. Mine is newer version. I like older version better but most dealers don't have them.


----------



## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I was speaking with one of the dealer in India and he advised me that the prices of HMT watches has increased on most models by Rs. 100 to Rs. 500. Few models like Rajat, Saurabh etc. are still at same price but I suspect they will go up soon.

Grab them while you can at current price. I wonder HMT officials might be reading this thread. ;-)


----------



## akshayb

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

This is getting confusing day by day, or rather clear I can say.:-s

So Janata Deluxe is available in Two Models(thanks Munno for pointing out). I suppose there are different versions of same model of watches are from different Plants of HMT, Janata Deluxe with numericals is probably manufactured in HMT Chinar J&K and without numerical in Bangalore and Tumkur.

JANATA  English With and without numerical is from J&K i.e. HMT Chinar, and JANATA Hindi is from Bangalore and Tumkur.

Black Pilots, I presume are manufactured in HMT Chinar J&K, and Whites (which are not in production right now) were from Bangalore and Tumkur.

Like wise there should be differences in other Models of HMT Watches also. Which requires further observation of forum members.

Interesting isn't it.

Akshay


----------



## akshayb

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Here are better pictures of HMT JANATA DELUXE n.



















AKSHAYB​


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## akshayb

*New HMT Sona watch from India*

Dear Friends, 
Here is Beautiful pair of HMT Sona Watches, are amazing in quality, I am speechless.:-!
 













































With Wishes
AkshayB​


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## munno

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

I have Sona but never knew that it comes in White dial too. I should try and get white dial, some how. Looks gorgeous.

BTW, Sona comes in two sizes, small and normal. Small is for women.


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## Anand184

*Re: New HMT Sona watch from India*

I am stunned to say the least!! where on earth did you find the white dialled sona??Needless to say it's beautyful !!.


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## akshayb

*Difference in Black HMT Pilots*

Dear Friends, 
Here is another difference I found out about HMT Pilot black, the difference is in winding crown and also there is difference in finishing of the watch, of course they are made in different plants of HMT, the watch with flat crown and plastic strap is made in HMT Chinar J&K, and other one in Bangalore. As posted previously in this thread I am also observing that watches made in Bangalore HMT are better in finishing. Have A Look,














































With Wishes
Akshay​


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## akshayb

*Re: New HMT Sona watch from India*

Yeah Friends 
My new madness of HMT watches is taking me places.
With Wishes
AkshayB


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## Gansan

*Re: New HMT Sona watch from India*



Anand184 said:


> I am stunned to say the least!! where on earth did you find the white dialled sona??Needless to say it's beautyful !!.


It must be a new addition. I never saw it during my visits to HMT showroom.


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## Crusader

*Re: My new HMT Pilot watch from India*

Due to its length, this thread has been split into three threads.

You can find the subsequent posts in this thread: https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=143071


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