Indian independent luxury watchmaker Bangalore Watch Company (BWC) has raised $1.4 million in seed funding from a group of its own customers, including family office principals and high-net-worth individuals from India and overseas, as the Bengaluru-based brand prepares to expand its presence in international markets.
The fresh capital will be used to strengthen BWC’s position in the global independent watch industry, with the company planning to establish a presence in a limited number of overseas markets that have established communities of watch collectors. The company is also evaluating the possibility of adding another location in India.
Founded in 2018 by former technology executives Nirupesh Joshi and Mercy Amalraj, Bangalore Watch Company designs, engineers and assembles mechanical watches in India. The brand has built an international customer base spanning more than 30 countries and has positioned its collections around contemporary Indian stories rather than conventional luxury-watch themes.
Customer-backed funding to support next phase
The latest fundraising is notable because the investors include people who are already customers of the brand. Rather than relying on a conventional institutional venture-capital round, BWC has brought existing customers into its fundraising process, including family office principals and high-net-worth individuals.
The approach gives the company access to capital from people already familiar with its watches and independent positioning, while allowing BWC to continue building the business around its own product philosophy.
The company intends to use the funding primarily to expand internationally, targeting two to three strategic overseas locations in markets where established watch-collector communities could provide a strong base for the brand. BWC is also considering an additional location within India.
The expansion strategy is deliberately selective. Instead of building a large physical retail network, the company plans to combine a limited physical presence with its existing direct-to-consumer model.
Production capacity targeted for fourfold increase
BWC currently has annual production capacity of around 1,500 watches and plans to increase that capacity approximately fourfold over the next three to five years.
The company’s watches are generally positioned in the premium and luxury segment, with many models priced between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, although some products are available outside that range.
The brand currently operates a flagship boutique in Bengaluru and has largely relied on direct sales and a concierge-style customer experience rather than a widespread retail network.
BWC has also reported a 30% repeat-purchase rate, indicating that a portion of its existing customer base returns to purchase additional watches.
This customer relationship has allowed the company to sell limited-edition models without depending on a large chain of physical stores across different cities.
Building a modern Indian identity through watchmaking
Since its launch, Bangalore Watch Company has attempted to differentiate itself by incorporating stories and themes associated with modern India into mechanical watch designs.
Its collections have explored subjects including aviation, space, cricket and the outdoors, with individual models drawing inspiration from India’s technological, sporting and cultural history.
The company’s founders have argued that independent watchmaking has increasingly demonstrated that internationally respected watch brands do not necessarily need to originate from traditional Swiss watchmaking centres.
BWC’s strategy is built around taking that idea further by presenting India as the starting point for a globally oriented independent watch brand, while retaining a distinctly Indian identity in its designs and storytelling.
Experimental materials and aviation-inspired designs
Bangalore Watch Company has also experimented with unconventional materials and manufacturing concepts as part of its effort to establish a distinctive identity.
Some of its watches have incorporated aluminium recovered from decommissioned fighter aircraft, while other designs have used material associated with India’s former aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
The company has additionally developed Cerasteel, a proprietary case material combining a steel structure with a ceramic coating.
These material choices form part of BWC’s broader approach of connecting its watches with Indian engineering, military, maritime and technological history rather than relying solely on traditional luxury-watch aesthetics.
Space-focused watchmaking experiment
One of the company’s most prominent projects has been its Apogee Karman Line watch.
For the project, BWC subjected the watch to simulated low-pressure and low-temperature conditions before sending it aboard a high-altitude balloon flight. The balloon reached approximately 114,000 feet, or around 35 kilometres, during the stratospheric flight.
BWC has described the watch as India’s first “space-qualified” watch. However, the altitude reached during the flight remained well below the 100-kilometre Kármán line, a commonly used convention for defining the boundary of outer space. The “space-qualified” description is therefore the company’s designation for the project rather than an indication that the watch travelled beyond the conventional boundary of space.
Sustainability and carbon-based materials
The company’s recent product development has also included experiments involving recovered carbon materials.
Its Peninsula Carbon model uses a proprietary dial material called ReforgeCarbon, which combines carbon fibres with recovered carbon black obtained through the pyrolysis of industrial waste and end-of-life materials.
The development reflects BWC’s efforts to combine technical experimentation with environmental themes in some of its newer products.
The brand had previously described the material in terms of carbon recovered from the atmosphere, while its technical specifications identify recovered carbon black from industrial waste as the material used in the watch dials.
Increasing presence on the international watch circuit
BWC’s global ambitions have been accompanied by greater participation in international watch-industry events.
The company participated in Dubai Watch Week in 2025, where it presented its work to collectors and members of the international watch community.
In 2026, BWC made its debut at Geneva Watch Days, hosting a private viewing for international media, collectors and members of the watchmaking industry. The company showcased models including Peninsula Carbon and its Forty-Seven pocket watch during the event. NewsVoir
The brand has also increased its visibility through participation in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), one of the industry’s most prominent watch awards.
Two BWC models, Agumbe and Mannar, appeared on the competing-watch lists in 2025. In 2026, the company returned with Peninsula Carbon, marking appearances by three individual BWC watches across the 2025 and 2026 editions rather than representing three consecutive years of company-level participation.
Taking an Indian independent watch brand global
The new funding gives Bangalore Watch Company an opportunity to build on the international recognition it has developed while maintaining a relatively focused retail strategy.
With customers already spread across more than 30 countries, the company now intends to deepen its presence in selected overseas markets rather than immediately pursuing a broad global store network.
The planned expansion will also require BWC to scale production substantially, with its target of quadrupling annual capacity over the next three to five years representing a significant increase from its current level.
For the Bengaluru-based brand, the next phase will therefore involve balancing increased manufacturing capacity and international distribution with the limited-production approach and Indian design identity that have defined its business since its launch.
Disclaimer: This report has been editorially prepared using publicly available information and official company disclosures. Readers are advised to refer to official company announcements/disclosures for further details.
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