Bengaluru: State-owned HMT has launched a new ‘hmt Kannadiga’ series of wristwatches to mark Kannada Rajyotsava, priced at ₹3,500 to ₹3,600, Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Sunday.
Kumaraswamy dedicated eight new models, in chain and leather-strap versions, to the state. The watches have been formally unveiled and will be available in the market soon, mainly through HMT showrooms, he said.
According to the minister, the watches have radium-lit dials, and the strap models use genuine Italian leather straps, with the strap alone costing ₹450. They are designed to suit men and women of all ages, including young people, he said.
HMT Chairman and Managing Director Ramesh Kumar explained the features of the new watches before the minister spoke.
Describing HMT watches, once known as India’s timekeeper, as part of Karnataka’s identity, Kumaraswamy said the Bengaluru factory set up in 1953 had once employed thousands, with about 7,000 workers in the watch division alone. The Centre was making sincere efforts to revive HMT under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guidance, he said.
Leaders of pro-Kannada organisations, whom the minister said he had invited, attended the launch along with Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka and Leader of the Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy.
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