Nirupesh Joshi Interview: The Story Behind Bangalore Watch Company’s New Pocket Watch

There are Swiss watchmakers who have spent centuries making impeccible timepieces which has been perfectly respected for three centuries. Bangalore Watch Company took a rather different route when it was founded in 2018, deciding that India itself was a perfectly good complication. Aviation, cricket, space exploration, national industry and the great outdoors have all found their way into its watches, giving the brand a catalogue that feels less like a collection of products and more like a mechanical scrapbook of contemporary India. Now, with Forty-Seven, its first ever pocket watch, the brand has done something rather clever. Instead of looking at the India that is sending rockets into space and building global technology companies, it has gone back to the moment when much of that ambition began.

The Forty-Seven follows the visual language of traditional pocket watches from the first half of the twentieth century, but gives it a distinctly Indian narrative. Its 46mm case is crafted from 316L surgical steel and finished with rose gold PVD, giving the watch the substantial presence expected of a pocket watch while introducing a warmer, more contemporary character. The case measures 12mm in thickness and features a classic pocket watch profile, with a push and pull crown carrying the Bangalore Watch Company logo.

The specification sheet does not detail a separate lug construction, with the watch instead paired to a lanyard style genuine leather strap fitted with a matching rose gold clip, reinforcing its pocket watch identity rather than pretending it is simply an enormous wristwatch. The off white dial carries a linen pattern inspired by India’s self reliance movement during the mid twentieth century, giving the watch a tactile surface rather than the perfectly sterile appearance found on many contemporary timepieces with Arabic hour markers and a seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. The vintage character continues with Swiss Super LumiNova in an old radium inspired colour, recreating the warm appearance of historic luminous material while retaining modern after dark legibility.

Protecting the dial is a K1 hardened crystal, chosen to provide durability while maintaining the watch’s vintage inspired character. For all its historical references, Forty-Seven does not attempt to recreate the mechanical technology of its period. Instead, it uses a Swiss made Ronda 6004.D quartz movement, delivering a battery life of approximately 40 months. It is an entirely sensible choice for a watch designed around storytelling and everyday timekeeping rather than mechanical theatre.

The movement also helps keep the watch accessible while maintaining its Swiss made credentials. Water resistance is rated at 30 metres, or 3 ATM, making it suitably protected against everyday splashes but hardly an invitation to take it diving. Turn the watch over and the Forty-Seven presents a closed caseback, leaving the emphasis firmly on the story rather than exposing a movement that was never intended to be the main attraction. More importantly, the caseback can be personalised with a custom engraving, allowing individual owners to add their own chapter to the story. It is a fitting detail for a watch built around the idea that history is ultimately made by individuals, generations and the decisions they make.

The name itself points towards the period that shaped the collection’s central idea. Bangalore Watch Company looks back to a mid twentieth century India that began with extraordinarily modest economic and educational foundations but possessed an increasingly ambitious vision of what the country could become. The brand’s earlier watches have celebrated what India has achieved, from aviation and space exploration to technology and industry. Forty-Seven instead examines the beginning of that journey, using the pocket watch as its chosen vehicle because it belonged naturally to the era being remembered.

As Nirupesh Joshi, Co Founder of Bangalore Watch Company, explains, the pocket watch was a natural format for telling this particular story. It allows the brand to revisit the period when a young nation began investing in the future and to reinterpret that historical moment through contemporary watchmaking. Priced at USD 1,250, approximately INR 1.2 lakh, Forty-Seven will be available for pre order through Bangalore Watch Company’s website from 11 August 2026. Outlook Luxe had a conversation with Nirupesh Joshi, Co-Founder, Bangalore Watch Company, to discuss the inspiration behind Forty-Seven, the significance of revisiting India’s formative years and how the brand continues to turn the country’s history, ambition and identity into contemporary watchmaking.

What inspired Bangalore Watch Company to introduce its first pocket watch at a time when wristwatches dominate the market?

Nirupesh Joshi: Our product strategy has always been guided by the stories we feel inspired by. We did not start by wanting to make a pocket watch, rather started with a story we were deeply inspired by, and concluded that only a pocket watch can do justice as an expression of the story.

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Your collections have celebrated aviation, cricket and space exploration. Why was it important to revisit the origins of modern India with this watch?

NJ: Our vision as a brand is to bring a contemporary Indian narrative with each collection. We’ve talked of topics that we believe are representative of a modern-India. But we’ve always wanted to go back to a time where the very identity of modern India began. To us, that story started right after the Independence and during the formative years during the 1950s. A country of 300 million people laid the foundations of what India is today, and it hasn’t been sufficiently explored in watchmaking.

Why did you opt for the Swiss-made Ronda 6004.D quartz movement instead of a mechanical calibre, and was a mechanical version ever considered?

NJ: First, we always think of the intended audience when we design a watch. I believe that the Forty Seven will be presented and received as gifts more frequently than a traditional automatic watch from our line-up. And gifts are often presented to people that may not be familiar with mechanical watches. Also, there isn’t a mechanical movement today that fits large case sizes, all reliable options are fit for wrist watches. The quartz movement here was a more pragmatic choice.

Why was K1 hardened crystal chosen over sapphire, and how does it complement the watch’s intended character?

NJ: Sapphire crystals are excellent choices for something that is always on your person like a wristwatch. The likelihood that a wristwatch gets an accidental bump on a doorknob is a real threat, so a sapphire crystal makes more sense there. The Forty Seven required a reliable crystal and something can match the case silhouette with a mid-century design, so the K1 is a great choice here.

How difficult was it to recreate the aesthetics of a mid-twentieth-century pocket watch while meeting modern standards of durability and functionality?

NJ: The biggest challenge in this project was the construction. We wanted the dimensions to be compact, while still evocative of a vintage design. The dial is where we had the most freedom – the linen patterned dial, the cathedral hands, and the old-radium Super Luminova have all added to this aesthetic. I think we got this right!

You’ve previously worked with meteorites, aircraft carrier steel and captured carbon. How did those technical experiences shape the development of Forty-Seven?

NJ: This is a new feather in our hat! We have never built pocket watches in the past, and this took an 18-month development cycle. Our technical expertise has historically been in rare- materials – Captured carbon, Meteorites, Cerasteel etc. This was not as much a material challenge, but more of a construction, design, and assembly challenge.

Did designing a pocket watch require a completely different approach to case construction, ergonomics and wearability compared to a wristwatch?

NJ: Yes, after the watch was designed, we realised we didn’t want this to just sit in someone’s drawer. We developed a lanyard that can help the owner carry the watch around their neck, or as an accessory around their wrist.

Also Read: Indian Luxury Watches: A New Era Of Fine Watchmaking

How do you balance strong storytelling with creating a watch that can stand on its own purely as a horological product?

NJ: A story will only get our customer curious about the collection or the watch; but the watch must be a strong horological product for it to never leave the customer. A strong horological product is defined by the quality of materials, the design appeal, the fit and finish, and how well it translates the story narrative into a product. That’s the success metric for our brand!

What message are you hoping to send by showcasing Forty-Seven alongside the GPHG-nominated Peninsula Carbon at Geneva Watch Days?

NJ: For the past 8 years, we have built a reputation as a formidable challenger from India that can compete on a global scale. We now have started efforts to take the brand to a global audience. We were at Dubai Watch Week last year, and we plan to be represented in other global watch events in the future. Our showcase at Geneva Watch Days is a step forward in that direction.

What, in your opinion, is the biggest challenge Indian watch brands still face in earning global recognition?

NJ: The biggest challenge for us is to work ourselves out of the “Mumbai special” reputation. We must commit to building only respectable quality watches with a global benchmark. We need to build for a global customer, and that is the biggest challenge.