A bet on quartz
Before Titan, the state-owned HMT dominated Indian wristwatches, and buyers often had to order months ahead or ask relatives abroad. Xerxes Desai, who had spent about two decades in the Tata group, was sure quartz would overtake mechanical watches. In 1984 Tata Industries and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) set up Titan Watches in Chennai, with a factory at Hosur.
Recruiters went to schools and colleges and picked young people from 17 up through tests. For those who had to move, Titan arranged housing and even foster parents. J. R. D. Tata opened the Hosur factory on 11 March 1988.
Off the shelf
The first Titan showroom opened in Bengaluru on 23 December 1987. Its first five models cost roughly ₹350 to ₹900. They were stylish, accurate and available the same day. The millionth watch came out on 10 April 1989.
Titan kept adding brands for different buyers: Sonata for the budget, Fastrack for the young, Raga for women. By 2019 it was the world’s fifth-largest watch maker by volume.
From months of waiting to the same day.
17 carats, not 22
Titan launched Tanishq jewellery in 1994. For years it struggled; its early image was western and expensive, and it lived off the watch business. In March 2002 its new head, Jacob Kurian, told the team they had one year to turn it around.
Tanishq stores had a Karatmeter, a machine that tests the purity of gold. At one store a customer’s jewellery tested at 17 carats instead of 22. The customer was upset, and Kurian realised why: “You don’t do anything to solve our problem.” So Tanishq launched an exchange: bring in jewellery that tests between 19 and 22 carats and swap it for 22-carat Tanishq jewellery, paying only the making charges. Crowds came. In the Diwali sale of 2003, several stores sold more than ₹1 crore in a single day.
“You don’t do anything to solve our problem.”
₹88,000 crore
Titan is now India’s largest branded jewellery maker, with more than 80% of its revenue from jewellery, over 2,000 stores, and revenue of ₹88,036 crore in 2025–26. It also sells eyewear, fragrances and sarees, and its registered office is still in Hosur.
It began as a partnership between a business house and the Tamil Nadu government, in a town few had heard of.
Points for a finance reader
- Bet on where the technology is going. Quartz was new in India in 1984. Titan bet early and won the market.
- Do not just show the problem; solve it. Testing gold upset customers until Tanishq offered a fair exchange. Pair every hard truth with a way out.
- Trust is the product. Proven purity turned a struggling brand into India’s largest jeweller.
- Set a deadline for a loss-maker. “One year to turn it around” focused everyone. Do not let one strong business hide a weak one.