In today’s newsletter: The latest podcast on a $42 watch from Delhi that sold out in two minutes; a new record-breaking Cartier; two Cartier Pebbles with the same serial number; why the annual calendar is back: Rolex, Patek Philippe, and the price ladder; I’m co-hosting an open house in Chicago next Thursday.
UNPOLISHED PODCAST
How a $42 Watch from India Went Viral
Earlier this year, I started seeing this $42 watch everywhere. It wasn’t from Switzerland, Japan, or a traditional watchmaking hub.
Maybe you’ve seen the Delhi Watch Company Terra. It’s a unique take on a field watch: monobloc titanium case, a design inspired by a climbing carabiner, and a parachute-style strap. DWC did no marketing for the Terra’s first release last December, and it sold out more than 5,000 units in just 2 minutes.
I wanted the story behind the Terra, so I reached out to Delhi Watch Company’s founder Anish Dandwani and designer Ishaan Vajpai, the duo behind it. We talk about the Terra, but also a lot more—what it’s like to go viral, how watchmaking is developing in India, what makes it different, and what’s next.
This is the first interview I’ve seen from them, and I enjoyed talking to these guys—young, scrappy, and super refreshing.
Everyone sees the Terra as a bold design statement, and it is. But in the episode, Ishaan explains it more like a practical solution to an engineering problem. Anish gave him a two-sentence design brief: field watch, under 5,000 rupees (~$50). To hit that price in titanium, machining cost was the problem. They’d also given themselves another constraint: build it with whatever machines they could borrow within 50km.
They landed on water jet cutting, and later, electrical discharge machining. Both methods cut without tools making physical contact with the metal. Titanium is notoriously tough and chews up machining parts, so this solved their cost problem. But these methods can only cut 2D shapes.
So Ishaan got creative, eventually arriving at the carabiner look.
UNPOLISHED STORE
Head to the Unpolished Store to shop the selection of canvas and leather straps—everything’s restocked for fall:
Check out the new Textured Taupe, made of high-quality, durable Epsom leather, it looks great on everything. Textured Taupe
Pick up a 3-pack of Unpolished Canvas Straps for $169, 15% off the single-strap price. 3 Canvas Strap Bundle
Paid subscribers get 10% off all orders. Click here for info on all your Member Perks.
The Roundup
A new Cartier record, what happens when two Cartier Pebbles have the same serial number; why the annual calendar is back: Rolex, Patek Philippe, and the price ladder; and I’m co-hosting an open house in Chicago next Thursday.
⚙️ Here’s a fun Sellita fact I heard: Sellita now has 500+ clients. Just 5 years ago, that number was ~300. It’s one of the best statistics I’ve seen that puts a number to the “microbrand” boom.1
